I visited my mom this morning, and the entry questions at her assisted living facility once again include a series on vaccination. The first question asks if you are fully vaccinated. The second question asks whether you have received all but the booster shot. The times, they are a'changing.
Protests continue in Europe even as it continues to be the pandemic's epicenter. The national lockdown in Austria starts tomorrow. Rather than hit the grocery store to stock up on munchies, some 40,000 people (a police estimate) protested in Vienna. There were also protests in Italy against the health pass. Attendance there was nowhere near what it was in Austria. With the health pass required for entry to clubs and bars, 84 percent of Italians ages 19 through 29 are vaccinated. There may be new or tightened restrictions in Germany where case numbers have soared, largely among children, teens, and unvaccinated adults. Portugal has one of Europe's highest vaccination rates but is still adding some restrictions. Finally, the president of Slovakia has raised the prospect of a nationwide vaccine mandate.
The state legislature in Florida passed and the governor signed a bill blocking covid vaccine mandates. The governor said that he wants to protect workers who could lose their jobs for not getting vaccinated. The law prohibits employers from enforcing strict vaccine mandates; Disney, for example, has put its staff vaccination mandate on hold. Weekly covid testing can be required but must be at the expense of the employer not the employee. Fines could cost $10,000 per day per employee for businesses with fewer than 99 employees or $50,000 for larger businesses. The mandate ban also applies to government entities and school districts.
A fully vaccinated but also immuno-compromised Canadian senator died from covid just days after getting home from the hospital. In a statement released after her death, she urged people to get vaccinated noting how different her fight would have been had she not been vaccinated.
As holidays and winter loom, Americans are desperate for normalcy even as covid cases climb. Boosters have been approved for all adults, though are only urged for people over 50 or with underlying medical conditions. Pfizer has asked the FDA to authorize its antiviral Paxlovid. Paxlovid is geared toward older people and those with underlying conditions. It is meant to be dispensed by pharmacies and taken at home.
How long will masks be with us? When might we be able to stop wearing them? The CDC recommends masks for everyone where community transmission is "substantial or high." Right now, 85 percent of US counties meet this criterion of 50 new cases weekly per 100,000 residents. That suggests masks aren't going anywhere anytime soon. From an infectious disease modeler at the University of Cambridge: "I think mask-wearing is, in many ways, one of the interventions you probably want to relax last. Mask-wearing is very, very low cost in comparison to most other interventions." Many experts say that it will be easier to ease mask requirements in 2022. They also note that some people may wear masks indefinitely (raising my hand here and saying, "Me! Me!"), especially in cold and flu seasons.
Vaccine mandates. Boosters. Masks. All are just details. I have to agree with a UCLA epidemiologist: "Cases are starting to rise again, and we have not yet conquered this virus. We may be tired of Covid and Covid restrictions and public health measures, but this virus is certainly not done with us yet."
2 comments:
A bad cold caught me last week (right after a stressful move, right on schedule) and I've been wearing my mask as a comfort while outdoors. I didn't think much of it until I went to a honey farm and the owner said he was vaccinated and I didn't need to wear it on his account. I replied that I had a bad cold, that I was vaccinated too, but my warm breath trapped in the mask felt really good on my poor, sore nose. I've even been wearing them to bed for that very reason!
I no longer feel guilty if I forget one while outside, but a mask will be my accessory of choice for a long, LONG time yet.
Bird 'Pie (ticking "thoroughly clean oven and racks" off my to-do list today)
My last grocery shop would suggest we're done with masks now except in a hospital/care setting. I would have hoped to see people in masks when they have a cold, we've had plenty of time to think about transmission and being socially responsible. I wish I had more faith in human nature than I do.
Over here we're on day something or other of waiting for a lab covid test result. I am now at the stage of believing it lost down a radiator, maybe if he'd noted down the tracking number as I suggested he do we'd have more of a clue.
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