That Solves That

My state ended the pandemic lock down at the end of last May(June 12 for the elderly and medically sensitive populations). Since then, I've been seeing stories about other states with lock downs or restrictions, some of them quite bizarre like restrictions on outdoor dining when there's no science to support such a thing. Sunlight, it kills the virus. The wind, it blow it away. Part of all that was election year politics. Blue states were attempting to make the pandemic seem worse than it was in reaction to red states that wanted to keep things in perspective and push forward. I think both sides overdid it. Blue states had more restrictions than scientifically warranted, and red states seemed to be taking unnecessary risks with public health and safety. There were contradictions. In some blue states it was okay for a 100-person capacity bar to be open but not okay for a church of the same size.

I've been puzzled as to how blue states could keep restrictions going when those ended going on a year ago where I live. It's been almost nine months since the lock down ended. We still have mask requirements, but not everyone wears one. Nobody says anything about it. It's the freedom of personal choice. Masks are more like a "requirement". I wear one when I have to venture forth among possible plague carriers, but once summer gets here, it's going to be too hot for a 5-layer KN95 mask.

I think I've discovered why states like California still have heavy-handed restrictions. According to this article, California has a strain of the virus that spreads faster than the original virus and "evades" vaccine-generated antibodies and antibodies gained from prior infection. The California strain has "probably" been around since last May and is now the dominant strain in California. It might be the case that government officials there have known about it for a while, and that's the reason for the continuing restrictions. It's hard to know for sure. It's surged since about September. I wouldn't be surprised if other states have strains of which the public isn't being informed.

With vaccines here I've been more relaxed about the pandemic. Herd immunity seems to be on the way. However, vaccine-resistant strains like the one in California are something to keep an eye on.

Have a great weekend.