Yesterday, I suggested that I did not find a statement about POTUS feeling well as grammatically correct. Back in the day when they taught grammar in English classes, I learned that because "feel" is a verb, "well" is an adverb modifying it. If you feel well, you're doing a good job feeling things such as shapes in a canvas bag. So saying that POTUS "continues to feel quite well," I have to ask just what is he feeling? When "good" is put after it, "good" remains an adjective. It modifies the person who feels good, not the verb. So in speaking of one's health, "feeling good" is the appropriate usage. I do hope POTUS continues to feel good.
Monkeypox moment: California has joined New York City in declaring a monkeypox state of emergency. The federal government also now has a national monkeypox coordinator.
I read a troubling article on the rise of single-issue voters for whom the single issue is ending vaccine mandates and not just the ones for covid. It's not clear how this will affect the November elections. I worry when I read that a "longtime anti-vaccine advocate" comments, "So many people, but especially young parents, have come to this cause in the last year. It's been a huge gift to the movement." Several anti-vaccine activists are trying to take control of the board that oversees Sarasota. Florida's flagship public hospital. One of them posted on social media, "All 4 of us are devoted Christians, conservatives and patriots who deserve to make the [Sarasota Memorial Hospital] system stronger, more accountable, with greater transparency." How does accountability get measured. Will they account for the people who get infected by people who have not been vaccinated against measles? Measles is a nasty disease that people can die of. And when an unvaccinated person contracts the disease they are not vaccinated against, does an insurance company have to pay for their care? Lots of questions there.
Daily covid deaths are relatively low in Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. Besides high vaccine compliance, mask-wearing is viewed as a way to protect other people. Besides consistent mask-wearing, people in those cultures take sick leave as needed. How many people here in the US do that? I dislike seeing high school graduates who get attendance awards for never having missed even one day of school. How many days did they go to school perhaps not very symptomatic but still contagious?
WHO is urging countries with BA.4 and BA.5 surges to urge vaccine taking and reinstate mask-wearing. In Singapore, masks are required in indoor public spaces including libraries, markets, shopping centers, and schools. Masks are also required at weddings, though the bride and groom are allowed to switch to face shields during the ceremony. Otherwise, masks stay on except when a person is eating or drinking.
In Japan, masks are referred to as "face pants." People don't typically leave home without pants on, and masks are just as important. Japanese wear masks even outdoors. During this summer's heat waves, the government has had to tell people to remove masks to reduce the risk of heat stroke. Responsibility for the common good makes infection-control measures more than just a political issue.
Responsibility for the common good. Looking after other people. What concepts! I wish more people around here cared for others as much as for themselves. What a wonderful world this could be.
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