Relaxed and/or Moving On
Many key lessons have been learned. Remember when all of the military hospital ships were deployed to areas like New York and Los Angeles? Hospital facilities were set up to serve the non-COVID patients, due to pleas from state government leaders. However, too much went unused. Fewer patients needed non-COVID care than expected.
So … a better solution emerged …. military medical personnel stepped in for exhausted hospital staff or to work alongside them, or in additional unused spaces.
Experiences like this, and the better strategies and policies that emerge, will make us in a better position next time!
We Got Our Second Booster
On April 3, we received our second booster. It’s been over 4 months since we had the first one, and due to our age, we were eligible for it. We will continue to follow the medical guidelines to stay as safe is we can.
People Don’t Know How to Make the Decision
With Omicron cases flat, andBA.2 subvariant causing little activity at the moment, the prevailing advice is that people need to manage their own COVID 19 risk assessment, and not rely on mandates, closures, or other mitigations to “control” the spread. Students no longer have to mask, and masking isn’t required in indoor settings. There still may be events when vaccination status is required, especially when traveling (we are required to be fully vaccinated in order to enter Canada for our July vacation).
But unfortunately, people argue about the same old issues when really, they need to self-manage depending on the case rates in the areas where they live as well as the vaccination status and medical facility capacity. Wear a mask when the risk tells you it’s there, and take into consideration personal risk (age, health issues). I feel confident we can go on this Canadian Rockies trip, even if the cases go up a little. We will self-manage, and the tour company has a very good COVID management policy.
So if anyone talks about mask-wearing, vaccination status, or anything of that nature, I just keep quiet, smile, and pay attention to what is going on in our area and make decisions accordingly.
The Mask Wearing Debate (# 1,021+ WILL IT EVER STOP)
Same arguments, expecting reasonable dialogue or some sort of consensus. Don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon!
People are STILL arguing about masks! And now, in mid-April … Philadelphia has reinstated the mask mandate due to a 50% increase in COVID cases due to the OMICRON 2 variant. It is scheduled to take place on
A lawsuit has been filed by businesses and residents that seeks to overturn this mandate, saying it is illegal.
A federal judge in Florida has voided the federal mask mandate that covers airplanes and other public transportation. As of April 20, mask mandates have been rescinded in most public spaces. The medical and scientific community isn’t so thrilled. Although the reasons for releasing the mandates are valid, there is still the concern regarding Omicron BA-2 as more information is needed, and the fact that the unmasked majority increases the chance that vulnerable people could get infected.
Protection Doesn’t Last Long
The concern is that people won’t comply with repeated boosters to increase their level of protection. The pharmaceutical companies will HAVE to develop an annual vaccine, perhaps to be taken with others. This will make it easier and more routine for people to “get the shot.”
A Pfizer executive spoke on a podcast about what is underway. There is promising news regarding vaccines for children aged 5-11. And treatment protocols are soon to roll out, such as this very promising one.
Immunity from natural infection doesn’t last long. Maybe a few months. People can get sick, and then get sick again … and again, and from the same variant. It has happened. So much on the status of this pandemic still depends upon the behavior of people.
Testing News!
On April 14, the FDA announced that they have authorized a first COVID 19 diagnostic test using breath samples. They issued an emergency use authorization, and can be performed in environments where the patient specimen is both collected and analyzed, such as doctors offices. Results are available in less than three minutes.
Any improvement in the availability, implementation, and processing of COVID 19 tests will do much to curb this pandemic …. and, put us in a better position to react when there is another one.
In Case You Were Wondering
The cases are still flat where we live, although we are hearing that case counts are going up elsewhere in the US.
We are leaving in a few days for a road trip to California, and hope that cases stay stable during our trip. We’ll take masks with us though, just in case!
So Much More Being Said About Long Covid
Some are saying that Long Covid will be “up there” with heart conditions as a major cause of great illness or death.
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