A new variant of Covid has taken over BA.2….
(Which also seems to be more contagious, but realitivly mild )
But?
America is moving to regard Covid in the same way it regards the Flu….
Masks are being worn in some places…
But in others’s?
Vaccinated and Un-Vaccinated people are simply NOT wearing them…
And?
While several state have even cut back reporting their virus related stat’s?
Virus cases ARE rising….
Not like two years ago, though…
Things seem to actually be falling into a routine….
People just want things to get back to some sort of normal…
And that is causing Congress to have problem’s funding virus resources ….
As Americans shed masks and return to offices and restaurants, local and state officials are scaling back the most visible public health efforts to address the coronavirus pandemic.
States like Illinois are shuttering free Covid-19 testing sites after nearly two years of operation. Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii and Ohio have stopped releasing daily data on virus hospitalizations, infections and deaths. And, perhaps most notably, some places are diminishing their campaigns to vaccinate residents even as federal authorities announced on Tuesday that people 50 and older could get a second booster shot.
The slowing of state and local efforts comes as the virus in the United States appears, at least for now, to be in retreat, with cases falling swiftly in recent weeks.
But the cutbacks also arrive at a moment when a more transmissible version of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, known as BA.2, is spreading through Europe, Asia and is now the dominant version of new virus cases in the United States. New coronavirus infections are edging upward once again in several states, including New York….
…
Federal dollars for the Covid pandemic have been dwindling in recent days, as a fund designated to reimburse tests and treatment for the uninsured is no longer accepting claims. State and local officials, alarmed by debates in Washington over the future of Covid funding, have anticipated that they will face tighter budgets in the near future if federal funds are cut….
…
Many states have switched to weekly from daily reporting of new cases on public dashboards. Officials say it is time-intensive to publicly update data every day and that daily variation in the data makes it less meaningful than weekly reports. Instead, some are releasing it on public dashboards only once a week, in keeping with reports on other ailments, like the flu….
Update….
President Joe Biden on Wednesday will receive his second Covid-19 booster shot and is set to urge lawmakers to secure more funding for his administration’s Covid-19 response in an afternoon speech from the White House.
As expected….
Congress WILL continue virus money….
Especially with the covid cases poping up amont the Wash DC polical and government people….
“We’re close. A few more things have got to be ironed out,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in an interview. “We’re trying to get global stuff in there, We’re working hard on it. That’s one of the things we’re trying to get done.”
The sum — the result of days of negotiations between senior senators of both parties — would leave out a major ask from the White House. It does not include $5 billion in global vaccine efforts, drawing sharp complaints from many Democrats about the nation’s preparedness to fight the pandemic abroad. Lawmakers are now talking about a figure closer to $1 billion in vaccine aid….
More…
Virus cases ARE bumping back up in NY…..
By a small amount….
But they HAVE been creeping back up in reports for the last week….
Deaths and Hospital stays reported numbers are almopst flat…
Link….