Another Month of 2020 - August

It is the end of another month of 2020. August felt like it went by faster than many of the previous months. This month we climbed a couple of mountains - Mt. Timpanogos and Mt. Elbert. We also visited Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That was a highlight of the month. Here are a few of the other things I want to remember from August 2020:

Work

Alison and I continue to work from home. Although, Alison traveled for work a couple of weeks this month. When she is in Utah, she will work from home, but there will be more work travel here on out. She is used to traveling for work and she has gotten used to the processes and procedures of traveling during a pandemic. So far, she has felt fairly safe traveling. I continue to take pictures of our animals as they chill/sleep/play while we work. It is going to be weird for us and for them when we go back to working in the office. 

Piano

When Alison has not been traveling she has spent countless hours learning to play Clair de lune. The song is difficult, so it has been a lot of work for Alison to learn, but it seems to be coming along nicely. She is very talented. 

Covid-19 Vaccine

Over the past few months I have closely followed the Covid-19 vaccine development efforts. When vaccines began reaching stage 3 trials, I expressed interest in volunteering. I filled out a form online and heard nothing back. Earlier this month I was on Facebook when I noticed an advertisement that read "Covid-19 vaccine trail enrolling near you". I clicked the link and entered my information. I didn't hear anything for a few days and began to assume I wouldn't be selected. Then I received a call from the local clinic. They asked me a few questions about my health and Covid risk factors. Based on my answers, I qualified to participate. They gave me some instructions and scheduled my first appointment. 

I told Alison about my decision to participate and she also expressed interest. We looked for the link online, but we weren't able to find it. When they called me to confirm my appointment I told them my wife was also interested and they scheduled an appointment for her as well. 

On the morning of my appointment I drove to the clinic in Salt Lake City. They had a lengthy, in-depth consent form I had to fill out. I read it ahead of time so it went fairly quick. We then dove into my medical history and they took my vitals. A doctor came in and reviewed my medical history and performed a physical exam. Then they tested me for Covid-19 using the nasal swab. To say that is an unpleasant experience is an understatement. After they tested me using the nasal swab they took 3 vials of blood to perform an antibody test, along with other tests. Then they prepped the injection. There is a 50/50 chance between getting the vaccine and getting the placebo. I won't know if I got the actual vaccine or not until a later date. Once the first Covid-19 vaccine is approved by the FDA in the US they plan to unblind the study and let us all know whether we got the vaccine or the placebo. 

There are a few reasons I chose to participate in this study. First and foremost, I want to do whatever I can to help humanity and the world end the Covid-19 pandemic as quickly as possible. I am young, healthy and able. I am willing to raise my hand and take some personal risk to help test the safety and efficacy of a potential vaccine. 

Second, I trust the scientific consensuses that vaccines are a safe and effective way to fight and eradicate infectious diseases. Particularly because of our international travel, Alison and I have been vaccinated against more diseases than the average American. There are some individuals within my social circle who are skeptical of vaccines. Their skepticism truly baffles me. I personally know doctors and scientist, brilliant men and women, who have devoted their lives to understanding health and medicine who are strong proponents of vaccines as an important measure to prevent disease. Too often the voices of the individuals and organizations that devote their time and energy to saving lives and preventing suffering are drowned out by messages of fear and whispers of conspiracy. There are a minority of professionals (and many people with no credentials/expertise) who oppose vaccination. Their claims should be evaluated, and not just dismissed. During the evaluation, I step back and look at the body of work in the field. I consider the diverse studies/opinions/conclusions and rank them based on credibility, source, and motivations. I then accept the conclusion supported by the majority of credible sources. The overwhelming majority agree vaccines are important for the health of both, the individual and society. 

Finally there is a chance I will be one of the first individuals to get the vaccine. If it is safe and effective (so far they believe it is based on phase 1 and 2 of the trials) there is a chance I will be protected from getting and/or spreading Covid-19. Even just the possibility is exciting. I obviously won't know whether or not I get the vaccine, much less if it actually works for some time. In the meantime, I will continue to social distance, wear a face covering in public and be cautious. Still my fingers are crossed that I received the actual vaccine and that it works.   

The vaccine has two doses. I have to go back to the clinic in three weeks to get the second dose. From there they want me to check in if I have any Covid-like symptoms. This will precipitate additional Covid testing. I will also be asked to come in for blood draws and testing a few times over the next couple of years. That way they can continue to monitor potential side effects of the vaccine, as well as length of protection, etc. This is the beginning of a long and exciting process. 

Date Nights 

Date nights look a little different due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This month we had a couple of fun date nights.

One night we stayed in. We cooked a fancy dinner and enjoyed it together. Lately our favorite fancy meal has been steak tenderloins with a mushroom wine sauce. We paired the meal with a new dessert - chocolate caramel apple nachos. This was a treat. 

Another day we went downtown for lunch. One of our favorite restaurants in Salt Lake City is Caffee Molise. We saw online that they had outdoor dining and decided to visit. It was a phenomenal experience. Safety is a top priority. They take Covid very seriously. They have a number of new protocols in place. In the lobby there is a cool machine that takes each guest's temperature. They had us fill out a form with contact information, so they could contact us if a Covid outbreak was linked to their restaurant. They also had a QR code we used with our phones to pull up the menu. They set up a really nice outdoor dining area. It is spacious so they are able to spread out guest. It has a shade canopy that made it a really pleasant place to eat. It was very relaxing meal. The service isn't particularly fast right now, but that was fine because we sat back, talked and relaxed while enjoying the ambiance and the meal. The food was excellent. I would highly recommend Caffee Molise. 

Delicious Chocolate Caramel Apple Nachos

Daybreak Duck Derby

Daybreak announced their inaugural Daybreak Ducky Derby. It is a rubber duck race down a creek in Daybreak. It will take place in September. They announced a sign up where you could get a rubber duck to decorate and enter into the derby. I signed up and picked up a duck to decorate with Skylee. I also got some markers and we spent a Sunday evening decorating our duck. We were going for a hippie duck theme. With flowers, butterflies, peace signs, etc. It was fun. I will drop off our duck and fingers crossed they will win the race.