September 3, 2024
Yep, again. Don’t ask me how many times I’ve rolled up my sleeve for the drugstore pharmacist, because without the little vaccination record card, I’ve lost track. I just hope this new Covid vaccine attracts more takers than the last round, especially seniors like me. Only about a third of us bothered to get that earlier shot although we, along with the immunocompromised, make up a big majority of the folks who are dying.
It doesn’t seem clear yet if the summer surge in cases is shrinking along with the daylight as we drift into fall. These CDC charts show the death rate is slightly lower than last year, but hospitalizations are running higher. And as of this writing, there’s a high or very high virus level in the wastewater in most states.
The surge caused a lot of cases at the Republican and Democratic conventions, where delegates were packed in like polarized sardines and hardly anyone was masking. Both parties are trying to keep the problem off the election-year radar, which makes sense because most voters are convinced it’s already history.
Some of us know better. I’m pretty well resigned to dealing with it for the rest of my life, however long or short it might be. This does not mean living in heebie-jeebie land. It means applying a little common sense to guard myself and those around me from what can still be a life-changing threat. Just ask Eric here what can happen when we ignore it. So what if I need to get vaxxed every year? The flu shots I get every fall have saved me from plenty of misery.
I got the latest vaccine now so I’ll be protected for some travel later in the month. A pack of drunken bozos blasting Metallica or Trump speeches next door might doom the trip, but the virus won’t. Take care and be safe.