May 22, 2023: A very small study** from Zambia just found that “high attractiveness (to Malaria mosquitoes) is associated with whole body odor profiles from humans with increased relative abundances of the volatile carboxylic acids butyric acid, isobutryic acid, and isovaleric acid, and the skin microbe-generated methyl ketone acetoin.”
” Conversely, those least preferred had whole body odor that was depleted of carboxylic acids among other compounds and enriched with the monoterpenoid eucalyptol. “
The study found that the mosquitoes were particularly attuned to the oily secretions that hydrate skin and protect it from microbes, inlcuding chemical compounds called carboxylic acids that are produced by microbes in our eccrine glands. Eccrine glands are the microbe-rich, particularly stinky glands that make our feet stink, butt stick, and pit stink.
**Out of the just 7 people in the study, just one individual in the new study was relatively unappealing. That person’s personal signature scent included an unusually low amount of carboxylic acids, along with high levels of eucalyptols. Because eucalyptols are found in many plants, it raises the possibility that diet can play a role,
Other past studies have shown that pregnant women are more likely to attract mosquitoes. … Drinking alcohol attracts mosquitoes. … Using certain kinds of soap, even ones that leave behind a smell dominated by a chemical known to repel mosquitoes, paradoxically increase people’s attractiveness to mosquitoes.
“What really matters to the mosquito is not the most abundant type of chemical, it’s really those chemical interactions and relative abundances,” said Clément Vinauger, an assistant professor of biochemistry at Virginia Tech. He recently tested four commonly used soaps and found that three increased humans’ attractiveness to Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, while one — Native coconut and vanilla body wash — seemed to decrease it, probably because mosquitoes don’t like coconut oil.”
Scientific Context: In practical terms. we each have some unique odors coming from our personal mix of different microbes (bacteria) living in our eccrine glands.
Our eccrine glands are glands in our skin, that produce the unique odors of our feet, in the crack above our butts, behind our ears, in our armpits, and in our groin area. … Example: Notice how the people whose feet stink like European speciatly cheeses, have the same bacteria in their eccrine glands that are used to make the stinky cheeses. 😉
Because carboxylic acids have been proven by 2 studies to play such big roles, then neutralizing the acids, and changing our mix of bacteria in our eccrine glands can (at least temporarily) can change some people’s distinctive personal odors that attract mosquitoes.
IOW … Selectively apply a small amount of baking soda (wetted with a little water) to your stinky spots, to not only neutralize the mosquito attracting carboxylic acids, but to also change our bacterial mix in our eccrine glands. 🙂
Unless you re-seed your eccrine glands with a beneficial mix of microbes whose waste products do not attract mosquitoes, you may have to re-apply the tiny amounts of baking soda every 3 – 5 days, depending on how sweaty you are.
= = = = Finally, YES … Carbon dioxide CO2 wafting downwind in plumes from our breath does play a significan role in attracting mosquitoes at longer distances, and heat sources also play a role as the mosquitoes get close to us (sensing our hot skin), yet it took ALL 3 components (CO2, heat source and body stink) to attract mosquitoes.
May 20, 2023: There are many basic things about Mexican home construction, Mexicab home design, & home maintenance that don’t seem to be documented on the Internet. This article serves as a repository for some of the answers to these issues, that I keep rewriting on expat forums over the years.
ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION:
Re How to Stop Algae from Growing in Your Tinaco & Roof Top PVC Pipes, (especially when you have untreated well water).
One reader opined: “Put a pool puck in your tinaco.“
Our thoughts on this: Realize that the pool or spa tablets can work VERY WELL to release free chlorine, WITH RESERVATIONS – EXCEPTIONS – CAUTIONS:
~ Do NOT just put pool pucks straight into the tinaco – because they dissolve WAY TOO FAST releaseing way too much free chlorine too quickly … Notice how we put just 1 or 2 pool pucks into a SLOW RELEASE floater, to dissolve only very slowly, one puck treating a WHOLE swimming pool.
~ Next, notice that even using the floaters that heavily limit the amount of water flowing past the pool puck – the resulting swimming pool free chlorine concentrations ARE MUCH-MUCH HIGHER than you want continuously in your tinaco & plumbing.
~ The much higher swimming pool free chlorine concentrations from uncontrolled pool pucks damages the metal parts in our faucets, showers & plumbing… plus the extra high chlorine levels chew up the rubber seals in toilets, faucets etc.
~ Notice that pool puck are chemically quite simple … with solid chlorine salts that dissolve to release (disinfecting) free chlorine, along with Cyanuric Acid. The Cyanuric Acid is added to pool pucks to absorb the UV light from sunlight, that destroys free chlorine … (note that there is no Cyanuric Acid in swimming pool chlorine powders).
So … If you must use chlorine pucks … get the SMALL ONES designed for spas & tinacos … and USE A very small FLOATING chlorine dispenser, with only 1 quite-small slot open.
and finally … Don’t drink much of the pool puck water treated water – because the Cyanuric Acid is a little hard on our kidneys.
Cheers,
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Environmental & Public Health, and Laboratory Measurement Science
Another local poster opined: “Just one note, if one has a water softener, one must not add chlorine nor pool pucks because those damage (shorten the life) of the softener’s resin (that’s what the guy said).“
Notice that if your water softener guy was correct, then all of the water softners with resin, across America & Canda would be failing … due to all US & Canadian water districts chlorinating their water., with guaranteed residual-disinfecting levels of free chlorine in USA-Canada tap-water, as it exits or kitchen sink faucets.
Then consider how (above) I wrote about the normal big pool pucks release way too much free chlorine for use inside a tinaco.
Unfortunately, the local “water softener guy” appears to not know about the special VERY SMALL floater-dispensers, that only hold the VERY SMALL spa-tinacao chloro tablets …
and he doesn’t seem to know about how you can adjust that VERY SMALL spa floating chloro dispenser, to have just one tiny slot open. 😉
And yes … He may have designed your system a bit poorly to not anticipate the algae plugging up the water softener’s resin … because well water is almost guaranteed to frequently introduce so much algae into the tinacks here …
Does he have really high quality sediment and algae filters and carbon filters installed before the water softener system – because a good set of filters, with a final GAC (Granular Activated Carbon) filter as the last step for polishing the water REMOVES ALL THE CHLORINE …
So, if your special water system was designed properly, there would be no free chlorine reaching your water softener resin …
= = = =
On to the NEXT issue of … Algae Crud Blocking-Plugging up Valves & Aerators in Mexican Homes:
What’s this?? (a local gringo asked)
It’s a blue green algae ..
Blue green algae spores are floating around all the time here in Yucatan, Tabasco, and Q. Roo.
Unless you maintain reasonable free chlorine levels in your tinaco & pipes … it will return.
If you have PVC tubes on the roof, exposed to the sun, the algae grows into quite hard chunks – and slowly clogs the pipes … and as time goes by, bits – chunks of that roof-top algae garden inside the pipe … break off … and plug up toilet fill valves, and plug up shower mix valves, and other things that can be difficult to clean or replace.
Once the algae is established (as proven by you finding it coming out your faucet), then just running water through the system does basically nothing to stop or clear it.
In our experience, you can hit the water system really hard with heavy chlorine …. and then let that strong chlorine sit in the pipes for an hour … and then apply a pressure washer to a low point in the system … to force gradually increasing pressurized water backwards through the system … opening a port in the plumbing on the roof, for all the accumulated algae to spurt out.
Then, after back-flushing/pressure-washing out the plumbing lines from different key points, then heavily re-chlorinate the system another time …. and then open the taps in bathrooms & kitchen, to flush out the remaining small bits of hard algae residues.
Basically … one has to treat well water about 1 time a week with a ½ cup of bleach per tinaco … to maintain enough chloro in the pipes, to stop new algae growth, as algae spores keep blowing in…
Jan. 26, 2023: As of this week, the USA has a new dominant mutant COVID substrain called Omicron XBB.1.5 … yet another highly contagious strain out of South Africa.
In further COVID news: The CDC just announced that the “bi-valent” vaccines are only just a little over 33% effective against the new dominant substrain of COVID: Omicron XBB.1.5 for people over age 65.
“Based on data collected from Dec. 1 to Jan. 13, researchers found that the updated boosters cut the risk of symptomatic infection by about half for most adults, and by more than one-third for people 65 and older.”
Big Pharma’s e m-RNA booster’s &vaccines’ low levels of protection fits with earlier lab study results that had raised concerns that the bivalent m-RNA vaccines produced lower levels of virus-fighting antibodies against the XBB-related subvariants.
Since even the latest “bivalent” boosters provide only nominal protection (just 33% – 50%), and because prior COVID infections are providing insubstantial protection from the latest mutant-COVID strains, it means that people concerned about long-COVID harm and serious COVID hospitalizations & COVID deaths need to continue to wear tight-fitting N95 quality masks or use 8 ft of social distancing around strangers, especially when indoors.**
**How effective is the bivalent booster against severe outcomes from XBB.1.5?
Because the Omicron XBB.1.5 mutant subvariant is so much better at evading immunity (evading the vaccines), that even after over 5 months data there are NO DATA that show that the updated boosters protect against severe disease, hospitalization and death.
Since the XBB.1.5 subvariant moved into our populations AFTER people were vaccinated with the “bi-valent” m-RNA vaccines, then IF the new vaccines provided protection against severe COVID disease, hospitalization and death, then we should have seen evidence of even a little protection by now – 5 months later.
Because the vaccines & prior COVID infections have shown NO PROTECTION so far, it is proof that the latest mutant COVID substrains have mutated so much in the last 9 months since Big Pharma Pfizer & Moderna designed the current “bivalent” boosters, those boosters basically do not work well ~ providing only minor 33% effective protection ~ practical people need to take additional precautions.
IOW … Because the m-RNA “bi-valent” vaccines are NOT providing substantial protection from the current dominant COVID mutant substrains for people over age 65 … and just 50% protection for others …
… readers should continue to mask-up with N95 grade masks and use 8 ft of Social Distancing around strangers w/o masks, especially indoors.
FORTUNATELY … Yucatan’s COVID CASES ARE AT RELATIVELY LOW LEVELS (less than 400) THIS PAST 3 WEEKS …
* * * * * * * Also note that over 200 COVID strains, substrains & variants have been catalogued so far,
The m-RNA Trap: Sadly the m-RNA vaccines & boosters have the tiny-est viral payloads of any prior vaccines. … Over 200 varieties of COVID viruses point to the folly of trying to rely on vaccines … because each m-RNA vaccine can only target a few subvariants … because m-RNA vaccines have only a TINY VIRAL PAYLOAD ….
Remember that the whiz-bang m-RNA vaccines offer literally just a kiddie-sand-box pail sized payload of viral payload
… when the job actually requires a Terex Titan sized vaccine payload, to include all the current circulating variants & subvariants … meaning the m-RNA vaccines are doomed to providing only minimal- incomplete protection from all the new COVID substrains that will continue to appear:
Attentive readers may have already realized that is is yet another basic-yet-essential fact about m-RNA vaccines & boosters that neither Big Pharma, nor Biden, nor government bureaucrats like Faucci & Wallensky all neglected to report, even though some top scientists reported this, and predicted the built-in problems & likely failures from choosing to use m-RNA as the vehicle for vaccines.
For these exact reasons, (tiny viral payloads and too narrow a selection of SARS protein segments), some scientists, including top virologists, chose to also get vaccinated with broader-spectrum vaccines using the WHOLE SARS-CoV-2 virus, like Sinovac.
And yes, these facts were known & reported in March, 2020 through Dec. 2020, and again in 2021, and again in 2022, even though Faucci, Wallensky, Biden et al said nothing about these troubling realities:
Previous COVID infections supposedly giving protections from Omicron exposed as a myth – anti-vaxxers hoax:
Finally, it has become clear that having a prior COVID infection IS NOT GIVING PROTECTION from Omicron infections, as people who recently had Delta infections ARE GETTING OMICRON infections, too many with NASTY lung thrombosis, hospitalized due to coughing up blood … along with other Omicron patients getting nasty brain, liver, & kidney thrombosis => which are PRIMARY CAUSES of COVID deaths.
So … The whole set of some people’s claims that somehow “COVID ~magically~ might not kill people“, continues to be exposed as a big anti-vaxxer’s, anti-COVID hoax … along with unvaccinated people being the vast majorities of serious injury, hospitalizations and deaths.
Keep wearing tight-fitting medical grade masks & Socially Distancing by 8 ft when masks are off for eating & drinking indoors.
Stay informed … Stay healthy … Stay safe …
Dr. Steven M. Fry Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
A recent post by a foreigner here reported that they were *shocked* to find that their tinaco was secretly overflowing into their pool’s disposal well – wasting 1,000’s of gallons of treated water … and she commented:
“…how were we to know? “
In the domain of pinned posts, here’s another suggestion for a post of some things essential to good living in Mexico. 😉
Living in Mexico is different from the USA or Canada. There are a number of pretty essential tasks that sharp homeowners do here, that never cross the mind of a Canadian or USA-nian homeowner.
Check your tincaco at least 4 times a year (or 6 times a year) to make sure :
~ The lid is on securely.
~ There are no frogs, or roots, or crud growing inside your tinaco.
~ That there are no leaks.
~ That there are no dead birds in the tank.
~ Consider treating the water in your tinaco with ¼ cup of bleach 4 times a year … to disinfect your home’s plumbing.
The last big study found that 25% of Merida homes had bacteriological (fecal coliformes) contamination inside their home”s plumbing … meanwhile 97% of Merida homes tested HAD CLEAN WATER AT THE METER.
= = = =
While you are up on the roof checking the tinaco:
~ Make sure there are no puddles of standing water on your roof.
~ Briefly examine the condition of the impermibilizante – that it is not lifting away from the roof, with leaks, or with water trapped underneath it (slowly wrecking the concrete underneath the impermbilizante).
~ Do a simple examination of the electrical connections to look for junction boxes missing their covers, or exposed electrical connections with their tape baking in the sun.
~ Also take a look at your solar panels(?) and air conditioners to see if they need maintenance or cleaning
~ BE SURE there are no accumulations of leaves or other debris that’s holding water, esp in the corners of the roof.
= = = =
It’s a decent idea to take a peek at your water meter about once a month, to see if you have any hidden leaks … running toilets (leaking at the flush valve in the bottom of the tank – or toilets with bad float valves overflowing water inside the toilet tank) … or for leaks under floors, or inside walls…. If no water is turned on in your home, the meter’s wheel should not be spinning. 😉
= = = =
Every 2 months, review your CFE kWh of electrical usage to see if it makes sense (esp looking at the back of the bill).
Do the calculations to determine if the kWh used makes sense with your daily-weekly use of air conditioners, water purifiers (UV lamp energy pigs) … (pointlessly?) running wasteful ceiling fans 24-7 … pool pumps running more than 1 – 2 hrs a day … irrigation or well pumps running …
If you don’t know how to do those energy kWh usage, then hire a professional home energy auditor to do the job…
= = = =
and also, check your property outside for anything that holds 1 tbsp of water for 7 days … to eliminate standing water that breeds the Dengue-Chikungunya mosquitoes that love clean standing water … treat fountains, flower pot bases, etc with anti-larval pellets.
= = = =
Run a botttle of a good fuel system cleaner (like Chevron Techron) every 4 – 5 tankfuls of gasoline, because the gasoline across Mexico is such poor quality – and your fuel tank, fuel pump, and injectors get so crapped up by poor quality Mexican gasoline.
= = = =
Here’s an Editor’s Addition (after the fact):
Check electronics, and electrical devices, and digital circuit boards, and electrical wiring, and electrical contacts on the pressure sensor switches for hidropneumaticos for … ants.
One species of ants LOVES the toasty warmth of a circuit board that’s always ON, like the control board on an airconditioner … except THIS species of little ants include some nasty blackish-brown goo in their nest constructions – and when they make enough of the black gooy gunk across components on the board, it conducts electricity between components and fries them.
Yet a DIFFERENT species of ants here love the taste of the plastic covering on electric wires, turning the protective covering on electric wires into Swiss cheese, inside our homes electrical outlets and electrical conduit-tubes (which they use as super-highways) … and once they have turned the protective coating on our electrical wires to Swiss cheese, the wires corrode & short out if a homeowner or electrician pull out an outlet – causing wires to touch…
and Yet a THIRD species of ants here LOVES SPARKS … as this variety of Yucatecan ants is attracted to metal electrical contact points that open & close (to turn on & off a pump) … so this species of ants strangely is attracted to the sparking that happens with every opening and closing of the metal points (aka contacts) – and the little bugger climb between the points – and get FRIED … burning their little bodies into charred black goo in the sparks & 10A currents … coating the points with burnt black goo charred offering to their God … ???
In all 3 cases, the organic pesticide H24 white powder BANISHES THEM … as you liberally sprinkle insecticide powder onto the wires & onto all entrance-exit points-paths … aka Better Living Through Chemistry. … and yes, the organic ant powder lasts for years … and NO… DO NOT USE BORIC ACID for this (esp as a conductor of electricity) … Dr. Fry * Chemistry Professor …
= = = =
For Comparison: Centro Architects posted this helpful chart on FaceBook for public use, of their version
Because the ‘latest’ COVID vaccine shots showed no real efficacy at reducing the current Omicron mutant subvariants’ transmission, and no efficacy at reducing the current COVID hospitalizations nor COVID death rates … My virologist wife & I chose to forgo this last round of COVID vaccines …
Context: As scientists, we had each accepted 6 prior jabs of COVID vaccines, because they ALL showed significant efficacy at reducing COVID transmission, and were proven to significantly reduce COVID hospitalizations and deaths.
Yet, because the current COVID vaccines showed NO efficacy at stopping COVID since last August, we chose to not get vaccinated this time.
We are now glad that we followed the science, followed the published data, and skipped this latest problematic set of COVID vaccinations, that are shown to … not work at all … to protect against the current 13 COVID subvariants.
Why has this round of COVID vaccines failed?
Big Pharma Pfizer & Moderna designed their ‘latest’ “bi-valent” vaccines last May, and they did not include the Omicron’s mutant 13 subvariants in the design … Big Pharma chose to focus on only the old, past Omicron BA.4 & BA.5 subvariants – which were long past, (out-of-date), no longer circulating by the time Pfizer & Moderna released their latest vaccines last September.
How to Stay Safe:
N95 or better tight-fitting masks … and 8 ft of Social Distancing … and dilution of COVID’s infectious invisible fine aerosols by fresh air & fans … are still the only proven protections from COVID transmission.
IOW … Faucci, Wallensky’s & Biden’s plans to PUT ALL EGGS into just one basket (vaccines) … worked out just like so many scientists predicted… The vaccines were predicted to only work as long as the SARS virus mutates slowly (a bad assumption) … With this past Summer’s & Fall’s 13 new heavily mutated COVID subvariants, the politicians, Medical Doctors, Big Pharma and bureaucrats at the FDA & CDC have let us all down … again … by ignoring the proven Science. 😦
*sigh*
Get educated … Stay informed … Stay healthy …
Dr. Steven M. Fry Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
= = = = Recent Background Information on Why the Latest COVID Vaccines Are Not Working:
Jan. 3, 2023 Yet more new heavily-mutated COVID Omicron subvariant strains are driving new mutant Omicron COVID waves across the USA, unimpeded by the USA’s failed vaccination strategies.** Omicron XBB.1.5 is now causing 40% of COVID infections across the USA, as the ‘latest’ COVID vaccines fail to work, just like the COVID Vaccines have been failing to work this past 2 months against Omicon BW.1 and Omicron BQ.1 & BQ.1.1 subvariants.
Meanwhile in Yucatan, the Omicron BQ.1, BQ.1.1 subvariants, along with Yucatan’s own surprising new Omicron BW.1 subvariant continue to drive Yucatan’s 6’th COVID Wave.
What must we do to stay safe? Fortunately, the same physical barrier methods proven to work in March, 2020 still work to stop COVID’s spread, as reported here at the very beginnings of the COVID Pandemia: How to Keep Yourself Safe from COVID-19 ~ SARS-CoV-2
** It’s time to go back to the proven methods of COVID protection. con ~ Mask up … with tight-fitting N95 or better masks.
Time to go to 8 ft of Social Distancing when inside with masks off, around people talking …
Alternately, you can use strategically placed fans paired-with 6 ft of social distancing … Strategically placed fans blowing between people give enough dilution to keep people safe from inhaling too many of the invisible infectious aerosols from people talking, because these invisible aerosols float around infectious for 4 – 6 hrs after a person talks, yells, or sings indoors.
Why medical-masks, fans, fresh air & Social Distancing?
Unfortunately, even the latest Big Pharma vaccines do not protect against these (15 total) new heavily-mutated Omicron subvariants … This means that good tight-fitting masks & Social Distancing and sufficient fresh air are the only protective methods that still work.
Note that Cloth masks are proven to need at least 12 layers to equal one N95 grade mask.
Curiously, our Yucatan Department of Health has stopped reporting COVID cases, yet Johns Hopkins Univ. and the CDC and local Yucatecan physicians & UNAM researchers are all reporting that … WE ARE ALREADY IN A NEW COVID WAVE here …
“The swift growth of the Omicron BW.1 SARS-CoV-2 variant coincides with a new rapid increase of COVID-19 cases occurring in Southeast Mexico in October, 2022 … putting an END to a period of low transmission after Mexico’s fifth epidemiological wave. Up to 75% of weekly sequenced genomes in the region have been identified as BW.1. “
“BW.1 appears to have arisen in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico sometime around July 2022 during the fifth COVID-19 wave. Its explosive growth may be in part explained by relevant escape mutations also found in BQ.1.“
* * * * * * Are all these new mutant COVID subvariants … the new norm?
I believe they are ‘A’ new normal … but it is not necessarily THE new norm.
Consider the links in the COVID mutation-transmission chain:
~ Not masking results in LOTS of people with COVID…
~ LOTs of people with COVID is proven to create NEW MUTATIONS …
because new nasty mutations of the SARS virus are proven to come from too many people with COVID.
~ With 13 new heavily mutated COVID SARS subvariants currently circulating around the USA & Mexico, unfortunately, Big Pharma’s “newest” vaccines are out-of-date, providing no proven protection from all the new mutant forms.
~ If everyone masked up with tight-fitting N95 masks (or better) and Socially Distanced, we could have so few people with COVID that the new mutations would be shut down … or at least we’d have far fewer mutant SARS variants appearing.
~ NOTICE THAT THIS NEW Omicron BW.1 came (originated) from too many YUCATECANS who got COVID from not being appropriately N95 masked nor sufficiently Socially Distanced.
Choose proven science … Choose proven facts …
or … muddle through with yet more fresh future waves of new COVID mutant subvariants
… because getting COVID one time GIVES ZERO PROTECTION from getting it again from the new mutant forms.
Tight fitting N95 masks … Socially Distancing by 8 ft when indoors
… and using fans or fresh air to dilute out invisible fine aerosols from people talking … are the scientifically proven keys to establishing a NEW new norm.
Get educated .. Take reasonable precautions …
… Stay healthy … Stay safe …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Public Health & Environment and Laboratory Measurement Science
* * * * * * * Background: The CDC announced this on Nov. 22’nd that COVID is surging in the USA, with the relatively new OMICRON BQ.1 and OMICRON BQ.1.1 subvariants causing 57% of new COVID cases nationwide. This is really significant (as described below), because NONE of the COVID vaccines are working to stop the spread of BQ.1 nor BQ1.1. … These 2 new Omicron subvariants have exploded onto the scene this past month because they are 4X times to 7X time more transmissable than the previous Omicron COVID variants, which were 2X to 4X times more transmissable than the previous Delta COVID.
So … All the past talk of COVID mutating to supposedly less harmful & supposedly less virulent strains turns out to just be HOT AIR … as the latest OMICRON BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants have enough new virulent mutations that even the most recent “new” vaccines do NOT WORK … not reducing transmission rates … so the vacciones ARE NOT reducing serious COVID disease … ARE NOT reducing hospitaliztions … nor reducing deaths.
Nov. 4, 2022 Latest COVID News from the USA: The new Omicron BQ.1 & Omicron BQ.1.1 subvarients are “poised to become dominant” this winter.
CDC has been tracking the spread of 12 different new COVID subvariants viruses these past 2 months, and they announced this morning that two (2) of them are starting small outbreaks around the USA the last two weeks, as we begin to spend more time inside due to cooler temperatures.
Because these 2 new COVID subvariants “appear to be 2X times to 7X times more immune evasive than the BA.5 subvariant“, “it’s likely that people who have been vacinated or had a prior COVID infection will still get infected by these 2 new subvariants“.**
Vaccine Effects: Doctors hope that the latest ‘Bivalent’ COVID vaccine booster will help give some protection against COVID hospitalizations & death, but there is no evidence of this for Omichron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.
**As such, the 2 best proven ways to not get the 2 new COVID subvariants is to wear a tight fitting N95 grade or better mask, or maintain 8 ft of Social Distancing when in indoor spaces.
These 2 new COVID subvariants are primarily transmitted by people talking, emitting 1000’s of invisible fine aerosols that continue to float around infectious in indoor spaces for 4 – 6 hours after the infected person was talking, unless there is a lot of air turnover to dilute the invisible aerosols to safe levels.
The wrong mask to wear ** … Use only N95 or better masks.
Ongoing Scientific Factual Conclusions: Except for protection by wearing tight-fitting masks & Socially Distancing, unfortunately Omicron COVID is rewriting most of what non-scientist Medical Doctors have been telling people the past 2 years. Example: Many so-called ‘experts’ previously told us that COVID would supposedly mutate to milder & milder, supposedly less contagious strains. This has proven to be absolutely false … again.
‘Expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) also mistakenly told us that having a prior infection would protect us, which has proven to be absolutely false, especially with the most recent Omicron BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.5 and now BQ2.1 & BQ2.1.1.
**Remember that ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) told us to “Wash your hands & use hand sanitizer“, actions which provide and provided absolutely no protection from COVID, because COVID is only transmitted by inhaling invisible fine aerosols from people talking or singing.
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) mistakenly told us to “Wear your cloth masks.” for 2 full years from July 2020 – July 2022, even though the last 40 yrs of scientific testing shows that cloth masks leak horribly, providing almost no protection from inhaled viruses.
The ‘expert’ non-scientist Medical Doctors unfortunately ignored that it is proven that it takes at least 12 layers of cloth to equal just one layer of N95 material … And yes, Medical Doctors ignored all these known proven facts on these things, even though they were published in the first month of COVID back in March, 2020:
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) told us to “Disinfect EVERYTHING” back in 2020 … which provides absolutely no protection from COVID, because the only way to stop COVID transmissions is to inhale no COVID aerosols, or to inhale only very small amounts COVID’s highly-infectious invisible fine aerosols.
Because COVID’s invisible fine aerosols persist indoors by floating around infectious for 4 to 6 HOURS AFTER a COVID infected person talks, sings, or wheezes, then either fine high quality tight masks, or diluting out the aerosols by Social Distancing, breezes or fans are the only real solutions to not getting infected.
* * * * * * *
Get educated … Stay informed … Stay healthy …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
Jan. 6, 2022: As we watch expat Message Boards & FB Groups, posts from people seeking a Spanish teacher, keep popping year after year, which leaves me wondering about how much Spanish language do typical Americans & Canadians already know, without realizing it.
People asking for Spanish teachers could consider a few simple “first Spanish lessons” at home, before going to class. … A solid first step is to recognize all the Latin-Spanish based words that you already know from English, as different from all the Teutonic-Germanic based words you know in English.
Once you jump that hurdle, you can recognize that you likely already have a HUGE Spanish vocabulary. When asking questions in Spanish, simply insert the (elegant, multisyllabic) Latin based word that you already know from English … and “Spanglicize” it … saying it in your best ersatz-Spanish accent, along with adding Spanish emphases on the correct syllables…
e.g. Would you say …. underground or subterranean ? Obviously subterranean – So… Spanglicize subterranean to … subterráneo … Soob-tear-RAH-nee-o
Take … “chocolate” … and Spanglicize to “choe-coe-LAH-tay”
… Note that all Spanish “o” sounds are long-o’s, like in Row Boat. … aka Quintana Row .. no Roo’s.
Take … “brutal” … and Spanglicize to “bru-TAL”
Take … “actor” … and Spanglicize to “ac-TOR”
Take “base” … and Spanglicize to “BAH-se”
Take “regional” … and Spanglicize to “REH-heeo-nal”
Seriously, if you can learn to Spanglicize all the elegant English words that have Latin-Roots … you then know at least 1000 words in Spanish … as COGNATES … as in conocer ..
Next Lesson: Be really cautious with Spanish words beginning with “A” … and expect to use some mental energy to learn them.
Just like English is a seaweed-tangled-mix of Germanic & Latin languages … Spanish is a mix of Arab & Latin words, and yes … Arab is “Arabe” ~ AHR-ah-beh ~ in Spanish. … Because Spain is a relatively new country (1492), the roots of Spain being Arabic run deep, because much of the Iberian Peninsula was Arab for over 500 years (750 – 1300)… so there are LOTS of Ah-words in Spanish …
So, don’t get frustrated when using English-cognates doesn’t work, because all those ‘palabras Arabes’ are just a little sweetness (like azúcar) that force us to grow some new brain cells … in our impending dotage (“ancianidad” – becoming ancient) …
= = = =
Next Lesson: After you master the Cognates … then pay a little attention to the FALSE Cognates …
Embarazada sounds like “embarrassed”, yet if you say:
… Yo soy embarazada …
You just announced to everyone: I am PREGNANT!
So, using the approach of trying English cognates in place of Spanish lead to lots of HILARITY !
Final Lesson: Don’t be afraid to babble like a 3 yr old. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes …
Mistakes are just opportunities to laugh at yourself, and to laugh with others !
If you don’t take some risks, you’ll wind up like our 50 or so gringo-friends who have taken over 10 years of Spanish lessons, but still can’t speak Spanish when out in public – as their brains just lock*up in fear.
X’Mexil*: A little village on the way to Valladolid that specializes in making-forging steel tools … where you can watch them hand-forge steel into axes, hatchets, machetes, etc. *X’Mexil: Go to Yokdzonot (west of Chichen on the Libre), turn south to the tourist cenote they have there and keep going until the road ends.
plus … Ticul for superb ceramics and for shoes …
plus … Temozón for superb wood furniture AND FABULOUS cured hams and bacons …
plus … Okutzcab for honey & great citrus fruits…
plus … Santa Helena for honey …
plus … Dzitya for artistic stone-work, stone-statues, etc
plus … Muna for the best in classic Maya ceramics & museum quality art pieces => by the families of Patricia Martin & Rodrigo Martin … 😉
plus Bekal … (Campeche) … for superb ‘Panama’ hats !
and …. ___________ (fill in the blank) … or post a comment below, with your Go-To place!
Jan. 3, 2022 Yet more new heavily-mutated COVID Omicron subvariant strains are driving new mutant Omicron COVID waves across the USA, unimpeded by the USA’s failed vaccination strategies.** Omicron XBB.1.5 is now causing 40% of COVID infections across the USA, as the ‘latest’ COVID vaccines fail to work, just like the COVID Vaccines have been failing to work this past 2 months against Omicon BW.1 and Omicron BQ.1 & BQ.1.1 subvariants.
Meanwhile in Yucatan, the Omicron BQ.1, BQ.1.1 subvariants, along with Yucatan’s own surprising new Omicron BW.1 subvariant continue to drive Yucatan’s 6’th COVID Wave.
What must we do to stay safe? Fortunately, the same physical barrier methods proven to work in March, 2020 still work to stop COVID’s spread, as reported here at the very beginnings of the COVID Pandemia: How to Keep Yourself Safe from COVID-19 ~ SARS-CoV-2
** It’s time to go back to the proven methods of COVID protection. con ~ Mask up … with tight-fitting N95 or better masks.
Time to go to 8 ft of Social Distancing when inside with masks off, around people talking …
Alternately, you can use strategically placed fans paired-with 6 ft of social distancing … Strategically placed fans blowing between people give enough dilution to keep people safe from inhaling too many of the invisible infectious aerosols from people talking, because these invisible aerosols float around infectious for 4 – 6 hrs after a person talks, yells, or sings indoors.
Why medical-masks, fans, fresh air & Social Distancing?
Unfortunately, even the latest Big Pharma vaccines do not protect against these (15 total) new heavily-mutated Omicron subvariants … This means that good tight-fitting masks & Social Distancing and sufficient fresh air are the only protective methods that still work.
Note that Cloth masks are proven to need at least 12 layers to equal one N95 grade mask.
Curiously, our Yucatan Department of Health has stopped reporting COVID cases, yet Johns Hopkins Univ. and the CDC and local Yucatecan physicians & UNAM researchers are all reporting that … WE ARE ALREADY IN A NEW COVID WAVE here …
“The swift growth of the Omicron BW.1 SARS-CoV-2 variant coincides with a new rapid increase of COVID-19 cases occurring in Southeast Mexico in October, 2022 … putting an END to a period of low transmission after Mexico’s fifth epidemiological wave. Up to 75% of weekly sequenced genomes in the region have been identified as BW.1. “
“BW.1 appears to have arisen in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico sometime around July 2022 during the fifth COVID-19 wave. Its explosive growth may be in part explained by relevant escape mutations also found in BQ.1.“
* * * * * * Are all these new mutant COVID subvariants … the new norm?
I believe they are ‘A’ new normal … but it is not necessarily THE new norm.
Consider the links in the COVID mutation-transmission chain:
~ Not masking results in LOTS of people with COVID…
~ LOTs of people with COVID is proven to create NEW MUTATIONS …
because new nasty mutations of the SARS virus are proven to come from too many people with COVID.
~ With 13 new heavily mutated COVID SARS subvariants currently circulating around the USA & Mexico, unfortunately, Big Pharma’s “newest” vaccines are out-of-date, providing no proven protection from all the new mutant forms.
~ If everyone masked up with tight-fitting N95 masks (or better) and Socially Distanced, we could have so few people with COVID that the new mutations would be shut down … or at least we’d have far fewer mutant SARS variants appearing.
~ NOTICE THAT THIS NEW Omicron BW.1 came (originated) from too many YUCATECANS who got COVID from not being appropriately N95 masked nor sufficiently Socially Distanced.
Choose proven science … Choose proven facts …
or … muddle through with yet more fresh future waves of new COVID mutant subvariants
… because getting COVID one time GIVES ZERO PROTECTION from getting it again from the new mutant forms.
Tight fitting N95 masks … Socially Distancing by 8 ft when indoors
… and using fans or fresh air to dilute out invisible fine aerosols from people talking … are the scientifically proven keys to establishing a NEW new norm.
Get educated .. Take reasonable precautions …
… Stay healthy … Stay safe …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Public Health & Environment and Laboratory Measurement Science
* * * * * * * Background: The CDC announced this on Nov. 22’nd that COVID is surging in the USA, with the relatively new OMICRON BQ.1 and OMICRON BQ.1.1 subvariants causing 57% of new COVID cases nationwide. This is really significant (as described below), because NONE of the COVID vaccines are working to stop the spread of BQ.1 nor BQ1.1. … These 2 new Omicron subvariants have exploded onto the scene this past month because they are 4X times to 7X time more transmissable than the previous Omicron COVID variants, which were 2X to 4X times more transmissable than the previous Delta COVID.
So … All the past talk of COVID mutating to supposedly less harmful & supposedly less virulent strains turns out to just be HOT AIR … as the latest OMICRON BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants have enough new virulent mutations that even the most recent “new” vaccines do NOT WORK … not reducing transmission rates … so the vacciones ARE NOT reducing serious COVID disease … ARE NOT reducing hospitaliztions … nor reducing deaths.
Nov. 4 Latest COVID News from the USA: The new Omicron BQ.1 & Omicron BQ.1.1 subvarients are “poised to become dominant” this winter.
CDC has been tracking the spread of 12 different new COVID subvariants viruses these past 2 months, and they announced this morning that two (2) of them are starting small outbreaks around the USA the last two weeks, as we begin to spend more time inside due to cooler temperatures.
Because these 2 new COVID subvariants “appear to be 2X times to 7X times more immune evasive than the BA.5 subvariant“, “it’s likely that people who have been vacinated or had a prior COVID infection will still get infected by these 2 new subvariants“.**
Vaccine Effects: Doctors hope that the latest ‘Bivalent’ COVID vaccine booster will help give some protection against COVID hospitalizations & death, but there is no evidence of this for Omichron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.
**As such, the 2 best proven ways to not get the 2 new COVID subvariants is to wear a tight fitting N95 grade or better mask, or maintain 8 ft of Social Distancing when in indoor spaces.
These 2 new COVID subvariants are primarily transmitted by people talking, emitting 1000’s of invisible fine aerosols that continue to float around infectious in indoor spaces for 4 – 6 hours after the infected person was talking, unless there is a lot of air turnover to dilute the invisible aerosols to safe levels.
The wrong mask to wear ** … Use only N95 or better masks.
Ongoing Scientific Factual Conclusions: Except for protection by wearing tight-fitting masks & Socially Distancing, unfortunately Omicron COVID is rewriting most of what non-scientist Medical Doctors have been telling people the past 2 years. Example: Many so-called ‘experts’ previously told us that COVID would supposedly mutate to milder & milder, supposedly less contagious strains. This has proven to be absolutely false … again.
‘Expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) also mistakenly told us that having a prior infection would protect us, which has proven to be absolutely false, especially with the most recent Omicron BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.5 and now BQ2.1 & BQ2.1.1.
**Remember that ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) told us to “Wash your hands & use hand sanitizer“, actions which provide and provided absolutely no protection from COVID, because COVID is only transmitted by inhaling invisible fine aerosols from people talking or singing.
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) mistakenly told us to “Wear your cloth masks.” for 2 full years from July 2020 – July 2022, even though the last 40 yrs of scientific testing shows that cloth masks leak horribly, providing almost no protection from inhaled viruses.
The ‘expert’ non-scientist Medical Doctors unfortunately ignored that it is proven that it takes at least 12 layers of cloth to equal just one layer of N95 material … And yes, Medical Doctors ignored all these known proven facts on these things, even though they were published in the first month of COVID back in March, 2020:
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) told us to “Disinfect EVERYTHING” back in 2020 … which provides absolutely no protection from COVID, because the only way to stop COVID transmissions is to inhale no COVID aerosols, or to inhale only very small amounts COVID’s highly-infectious invisible fine aerosols.
Because COVID’s invisible fine aerosols persist indoors by floating around infectious for 4 to 6 HOURS AFTER a COVID infected person talks, sings, or wheezes, then either fine high quality tight masks, or diluting out the aerosols by Social Distancing, breezes or fans are the only real solutions to not getting infected.
* * * * * * *
Get educated … Stay informed … Stay healthy …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
December 27, 2022 UPDATE:
Rather than the previous minimum 6 legally required paid-vacation days off work for Mexican workers, it’s now a minimum of 12 “continuous”** total paid-vacation days off work for all employees in 2023.
D.O.F. 12/26/2022 (Diario Official de la Federacion)
**Notice that if both the worker & employer mutually agree, the 12 days of vacation do not have to be taken consecutively.
Dec. 3, 2022 New heavily-mutated COVID subvariant strains are now driving a new 6’th COVID Wave in Yucatan, including the Omicron BQ.1, BQ.1.1 subvariants, along with Yucatan’s own surprising new Omicron BW.1 subvariant … all & all of which even the latest newest COVID vaccines are providing no proven protections.
The new heavily mutated Omicron BW.1 (commonly called Xibalbá ~ “the Mayan underworld”) NOW PREDOMINATES in the southeast of the Mexico … aka Yucatan … according to the analysis of researcher Rodrigo García López, from the Institute of Biotechnology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Time to go back to the proven methods of COVID protection. ~ Mask up … with tight-fitting N95 or better masks.
Time to go to 8 ft of Social Distancing when inside with masks off, around people talking …
Alternately, you can use strategically placed fans paired-with 6 ft of social distancing … Strategically placed fans blowing between people give enough dilution to keep people safe from inhaling too many of the invisible infectious aerosols from people talking, because these invisible aerosols float around infectious for 4 – 6 hrs after a person talks, yells, or sings indoors.
Why medical-masks, fans, fresh air & Social Distancing?
Unfortunately, even the latest Big Pharma vaccines do not protect against these (13 total) new heavily-mutated Omicron subvariants … This means that good tight-fitting masks & Social Distancing and sufficient fresh air are the only protective methods that still work.
Note that Cloth masks are proven to need at least 12 layers to equal one N95 grade mask.
Curiously, our Yucatan Department of Health has stopped reporting COVID cases, yet Johns Hopkins Univ. and the CDC and local Yucatecan physicians & UNAM researchers are all reporting that … WE ARE ALREADY IN A NEW COVID WAVE here …
“The swift growth of the Omicron BW.1 SARS-CoV-2 variant coincides with a new rapid increase of COVID-19 cases occurring in Southeast Mexico in October, 2022 … putting an END to a period of low transmission after Mexico’s fifth epidemiological wave. Up to 75% of weekly sequenced genomes in the region have been identified as BW.1. “
“BW.1 appears to have arisen in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico sometime around July 2022 during the fifth COVID-19 wave. Its explosive growth may be in part explained by relevant escape mutations also found in BQ.1.“
Here are more scientific details that describe Omicron BW.1’s mutations that cause the vaccines to not work, mutations that allow Omicron BW.1 to evade the “latest” vaccines from Pfizer & Moderna … because the Pfizer & Moderna vaccines were designed in May, 2022, too long before the latest mutant Omicron strains appeared … meaning the new mutant Omicron strains are evolving faster than Big Pharma’s doctors can make new vaccines.
* * * * * * Are all these new mutant COVID subvariants … the new norm?
I believe they are ‘A’ new normal … but it is not necessarily THE new norm.
Consider the links in the COVID mutation-transmission chain:
~ Not masking results in LOTS of people with COVID…
~ LOTs of people with COVID is proven to create NEW MUTATIONS …
because new nasty mutations of the SARS virus are proven to come from too many people with COVID.
~ With 13 new heavily mutated COVID SARS subvariants currently circulating around the USA & Mexico, unfortunately, Big Pharma’s “newest” vaccines are out-of-date, providing no proven protection from all the new mutant forms.
~ If everyone masked up with tight-fitting N95 masks (or better) and Socially Distanced, we could have so few people with COVID that the new mutations would be shut down … or at least we’d have far fewer mutant SARS variants appearing.
~ NOTICE THAT THIS NEW Omicron BW.1 came (originated) from too many YUCATECANS who got COVID from not being appropriately N95 masked nor sufficiently Socially Distanced.
Choose proven science … Choose proven facts …
or … muddle through with yet more fresh future waves of new COVID mutant subvariants
… because getting COVID one time GIVES ZERO PROTECTION from getting it again from the new mutant forms.
Tight fitting N95 masks … Socially Distancing by 8 ft when indoors
… and using fans or fresh air to dilute out invisible fine aerosols from people talking … are the scientifically proven keys to establishing a NEW new norm.
Get educated .. Take reasonable precautions …
… Stay healthy … Stay safe …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Public Health & Environment and Laboratory Measurement Science
* * * * * * * Background: The CDC announced this on Nov. 22’nd that COVID is surging in the USA, with the relatively new OMICRON BQ.1 and OMICRON BQ.1.1 subvariants causing 57% of new COVID cases nationwide. This is really significant (as described below), because NONE of the COVID vaccines are working to stop the spread of BQ.1 nor BQ1.1. … These 2 new Omicron subvariants have exploded onto the scene this past month because they are 4X times to 7X time more transmissable than the previous Omicron COVID variants, which were 2X to 4X times more transmissable than the previous Delta COVID.
So … All the past talk of COVID mutating to supposedly less harmful & supposedly less virulent strains turns out to just be HOT AIR … as the latest OMICRON BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants have enough new virulent mutations that even the most recent “new” vaccines do NOT WORK … not reducing transmission rates … so the vacciones ARE NOT reducing serious COVID disease … ARE NOT reducing hospitaliztions … nor reducing deaths.
Nov. 4 Latest COVID News from the USA: The new Omicron BQ.1 & Omicron BQ.1.1 subvarients are “poised to become dominant” this winter.
CDC has been tracking the spread of 12 different new COVID subvariants viruses these past 2 months, and they announced this morning that two (2) of them are starting small outbreaks around the USA the last two weeks, as we begin to spend more time inside due to cooler temperatures.
Because these 2 new COVID subvariants “appear to be 2X times to 7X times more immune evasive than the BA.5 subvariant“, “it’s likely that people who have been vacinated or had a prior COVID infection will still get infected by these 2 new subvariants“.**
Vaccine Effects: Doctors hope that the latest ‘Bivalent’ COVID vaccine booster will help give some protection against COVID hospitalizations & death, but there is no evidence of this for Omichron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.
**As such, the 2 best proven ways to not get the 2 new COVID subvariants is to wear a tight fitting N95 grade or better mask, or maintain 8 ft of Social Distancing when in indoor spaces.
These 2 new COVID subvariants are primarily transmitted by people talking, emitting 1000’s of invisible fine aerosols that continue to float around infectious in indoor spaces for 4 – 6 hours after the infected person was talking, unless there is a lot of air turnover to dilute the invisible aerosols to safe levels.
The wrong mask to wear ** … Use only N95 or better masks.
Ongoing Scientific Factual Conclusions: Except for protection by wearing tight-fitting masks & Socially Distancing, unfortunately Omicron COVID is rewriting most of what non-scientist Medical Doctors have been telling people the past 2 years. Example: Many so-called ‘experts’ previously told us that COVID would supposedly mutate to milder & milder, supposedly less contagious strains. This has proven to be absolutely false … again.
‘Expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) also mistakenly told us that having a prior infection would protect us, which has proven to be absolutely false, especially with the most recent Omicron BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.5 and now BQ2.1 & BQ2.1.1.
**Remember that ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) told us to “Wash your hands & use hand sanitizer“, actions which provide and provided absolutely no protection from COVID, because COVID is only transmitted by inhaling invisible fine aerosols from people talking or singing.
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) mistakenly told us to “Wear your cloth masks.” for 2 full years from July 2020 – July 2022, even though the last 40 yrs of scientific testing shows that cloth masks leak horribly, providing almost no protection from inhaled viruses.
The ‘expert’ non-scientist Medical Doctors unfortunately ignored that it is proven that it takes at least 12 layers of cloth to equal just one layer of N95 material … And yes, Medical Doctors ignored all these known proven facts on these things, even though they were published in the first month of COVID back in March, 2020:
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) told us to “Disinfect EVERYTHING” back in 2020 … which provides absolutely no protection from COVID, because the only way to stop COVID transmissions is to inhale no COVID aerosols, or to inhale only very small amounts COVID’s highly-infectious invisible fine aerosols.
Because COVID’s invisible fine aerosols persist indoors by floating around infectious for 4 to 6 HOURS AFTER a COVID infected person talks, sings, or wheezes, then either fine high quality tight masks, or diluting out the aerosols by Social Distancing, breezes or fans are the only real solutions to not getting infected.
* * * * * * *
Get educated … Stay informed … Stay healthy …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
Nov. 27, 2022 UPDATE The CDC announced this weekend that COVID is surging in the USA, with the relatively new OMICRON BQ.1 and OMICRON BQ.1.1 subvariants causing 57% of new COVID cases nationwide. This is really significant (as described below), because NONE of the COVID vaccines are working to stop the spread of BQ.1 nor BQ1.1. … These 2 new Omicron subvariants have exploded onto the scene this past month because they are 4X times to 7X time more transmissable than the previous Omicron COVID variants, which were 2X to 4X times more transmissable than the previous Delta COVID.
So … All the past talk of COVID mutating to supposedly less harmful & supposedly less virulent strains turns out to just be HOT AIR … as the latest OMICRON BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants have enough new virulent mutations that even the most recent “new” vaccines do NOT WORK … not reducing transmission rates … so the vacciones ARE NOT reducing serious COVID disease … ARE NOT reducing hospitaliztions … nor reducing deaths.
Nov. 4 Latest COVID News: The new Omicron BQ.1 & Omicron BQ.1.1 subvarients are “poised to become dominant” this winter.
CDC has been tracking the spread of 12 different new COVID subvariants viruses these past 2 months, and they announced this morning that two (2) of them are starting small outbreaks around the USA the last two weeks, as we begin to spend more time inside due to cooler temperatures.
Because these 2 new COVID subvariants “appear to be 2X times to 7X times more immune evasive than the BA.5 subvariant“, “it’s likely that people who have been vacinated or had a prior COVID infection will still get infected by these 2 new subvariants“.**
Vaccine Effects: Doctors hope that the latest ‘Bivalent’ COVID vaccine booster will help give some protection against COVID hospitalizations & death, but there is no evidence of this for Omichron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.
**As such, the 2 best proven ways to not get the 2 new COVID subvariants is to wear a tight fitting N95 grade or better mask, or maintain 8 ft of Social Distancing when in indoor spaces.
These 2 new COVID subvariants are primarily transmitted by people talking, emitting 1000’s of invisible fine aerosols that continue to float around infectious in indoor spaces for 4 – 6 hours after the infected person was talking, unless there is a lot of air turnover to dilute the invisible aerosols to safe levels.
The wrong mask to wear ** … Use only N95 or better masks.
Ongoing Scientific Factual Conclusions: Except for protection by wearing tight-fitting masks & Socially Distancing, unfortunately Omicron COVID is rewriting most of what non-scientist Medical Doctors have been telling people the past 2 years. Example: Many so-called ‘experts’ previously told us that COVID would supposedly mutate to milder & milder, supposedly less contagious strains. This has proven to be absolutely false … again.
‘Expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) also mistakenly told us that having a prior infection would protect us, which has proven to be absolutely false, especially with the most recent Omicron BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.5 and now BQ2.1 & BQ2.1.1.
**Remember that ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) told us to “Wash your hands & use hand sanitizer“, actions which provide and provided absolutely no protection from COVID, because COVID is only transmitted by inhaling invisible fine aerosols from people talking or singing.
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) mistakenly told us to “Wear your cloth masks.” for 2 full years from July 2020 – July 2022, even though the last 40 yrs of scientific testing shows that cloth masks leak horribly, providing almost no protection from inhaled viruses.
The ‘expert’ non-scientist Medical Doctors unfortunately ignored that it is proven that it takes at least 12 layers of cloth to equal just one layer of N95 material … And yes, Medical Doctors ignored all these known proven facts on these things, even though they were published in the first month of COVID back in March, 2020:
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) told us to “Disinfect EVERYTHING” back in 2020 … which provides absolutely no protection from COVID, because the only way to stop COVID transmissions is to inhale no COVID aerosols, or to inhale only very small amounts COVID’s highly-infectious invisible fine aerosols.
Because COVID’s invisible fine aerosols persist indoors by floating around infectious for 4 to 6 HOURS AFTER a COVID infected person talks, sings, or wheezes, then either fine high quality tight masks, or diluting out the aerosols by Social Distancing, breezes or fans are the only real solutions to not getting infected.
* * * * * * *
Get educated … Stay informed … Stay healthy …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
Coming to a clinic near you, this Fall or Winter … COVID boosters designed to stop Omicron BA.5 !
August 19, 2022: Generally, the US Social Security system requires all people living abroad*, receiving Social Security benefits, to file a form SSA–7162 every year, but those policies have been offficially suspended this past 2 years due to COVID issues with overseas mailing. It’s a simple form that certifies our current address, and certifies that the SS benefits recipient is still alive.
*Who is required to file? All people receiving Social Security benefits, who have foreign addresses registered with the SSA. It does not matter if your check is deposited in the USA or to a foreign bank account, because it’s all about the mailing address you have on file with the SSA.
*2022 Updates: The SSA typically mails the forms out in May each year, with a 60 day due date for returning the form after the day your receive it … Yet the program was suspended due to COVID mailing problems, and this year, the notices were not sent out until June 2022, A follow up notice is sent in October and December if the completed questionnaire has not been received.
print a copy, complete the form, and mail it back to the USA using registered Mexican mail, to:
Social Security Administration P.O. Box 7162 Wikes Barre PA 18767-7162 USA
SSA Official Due Dates for Filing in 2022: Per the SSA: “The Social Security Administration will resume mailing the forms SSA-7161 and SSA-7162 in late June 2022.”
~ We personally received our SSA 2022 notices with our form SSA-7162’s on July 17, 2022 here in Merida, Yucatan … and DESPITE WHAT SOME INTERNET POSTERS SAY, the form clear says:
“Then, complete your report and return it to the Social Security Administration, P.O. Box 7162, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 18767-7162, U.S.A. in the enclosed envelope within 60 days from the day you receive it. “
Why explain all of this? There are a number of official sounding reports & posts on expat social-media forums claiming that we must file the forms every May, or supposedly risk losing our benefits.
Fortunately, the SSA’s official announcements clearly explain the actual US Govt. policies.
August 16, 2022: If your Yucatan license plate has a green stripe and a pyramid at the top, it’s high-time to get new plates.
Expired Yucatan Plate from 2021
If your plate looks like the plate above, the Yucatan police have already “temporarily arrested” (temporarily detained & fined) over 3,200 drivers for driving on expired plates like these with the pyramid.
Per this morning’s Diario de Yucatan report (amd Google Translate): “As of September 1OCTOBER 1, any car, bus, truck, motorcycle or trailer that circulates with expired license plates will be subject to an infraction and will be transferred to the corralón based on the current Traffic Law.
For this reason, the state police personnel, located at the speed, breathalyzer and security checkpoints , will continue to hold for a few moments the vehicles that circulate with expired license plates to make the exhortation to their drivers.”
Per this week’s new changes (Aug 30) as of OCTOBER 1, any car, bus, truck, motorcycle or trailer that circulates with expired license plates will be subject to an infraction and will be transferred to the corralón based on the current Traffic Law.
Diario de Yucatan, Aug. 16, 2022 “MÉRIDA.- The Ministry of Public Security (SSP) reports that it has made more than 3,200 temporary arrests to drivers of vehicles circulating with expired license plates, this in order to urge them to comply with the 2022 replacement process, which expires next August 31 next .
The SSP in Yucatan reiterates to the public that the operation will continue to invite the guides to exchange plates, since the police corporation previously warned that there will be no more extensions. As of September 1, OCTOBER 1 any car, bus, truck, motorcycle or trailer that circulates with expired license plates will be subject to an infraction and will be transferred to the corralón based on the current Traffic Law .
For this reason, the state police personnel, located at the speed, breathalyzer, polarized and security checkpoints , will continue to hold for a few moments the vehicles that circulate with expired license plates to make the exhortation to their drivers…. “
IF however your plate does not have a green stripe & pyramid at the top, looking like the plate below, then your plate is good until at least Dec. 31, 2022:
Yucatan Plate that is valid for 2022
The process for getting new Yucatan plates can be renewed in person at SSP modules – requiring 3 hrs to 6 hrs of waiting in line …. or go online at the SSP website, including paying with a credit card at OXXO, and then getting a special appointment to go to the State of Yucatan’s new modulo on the North West corner of Siglo X. These special appointments for people who are prepaid and pre-approved are sailing through the onsite-process and walking out with new plates in less than 15 minutes onsite … or you can go to the SSP office behind Costco in Merida – who send you to the Siglo XXI … going through a process that takes 4 – 5 hrs of waiting (behind the online pre-approved people who prepaid)
Also note that past SSP procedures have been altered due to COVID: Vehicles with 2020 plates, now officially they expire on December 31, 2022, yet we can extend the expiration date to December 2024, as long as we file for the 2023 and 2024 extensions, NOW.
August 15, 2022 COVID Update: We are now back to just under 500 new COVID cases in Yucatan State. This likely means it’s safe to get back to ordinary life when out of doors, yet wearing masks when indoors with strangers.
* * * * * * *
Get educated … Stay informed … Stay healthy …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
July 29, 2022 COVID Updates: It has been a very busy past 3 days in COVID scientific news reporting, with no less than 5 critical updates. Summary:
~ As many as 1 in 5 Americans are now experiencing long COVID, as even asymptomatic COVID patients and COVID patients with only mild symptoms are experiencing troubling levels of long COVID problems.
~ The FDA & CDC have cancelled this summer’s COVID booster campaigns, asking people under age 60 to instead wait until this Fall’s anticipated release of new COVID vaccines that are targeted to work on Omicron BA.5
~ The US Govt just announced it is buying 66 million doses of Moderna’s new “Bivalent COVID-19 Booster”, that targets Omicron BA.5. Moderna’s “Bivalent” COVID booster is now scheduled to come out this Fall.
~ Because so many 10’s of millions of Americans are experiencing long COVID symptoms, CDC & FDA and top independent epidemiologists are saying that taking anti-viral drugs even with mild COVID infections may be the best option for stopping long COVID.
~ Because neither the vaccines nor the boosters are working well to stop BA.5 & BA.6 transmissions, the best solutions right now are wearing tight-fitting medical-grade N95 masks (or better) & Socially Distancing by at least 8 ft when eating and drinking with masks off.
Yucatan’s Twist: Because almost all cases documented here in our current big COVID wave are from the earlier-arriving COVID Omicron BA.2.12.1 variant, with very few documented Omicron BA.5 cases, we can likely expect another 6 – 8 weeks of too high numbers of new COVID cases as Omicron BA.5 arrives & spreads here, because the Omicron BA.5 is highly infectious (a likely 16 additional people infected by each new case) and because the current COVID vaccines & boosters are not stopping BA.5 in the recent 6 – 8 week BA.5 waves in Gr. Britain & the USA.
USA’s COVID Summer 2022 Booster Campaigns Cancelled: The US Government has officially cancelled their planned summer booster campaigns, because even the best current vaccination & boosters are not working to stop COVID BA.5 & BA.6 transmissions. CDC officials are cautioning people under age 60 to NOT get boosted now, and to instead wait until this Fall when the new vaccines for Omicron BA.5 come out.
The CDC & DOD have just this morning announced that Moderna’s “Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccine Booster” is working well against Omicron BA.5 in trials, so they have just signed contracts for 66 million doses of Moderna’s new “Bivalent COVID Booster”.
Further, study after study for the past year are showing long COVID patients who had only mild symptoms are too consistently showing long-term elevated T-Cell levels that cause ongoing significant inflammation. These nasty long COVID effects are being caused by even asymptomatic & very mild COVID infections. This means ANY COVID INFECTION is too often harmimg people.
Long COVID Problems are Worse than Expected: Finally, because BA.5 & BA.6 have unusually high R0 values of 16 – 18 (where one patient infects 16 – 18 other people), top epidemiologists are saying that taking antiviral drugs to reduce T-Cell levels is the best current option for people with even with mild active COVID infections and for people with long COVID.
Because having a prior COVID infection is providing very little protection from getting the current COVID strain (Omicron BA2+), and because having vaccinations provides only some protection from serious COVID symptoms & hospitalization … top Epidimiologists are saying we really MUST return to wearing tight fitting medical grade N95 or better masks and using 8 feet of social distancing inside buildings to reduce our inhaled COVID aerosol loads from infected people talking.
The wrong mask to wear ** … Use only N95 or better masks.
Ongoing Scientific Factual Conclusions: Except for protection by wearing tight-fitting masks & Socially Distancing, unfortunately Omicron COVID is rewriting most of what non-scientist Medical Doctors have been telling people the past 2 years. Example: Many so-called ‘experts’ previously told us that COVID would supposedly mutate to milder & milder, supposedly less contagious strains. This has proven to be absolutely false. … ‘Expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) also told us that having a prior infection would protect us, which has proven to be asolutely false, especially with the most recent Omicron BA.2, BA.2.12.1, and BA.5 and BA.6 variants.
**Remember that ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) told us to “Wash your hands & use hand sanitizer”, actions which provide and provided absolutely no protection from COVID, because COVID is only transmitted by inhaling invisible fine aerosols from people talking or singing.
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) mistakenly told us to “Wear your cloth masks.” for 2 full years from July 2020 – July 2022, even though the last 40 yrs of scientific testing shows that cloth masks leak horribly, providing almost no protection from inhaled viruses. The ‘expert’ non-scientist Medical Doctors unfortunately ignored that it is proven that it takes at least 12 layers of cloth to equal just one layer of N95 material … And yes, Medical Doctors ignored all these known proven facts on these things, even though they were published in the first month of COVID back in March, 2020:
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) told us to “Disinfect EVERYTHING” back in 2020 … which provides absolutely no protection from COVID, because the only way to stop COVID transmissions is to inhale only very small amounts COVID’s highly-infectious invisible fine aerosols.
Because COVID’s invisible fine aerosols persist indoors by floating around infectious for 4 to 6 HOURS AFTER a COVID infected person talks, sings, or wheezes, then either fine high quality tight masks, or diluting out the aerosols by Social Distancing, breezes or fans are the only real solutions to not getting infected.
* * * * * * *
Get educated … Stay informed … Stay healthy …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
Coming to a clinic near you, this Fall or Winter … COVID boosters designed to stop Omicron BA.5 !
July 17, 2022 COVID Update for Yucatan, Mexico: The latest COVID wave may have peaked in Yucatan. After 12 prior consecutive weeks of significantly increasing Omicron 2.12.1 COVID cases, last week’s PCR confirmed COVID cases across Yucatan finally stabilized at 4160 cases versus 4148 cases the prior week.
Yucatan’s 4160 PCR-confirmed COVID cases is still troubling for 2 reasons. We saw 11 COVID deaths last week, along with the likely over 50,000 actual cases of COVID, likely means 1 Yucatecan out of 45 had active COVID infections => We still need to keep masking-up with N95 or better quality masks, and we need to Socially Distance by 8 ft or more when out in public places with masks-off for eating and drinking.
Still, seeing our COVID cases level-off for even a week is a relief, because it points to us having a slight pause in the prior 12 weeks of large increases due to Omicron BA.2.12.1 – giving us ‘a breather’ until the NEXT COVID WAVE of Omicron BA.5 & BA.6 arrives from the USA & Gr. Britain. … So, we likely can expect another 6 weeks of wearing good masks & Socially Distancing – because the vaccines, boosters, and prior COVID infections give NO PROTECTION from catching the current Omicron BA.2.12.1 … BA.5 … & BA.6 variants.
July 11, 2022 COVID Update: We are now in our 12’th consecutive week of increasing Omicron 2.12.1 COVID cases, with another 30% increase in Yucatan’s PCR-confirmed COVID cases last week. The latest 4148 new PCR-test confirmed COVID cases last week is very troubling, because only a small fraction of COVID infected people here get tested by the expensive PCR test (1 in 12 likely). Because of the severe undertesting rates, we likely currently have over 50,000 actual cases a week. This corresponds to 1 COVID infected Yucatecan out of 45 Yucatecans whose highly infectious invisible COVID aerosols from talking, linger infectious in indoor spaces for 4 to 6 hours after the sick person talks without an N95 mask.
Neither a prior COVID infection nor being vaccinated nor boosted gives any protection from getting the current COVID strain in Yucatan (Omicron BA.2.12.1). Next, because having vaccinations provide only some protection from serious COVID symptoms & hospitalization caused by the current BA.2.12.1 COVID strain in Yucatan … we really MUST return to wearing tight fitting medical grade N95 or better masks and using 8 feet of social distancing inside buildings when eating with masks off, or use fans & 6 ft of distance to dilute out our inhaled COVID aerosol loads from infected people talking with masks off. … and NO, cloth masks do NOT work and they provide basically NO protection.
Yucatan Bill’s July 10, 2022 Weekly COVID Report for PCR-Confirmed COVID Cases
And yes, Virginia … If this latest 12 week long peak looks troubling, realize that it is only going to get worse this coming 3 months, because the even nastier strains of Omicron BA.5 & BA.6 that are currently ravaging the USA, have NOT YET gotten here to Yucatan.
This is very important, because vaccines, nor boosters, or having even a prior Omicron infection (like having COVID last January) GIVE NO PROTECTION from transmitting the future COMING waves of Omicron BA.5 and Omicron BA.6. Despite media reports & reassuring words from the White House, prior vaccinations & boosters are NOT EFFECTIVELY PROTECTING PEOPLE from BA.5 hospitalizations in many parts of the USA (as reported on NPR this morning).
Omicron BA.5 is now the dominant strain in the USA as 50% of new USA infections are causing US HOSPITALIZATIONS to spike wickedly by up to 30% in parts of America this past week, even for patients who were vaccinated & boosted or who had prior COVID infections (even last January’s Omicron infections). … Sadly, naive Medical Doctors (non-scientists) & TV talking head ‘experts’ (non-scientists) are now mistakenly claiming that because COVID deaths have not been spiking *yet*, that the current COVID BA.5 must magically not be risky … yet talented scientists instead point out that the spikes of past COVID deaths have LAGGED the prior spikes of COVID infections by typically 7 weeks. This means we really will not know the real COVID BA.5 death rates for at least 6 more weeks, which is why we again, still cannot rely on Medical Doctors nor TV Talking Head ‘experts’ for accurate timely useful advice.
and no, Virginia … There is no current evidence that BA.5 or BA.6 are here in Yucatan yet: This means that there are likely new worse COVID waves on the way, that are ONLY stopped by GOOD tight fitting MEDICAL MASKS of N95 quality or Social Distancing when out in public. … This means NO MORE CRAPPY CLOTH MASKS that leak dangerous amounts of invisible aerosols from people talking … Further, when you have your N95 mask off to eat or drink in public, KEEP YOUR DISTANCE (8 ft) … or take advantage of breezes or fans paired with at least 6 ft of Social Distancing, to keep yourself from inhaling risky amounts the highly infectious INVISIBLE AEROSOLS from people talking or singing.
Why? The vaccines & boosters are NOT working well enough to keep us out of the hospital from the coming BA.5 and BA.6 variants. Forewarned is fore-armed: BA.5 & BA.6 are not here yet, so we likely will see the current COVID wave’s surge last until September or October – being stopped only by good masks & Social Distancing … as new future cases of BA.5 & BA.6 will likely add to our current BA.2.12.1 cases.
Added Reasons Why the Latest COVID Infections in Yucatan Are So NEW and Scary: Check out Yucatan Bill’s new plot of COVID waves top see how nasty Omicron is & how different it is from previous COVID waves:
Yucatan Bill’s Plot of Cumulative Weekly PCR-Confirmed Yucatan COVID Cases
Notice how the earlier waves of COVID are barely noticeable in this plot, because their R0 values were relatively small – especially compared to Measles R0’s of 16 to 18.
e.g. The original COVID strain had an R0 of about 4 … Alpha had an R0 of just 1.1 … Delta had an R0 of 1.5 … Omicron variants are now up at R0’s of 16 – 18 (these are the highest levels for viral transmission rates, equal to measles) … where a COVID infected patient early in the wave infects 16 to 18 people.
Why Care? Notice that VACCINES DO NOT WORK to stop Omicron transmission … Only tight-fitting N95 grade masks (or better) work, or Social Distancing of 8 ft. out in public indoor spaces … or fans briskly blowing fresh air between people to dilute out people’s invisible, HIGHLY INFECTIOUS aersols from TALKING or SINGING work to protect us … and long-COVID consequences are now harming over 21 million Americans.
These scientific facts about N95 or better masks & 8 ft of Social Distancing are the ONLY guaranteed solutions to stopping COVID’s spread, and they were proven, known & reported effective by good scientists at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, published in March 2020, the first month of the COVID pandemic.
Realize, that talking head ‘experts’ on TV and Medical Doctors are not trained scientists, and realize that Medical Doctors like Dr. Faucci & Dr. Wallensky are not scientists, and have ignored the critical COVID scientific facts for years.
See Details Here on Staying Safe from COVID (Mar. 2020):
So … Having even a prior Omicron infection (like in January) GIVES NO PROTECTION from transmitting Yucatan’s current Omicron BA.2.12.1 … and having vaccines & boosters are not protecting Americans from COVID BA.5 hospitalizations. … So, it’s time to MASK-UP again … and time to go back to 8 ft of Social Distancing when eating or drinking without masks in public.
~ Stay well, Stay informed, Stay safe. ~
Dr. Steven Michael Fry Ph.D. Chemistry, Public Health & Environment, & Laboratory Measurement Science
June 20, 2022 COVID Update: We are now in our 9’th consecutive week of increasing Omicron COVID cases, with an 83% increase the past week in Yucatan, which adds to the 75% increase a week ago, which added to a 75% increase three weeks ago. The latest 1789 new confirmed COVID cases is very troubling, because only a small fraction of COVID infected people here get tested (1 in 12?), we likely have over 21,000 cases a week. This corresponds to 1 COVID infected Yucatecan out of 107 total.
Because having a prior COVID infection is providing no protection from getting the current COVID strain (Omicron BA2+), and because having vaccinations provides only some protection from serious COVID symptoms & hospitalization … we really MUST return to wearing tight fitting medical grade N95 or better masks and using 8 feet of social distancing inside buildings to reduce our inhaled COVID aerosol loads from infected people talking.
June 14, 2022 Update: After 8 consecutive weeks of increasing COVID cases in Yucatan, we are now solidly in our 4’th wave of COVID, as we passed 1,000 confirmed COVID cases this past week. Because only a small fraction of COVID infected people here get tested (1 in 12?), we likely have over 12,000 cases a week. This corresponds to 1 COVID infected Yucatecan out of 190 total.
This current 1 in 200 Yucatecans with COVID is troubling enough that it means it’s time to go back to masking-up with tight fitting N-95 masks or better, and maintaining 8 ft of social distancing when out in public indoor spaces. It turns out that having a prior COVID infection … or being vaccinated & boosted … provides almost no protection from getting this new wave of Omicron BA.2.12.1 … But being vaccinated & boosted does reduce our chances of having a serious infection or hospitalization, and most Omicron BA.2.12.1 infections give only short durations of mild symptoms.
Why Wear Tight-Masks & Socially Distance? Even though most Omicron cases are mild, note that even the current mild COVID infections are still causing permanent lung damage, kidney damage, brain damage, vascular damage, and nervous system damage in even “mild” cases. … So, even though you’ve been vaccinated & boosted, or have had a prior COVID infection, the risks of getting a mild Omicron infection accompanied by shocking long-COVID effects meana we really should start publicly masking-up & Socially Distancing again to avoid the wicked long-COVID effects … because ONLY tight medical grade masks (N95 or better) and Socially distancing by 8 ft indoors sufficiently reduce our inhaling the invisible highly-infectious fine aerosols to safe levels, invisible aerosols from people talking or singing.
The wrong mask to wear ** … Use only N95 or better masks.
Scientific Factual Conclusions: Except for protection by wearing tight-fitting masks & Socially Distancing, unfortunately Omicron COVID is rewriting most of what non-scientist Medical Doctors have been telling people. Many so-called ‘experts’ told us that COVID would supposedly mutate to milder & milder, supposedly less contagious strains. This has proven to be absolutely false. … ‘Expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) also told us that having a prior infection would protect us, which has proven to be asolutely false.
**… ‘Expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) told us to “Wash your hands & use hand sanitizer”, actions which provide absolutely no protection from COVID, because COVID is only transmitted by inhaling invisible fine aerosols from people talking or singing.
… ‘Expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) mistakenly told us to “Wear your cloth masks.” for 2 full years, even though the last 40 yrs of scientific testing shows that cloth masks leak horribly, providing almost no protection from inhaled viruses. Non-Scientist Medical Doctors ignored that it takes at least 12 layers of cloth to equal just one layer of N95 material … And yes, Medical Doctors ignored all the known facts on these things, even though they were published in the first month of COVID back in March, 2020:
… ‘Expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) told us to “Disinfect EVERYTHING” … which provides absolutely no protection from COVID, because the only way to stop COVID transmissions to to inhale only very small amounts COVID’s highly-infectious invisible fine aerosols. Because COVID’s invisible fine aerosols persist indoors by floating around infectious for 4 to 6 HOURS AFTER a COVID infected person talks, sings, or wheezes, then either fine high quality tight masks, or diluting out the aerosols by Social Distancing, breezes or fans are the only real solutions to not getting infected.
* * * * * * *
Get educated … Stay informed … Stay healthy …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
May 28, 2022: Yucatan lost one of its brightest lights yesterday, with the passing of Sidney Hollander.
Our world of expats here is now a bit poorer, somewhat less entertaining, and a whole lot less colorful.
Sid was a good friend, loving husband of Feli Pamplona, storyteller of the first order, a beloved teacher of gifted students, champion arguer, and the best in the world at the Maya Calendars for 2 generations.
Anyone who’s gone to Merida’s Museo Maya and gotten their birth date converted to Maya dates, has been touched by Sid, as he programmed that delightful tool to print our Maya birth dates. Others experienced his hearty laugh, commanding booming voice & rapier wit at the Merida Mens Club. Yet others much enjoyed his courses teaching the Maya Calendars & his generous hospitality, as scholars & students alike came to Yucatan from across the USA & Canada for decades to experience his 2 day Maya Calendar seminars at his beautiful quinta outside Merida.
Sid’s passing is major milemarker for many of us here in Yucatan, Merida, and across the Maya archeological world, as he has loved us & loved Yucatan since first coming here in 1968, as a part of Umacinta River trips. Sid really was one of a kind … part of a generation of first rate Maya scholars that included his contemporaries of the dear Herr Professor Doctor Peter Schmidt (Director of Archeology at Chichen Itza), Linda Schele, David Stuart & his parents, Willie Folan (Director of Archeology at Kalakmul), Rafael Cobos, Patricia & Rodrigo Martin, and too many dear acquaintances to be mentioned.
As the premier Maya Calendar expert to INAH, Sid worked onsite at Chichen Itza through the 1990’s, and continued as their Maya Calendar guy for another decade into the 2,000’s. In addition to writing the world standard “Bars & Dots” computer program in the 1980’s, (still in use today by scholars world-wide). On a personal level, Sid generously used his connections & roots to enrich the lives of more than a few of his good friends, as he was welcome through the back door of all the top Yucatec Mayan sites, as he opened up opportunities for many of us to go behind-the-ropes & behind-the-scenes at Chichen Itza, Mayapan, Uxmal, Dzibilchaltun, Kabah, Sayil & Labna.
Yet others will remember Sid from his Merida Insider days, as a good friend of Mexico Bob, EJ Albright, Yucatan Bill, and a host of other real characters. Some will even remember his generosity, love of dinners & love of Christmas parties as he regularly opened his home to total strangers he met on the internet – as THE Jewish guy who made THE BEST roast pork & held THE BEST Christmas fests.
EJ Albright, Sid, Steve Fry & Bill Drennon (L to R)
We miss you & your stories, dear friend, beloved teacher, loving husband, father & grandfather. Our lives are richer for having known you …
May 9, 2022 Update The Tax Administration Service (SAT) reported yesterday that the entry into force of the Digital Tax Receipt by Internet (CFDI) 4.0 will be on January 1, 2023, instead of July 1, 2022. This means we will continue to get the 3.3 e-factura’s until then.
“Individuals and legal entities that today use the new billing version 4.0 , we ask you to continue with it in order to socialize its use. On the other hand, those who still do not use it are invited to continue with the transition process during the rest of the year”, per SAT’s latest public statement.
May 20, 2022: All foreigners in Mexico on Residente Temporal & Resident Permanente visas, and anyone over age 18 with a CURP, face 3 new requiremnts by July 1’st, 2022 (January 1, 2023). These Jan 2022 changes to Mexican law will require foreign residents to:
1. Get RFC numbers (Registro Federal de Contribuyentes) from SAT-Hacienda to register as a taxpayer-resident in Mexico, and then
2. Get a “Constancia de Situacion Fiscal” document from SAT-Hacienda, as proof of Tax – Fiscal registration with SAT, and
3. That “Constancia de Situacion Fiscal” document will be necessary at some point** to be an electricity (CFE), water, or internet customer in Mexico. Further, any buying or selling of a car or house or property will also require having an RFC and the Constancia de Situacion Fiscal document.
Background: Why, Where & When Last Jan.3, 2022 SAT made what looked like minor changes to Articulo 27 of the Federal Fiscal Code requiring all adults (18 & over) to get an RFC. The purposes were to cut down on identity theft and increase tax compliance-collection by requiring people who already have RFCs to get new current Constancias de Situacion Fiscal (to prove who they are & that they have current valid RFCs), and by requiring all adult residents of Mexico to get a valid RFC. The old RFC application procedures were riddled with identity theft problems from strangers creating RFC’s online without having a formal account with password & personal ID confirmation. Under the new 2022 system, people without RFCs have to register in person to confirm their identity (Note SAT does not accept foreign passports as an ID), and those with RFCs need to create an online account with SAT and establish a password, to be able to print out the new official Constancia de Situacion Fiscal document needed to buy or sell a house or car, or to set up a CFE or internet, or water department account.
Sidelights: First (1) … Many people in Mexico think they have an RFC, while they actually don’t. There was over a decade when local branches of Mexican banks just made up RFCs for their clients who had no actual official RFC from SAT-Hacienda, just to allow the bank to open an account for the person. Those old bank-issued RFCs are not valid for anything – so, unless you personally went into a SAT-Hacienda office and got your RFC, instead know that the bank-issued RFC is likely worthless & that you still need to go get an official RFC from SAT.
1.a. … Still, this is Mexico: Some foreigners actually have RFCs that they were unaware of, because some banks, car dealers & some Notarios successfully created valid RFCs for their customers when the foreigner bought or sold a home, bought a car, or started a bank account, without your knowledge or approval => which WAS part of the problem of Identity Theft, because people created RFCs without the foreigner’s knowledge. So … Some foreigners are finding that when they apply for an RFC now, that the SAT system kicks them out of the online queue, because they already have an RFC. These people with RFC’s then need to create an official online account with SAT, and establish a password – to be allowed to print out their current Constancia de Situacion Fiscal document needed to buy-sell a property, car, or start a CFE, internet or water dept. account.
Second … Unfortunately, these actions directed heavily at identity thieves, fat cats & big criminals, also flow down over the rest of us, who are living simple lives, uncomplicated by money laundering, gun-running, & drug smuggling. These new requirements are partly being driven by the USA’s ongoing War on Drugs & USA’s War on Money laundering – pressuring Mexico to address these problems, which then flows down onto the rest of us, just like the USA’s 2009-2010 new laws on foreign bank accounts & the 2009-2010’s new laws driving US banks to cut off accounts by 2017 for Americans living abroad. … These changes also come form Mexico trying to increase tax compliance, by requiring all Mexicans over age 18 to now be registered at SAT with RFC numbers.
**Third … These new requirements come at a peculiarly difficult time, because the SAT-Hacienda systems for creating new RFC accounts are working very poorly these past months – so the systems are so jammed up with millions of Mexican applying for RFCs, that it may take until Oct – to Dec to get it all sorted out, and working smoothly. In the meantime, if you do not have to buy or sell a home, a property, a car, or start a CFE or internet account, then you can likely wait a few months till SAT gets their systems sorted out. In the meantime, online waiting lists are 2,500 to 6,000 people long – yet possibly 10 appointments per day are available at SAT offices of you arrive early enough (6:00 AM) & wait a few hours.
Notice that it’s a new requirement for ALL Mexicans over age 18 … so, the SAT-Hacienda appointment systems are backed up over 4 months with new applications, from Mexicans …. 4 months just to issue an appointment date … It’s not just gringos … and … It may take 6 months to work-off the current backlog of Mexican applicants.
Fourth … In theory, every CFE office processes 10 (?) or 15 applicants over age 60 to get their RFC, awarded by being in line early enough (5:30 AM?) to be one of that day’s special 10 or 15. We know 2 people who have done this in the past 2 weeks … but as happens in Mexico, we offer no promises that this will work for you. YMMV … Best of Luck!
International Context: … (Is Mexico so much worse than othre countries) It’s just like how Obama-Biden cut IRS funding, resulting in 26 million unopened tax returns in 2021, still unopened by April 2022 … so the US IRS is now burning-shredding millions of unopened returns that are more than 3 yrs old. … Fortunately, Mexico is not shredding nor burning our SAT-Hacienda tax applications … yet they are at least 4 months behind in being able to issue appointments at most SAT locations.
So, unless you need to buy-sell a house, now, or open a CFE account, or open a new internet service account NOW … you will likely be OK waiting the 4 – 6 months in a “fila virtual” (virtual line, online) waiting to get your email notifying of your appointment with SAT-Hacienda (details below).
* * * * * How to Register for an RFC Appointment with SAT-Hacienda: SAT’s current system for registering for an RFC requires the foreigner to register online to get an appointment to come in to an SAT-Hacienda office, to both register, get ID fotos & supply fingerprints.
When online at the SAT portal, we request an appointment ( “Registrar Cita ” ), and then choose the option as an individual taxpayer ( “Persona Fisica ” ), and then enter your CURP number. Also note that you will need to take an official copy of your CURP document to your SAT appointment – so keep it handy when you get it out to register online for your SAT RFC appointment.
The next parts of the online SAT RFC appointment request process are straightforward: On the next page after entering your CURP, you select the service you want (RFC appointment), & choose the state you whant to appy in.
NOTE: … Our local Merida SAT-Hacienda office has been taking 2 – 4 months to issue appointments, so many people who need to buy or sell a house, property, or car have been making their appontments at either Campeche’s or Chetumal’s (Q. Roo) SAT-Hacienda offices.
After you select the state you want to apply in, you will either be given the option to choose a date on a calendar, or you will face a notice that says no appointments are available at this time – which is why many foreigners in Yucatan are jumping to Campeche or Chetumal (Q. roo), but even those appointments are filling up now.
If you face the “no appointments available” option, you will then have the option to choose to enter a virtual line – queue (“fila virtual“), which gets you in to the system, but the last 3 months of internet reports by foreigners show that you may not get a notice for an appointment for another 4 months. Applying for a spot in the fila virtual, and then entering your email, enables SAT to send you an alpha-numerical “token” that is used to join the virtual line.
At that point, you sit and wait, and moniter your email for a notice from SAT notifying you of your appointment date. As you go in for your appointment, you’ll need a short list of documents. The current SAT website lists: ~ A valid migratory document (your Residente visa card); ~ A comprabante, (proof of address), like a bank statement, CFE electric bill, or copy of your rental agreement-contract. ~ Your passport
Note … Assorted internet reports describe that many SAT officies are also requiring that you show a copy of your CURP document, even though this is not reported on the SAT website.
Recent internet reports also describe that you should bring a USB memory stick, for SAT to download a personal digital signature “firma digital” for future use. At that point SAT takes your ID foto, takes your finger prints (all at no charge). Finally, recent inteernet reports say that the process takes about 40 minutes.
Final Note: As these new requirements come online, there will be consequences from the new legal requirements: People who want to sign up for internet services, for water services, for CFE accounts … or to buy or sell a house, property or car, will have to provide both their RFC number, and their Constancia de Situacion Fiscal document.
… We will continue to update this article as the situations evolve.
Stay informed … Stay healthy … Stay safe …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
March 6, 2022 Update: “Green” is go, as our COVID casecase numbers fall back to just 404 official new COVID cases last week. Historically, typical low weeks of COVID cases since May, 2020 have fallen to around 400 confirmed cases a week, so, we’re back to having just 1 Yucatecan with COVID in 475 total Yucatecans you meet in a week.
This current 1 in 475 … Yucatecans with COVID is low enough to go out and enjoy life here, while maintaining modest protections. (vaccinated & boosted or prior COVID infection + good mask when inside around people talking.
Hospitalizations look really good! … Just 19 official cases in public hospitals is part of the previous trend of falling for 6 straight weeks …. 178 … 156 … 117 … 66 … 44 … and now just 19 COVID hospitalizations (in public hospitals) this week
COVID Deaths Rates Fell Again to Just 19 COVID deaths. … Death rates have been falling from 78 … 77 … 77 … 70 … 42 … to 19.
Finally, like hospitalizations, the deaths were again excessively coming from UNVACCINATED people.
* * * * * * *
It sure is nice to report better COVID numbers.! 😉
Still … Keep wearing tight-fitting medical grade masks & Socially Distancing by 8 ft when masks are off for eating & drinking indoors.
Stay informed … Stay healthy … Stay safe …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
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Note that if they work only a part year:
An alternate way of calculating the aguinaldo is determined by multiplying the total days they worked in current year by 15, then divide by 365 days, and then multiply by the daily rate:
For a part-year worker coming in for 2 days a month for 9 months =>
18 days … x … 15 days of Aguinaldo = 270
270 / 365 = 0.7392 … 0.74 x $Daily Rate ($100 pesos?) = $ _____
Note. The “Daily Rate” is based on a full week. For example, if your maid only works two days per week, and gets paid $700 pesos per week ($350 pesos per day of work). You take the weeks salary of $700 divided by 7 = $100 pesos is the Daily Rate.
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Surviving Yucatan 