By MARSHA MERCER
We attended a concert last Saturday. The Alexandria
Symphony Orchestra performed in a nearby church, and we walked over with
neighbors on a mild spring evening.
It seemed like the Before Times – except that nearly
everyone at the sold-out event wore masks and was supposed to be fully vaccinated.
I tried to remember the last time I’d sat in a room
full of people, listening to live music – or, for that matter, in a church. The
coronavirus robbed us of so many shared experiences we once took for granted.
Bach and Vivaldi are good for whatever ails, and the
Ukrainian folk song the orchestra added to the program was haunting. I blinked
back tears.
After two years of isolation, cancellation, fear and
death, people are venturing out again. Concerts, festivals, sports and spring
break travel are back. Thousands of maskless visitors swarm the Tidal Basin in
Washington to enjoy the cherry blossoms.
And yet, while Putin’s vicious war in Ukraine has
kicked the pandemic off the front page, the pandemic is not finished with us
yet.
The orchestra’s website carries this dose of reality
for concert attendees: “You understand that you may contract the virus . . .
you agree that you understand the risks of COVID-19 exposure, the potential
consequences of exposure, and you voluntarily assume the risks of attendance.”
Besides that, enjoy the show.
The good news is COVID-19 cases have declined
significantly in the United States, although about 1,000 people every day die
of the insidious disease. Most at risk of hospitalization and death remain the
unvaccinated.
Today, about 35% of new coronavirus cases in the
United States are attributed to the new, highly transmissible Omicron subvariant
known as BA.2, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It seems
to cause less severe illness than previous strains, and vaccinations and
boosters help immunity, although their effectiveness does wane.
We’ve not yet seen a surge in BA.2 cases as is
occurring in Europe, and it’s not certain we will. The World Health
Organization Tuesday blamed the increase in countries like Britain, France,
Germany and Italy on their lifting COVID restrictions too “brutally.”
Most places here have also ditched mask requirements,
and social distancing is mostly a memory. High-profile
positive COVID-19 tests make news: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, second
gentleman Doug Emhoff and White House press secretary Jen Psaki, among others.
Almost everyone I know has -- or has had -- COVID-19. Thankfully,
their cases have been mild. No one can predict what mutations lie ahead or how
they’ll affect us in the moment or later.
The Biden administration wants Congress to approve
$22.5 billion in emergency COVID funds to purchase more vaccines and
treatments. A second booster for those over 65 may be available this spring,
but the administration says it lacks funds to stockpile enough boosters and
treatments for everyone, should they be needed in a fall surge.
Republicans contend unspent, previously allocated COVID
relief funds should be used first. The administration says it is difficult to
redirect such funds.
Each person can order free, at-home COVID tests
online. A household is eligible to receive two sets of four tests. Check out https://www.covidtests.gov/
Former CDC director Tom Frieden wrote an essay in The
New York Times Tuesday titled, “The Next Covid Wave Is Probably on Its Way,” arguing
we should use this lull to prepare.
First and foremost, get vaccinated and boosted. Some
60% of Americans are not up to date on their COVID vaccinations. That’s 15
million seniors at higher risk.
If you are older, have an impaired immune system, or
are around people who do, wear a good, well-fitting mask, such as an N95,
Frieden advises. In addition, communities should also monitor for coronavirus
in wastewater, as they do for polio and other diseases, to detect outbreaks
sooner and stop the spread.
“For now, most of us can enjoy the warm spring sun on
our unmasked faces. But we can also do a lot more to control COVID,” Frieden
writes. “How we play it will determine what happens next.”
Take care.
©2022 Marsha Mercer.
All rights reserved.
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