Feel-good story for today is right here. It at least put a big smile on my face. It also helps that last night's computer woes were likely weather-related, because it's so good so far this morning. Of course, I'm saving this draft to finish later and who knows what the tech gremlins may be up to then. Note: Tech gremlins appear to be taking the day off.
How has per-capita covid changed in the last two weeks? Cases in Alaska, Montana, and Wisconsin are up more than 20 percent; Montana is up 36 percent. Cases in Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida are down over 20 percent; Tennessee is down 39 percent. New infections relative to population are worse in 27 states and better in 23. Like quirky things? Covid has followed something of a two-month cycle: Cases stay up for two weeks and then start to decline. Delta started in July, just over two months ago, and is now going down in places.
As Florida seems to be declining in their number of cases, the governor has named a new surgeon general who is opposed to both mask and vaccine mandates. In fact, his take on vaccines is that "There is nothing special about them compared to any other preventive measure." He was trained at Harvard of all places. How does he think Florida should deal with the pandemic? "Florida will completely reject fear. Fear is done." Dare I note that last week, one in every 400 Florida residents alive in March 2020 has died from covid. Only cancer and heart disease claimed more lives.
If you shook your head and said, "Huh?" at the comment about rejecting fear, I have another eye-raising covid comment coming up. England is revising its travel rules. Travelers fully vaccinated with the AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, or Janssen vaccines in the US, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, or an EU country will be exempt from quarantine as long as they arrive from a a green- or amber-list country. (Amber is the middle level in the green-amber-red hierarchy of countries England uses to denote riskiness.) People fully vaccinated with the same vaccines in Africa, Latin America, or other countries including India will have to quarantine for 10 days. Only after that will they be considered fully vaccinated. Critics of this plan say that it will promote vaccine hesitancy by suggesting that something is wrong with the vaccine and that is why where you get it is important. Here's what a government spokesperson had to say: "Our top priority remains protecting public health, and reopening travel in a safe and sustainable way, which is why vaccine certification from all countries must meet the minimum criteria taking into account public health and wider considerations." I don't know about you, but my written comment to that was "HUH??"
I did not know and actually find it strange that New Zealand has one of the highest per-capita distributions of KFC and McDonald's outlets in the world. The government is currently in talks with representatives of KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell about giving vaccinations to customers as they wait in line. Instead of fries, it will be, "Would you like Pfizer with that order?"
African leaders are speaking to the UN General Assembly today, with Vaccine inequality predicted to be a major topic. I like a comment made by Norway's prime minister in her remarks to the Assembly: "Some countries have vaccinated their populations, and are the path to recovery. For others, the lack of vaccines and weak health systems pose a serious problem. In Africa, fewer than one in twenty people are fully vaccinated. In Europe, one in two are fully vaccinated. This inequity is clearly unfair." As a numerical example, in Congo, one in 1,000 people have gotten at least one shot. Think about that. One in two fully vaccinated in Europe, while one in 1,000 are partially vaccinated in Congo.
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee has said that athletes and team members who want to use USOPC training facilities must be fully vaccinated by November 1, while athletes vying to represent the US in the Winter Olympics or Paralympics must show proof of vaccination. The International Olympic Committee has yet to announce any international vaccine requirement. The status of spectators is also still undecided.
Finally, a word or two about masks. The amount of protection they give depends on the quality of the mask and its fit. In one study, communities with mask mandates were found to have lower hospitalization rates than areas not requiring masks. Of course, masks could be all in the eye of the beholder. At a gas station in southwestern Germany, a cashier insisted that a customer put on a mask. They have been required in shops since right after the pandemic started. The man left the store and returned in an hour with a gun (illegal in Germany). The cashier again asked the man to put on a mask. The man then shot the cashier in the head. He later told police that he saw the cashier as "responsible for the situation because he was enforcing the rules."
Maybe we should all break a rule in memory of that German cashier. I guess we could always enforce a rule, too. Personally, though, I kinda want to break one about now.
1 comment:
Do we consider a healthcare system to be dodgy/corrupt? If so, take ten days quarantine (unless we want to be your special friend in which case other rules apply). You aee expecting this to be based on some sort of science rather than politics. They are trying to please everyone, the hoteliers and travel business who want things open, the constituents who want a holiday in the sun but also those health advisors who'd rather us be hiding in the cellar.
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