The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 267 (767)

A long day, but I've done all but one of the things I've been putting off not to mention physical therapy (the knee pain is apparently a nerve issue from one hip being higher than the other) and lunch with our financial advisor. I'm starting this later than I usually do, but lunch was more than I usually eat, so dinner may not be needed.

The CDC has asked the Justice Department to appeal the ruling striking down the mask mandate for public transportation. The appeals court has a conservative bent as does the Supreme Court. One concern is that should the case go all the way to the Supreme Court, a ruling against the mandate there could weaken the CDC's authority in future public health matters. A poll conducted by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research over five days just before the ruling showed 56 percent of Americans as favoring masks on public transportation. It should not be surprising that there was a partisan divide in those results. Eighty percent of Democratic respondents favored requiring masks on public transit while only 33 percent of Republicans did.

Regional officials at WHO have encouraged everyone to continue to wear masks in public, saying, "Our general advice is that the general public should wear a non-medical mask indoors, or in outdoor settings where physical distancing of at least one meter cannot be maintained."

Growing out of the pandemic, routine childhood vaccinations are way down. This may be due to skipped checkups or unease over the covid vaccine raising unease over vaccines in general. On the school front, chronic absences have skyrocketed now that full, non-virtual instruction is back in force. In one Connecticut district, over 40 percent of students are chronically absent this year. While absentee rates for high-income students are leveling off, rates for low-income students are worsening. Some schools are offering attendance incentives such as gift cards for groceries or gas and adding night classes for students who are working during the day. At one school, the staff member in charge of attendance eats an insect monthly, but only students with perfect attendance can see her do it. One month, the insect was chocolate-covered; in another, it was salted. Neither sounds particularly appetizing to me.