The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 300 (800)

Three hundred blog posts under one title following 500, under another title. I was obviously very naive when I thought this would come to an end in a matter of months, perhaps a whole year, maybe? Thinking back, it does not seem like 800 days. The time between my first post and now is compressed. Did some event happen in May 2020, or was it May 2021? My mind often thinks of the period between the month of March and the present. The only problem is that I don't recall at first that it was March 2020, and now it's May 2022. I am so not ready to go through this again with monkeypox or any other virus for that matter. 

As excitement begins over the prospect of a covid vaccine for the youngest children, the Kaiser Family Foundation's monthly polling reports that only about one in five parents with children under the age of five say that they would vaccinate their young child(ren) right away. In the January poll, one in three parents said that they would take their young child(ren) in as soon as possible. That suggests that the one in five might change by the time the vaccine is authorized. 

A new study suggests that one in eight covid patients who were hospitalized have myocarditis--heart inflammation--up to two months later. They may also show abnormalities of the lungs and kidneys. Fewer than one-third of patients with long-term covid symptoms feel fully recovered a year later. One drawback to the study was that few of the participants had been vaccinated. 

The likely Republican candidate for governor in Connecticut had a positive covid test after exposure at an unknown place or date with an unknown person. He is fully vaccinated and boosted but did spend the day before at an anti-mask picnic.

WHO released data on excess deaths, or death above normal, by country. The US ranked fifth with 15 percent more deaths than expected. The four countries above it are the Czech Republic (16 percent), Chile (17 percent), Poland (19 percent), and Romania (20 percent). That's a list on which you would hope to be as far down as possible.

The CDC revamped their travel risk list. Level 4 used to be the highest risk, but that is now reserved for special circumstances only. Countries with over 100 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days belong at Level 3. Five new nations have been elevated to Level 3: Bahamas, Belize, Eswatini, Montserrat, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Most of the countries in Central Europe remain at level 3, as does Canada. 

So, if today is Day 800, some rough math suggests Day 1,000 would be in December. As that day approaches, assuming I'm still posting about covid and not monkeypox, I'll have to think of a new heading. The Road led from the Hermitage. Where is the Road going? At this point, who knows?