Busy day, so this will be a short post. I lunched with my oldest friend here, oldest in terms of her age and our friendship; we were supposed to lunch last week, but my now-departed cold reared its ugly head. Then I had the hair appointment that was also postponed by that darn cold. I managed a few notes this morning in between walking and heading out, so I'll just go with those.
Think this pandemic has been bad? Experts say that the next flu pandemic could be worse than the covid pandemic has been if the world is not prepared. The National Academy of Medicine is advising that work needs to start now on next-generation vaccines.
I think I wondered here recently when "fully vaccinated" would include a booster shot. The UK says it will not be long before it changes "fully" to include the booster. Other European countries are talking about doing the same thing.
Looking at cases per 100 people in the last two weeks, four US states saw increases of over 20 percent: Minnesota, Michigan, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Some other states saw increases of 10 to 20 percent: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Arizona, New Mexico, and Kansas. Only one state had a decrease of over 20 percent, Alaska. Idaho and Montana saw decreases between 10 and 20 percent. In other words, more states are trending up than are trending down, not what we want to see as winter and winter holidays set in. Two-thirds of Americans plan Thanksgiving gatherings similar to pre-pandemic ones. This too is worrisome.
What else is working against us here in the US? We're holding steady at 59 percent of Americans being fully vaccinated. Only 37 percent of adults over 65 have gotten a booster dose, and only 10 percent of children ages five through 11 have gotten an initial dose. Rapid tests are hard to find if you're looking to be safer in terms of gatherings or you want to follow up on symptoms that might be a common cold or might not be. Finally, while daily deaths are down 13 percent, there are still over 1,000 each day.
Words of wisdom from the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy: "This virus is doing what this virus does. We don't understand why surges start, we don't understand why they end."
Finally, Germany continues to set records for the number of new cases, seeing a 61 percent increase over two weeks, and two Austrian states are imposing general lockdowns next week that cover both unvaccinated and vaccinated people.
The question came up over lunch of just why we're again welcoming European tourists just as their case numbers are surging. It was only partially rhetorical.
2 comments:
DIL (with asthma and other immune issues) got a booster on Tuesday and was laid pretty low yesterday. Feeling a bit better today. Good for her! Grandchild between 5-12 now has his first shot; next to come in Dec. Toddler is good about wearing a mask at preschool and elsewhere. We'll be together for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
When I check in for a visit at my folks' Assisted Living facility, the screen that poses the various questions about vaccination status has that distinction: partially vaxed is defined as having the required initial vaccine, but not having the booster yet.
Bird 'Pie
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