Monkey Pox is in the news. Monkey Pox is a distraction. I am not worried about it. I am worried about our Current Covid Status enough that I got up at 2:30 AM to write this post. If you need more info on Monkey Pox, check out Your Local Epidemiologist’s latest post about it - link at the bottom.
THE CURRENT STATUS: RED ALERT!!!
Covid is still with us! AND There goes our summer! At least the first half. I think China has the best idea with its Zero Covid Lockdown practice - its just the application that seems brutal sometimes. In the US and many other countries, our governments, under pressure from businesses and politicians and people who are simply worn out with the Pandemic, made the unfortunate political decision to relax masking mandates and opened up society in general, despite the warnings of the scientists.
Thus we are back to full concert venues, full classrooms, Viking Fest this weekend in Poulsbo, the West Coast Irish Piper’s Club Gathering today in SFO, etc - and many other events where people will be exposed to each other, including several friends. The scientists who saw data that this was a bad idea had to go along with it. Even with Biden in office and a slim Democratic majority in Congress, we are still letting beliefs make our decisions rather than rely on facts and the guidance of our scientists.
The Result of the Experiment is upon us: Memorial Day Weekend especially could be labeled a SuperSpreader Event. I am not kidding. Already I am seeing evidence that BA2.12.1 has broken immunity just in my circle of friends. One report yesterday about a an otherwise healthy and younger friend who shared a dessert with her father who tested positive the next day. Now she is symptomatic too. She was sick with what was most likely Covid at the start of the Pandemic. I suspect she is also vaccinated and boosted. And now she has Covid again.
I am hearing of several friends and even some family getting sick with this - all of them vaccinated and boosted and in some cases, having also had Covid before. Its as if we are in 2020 all over again. Except its also like last July (2021) when we all thought it was over, since we felt we had the vaccination and testing down. Then came Delta. Currently the rate of new infections is at about where Delta peaked - that was last Monday actually. Its headed upwards steeply. Fortunately prior infection or vaccination will give many a better outcome for most - the hospitalization and fatality rates are low, except for the unvaccinated who remain at high risk. But for some, including an unvaccinated relative who now thinks the all clear has been sounded and is now going about her business unmasked, the outcome will be tragic.
Notice that Nobody is Mentioning Herd Immunity. This imaginary concept doesn’t happen when this virus mutates so rapidly. You might have been immune before BA2.12.1 arrived. There will be additional variants. The evolutionary trend seems to be the virus’s increasing ability to overcome immunity from vaccination and previous exposure.
Unfortunately how Society will handle this sudden surge will be a mess. No doubt they will blame it all on Biden like they are blaming everything else on him, such as the economy, Putin’s war. The Male Republican Crybabies in Oklahoma and Idaho will blame Biden for getting their mistresses pregnant - and the inability to get an abortion. “It’s Clinton’s Fault” all over again. Hypocrites.
Unfortunately the granular level of how things are handled is a poor way to fix it. We need a National Policy. I know a school teacher who went to a family gathering at his sister’s. Since then everyone who attended and now who they live with have tested positive. Many have fortunately shown no symptoms. However, this teacher still has his classroom full of students to consider. So he called his boss to find out what to do - if he could simply call in sick. Due to the labor shortage - in this case, no available substitute teachers - he has to show up to teach. His boss said to just wear a mask. This is so wrong!!!
A similar thing happened to my relative who is a nurse at a private neonatal clinic in Colorado. Her husband brought it home from his work place, spread it to her and their two kids. Her mom babysits these kids and she caught it and brought it home to her husband! My relative was also told by her boss to come into work - and to just keep the mask on. And this is at a medical clinic! Again, this is so wrong!!! But this is how it is being done when businesses and school districts try to feel their path through the fog, instead of a national policy guided by science.
So this weekend and especially next weekend is The Big Party. Soon after everyone will be testing positive and many will be getting sick and most will eventually get well. Some will not. And many with mild cases might find themselves saddled with fatigue and other Long Covid symptoms for a long time afterwards. It will be like the Salmon Mousse. Even if you didn’t have any. “But I was vaccinated and boosted!” will be a common refrain. Some will declare that that this is proof the vaccinations do not work and will go back to recommending Horse Dewormer and Bleach up the Butt.
Elongation: If you didn’t hear the news yesterday about Elon Musk, go searching. Its everywhere. I am not surprised that he propositioned an employee flight attendant with $250,000 and a Horse, showing up with his pants down and something besides the tray in the “upright position” - and then apparently demoted her when she refused. This I suppose is typical behavior for oligarchs. I was reading the article on DailyKOS about this and then the comments, where I spotted the best name for this scandal: ElonGate.
I. Just. Can’t. Even.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/5/20/2099133/-SpaceX-paid-250-000-to-a-flight-attendant-after-she-said-Elon-Musk-exposed-himself-to-her