The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 395 (895)

Not much coronavirus news out there today, and while not really bad news, I'm not sure it would pass for good news. Pfizer boosters targeting both the original and Omicron strains should be available shortly after Labor Day. They will be available to everyone ages 12 and over. The Moderna booster will only be available to people ages 18 and older when it comes out a bit later. The folks who need this the most are senior citizens, an age group into which I crept a year or so ago. Of that age group, people ages 65 and older, some 71 percent have gotten the first booster. Only 41 percent of that 71 percent have gotten a second, meaning it's not at all clear how many will rush out to get the third.

It may not help that funding for "free" vaccinations is drying up. Monkeypox and potential polio outbreaks are diverting resources from the coronavirus. Some state officials, not expecting a big response this fall, want to know why they should push vaccines no one wants. It only makes things worse that the federal government has run out of money to reimburse entities for shots given to uninsured people. The US is depending more and more on vaccination as other preventive measures such as masking or distancing are being weakened. This is not working given the reluctance to be vaccinated and/or boosted. As evidence, the US per capita booster rate is lower than that of about 70 other countries. The covid death rate in the US is 80 percent higher than the rate in Canada and 30 percent higher than the rate in the EU.

If you have not gotten your second set of free covid test kits, ask now or you likely won't get them. Distribution of the free tests ends on Friday or when supplies run out, whichever happens first. We have used some of our kits to test after we've been in groups of unmasked people especially indoors. The Professor also shared a couple with students worried that they might have been exposed. It was nice to have them and not have to debate whether to go someplace to be tested on a "what if, just in case" basis. They have actually now passed their expiration dates, but if needed we will likely still use them. I read somewhere that they would be good for some time after the date on the packaging. That was in response to the question of whether the free test kits were offered in an attempt to get rid of almost-too-old kits.