The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 50 (550)

Since the pandemic began, about 40 percent of state and territorial health officials have left their positions or been terminated. The Tennessee doctor fired after publicizing that kids over 14 could get vaccinated without parental consent likens vaccine mandates to the use of seat belts and car seats and driving sober. I read that, and thought that there's something wrong there. Using seat belts and putting your children in appropriate car seats protect you and yours; they do not really affect other people. If you aren't wearing a seat belt and crash your car, a second car involved in the accident is not affected by your not wearing a seat belt. Driving when impaired, though, directly affects not only you but also any other people involved in the accident. Similarly, not being vaccinated affects others by facilitating the spread of the virus and the potential creation of even worse variants. 

The fence around the Capitol is back up in anticipation of Saturday's demonstration asking for justice for the people arrested in connection with the January 6 insurrection. I hope they have more police on hand in the even the fence is again breached. At least neither side of Congress will be in session then. The whole right-wing uprising continues to scare me. The reaction from the right to POTUS's vaccine mandates is dangerously extreme. The governor of South Carolina, a Republican, has vowed to fight "to the gates of hell to protect the liberty and livelihood of every South Carolinian." The governor of Mississippi, another Republican, says, "The vaccine itself is life-saving, but this unconstitutional move is terrifying." And a conservative Senate candidate in Ohio advises, "Only mass civil disobedience will save us from Joe Biden's naked authoritarianism." Among the terms used by the right-wing media to describe the mandates: authoritarian, fascist, totalitarian, tyrannical. I'm beginning to think that a case could be made for the Republican party's being declared a domestic terrorist organization.

Around 60 percent of all covid cases in Georgia over the last 60 days occurred in K-12 schools. Ohio has seen a 44 percent increase in cases among school kids; the rest of the population has increased only 17 percent. While the numbers of covid cases are finally falling, the numbers of deaths are increasing. We're seeing about 150,000 new cases per day, down eight percent over the past two weeks. In the same time, deaths are up 33 percent to a daily average of 1,888.

North and Central America are leading the international surge in covid. In the Western Hemisphere, cases went up 20 percent in one week. The increase was driven by North America, where new cases were up by one third. Cases in Alberta doubled in that one week. South America may catch up yet. The Delta variant has yet to make serious inroads there. 

Italy is about to start requiring residents to show a health pass to go to work. They will have to show receipt of at least one dose of vaccine or have recently recovered from covid. Without either of these, they will have to take a swab test every two days. Those who do not comply can be suspended from their job and fined up to 1,500 Euros ($1,760). Italy has the goal of fully vaccinating 80 percent of its eligible population by the end of September. They may actually get there. Right now, almost 75 percent of Italians ages 12 and older have received at least one dose, and at least 65 percent are fully vaccinated. Needing to show a health pass to go to work makes me wonder about how that might change the whole calling-in-sick thing. 

A health pass in order to go to work is one thing. Starting next month, people in Los Angeles County will have to show proof of vaccination to enter "drinking establishments" or to attend "outdoor mega events." Gotta be vaccinated to work; gotta be vaccinated to play. Just not in the same place.