Australia getting back to 'Covid normal'

After keeping close to 'zero Covid' for the first half of 2021, and therefore not worrying too much about the slow rollout of Covid vaccines compared to some other parts of the developed world (eg. UK, Europe, USA and Canada), the two most populous states (NSW and VIC) suffered a rapid spike in Covid-19 cases in the past couple of months due to the more contagious 'delta' variant getting loose in the general population.

Fortunately relatively strict 'lock-down' provisions have managed to keep the daily infection numbers (and hence the rate of hospitalisations and deaths) reasonably low while the vaccination roll-out ramped up with a new sense of urgency (and some extra supplies of Pfizer vaccine for the younger cohorts where side-effects from AZ vaccine were more likely to outweigh the benefit of vaccination - at least until the chance of catching Covid increased dramatically).

At the start of the latest outbreak there was a media outcry regarding the slow pace of vaccination in Australia compared to European countries and US states. For example on 'Planet America' a few weeks ago they were comparing Australian vaccination rates to those in the US, and our most vaccinated states (NSW, VIC  and ACT) would have been close to the very bottom of the ranking of US states.

But there has been a remarkable decrease in 'vaccine hesitancy' in NSW and VIC (and the ACT) as the delta variant saw daily cases climb into the hundreds (in NSW and VIC) and a daily death toll which included some younger age groups.

We have now reached the stage that NSW and VIC have a greater percentage of their adult population having had their first vaccination that any of the US states (85.7% 'first dose' in NSW, 77.9% 'first dose' in Victoria, compared with 77.5% having at least one dose in the most vaccinated US state, Vermont), and even in terms of being fully vaccinated NSW is already on par with the 12th most fully vaccinated US States (60.45% in NSW, 60.40% in Washington State). and Victoria is on par with the 40th most fully vaccinated US State (47.72% in Victoria, 47.60% in Missouri).

Within a couple of weeks both NSW and Victoria will have a greater percentage of their adult population fully vaccinated than any state in the US, and current 'lock-down' restrictions will be eased substantially by mid-October, and back to 'Covid normal' by mid-November.

Based on current rates of vaccination, both Sydney and Melbourne (and Canberra) could see 90%+ of the adult population fully vaccinated by Christmas. It seems unlikely that any state in the US will end up with much more than 80% fully vaccinated - probably due to a combination of cost (vaccination is completely free in Australia) and the natural 'vaccination hesitancy' rates being amplified by politically inspired 'anti-vaxxer' movements being more prevalent in the US than in Australia.

While there have been a few snafus in Australia's handling of the pandemic (such as the early outbreaks in aged care facilities and cruise ships, and the latter delta variant outbreaks that managed to spread from quarantined international travelers into the general population), and some false economy regarding initial vaccine order quantities (in hind-sight, ordering enough of every prospective vaccine for the entire Australian population and then donating the surplus as foreign aid would have been a lot more cost effective than ordering smaller quantities of several vaccine offerings spread over a longer time frame, given the huge economic cost of protracted 'lock-downs') our handling of the pandemic overall seems to have been reasonably effective (probably made a lot easier being an island continent). The ultimate final per capita death toll from Covid-19 in Australia will probably end up being one of the lowest in any of the OECD countries.

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Diet week 5

My macronutrient daily averages for week 5 were:

fibre            15.6 g
fat              18.9 %
protein          85.8 g
sodium         2630.1 mg
energy         1978.9 kcals
carbohydrates    63.2 %

My average weight for week 5 was 107.6 kg, a slight increase of 0.3 kg. In theory I was consuming less than my basal metabolic requirement, so I should have lost a small amount of weight rather than putting weight on, but I had started a bit of body weight exercise and slightly more walking, so perhaps I lost fat and replaced it with lean mass instead. According to my bathroom scales my body fat % hasn't decreased, but I know from previously tracking data that the body fat % reading isn't very reliable or consistent. I do need to cut out having the occasional 'dessert' snack after dinner, as that should ensure I actually lose weight rather than just 'flat line'.

My average daily step count last week increased slightly (2,251 steps/day), as I went for a lunchtime walk four times last week. Need to add an evening walk to my routine as well. I also need to do 5BX every evening, rather than just doing a bit of resistance training whenever I 'feel like it'.

I also need to arrange for our pool pump to be fixed next week, so I can get the pool ready for 'swimming season' to commence.

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Australia finally plans for an effective sub fleet

In a shock outbreak of intelligent decision making, the Australia government today announced that they would scrap the trouble-plagued deal to build a fleet of vastly expensive, and probably ineffective, conventional submarines in Adelaide, and instead shift to building much more capable nuclear-powered subs in conjunction with the US and UK.

While this always seemed the obvious best solution for replacing our trouble-plagued fleet of Collins class conventional subs, I was shocked that such a rational decision has actually been made. Usually anything with the word 'nuclear' in it gets blocked in Australia (they even renamed Nuclear Magnetic Resonance imaging (NMR) as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to cater to radiation-phobes). Hopefully costs don't blow out too much by trying to build as much as possible in Adelaide (this usually turns out to  be a very expensive way to buy local jobs), but at least the end result should be an effective submarine fleet at a reasonable life-cycle cost per unit, compared to the conventional French-designed sub that had seen costs blow out from the initial estimates.

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Diet week 4

My macronutrient averages for week 4 were:

fibre            12.7 g
fat              17.5 %
protein          61.7 g
sodium         2360.9 mg
energy         1745.1 kcals

carbohydrates    68.0 %

My average weight for week 4 was 107.3 kg, a decrease of -0.7 kg, which was close to what I expect at my current BMI when I stick to my diet plan of around 1,800 kcals/day. I could do with a bit more fiber and protein in my diet though - probably more vegetables and fruits would be good.

My average daily step count last week was still a lot less than I should be doing (averaging just 933 steps/day), and I didn't really have any excuses last week, just lacking self-motivation. I just need to make sure I go for a brisk walk every day and get back into the habit. It was a lot easier when I was going to the office, as I walked quite a bit just going to work by bus and train, plus I would go for a walk during 'lunch hour' most days. Working from home I can go for a walk at any time, which means that I tend to keep putting it off and never get around to it.

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