Texas and Florida are open for business (and disease)!
100% capacity. Masks no longer mandatory in public places…
Most other states are loosening restrictions significantly.
Although with more people getting vaccinated, more people have been sick leading to some degree of protection along with slowly lowering covid-related deaths and hospitalizations, it may seem like it is safe to open up. It is, but we must do so slowly and carefully and in 2-3 week increments, since infection and hospitalizations lag infections by approximately that amount of time. It can’t be one extreme to the other.
We also need to keep things in perspective.
- More than 2000 Americans are STILL dying every day. Just as a reminder, this is the level we were experiencing when we first locked down last spring!
- Only a small percentage of people are vaccinated. Less than 10% of Americans have received both doses and another 15% have received the first dose. These numbers will quickly increase with the roll out of the 1-dose J&J vaccine which is great. By the way, there is no difference between Pfizer and Moderna. If the J&J is offered, TAKE IT. Although it may be a little less effective against the regular virus, it’s only slightly less effective and it’s better at covering the variants which are on a rapid rise.
- Protection after infection is limited and wanes over time (within 6 months for sure).
We are NOT out of the woods yet.
The variant viruses now account for at least 10% of new cases in the US and it is likely much, much higher since we have one of the lowest levels of genomic testing worldwide. We know these variants are much more infectious, but it now also appears that they do actually cause more significant disease and are more deadly than the regular old original SARS-Cov-2 virus. I miss the old Covid. Who would have thunk?
And soon, tens of thousands of kids will be congregating at beaches and vacation homes for spring break. After their alcohol fueled misadventures in bars, clubs and packed homes, they will travel back, all over the country, back to their schools and homes. Doing what? Spreading more virus to their friends, families and neighbors.
The message can’t be that “all is well and we are getting this pandemic under control and it’s safe to go about your business”.
The message must be to “venture out, but do so safely and continue to wear a mask, distance, wash your hands and avoid large crowds”.
If you and your parents have been vaccinated and have been careful, visit them. Give them a hug and a kiss. But don’t go to a bar, packed with sweaty drunk people, talking loudly while spewing their saliva and lung secretions all over your face!
I’m getting burned out. One can only watch and listen to so much insanity before one’s head explodes. I heard one of the docs I follow comment the other day about how he was criticized for questioning inaccurate statements made by a lecturer at a recent conference he attended. After the lecture, someone came up to him and asked “Do you know who that was? He has 200,000 followers on social media”. I forget which platform it was. Justin Bieber has 114 million Twitter followers and Kim Kardashian has 68 million. Would you take medical advice from them? Can they even add properly or calculate percentages? Have they spent 13 or more years in post-graduate education learning and studying medicine and science? Lessons in song writing or which mascara goes with which lipstick advice, sure, but not medical advice.
I know information evolves as we continue to learn but the basics of infectious disease spread are pretty clear.
Have a great weekend but PLEASE continue to do all the things we know are important, proven by scientists and reliable medical practitioners.
MASK UP. Wear a good one. Wear it properly. Cover your nose. Stop touching it.
DISTANCE and stay away from larger crowds.
WASH your hands and use sanitizer judiciously.
DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE, especially after touching the mask!
PROTECT YOUR EYES when appropriate.
VENTILATE.
VACCINATE. It’s crazy how many misconceptions and misunderstandings about this, and other vaccines are still out there.
GET HEALTHY!!!!! I just read a few studies reporting that merely being overweight doubles (100% increase) your risk of getting infected as well as needing to be hospitalized and having a severe case of Covid.
Stay safe and be well.
AC