The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 276 (776)

I just hit "publish" for yesterday's post. Our router is having intermittent problems keeping a connection, and I was apparently not connected when I hit "publish" and shut my laptop last night. It was a long day.

Assuming that the FDA and CDC authorize vaccine(s) for children ages four or five and under, how many parents will take their children to get vaccinated? Under 30 percent of children ages five through 11 are fully vaccinated ("fully vaccinated" means two doses; boosters have yet to be authorized for children), along with under 60 percent of children ages 12 through 17. Fewer than 30 percent of the youngest kids? Let's go with 25 percent at most. 

One of the things I find most interesting about the early-childhood vaccines is that both Pfizer and Moderna say their vaccines work fine in kids from six months to two years and not as well in the rest of the under-fives. Why the vaccines don't work as well in that "in-the-middle" age group intrigues me. Does some sort of biological developing go on then or slow down then that contributes to the effect? Your guess is as good as mine; I hope the new data to be submitted to the FDA in the next little while explains this better.

Cases and hospitalizations are rising in 47 states. It's the first widespread increase since January's Omicron surge. Just a month ago, cases were relatively flat nationwide. That has definitely changed; the good side is that those cases so far are mostly mild. Over 30 states and territories have seen hospitalization rates rise over the past two weeks. In much of the Northeast, the rate has risen by 40 percent or more. That said, hospitalizations are still at one of the lowest points of the pandemic. 

The US is seeing fewer than 400 deaths per day, the lowest daily average since before Omicron, and down 20 percent in the last two weeks. Interestingly, over 42 percent of the deaths in January and February were in vaccinated people, most of whom had not yet gotten a booster. The elderly remain the most at-risk group, accounting for a third of deaths from Delta and two-thirds of the deaths from Omicron. My Mom is still the only resident of her assisted living facility whom I see wearing a mask. She is also one of the only 10 residents and staff members who expressed interest in getting a second booster shot that has yet to be given. I somewhat see the residents without masks and not interested in boosters as being more ready to pass than My Mom. I can't believe it's a devil-may-care, let-the-chips-fall-where-they-will sort of attitude. I think that if it were, I would see more or any, actually, residents smiling. 

The Sons are running a 100K race today, crewed by The Professor. My Brother arrives tomorrow for a visit that will include Mother's Day. I think I'll go do the last bit of straightening up for his visit and then stop to savor the silent solitude.