Wednesday, November 2, 2022

The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 461 (961)

Just a few quick bits today since I'll be spending the afternoon working early voting. It could get dicey if the crowds we saw last week continue. A "full" slate of officials would be eight or nine, nine giving one extra person to handle things that pop up and require unusual attention, things such as same-day registration. This afternoon, there will be six of us. If we need to, we can probably get a staff member from the registrar's office to help out, but they have their own work to do. I am not optimistic about the election as a whole. Who knows what kind of election we will have in 2024 if 2022 swings red. Or might that election be our last?

I was pleased to read this morning that Shanghai Disney has kept rides operating for the people who are locked in there until they test negative for COVID. I wonder if they're charging them for food.

BA.5 is no longer the dominant COVID variant in the US. Omicron subvariants such as BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are. There is some new evidence that the bivalent vaccine tailored for BA.5 does offer some protection against the new subvariants. That only helps if you get vaccinated, though.

Finally, there is news of the tridemic or tripledemic or threesome or whatever you want to call the threesome of COVID, RSV, and influenza. Orange County, California has declared a health emergency as all three diseases spread rapidly. RSV used to be highest in December through February; it's already higher than that. Emergency rooms are seeing more children on a daily basis than ever before. The best protection? Do what we did two years ago. Wear a mask indoors or around other people, stay home when sick, wash your hands often and refrain from touching your face. 



No comments: