The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 288 (788)

If you thought the lockdowns of city sections or even entire cities in China were bad, North Korea has locked down the country. That's right, the entire country. They just reported their first covid outbreak, declaring it a "maximum emergency." I find it difficult to believe that they made it over two years without any cases, though they do keep their borders tightly controlled. First outbreak or not, it's not going to be pretty over there. It's not clear how many people there have been vaccinated, but it's clear that not many have. I'd bet those who have been vaccinated are in the political elite while the general population sits unimmunized. 

As for Chinese lockdowns, the ones in Shanghai closed a General Electric Healthcare factory that makes medical imaging contrast material aka dye. Doctors here in the US are having to prioritize patients, doing scans on the most serious ones while postponing scans for those who can safely wait. The Shanghai plant is now up to 25 percent capacity. The goal is to have the normal flow back by the end of June. GE is also using a plant in Ireland to meet the need.

POTUS has ordered federal flags to fly at half-staff until next Monday to mark the one million deaths from covid. We're oh so very close if we aren't already there. The CDC puts the death toll at over 995,000, while The New York Times has it at over 997,000. While we're on numbers, there were around 159,000 confirmed new cases yesterday along with 800 new hospitalizations; both of those are the highest in several weeks. Deaths were at almost double the seven-day average, 585 deaths compared to the average of 308. If we're gaining ground on covid, we're doing it slowly.

Moderna has asked the FDA for authorization to give its vaccine to children ages six through 11 years. It's not clear how much authorization will help get children vaccinated. Right now, only 28.5 percent of children in the six-through-11 age group have gotten two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. I'm not sure offering a second vaccine will get any more parents to vaccinate their children at least in the short term. 

The EU says that member countries no longer need to require masks on planes and in airports. Airlines can continue to require masks if they want to. It was recommended that masks still be required by airlines for flights to and from countries that still require masks. 

Finally, there are data suggesting that long covid might be linked to viral fragments left in a person's gut. One researcher calls these fragments "ghosts." Researchers have already found viral fragments in hearts, eyes, and brains. These fragments have been detected up to 230 days after the original infection. I admit that in the back of my mind is that all this could be a Twilight Zone episode in which everyone who gets infected retains some viral fragment that activates after some time period with appropriately eerie results. Here's hoping ... not.