Mornin’ Politocadoes!
Remember Covid? Politics Thread remembers. As state after state once again relaxed mask mandates across the country after Omicron finally started to see a significant drop-off in cases, it’s BA2 subvariant has emerged. The subvariant has spread rapidly across the country becoming the dominant strain in the US. Overall, cases have dropped by 5% to an average of 28,700 per day and deaths have fallen 34% from 900 patients to approximately 600 patients, which was the average two weeks ago. Officials are not expecting a rapid rise in hospitalizations and deaths, but given that the UK may be seeing a rise in the number of hospitalizations of the elderly, it might be too early to say.
It’s something I think we should have learned by now about the nature of viruses, especially with one that is as contagious as this one is. Viruses mutate. They can change rapidly especially within populations that aren’t practicing effective mitigation strategies. We see-saw, we enforce these measures until things die down and then give the virus a chance to do it all again. It just feels short-sighted and irresponsible to have everyone pretend that everything can go back to normal.
Masks go up, cases go down. Masks go down, cases go up. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. (for at least 20 seconds).
The second booster shot has been approved for people over the age of 50. If you or your loved ones can do so, I’d recommend it. So does Mr. T.!
Welcome to Thursday! Please be excellent to each other in the comments. The Mayor McSquirrel Rule remains in effect. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, if you have not been vaccinated please consider finding time to get an appointment. If you have had only one dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, do not forget about the second dose! THIRD DOSES are now available for anyone over the age of 18! You can get any type of shot you like, provided you have already been double vaccinated. Even if you are vaccinated, please continue to maintain social distancing measures, wear masks in public areas in accordance with CDC guidelines in regard to your own vaccination status. EVEN VACCINATED INDIVIDUALS CAN STILL GET AND SPREAD IT.
