The Daily Valet. - 8/4/20, Tuesday

✔️ The Race Is On

August 04, 2020

Tuesday, August 4th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Is it really drinking if there’s no alcohol?

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

The Race for a Cure

Getting a coronavirus vaccine in record time is hard

Researchers around the world are developing more than 165 vaccines against the coronavirus, and over two dozen of them are currently in human trials.

On Monday, the head of the World Health Organization said that while there was great progress being made, people shouldn’t expect the crisis to end anytime soon. “A number of vaccines are now in Phase 3 clinical trials and we all hope to have a number of effective vaccines that can help prevent people from infection,” said Tedros Adhanom. “However, there’s no silver bullet at the moment and there might never be.”

The Trump administration has said that they’re aiming to deliver 300 million doses of a vaccine against the coronavirus as early as January. But, according to the Washington Post, state officials and health experts remain in the dark about key details and, therefore, are inadequately prepared for what is expected to be the largest single vaccination campaign ever undertaken.

Given that it typically takes years to develop an effective vaccine, the timetable for the mission, dubbed Operation Warp Speed, was no doubt ambitious.

According to the New York Times, the ensuing race—in the middle of a campaign in which the president’s handling of the pandemic is the key issue after he has spent his time in office undermining science and the nation’s top medical experts—is now testing the system set up to ensure safe and effective drugs to a degree never before seen.

But let’s be real: even in a less politically charged environment, there’d be a debate about how to best proceed. The longer that vaccines are tested before being released, the likelier they are deemed to be safe and effective. But with thousands dying every day, along with both schools and an economy aching to reopen, we don’t have time on our side.

↦ Dig Deeper: The New York Times has a dedicated Vaccine Tracker to monitor the status of all the candidates that have reached human trials, along with a selection of promising vaccines still being tested in cells or animals.

Census Counting Is Being Cut Short

Workers to stop door knocking earlier than planned

On Monday, the Census Bureau confirmed it's ending all counting efforts for the 2020 census on September 30th, a month shorter than previously announced. That includes critical door-knocking efforts and collecting responses online, over the phone and by mail.

According to NPR, these last-minute changes to the constitutionally mandated count of every person living in the U.S. “threaten the accuracy of population numbers used to determine the distribution of political representation and federal funding for the next decade.”

With roughly 4 out of 10 households nationwide yet to be counted and a delay already induced by the coronavirus pandemic, the bureau now has less than two months left to try to reach people of color, immigrants, renters, rural residents and other historically undercounted groups who are more likely to not fill out a census form on their own.

The Census Bureau said if Congress and the president do not agree to push the final census report back to April, there’s no way it will be able to deliver an accurate count.

↦ Get Counted: The number to call to fill out your census form over the phone is 844-320-2020, or you can go to census.gov.

A Bud With No Buzz

The ‘King of Beers’ is rolling out a new N/A option

Budweiser is now launching the brand’s first-ever alcohol-free beer, simply named Bud Zero. According to the company, it was developed in partnership with NBA legend and entrepreneur Dwyane Wade.

The non-alcoholic brew is only 50 calories, and holds no sugar at all, while allegedly tasting similar to the original Budweiser lager.

“We really want to disrupt this space because we believe there doesn't need to be a stigma and outdated understanding of non-alcoholic beer,” Budweiser's VP of marketing told CNN Business.

It's definitely a smart business decision. According to Forbes, sales of non-alcoholic beer were up 39% the year. But that doesn't mean that everyone is happy about this legendary American beer adapting to the latest trend.

↦ FYI: Bud Zero launches soon in 12-packs of cans as well as single 16-ouncers. A six-pack of bottles will arrive in November.

Can We End Twitter Panic?

We’ve all felt this ...

I've been wondering if there's a name for the feeling ... you know the one. Where you pull up Twitter and see someone's name trending and your mind starts racing: Dead? Canceled? Input calls it micro-doses of grief.

“In a matter of seconds, you mourn both the loss of the person and the loss of their character. And all of those seconds add up, creating mounting tension in what's already a cultural powderkeg of an app.”

And then you find out, it's just their birthday or they've actually got good news to report. Cue the “relieved Denzel” gif. As a platform increasingly committed to stopping the spread of misinformation, Twitter could do a better job of labeling such trending names.

After all, for breaking news stories, Twitter offers much more information. Can't we do the same with trending names to save us all a little grief?

↦ FYI: That "relieved Denzel Washington" gif is from the 1998 film, Fallen—a fairly underrated movie, if you ask me.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

The return of an American classic

How to get a great beard

The flattening of car logos

A Wild WFH Hack

Replacing chair wheels with Rollerblade wheels

At this point in the quarantine, few things shock me, but this was a surprise. Apparently, guys working from home are swapping out their office chair wheels for Rollerblade wheels.

It all seems to have started with an insider secret from a software developer who tweeted out his solution for an easier rolling chair.

If you've noticed your office chair scuffs hardwood floors or is hard to roll around and a little too loud, your hard casters are probably to blame.

Gear Patrol put the Rollerblade wheels to the test. And Mel found a handful of other guys who've made the switch. So I guess I already know what I'll be doing this weekend ...

↦ Buy: Want a set of wheels for yourself? This set is specially built for office chairs.

Sales We’re Eyeing

Joyride Dual Runner$130 / $97.97

This week, Nike is hosting an early adopter sale, offering 25% off next season's styles. Which means it's a great time to score some workout gear and easygoing casual sneakers—all with a nice “friends and family” level discount.