Texas Gov, Greg Abbott, has come out and said that we will not be going back to a Mask Mandate. So any talk from local government officials is just that, talk. Not going to happen.
Alabama Republican Gov calls out the unvaccinated for the current surge. I wish more Republican leaders including former President Trump would make public announcements urging people to get vaccinated.
Let me get this straight, a year ago with the virus surging, it was Trump's fault. Now after acquiring a vaccine in record time, the current surge is Trump's obligation? How about the bumbling liar who ran blaming Trump for how the virus was handled. He's doing a shitty job and he has a vaccine?
It's not about what happened its about right now and we need to get more people vaccinated.. Those who are resistant to the vaccine are disproportionately Republicans. So I would think it would be a good idea for prominent Republicans including the former president and members of Congress to get out there and vigorously encourage the unvaccinated to change their minds
They're going back to masks even on the vaccinated? What kind of a message does that send? They're talking more lockdowns. They want kids in school to wear masks. It will never end for these dictators.
Another Republican Gov, Arkansas, is getting out there and advocating for vaccinations. Gov Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas is holding Town Halls, and getting the question about Full FDA Approval. Hopefully that is coming soon, but personally I'm not hopeful it will result in a surge of vaccinations.
Numbers continue to rise here in Houston and Texas. Again almost most 100% unvaccinated. Seeing some increase in the break through infections amongst the vaccinated but still a very small % and the cases are either mild or asymptomatic. The unvaccinated seem to be digging in even in the face of these rising numbers amongst them. See more irratrional comments that it's a govt program for mind control or that after millions of successful vaccinations and impending full approval that it's a big experiment and they don't want to be experimented on, I guess they'd rather get sick, hospitalized and maybe even die.
While I disagree with their reasoning, remember Terry that 99+% of them are going to recover just fine, and have natural immunity. I'm pretty sure there are a lot of folks who aren't consumed by conspiracy theories. They just want to make independent choices, and do NOT like being told what to do. That used to be a characteristic of a lot of Americans... and a good one.
It's just a terrible and preventable waste of resources to have people in the Hospital suffering from a disease that could have been either prevented or mitigated so that they don't have be hospitalized and take the chance that they could die. I don't get that they want to make independent choices? Almost all of have been mandated and told that they have to have a number of vaccines/innoculations as a part of school requirements or work requirements. So suddenly this is where they make their stand? Something that has killed millions of people and now there is a choice that either prevents or mitigates it? That just doesn't make sense. I do have an unvaccinated friend whose rationale is that we don't know enough about the vaccine and it was developed too quickly. I don't bother to argue with her, but to me how do you ignore 100's of millions of doses having been given out all over the world with unprecedented success. Also the mRNA technology is not newly developed. I just sigh and move on. FWIW her husband contracted Covid and was pretty miserable, but he was not hospitalized. I'm sure that made them both feel they have made the right decision.
And for them... maybe they did. Do you suppose that maybe the mask BS has caused some of this push back? I do. We KNOW mandating anything less than an N95 does virtually nothing, and it's even BAD for kids thanks to the increased CO2. Yet there are places that still have the mandate? I won't give a dime to any business that still has a mask mandate.
I still require masks for my practice. My clinical staff has to wear N95 with a ASTM Surgical Mask over that and a face shield. My Admin people still have to wear ASTM Level 3 surgical masks all day. I do think people including myself tired of wearing a mask to go shopping. But I just complied didn't really care if I had to put one on to go into Kroger. Whether or not the pandemic would have been worse if we'd just gone maskless I guess can't be proven one way or another. It was bad, would have it even been worse, I don't know. Before the vaccine we didn't really have much that we could do to slow it down other than mask,social distance, avoid crowds, etc. What would have happened if we'd just let it fly? Made no changes, kept schools open, allowed full stadiums, restaurants never closed, treated it just like the flu? How many more deaths? None, a few, much more. We'll never really know.
If there's one good thing that came from this, it's that sick people stayed home. Can't tell you how infuriating it is for your coworkers to burn their sick days playing, and come to work sick all the time. Not in the last year tho... they got booted out if they tried. Hoping that continues.
Next thing I wonder about, given the supply chain problems with N95 masks, and other PPE I wonder if they have started planning for the next pandemic. At the moment I have no problems getting all the PPE I want, cheaper than it was last year this time, not cheap, but cheaper. So is the Govt (FEMA, whoever) starting a strategic stockpile of the stuff you need in a pandemic to protect medical people who are working to control it?
Once the vaccine is Fully FDA Approved, I won't be shocked to see employers all around the country consider requiring their employee's to be fully vaccinated. WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs will require 115,000 of its frontline health care workers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus in the next two months, making it the first federal agency to mandate that employees be inoculated, government officials said on Monday. V.A. Issues Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers, a First for a Federal Agency
More mandates... California state employees and health care workers will need to show proof they've gotten a COVID-19 vaccine or get tested weekly under a new mandate, state officials announced Monday. The new rule, which will take effect next month, comes as the state looks to slow a rising number of coronavirus infections and hospitalizations primarily affecting those who are not vaccinated, though the number of new cases is still well below the peak. At least 238,000 state employees and 2 million health care workers across public and private sectors will be subject to the new mandate, the Associated Press reported. California to mandate vaccine or coronavirus weekly testing for all state workers
Another mandate. CNN — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that he’s expanding the city’s Covid-19 mandate to require the entire municipal workforce to get vaccinated or start weekly testing by September 13. The mandate will cover employees in the school system as well as police and fire departments, the mayor said. The city has about 340,000 employees. “It means people who work in offices and people who work on the front line. Everyone,” he said. De Blasio mandates vaccinations or weekly testing for entire NYC municipal work force, including teachers and police - CNN
I agree with this... The United States has made COVID-19 vaccines accessible and free. Go to almost any local pharmacy or pop-up site, and you can easily get the shot – and pay nothing. And yet, only about 50% of Americans are fully vaccinated against this deadly virus. The unfortunate consequence is that the highly transmissible delta variant is causing surges in cases, hospitalizations and even deaths throughout the country, particularly in spots with low vaccination rates. The government and experts have tried education and persuasion. The Surgeon General is leading an all-out effort to combat misinformation. President Joe Biden has resorted to pleading. What more can we do to get the United States fully vaccinated and put COVID-19 behind us for good? The private sector needs to step up and mandate COVID-19 vaccines for their workers. Vaccine mandates are legal, ethical and, most important, effective. COVID vaccine mandates for private sector workers could end pandemic
We can’t fight selfishness ("I’m young and it doesn’t scare me") but we must try to continue to fight ignorance about the proven reality of a high vaccine rate saving lives.