The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 304 (804)

A study that has not yet been peer-reviewed, suggests that BA.4, BA.5, and BA.2.12.1 are both more infectious and more pathogenic than BA.2 is or was. The study is from the same lab that was first to report BA.2 was more infectious and pathogenic than BA.1. BA.4 and BA.5 show more immune escape than BA.2.12.1, and BA.4 and BA.2.12.1 can overcome immunity provided by earlier infections with other Omicron subvariants. 

Travel is recovering and nearing pre-pandemic levels. Some 39.2 million Americans plan to travel this weekend, most by road. I am not one of them. Another non-medical effect of the pandemic is that 662,000 fewer students enrolled in undergraduate programs in spring 2022 than one year earlier, a 4.7 percent decline. Enrollment in graduate and professional programs also decline but only by one percent. While part of this is likely due to the pandemic, some analysts say that students may be questioning whether college is really a ticket to the middle class and a good-paying job given the debt they may incur along the way. 

Beijing is not under an official lockdown, but not many places are open. Those that are, such as convenience or grocery stores, require proof of a recent health screening for entry. Some outdoor activities have been restricted as well. Zero covid at its finest. Some neighborhoods in Shanghai are reopening after protests by residents. Cases in both Beijing and Shanghai are declining.

I found the following interesting despite how angry it made me:

The US has 4 percent of the world's population,

                  16 percent of the world's confirmed covid deaths, and

                  40 percent of the world's guns.

The US is also the only industrialized nation in the world in which states are making abortion illegal. We have lots not to be proud of.