There is no cost to attend a Zoom meeting. The ap is free for users, and of
course, the phonecall works just like a conference call. There is a license
fee of $150 for individuals or organizations who want to host meetings. Our
local CCB chapter bought a Zoom license that we use to host our virtual
meetings being that the restaurants where we usually meet are closed. We
also use it to host occasional training sessions such as our iPhone lab.
We also occasionally make it available to other chapters. Again, there is
no cost for participation in a Zoom meeting.
Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 05, 2020 3:26 PM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: WHO Official Warns No Widespread Covid-19
Vaccine Expected Until Mid-2021
She may not have known about it. Also, it's an unfounded assumption that
everyone can afford to use this program, let alone an optional addition. I
have no idea about what anyone else's financial situation is. If you add up
the costs of all of the programs that are related to using a computer in
addition to the costs of a smart phone and the cost of the internet and TV,
this technology which is part of everyday life is very expensive.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Frank Ventura
Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2020 6:18 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: WHO Official Warns No Widespread Covid-19
Vaccine Expected Until Mid-2021
Well if she didn't have the computer skills she should have asked for the
access number. There is also an optional, extra-cost option called "zoom
out" where the meeting host can have Zoom call someone's phone and it
automatically connects them to the meeting when they answer. In that case
the attendee wouldn't even have to dial the phone.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2020 6:08 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: WHO Official Warns No Widespread Covid-19
Vaccine Expected Until Mid-2021
The woman I'm talking about, was attempting to use her computer. I have no
idea if she was given a phone number as an alternative, but from what she
told me, it didn't sound like it.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Frank Ventura
Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2020 6:00 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: WHO Official Warns No Widespread Covid-19
Vaccine Expected Until Mid-2021
Miriam, seriously? Can they dial the telephone? We use Zoom extensively
around here for both personal use and for work. When sending along the
meeting invitation I always include the access phone number for those that
just want to connect via the regular telephone. So far no one of any age has
had issues.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2020 4:44 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: WHO Official Warns No Widespread Covid-19
Vaccine Expected Until Mid-2021
Penny,
Most probably, your members are younger and more technically proficient than
the folks in Carl's chapter. But even some blind people in their 60's are
having difficulties using Zoom.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Penny Reeder
Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2020 4:24 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: WHO Official Warns No Widespread Covid-19
Vaccine Expected Until Mid-2021
Hi Carl, I would imagine that the WCB has a ZOOM account you guys could use
for your meetings. It is our local ACB chapter's experience that using ZOOM
is far superior to using Free Conference calling or some other less
expensive calling program. Actually, since the National Capital Area Chapter
of ACB of MD has been meeting via ZOOM (wsince March of this year), the
number of people attending our meetings has grown significantly.
Good luck,
Penny
On 9/5/20, Carl Jarvis <carjar82@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
What began as a short term shut down is beginning to look like a
social transformation.
Under capitalism, our government fears financial loss far worse than
human loss.
But I am unwilling to return to my old comings and goings, testing to
see if I am one of the "fittest" in the human herd. The long term
damage many are suffering from even after an apparent recovery,
suggests that this is far more than a stronger version of the Flu.
On the Fourth Friday of September, our Chapter, the Jefferson County
Council of the Blind is scheduled to meet in the banquet room at the
Road House Restaurant in Port Townsend. But since all our members are
well up in years, and our youngest is 68, we are very reluctant to run
the risk of contacting COVID-19. All the officials in the nation can
order us to resume "normal activities", but we know that for most of
us catching this virus could well be a death sentence.
I'm at a loss as to what to do.
We used to have 25 members, about 8 or 10 of them were movers and
shakers. But one by one they have died or moved into Assisted Living.
When Sue Ammeter died, the active members now stand at 2...Cathy and
myself.
I'm going to suggest to the members that we pay dues for anyone
wanting to continue belonging for the next year, but that we continue
keeping in contact via email and telephone. At least we need to stay
shuttered until after the First of the year.
Carl Jarvis
On 9/4/20, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Published on
Friday, September 04, 2020
byCommon Dreams
WHO Official Warns No Widespread Covid-19 Vaccine Expected Until
Mid-2021 The sobering comments from a spokesperson for the global
health agency come on the heels of the CDC asking states to prepare
for potential distribution of a Covid-19 vaccine by November 1.
byBrett Wilkins, staff writer
A scientist at work in the mAbxience laboratory in Garin, Argentina,
where an experimental coronavirus vaccine for Latin America is being
developed.
(Photo: Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images) A scientist works at the
mAbxience biosimilar monoclonal antibody laboratory plant in Garin,
Buenos Aires province, on August 14, 2020, where an experimental
coronavirus vaccine will be produced for Latin America.
(Photo:
Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images)
A World Health Organization spokesperson said on Friday that
widespread vaccination against Covid-19 is not expected until
mid-2021, a statement that stood in stark contrast with President
Donald Trump's recent claim that a vaccine could be ready by the
November general election.
Speaking at a United Nations briefing in Geneva, WHO spokesperson
Margaret Harris said that none of the candidate vaccines currently in
advanced clinical trials has shown "a clear signal" of being at least
50% effective, the minimum level of acceptability according to many
scientists.
"We are really not expecting to see widespread vaccination until the
middle of next year," said Harris, who explained that "phase three
[clinical trials] must take longer because we need to see how truly
protective the vaccine is and we also need to see how safe it is."
"A lot of people have been vaccinated and what we don't know is
whether the vaccine works," she added. "At this stage we do not have
the clear signal of whether or not it has the level of worthwhile
efficacy and safety."
Harris' remarks stood in contrast to an August 6 claim by Trump that
a
Covid-19 vaccine could be available by early November. Experts have
repeatedly countered that an effective vaccine would take until at
least the middle of next year to develop, produce and distribute. Dr.
Walter Orenstein, associate director of the Emory Vaccine Center in
Atlanta, said that vaccine development in less than a year would be a
"miracle."
On Thursday, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, the administration's own chief
vaccine adviser, told NPR that it was "extremely unlikely" that a
vaccine would be available as the "October surprise" Trump seeks to
boost his reelection chances.
Medical experts and health officials have warned that the
administration's politically motivated push to rush a Covid-19
vaccine to production before the presidential election, and its
stated willingness to fast-track unproven experimental vaccines,
poses serious public health risks.
On August 27, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Director Robert Redfield sent a letter to state governors urging them
to select and prepare locations for potential Covid-19 vaccine
distribution on November 1.
Officials in at least three states-California, New York, and
Washington-have suggested they would refuse to distribute vaccines
they deemed to be inadequately vetted or politically motivated
"If the U.S. FDA were to proceed with an abbreviated process and
approve a vaccine through the Emergency Use Authorization I think
that would raise concern," said Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine
Center for Disease Control and Prevention, on Thursday.
More than 170 nations are currently in talks to join the Covid-19
Vaccines Global Access (Covax) Facility, a WHO-led global initiative
to fast-track development, production, and equitable worldwide
distribution of a coronavirus vaccine. Covax aims to deliver two
billion doses of vaccines by the end of 2021.
Conspicuously absent from the list of participating countries is the
United States, as the Trump administration claimed on Tuesday that it
"will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by
the corrupt World Health Organization and China."
Trump-who has been widely criticized for his handling of the pandemic
in a nation that has by far suffered the most Covid-19 cases and
deaths in the world-has long been at odds with the WHO. The president
has called the agency "a puppet of China" and has claimed without
evidence that it caved to pressure from Beijing "to mislead the
world" about the nascent pandemic.
In July, Trump followed through on an earlier threat to withdraw from
the WHO by formally notifying the agency that the U.S. would leave it
in July 2021. The American Medical Association strongly opposed the
move, calling it a "major setback to science, public health, and the
global coordination of efforts needed to defeat Covid-19" and warning
that it "puts the health of our country at grave risk."
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden responded to Trump's WHO
withdrawal announcement by saying the U.S. would rejoin the the
organization on his first day in office.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced it will not pay $80
million in WHO dues owed for 2019 and 2020 and will instead redirect
the money to help pay its United Nations bill. Georgetown Law
professor Lawrence Gostin slammed the move as "unethical... and
patently unlawful."
