Not a whole lot of covid news, so let's start with a great quote I found in an article written by someone who while suffering from covid was reading books he'd always thought he should read. The quote is from Gower in History (Gower is an area in Wales; the book is nonfiction) by Paul Ferris.
The unsettling thing about history is that we know what was going to happen to people next, and they did not. Our past was still their future.
"Our past was still their future." That applies so well to so many attempts at understanding history, what happened between then and now. It would not sound as profound, but on one level I want to change it to include the present. Our past was still their future, as is our present. If you need something to ponder in a boring meeting, try this.
Might we be offered fourth shots or a second booster soon? Some other countries are already implementing them. El Salvador has approved them for all Salvadorans and foreigners ages 12 and older. Australia is offering them to people over the age of 65, residents of nursing homes, and people with compromised immune systems. Germany is telling people over the age of 70 and those with pre-existing health conditions to get a fourth shot. I'm not sure it would make sense to offer a second booster here in the US. Our vaccination program barely exists any longer. Initial doses and boosters are at their lowest levels since December 2020, which is right about the time vaccinations started. Only 64.5 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated (two shots of an mRNA vaccine or one of Johnson & Johnson) and only 44 percent have gotten a (first) booster.
Things are looking dire in China. Shanghai, the largest city, is reporting over 1,500 new cases daily. A nurse who worked at a hospital died of an asthma attach after finding the doors to the emergency department locked due to covid restrictions. There are no signs that the Chinese government is loosening the zero-covid policy. The director of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission is telling the public to slow down their lives, cutting out outings and travel. In other words, stay home.
Will we know when our next surge might be coming? The jury is still out on that one. People are using home tests more and more and only reporting them if symptoms are bad enough that they seek treatment. The CDC is cutting the number of labs doing covid testing. The focus is changing from cases to hospitalizations which, given home tests, is not a bad idea, but hospitalizations are a lagging indicator. While we do have a wastewater surveillance program, it is more a patchwork than comprehensive program. Finally, government funding is running out for vaccines, treatments, and testing. We may not see the next surge until it has engulfed us. We'll see the car coming just as it hits us.
