The Observer., January 21, 2021, Page 16, Image 16

8A — THE OBSERVER
Why it’s
clear Biden
won the
election
By CHRISTINA A.
CASSIDY and
ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE
Associated Press
ATLANTA — As Dem-
ocrat Joe Biden is sworn
in Wednesday, Jan. 20,
as the nation’s 46th pres-
ident, Donald Trump’s
most ardent supporters still
believe Biden was not legit-
imately elected after Trump
continues to argue the elec-
tion was stolen.
There is no evidence of
the widespread fraud that
Trump and his allies have
claimed. Republican and
Democratic election offi-
cials have certified the elec-
tion as valid. Courts have
rejected lawsuit after law-
suit, and a clear majority of
Congress has confirmed the
final result despite a riotous
mob earlier this month
that sought to disrupt the
process.
So who has claimed
what, precisely? What’s the
evidence that the 2020 elec-
tion was valid and Biden is
the duly elected president of
the United States?
After a rocky primary
season that played out
during the coronavirus pan-
demic, election officials
were determined to ensure
voters could safely cast their
ballots and ramped up oper-
ations to handle a massive
influx of absentee ballots.
Voting absentee has long
been available in the U.S.,
with some states limiting
it to certain voters, and the
process has safeguards so
any ineligible voter or voter
casting multiple ballots is
caught and prosecuted.
In many places, elec-
tion officials added drop
boxes for voters concerned
about widespread mail
delays. Others offered curb-
side voting and a few states
opted to send ballots to all
registered voters. Although
Trump and his allies claimed
these changes were designed
to rig the election in favor
of Democrats, Trump saw
more people vote for him
in 2020 than four years ear-
lier and Republicans gained
seats in Congress.
One of the changes that
drew the most scrutiny was
the expansion of absentee
voting in Pennsylvania, but
that was done prior to the
pandemic and authorized in
a law passed with bipartisan
support through the state’s
Republican-controlled
Legislature.
State and local elec-
tion officials have called
the November election one
of the smoothest in recent
memory, with voting spread
out across days and even
weeks rather than a crush of
people at polling places on
Election Day. Even Trump’s
recently departed attorney
general, William Barr, said
he saw no evidence of wide-
spread fraud.
And the fact that so many
people voted using a paper
ballot, which guarantees a
record in the event of a dis-
pute, prompted a coalition
of government and election
security officials, including
representatives of the U.S.
Department of Homeland
Security’s cybersecurity
agency, to issue a state-
ment calling 2020 the “most
secure” election.
After voting ended,
election officials counted
the results and used var-
ious measures to verify the
totals, such as looking at
how many people checked
in at each precinct and how
many ballots were issued to
ensure they add up. For mail
ballots, election workers
reviewed the voter’s regis-
tration to ensure they were
eligible to vote and many
states matched voter signa-
tures against ones on file.
Any discrepancies were
investigated, and results
were presented to the state
to certify the results as
accurate. This happened
across the country largely
without controversy,
except for a few instances
in which Republicans
raised questions.
THuRSday, JanuaRy 21, 2021
NATION
States report COVID-19 vaccine shortages
By MICHAEL HILL
Associated Press
NEW YORK — The
push to inoculate Amer-
icans against the corona-
virus is hitting a roadblock:
A number of states are
reporting they are running
out of vaccine, and tens of
thousands of people who
managed to get appoint-
ments for a first dose are
seeing them canceled.
The full explana-
tion for the apparent mis-
match between supply and
demand was unclear, but
last week the U.S. Health
and Human Services
Department suggested
that states had unrealistic
expectations for how much
vaccine was on the way.
The shortages are
coming as states dramat-
ically ramp up their vac-
cination drives, at the
direction of the federal gov-
ernment, to reach people 65
and older, along with other
groups deemed essential
or at high risk. More than
400,000 deaths in the U.S.
have been blamed on the
virus.
Teacher Karen Stacho-
wiak spent almost five
hours on the New York
state hot line and website to
land an appointment set for
Wednesday, Jan. 20, only
to have it canceled. She and
her parents were among
several thousand people
with canceled appointments
in Erie County because of
supply problems.
“It’s stressful because I
was so close. And my other
friends that are teachers,
they were able to book
Lynne Sladky/AP Photo, File
Robert Owens, 90, stands in line Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021,
with other residents to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in
Pompano Beach, Florida. The push to inoculate Ameri-
cans against the coronavirus is hitting a roadblock: A
number of states are running out of vaccine, and tens of
thousands of people who managed to get appointments
for a first dose are seeing them canceled.
appointments for last Sat-
urday,” Stachowiak said.
“So many people are get-
ting theirs in and then it’s
like, ‘Nope, I’ve got to
wait.’”
About half of the 31 mil-
lion doses distributed to the
states by the federal gov-
ernment have been admin-
istered so far, though only
about 2 million people have
received the two doses
needed for maximum pro-
tection against COVID-19,
according to the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Countries across Europe
are also having problems
getting enough doses to
provide protection against a
virus that is now appearing
in new, more contagious
variants around the globe.
Pfizer said last week it
would temporarily reduce
deliveries of its vaccine to
Europe and Canada while
it upgrades capacity at its
plant in Belgium, which
supplies all shots delivered
outside the United States.
In the U.S., Pfizer has a
plant in Michigan.
In the U.S., some states
have suggested they may
run out of vaccine by
Thursday and are unclear
when new doses will
arrive.
New York Mayor Bill de
Blasio said Wednesday the
city had to cancel 23,000
appointments for people
awaiting their first dose
this week because of inad-
equate supply. The mayor,
who has been sounding the
alarm about vaccine short-
ages for days, said the sit-
uation was compounded
by a delay in this week’s
delivery of Moderna vac-
cine to the city.
“So we already were
feeling the stress of a
shortage of the vaccine,”
he said. “Now the situation
has been made even worse.
We need to think differ-
ently in this moment.”
Citing a statewide
shortage of vaccine, New
York City’s police depart-
ment suspended first-shot
vaccinations for its officers.
In Florida, local media
reported a similar problem
in the Miami area, where
the Baptist Health care
system canceled appoint-
ments that had been sched-
uled for first doses.
“I could have blown the
top of my head off with
steam,” Charlotte Reeve,
76, told The Miami Herald.
“I’m also a fairly recent
widow. To me, having to
be locked up in my house
alone is just devastating to
me. ... I feel like I just got
cut off at the knees, again.”
San Francisco’s health
department said it is likely
to run out of vaccine on
Thursday, in part because
the state pulled back on
administering a batch of
Moderna shots after sev-
eral health workers suf-
fered what may have been
a bad reaction. The county
health department received
12,000 doses
last week but fewer than
2,000 this week.
West Virginia, which
has run one of the speediest
vaccination drives in the
country, in part by using
small-town pharmacies,
said it didn’t receive an
expected increase in doses
this week. With 99.6% of
first doses on hand already
administered, officials are
clamoring for the govern-
ment to send more.
“Here we are with no
vaccines,” said Republican
Gov. Jim Justice, fretting
that other states have doses
sitting unused. “We’ve got
them all in people’s arms
and we’ve done exactly
what we should have done.
… I think performance
ought to be rewarded.”
He said the state hasn’t
received a promised 25,000
additional doses this week
on top of its usual weekly
allocation of about 23,000.
Hawaii leaders com-
plained that the state
received 59,000 doses last
week but expects only
about 32,000 this week.
In New York State, Bar-
bara Carr, a 72-year-old
retiree in Buffalo, was dis-
traught when her vaccine
appointment for Thursday
was canceled. But she was
able to quickly get another
appointment at a local
pharmacy and received her
first dose on Tuesday.
Now she is wor-
ried about her two chil-
dren, who are teachers.
Their appointments were
canceled.
“They have had no
luck with scheduling, no
phone calls, no commu-
nication whatsoever other
than ‘You’re canceled,’”
Carr said. “The poor
teachers. ... I can stay
home so I can hide from
the virus. They can’t.”
FIELD TEST Candidates Wanted
(GENERAL LOCATION HERE) and the
W
URGENT NOTICE:
surrounding
areas. You may be qualified to participate in a special Field
Test of new hearing instrument technology being held at a local test site.
(DATES HERE)
Dates:
An industry leader in digital hearing devices is sponsoring a product field test in your area next week
and they have asked us to select up to 15 qualified candidates to participate. They are interested in
Product
Test Site: 3.0 Technology in eliminating the difficulty hearing aid users
determining the benefits
of GENIUS™
experience in difficult environments, such as those with background noise or multiple talkers.
Miracle-Ear
Service
Center
Miracle-Ear
Service
Center so Miracle-Ear
Service Center
Candidates
in other
test areas
have reported
very positive
feedback
far.
(ADDRESS HERE)
(ADDRESS HERE)
(ADDRESS HERE)
We are looking for additional candidates in LA GRANDE and the surrounding areas.
W
(GENERAL LOCATION HERE) and the
th,
Miracle-Ear Service Center
Miracle-Ear Service Center
Miracle-Ear Service Center
surrounding
areas.
(ADDRESS HERE)
(ADDRESS HERE)
(ADDRESS HERE)
(DATES HERE)
LA GRANDE Dates:
BAKER CITY
ENTERPRISE
111 Elm Street
2021 Washington Ave.
113-1/2 Front E. Main St.
La Grande, OR 97850
Baker City, OR 97814
Enterprise, OR 97828
541-239-3877
541-605-2109
541-239-3782
Product Test Site:
In an effort to accurately demonstrate the incredible performance of these devices, specially trained
representatives will be conducting testing and demonstrations during this special event.
Miracle-Ear Service Center
Miracle-Ear Service Center
Miracle-Ear Service Center
HERE)
(ADDRESS
HERE)
(ADDRESS
HERE)
In addition (ADDRESS
to an audiometric
hearing evaluation,
candidates
will receive a fiber-optic
otoscope
exam, a
painless procedure that could reveal common hearing problems such as excessive wax or damage to
as well
as
common
of of
hearing
deficiencies.
Miracle-Ear
Service
Center
Miracle-Ear
Service
Center
Miracle-Ear Service Center
the eardrum,
as other
other
common cause
causes
hearing
deficiencies.
(ADDRESS HERE)
(ADDRESS HERE)
(ADDRESS HERE)
Qualified Field Test Candidates:
• Live
HERE)or area
the surrounding area
Live in
in (GENERAL
La Grande LOCATION
or the surrounding
• Are at least 55 years of age or older
• Have experienced some level of hearing difficulty, or currently wear hearing aids
• Don’t currently work for a market research company
Expires: January 25 2021
We have a limited supply of the GENIUS™ 3.0 test product
currently on hand and ready for testing. We have also been
authorized to offer significant discounts if you decide to take
the hearing instruments home. If you choose not to keep
them, there’s no risk or obligation of any kind. †
(GENERAL LOCATION HERE)
FIELD TEST
PARTICIPANTS
Will be tested and
selected same-day.
TO PARTICIPATE:
1) You must be one of the first 15 people to call our office
Mention Code: 21JanField
18AprField.
2) You will be required to have your hearing tested in our
office, FREE OF CHARGE, to determine candidacy.
3) Report your results with the hearing instruments to the
Hearing Care Specialist over a three week test period.
Qualified candidates will be selected on a first-come,
first-served basis so please call us TODAY to secure
your spot in the Product Field Test.
Participants who qualify and complete the product test will
1)
receive
a FREE $100 Restaurant.com Gift Card* as a token
AprField
of our thanks.
2)
AVOID WAITING – CALL AND MENTION CODE: 21JanField
18AprField!
*One per household. Must be 55 or older and bring loved one for familiar voice test. Must complete a hearing test. Not valid with prior test/purchase in last 6 months. While supplies last. Free
gift card may be used toward the purchase of food at participating restaurants where a minimum purchase may also be required. See restaurant.com for details. Not redeemable for cash.
Promotional offer available during special event dates only. † If you are not completely satisfied, the aids may be returned for a full refund within 30 days of the completion of fitting, in
satisfactory condition. See store for details.
3)