The View from the Hermitage, Day 477

POTUS said yesterday that getting vaccinated was "the most patriotic thing" Americans could do. The US is, he said, emerging from the pandemic but not yet clear of it. He said that July 4, 2021 was about "independence from the virus" and a return to something resembling normal life. I'll buy the something resembling normal life part of that, but not the independence from the virus part. As long as covid thrives somewhere, variants will develop. And unless we are willing to keep our borders closed indefinitely, we are susceptible to whatever happens in the rest of the world. We will not be independent from the coronavirus until the coronavirus is under control around the world and people are willing and able to get vaccinated however often it takes. 

The TSA screened 2.2 million people on Saturday, the most since March 5, 2020, about a week before WHO declared a pandemic. Here's hoping enough of those people were vaccinated that there's not going to be even a mini-surge in a couple of weeks.

Forty-two percent of residents of Arkansas have gotten at least one shot of vaccine; 34 percent are fully vaccinated. The seven-day case average is only (?) 475, but over the last few weeks, the number has more than doubled. Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) says he doesn't think a third wave is likely, explaining, "I think our vaccination rate is sufficient that we can avoid the surge in hospitalizations that puts us in jeopardy." He followed that comment, however, with "If we stopped right here and didn't get a greater percentage of our population vaccinated, then we're going to have trouble in the next school year and in the winter." The state's vaccination rate is "sufficient," but the state needs a greater percentage of the population vaccinated? Am I missing something here?

Mucormycosis, the "black fungus" disease that spread in India is now in Afghanistan. It is fatal in about half of the cases. The black fungus eats bone and tissue and can spread to the eye socket and brain, with disfiguring surgery possibly needed. Mucormycosis is rare in the US and Europe, at least so far.

Francs has changed a rule that people had to get their second dose of vaccine at the same place they got their first. Since most residents of France, like those of many European countries, take a month's vacation sometime in the summer, a conflict was brewing over vaccine versus vacation. Now those who get their first dose before going on vacation can get their second dose while on vacation. Covid cases in the UK are rising exponentially, largely in younger age groups. Even so, Boris Johnson announced today that most restrictions will end as of July 19. That would make England the most unrestricted country in Europe. On the other side of the world, Sydney is on "red alert." Over 600 health workers in New South Wales are in isolation over covid case contact. An unvaccinated student nurse worked at two hospitals while infected.

Here at home in the US, vaccine hesitancy remains high in conservatives, evangelicals, and some minority groups. There appears to be a cultural divide on the way. In wealthier enclaves, those still wearing masks tend to be members of the "service class." Some companies do give vaccinated workers permission not to wear a mask, but it's often on the honor system. A Harvard study suggest birthdays are a vector for virus transmission. Using health insurance claims, the researchers looked at covid rates of families in the two weeks after someone had a birthday and found covid risk rose by almost one third. The biggest infection risk was in the weeks after a child's birthday. While adults may be willing to forego celebrating their own birthdays, not giving a child a birthday party can be difficult. And holding a party at one's home rather than elsewhere can feel oh so much safer.