Chins up, Everybody

Today the Washington Post reported:

"At Lincoln Center, Timms said, plans are being worked out for a 400-seat socially distanced outdoor space for ballet and other arts"

Small steps, but steps nevertheless.

We're guessing that the outdoor space will be Damrosch Park which will be the perfect setting for the beginnings of a comeback. New York audiences have long sat through cold rains, 100 degree heat, and anything Mother Nature can throw at us to watch performances on that stage, and we will weather just about anything to get the music playing and the feet moving again. If somebody can figure out how to provide overhead heating for the stage area and if we are blessed with a mild November and December, we could make this work for months. In fact, Lincoln Center could run multiple outdoor stages simultaneously on its campus – there's room for a stage in front of the Met Opera as well. No wonder the Damrosch Park Corps de Azaleas has been such a vivacious and happy group lately!

However, there may be a problem with crowd control.

There are ways that the crowd can roll up its sleeves to help. Get serious about planning to get a vaccination. Let's hear none of this scare tactic poo-poo about vaccines that were produced a half century ago. Times have changed. Pharmaceutical science has made a few advances, to put it mildly. Don't be one of those people who wants to rely on everyone else getting the vaccine to protect them while they sit on the sidelines. Don't be one of those ____s who banners up with "Nobody's gonna force me to get a shot, social distance, wear a mask, or ever get tested. If I spread the virus to others, so be it; it's my right to do so."

The Phase III vaccine trials in the NYC area still need volunteers. The Pfizer trial is a 1:1 vaccine:placebo study. However, we have been told that once the trial vaccine is shown via data to be effective, there is an ethical obligation to offer it to those who received the placebo. Consider getting an early start by registering on the NYU Langone Vaccine Center website. NYU is currently recruiting for the Pfizer Phase III trial and will soon begin recruiting for Phase III of the Oxford/AstraZeneca trial. Every little bit of cooperation will help.

Again, every little bit of cooperation will help. People who are more likely to come in contact with the virus are especially encouraged to sign up to participate. Start here.  Get on the list now. The old folks who grew up during the polio epidemic of the 1940s and '50s have been turning out in droves for the Pfizer clinical trial. This is the generation that took the risks over a half century ago in the race to eliminate polio. It's time to let them pass the baton.

 

Comments

[Solor]

I hope there will be a thoroughly-tested and safe vaccine sometime next year and I will not hesitate to take it. Those who decline will do so at their own risk, as everyone else will likely start to go out and socialize. Darwin wins again.

[Haglund's Heel]

The vaccines in Phase III are the only ones that will be available to the public in the near term. There is no time to fiddle with the formulas. It is either these or nothing. Unfortunately, we have another crisis looming as vaccine-reluctant people also decline to get flu shots.

[Solor]

Short-term acceptance of a vaccine increasingly appears to be a pipe dream. Polls show a majority of individuals will not take a vaccine that appears too quickly (which is inextricably linked to Trump's desire to promote one before Election Day). More important to people's willingness to sign on is news like the story that just broke about AstraZeneca suspending its global trials due to a serious adverse reaction in one patient. My guess is we're looking at sometime well into next year until there can be widespread vaccinations.

[Haglund's Heel]

All true, Solor, especially if people don't read past the headlines to see that the pause in the AstraZeneca trial is routine. Also yesterday, the CEO of Pfizer's partner BioNTech said about their vaccine: "It has an excellent profile and I consider this vaccine near perfect, and which has a near perfect profile," Sahin said in an exclusive interview with CNN. The companies jointly said that they expected to apply for FDA approval in October or November.

But I totally agree that Trump's push to get the vaccine out by the election will cast grave if not fatal doubts in the public.

I joined the Pfizer Phase III trial on its second day, and will have my blood tested for antibodies in fewer than two weeks for the first time since getting both injections. The next test will be in January 2021. So, it sounds like Pfizer and BioNTech will make their decisions based on this first round of tests coupled with the ongoing testing of Phase I and Phase II participants. But even if this vaccine trial is as successful as anticipated, there will be a problem in getting people to line up twice for shots. Once, maybe. But twice will be a challenge.

[Solor]

...in addition to the challenges of producing, distributing and administering up to 300 million doses (x2) in the U.S. alone and convincing enough people to take it. The relevant question here is - when do we think enough people will be willing to go back to theaters and sit next to, behind and in front of others?

[Haglund's Heel]

We could have an idea as to the answer to the "relevant question" shortly after September 30th when indoor restaurant dining in NYC begins (at 25% capacity). Those people who are comfortable sitting maskless in a restaurant for an hour or so may well be comfortable and enthusiastic about going to a live performance in a theater where they wear a mask.

I wonder why we haven't heard anything about the Lincoln Center venues spiffing up their ventilation systems to comply with the governor's requirements? I would like to read some positive and optimistically-worded press releases from Lincoln Center or the individual theaters. Come on, Folks. We want to know what you're doing!!! We want to hear that you are taking the lead and intend to make Lincoln Center the safest performing arts complex in the world.

[Kent Becker]

Thanks for the WP article and info on vaccines. I fantasize about the day that we can all attend performances safely...it seems so long ago. Vaccines are the only way out and am hoping for something in the near future.

[Jeannette]

Thanks, Haglund. Not a “slow news day” for the NYC ballet world...lots of promos at ABT and the fall NYCB digital season announced. I’ll let you catch up. (Wink)