Different Takes: We Need More Clarity On Masking; Where Each State Ranks For Covid Susceptibility
Opinion pages tackle these covid and vaccine issues.
The Star Tribune:
Our Masking Rules, Choices, Need To Make More Sense
San Francisco Mayor London Breed sent an important but unintentional message recently when she was caught violating her own mask mandates while partying away, maskless, in a jam-packed jazz club. Her excuse was incoherent; she said she was "feeling the spirit," enjoying the music and so not thinking about a mask. (Faye Flam, 9/27)
Bloomberg:
Covid-19 State-By-State Vulnerability Guide
As the summer began, a wide swath of states from the Northwest to the Southeast confronted the arrival of Covid-19’s Delta wave with, by my rough estimate, 35% or more of their residents fully vulnerable to the disease — that is, neither previously infected with nor vaccinated against it. (Justin Fox, 9/27)
The New York Times:
When Medical Ethics Collide With Basic Fairness
It’s hard for me to describe the utter rage that filled me when I opened my local newspaper last Tuesday and saw The Tennessean’s lead article: “Vaccinated Lose Access to Treatment,” the headline read. What new through-the-looking-glass madness was afoot in this Covid-beleaguered leadership vacuum?“ The Tennessee state government now recommends nearly all vaccinated residents be denied access to monoclonal antibody treatment in a new effort to preserve a limited supply of antibody drugs for those who remain most vulnerable to the virus, largely by their own choice,” wrote the reporter, Brett Kelman. (Margaret Renkl, 9/27)
The Boston Globe:
For COVID-19 Testing In Schools To Work, It Has To Be Done Right
As infectious diseases physicians with a child in the Boston Public Schools, we have been heartened by the enormous efforts BPS is taking to avert COVID-19 outbreaks in classrooms — including mandated vaccination or routine testing of staff and universal masking of students and staff. While these actions are laudable, we have found the COVID-19 testing policies of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to be puzzling and concerning. Testing has the potential to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in schools, but to be effective it has to be done right. (Lakshmi Ganapathi and Ramnath Subbaraman, 9/28)
The Washington Post:
After Covid, We Are All Going To Need Some Help
A year ago, I wrote about covertigo — a word I proposed to describe the constellation of symptoms associated with the pandemic lockdown, personal tumult and political malfeasance from a president who refused to provide the leadership we needed when covid swept across the country. As we entered the summer of 2021, it looked as though we were rounding a corner: steady leadership in the White House, effective vaccines, reunions with friends and loved ones and a general return to our routines. And then … Blam! … the covid cloud began to block what felt like a beautiful sunrise. (Michele L. Norris, 9/26)
Los Angeles Times:
The Vaccines Work. The Call For Booster Shots Doesn't Change That
As President Biden bared his arm Monday for his federally approved booster COVID-19 shot in front of reporters and cameras, he made a point that many corners of the nation should heed. The booster shots are important, he said, “but the most important thing we need to do is get more people vaccinated. ”That’s exactly right. At this point, only two-thirds of eligible Americans are fully vaccinated, and when you add in all the children younger than 12 who aren’t yet approved for their shots, that’s a lot of unvaccinated people. (9/28)
