NAMBA October 2021 Web.pub

PROPWASH 14 October 2021 The current wave mostly consists of a more contagious variant, the Delta variant. A study of people infected at a recent event in Massachusetts showed that about 3/4 of people with symptoms had been fully vaccinated. Of the fully vaccinated, about 1% required hospitalization and none died. This is not unexpected since the vaccines are between 65% and 88% effective against the delta variant. The Pfizer and Moderna two dose vaccines had higher effectiveness than the Johnson and Johnson one shot vaccine. People at this event came from a wide area and got together in rental houses, motels, and bars. The virus was traced to several other states by carriers from this event. Because of this, the CDC recommends that masks be worn during indoor gatherings even if you have been fully vaccinated. Still, by far the best precaution is immunization with one of the available vaccines. While they are very effective against serious illness and death, they are less effective at preventing mild or asymptomatic disease. Therefore, even immunized individuals can be infected and transmit the delta form of the virus to unimmunized people. Below are illustrations of the main issues. The infection fatality ratio (IFR) is the percent of unvaccinated, infected individuals expected to die from COVID- 19. This is for the Alpha variant; the Delta variant may be worse. As you can see, people over 65 are at serious risk of death. Vaccines are very effective in preventing this. Summer Safety Corner By Lohring Miller NAMBA Safety Chairman As the Nationals approach, it’s time to review some standard safety issues. While methanol-based fuels are fairly safe, gasoline is not. Please don’t smoke around gasoline and have a class B (CO2) or C (dry chemical) fire extinguisher handy. With proper charging, lithium polymer battery fires should be rare. Don’t disable the balance check on the charger. If the cells don’t balance or the pack gets hot and puffs, don’t use it. Put any questionable packs in the open away from anything that can be harmed. A battery fire needs a lot of cooling. Smothering the battery fire with sand or dumping the battery in a lot of water will contain the fire. Spinning propellers are always a hazard. You need to be careful even around electric boats. Turn off the power before changing propellers and use shields while running IC engine driven propellers on the starting tables. There are several general medical issues from days spent outside in the sun. Sunburn is common. Use a suitable sunscreen. Hats and body coverings are even better. Heat related problems are serious. Prevention takes covering up, standing in the shade, and drinking lots of water or similar liquids. The signs of heat exhaustion:  Feeling faint or dizzy  Heavy sweating  Fast, weak pulse  Nausea or vomiting  Cold, pale, clammy skin  Muscle cramps If any of these are observed, get in a cool shelter and drink lots of water. Call 911 if the condition progresses. The signs of heatstroke include:  A body temperature above 103 degrees  Red, hot, dry or damp skin  Fast, strong pulse  Headache  Nausea or vomiting.  Losing consciousness If any of these conditions are observed call 911 and try to cool the person with cold water or ice. The final, but very serious issue is the COVID-19 epidemic. Some of the issues were covered in the last safety corner. The image shows the risk that at least one person in L.A. county that you meet in an event with 100 people will be infected with COVID-19.