Another Sunday, another week. I'm up to 61 of those weeks now. News of the pandemic becomes more sparse, especially on the domestic front. The CDC continues to clarify its guidance on mask-wearing. They've specified that schools should continue to use masks for the rest of the 2020-21 school year. Not every 12- to 15-year old who is going to be vaccinated will have been vaccinated by then. It's likely that kids under 12 won't get a shot at a shot until fall at the earliest. The nurses' union, meanwhile, has come out against the latest mask guidance. They're still on the front lines of the pandemic, after all.
The CDC said its mask decision was based on two factors, the first being that vaccinated people don't transmit the virus should they get a breakthrough infection. Second, the shots are (so far) effective against the existing variants. The CDC is so sure on the first factor that they will stop monitoring breakthrough infections among people who've been vaccinated unless they lead to hospitalization or death.
Remember Italy's troubles in the pandemic's opening days? The Italian daily death toll just fell below 100 for the first time since October. This week, there were 93 deaths, down from 139 a week ago. There were 5,753 new cases, down from 8,289. Western Europe seems to be heading down the same road as the US. Meanwhile in India, there are now bodies buried in shallow sand graves along riverbanks to go along with the bodies floating in the water. The cost of cremations has tripled.
The WHO has reported that the second year of the pandemic will be deadlier than the first. Since February 29, 2020, there have been over 163 million cases reported and over 3,375,000 deaths. How the (or a) third year might look, no one is saying. One article I read this morning said it is likely that Australia will keep tight travel restrictions in place "well into 2022." Planning for a third year now will likely yield better outcomes than waiting until the last minute might.
WHO is urging wealthy countries to rethink plans to vaccinate children and instead send vaccines to poorer countries. I don't think that argument will gain much support here since the rate of vaccination is a big factor in getting masks off of faces. Plus, more vaccine may be needed for adults here. The Pfizer CEO has said that a third shot is likely. The head of Germany's independent vaccine advisory panel says it's likely all German citizens will need another vaccination next year.
There was more pandemic news, but much of it went into more detail than I was willing to try to summarize. It's the weekend after all. I hope you've had a good one.
No comments:
Post a Comment