Hope springs for near-normal times -- again -- March 24, 2022 column

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.

 With cases low and people out and about, it feels like the hopeful days of last spring, when President Joe Biden proclaimed a “summer of freedom.” Prematurely. Summer brought the deadly Delta variant. Then came Omicron.

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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Confused about masks? Join the club -- Feb. 10, 2022 column

By MARSHA MERCER

We went to dinner indoors at a restaurant last week.  

It was a milestone -- the first time in ages we hadn’t gotten carryout or sat outside, and we met friends we hadn’t seen in months. We were all vaccinated and boosted.

Life seemed almost normal. Except that the reservation was for an early 6 p.m. on a Friday, I asked for a table away from other diners and the restaurant was nearly empty when we arrived wearing masks.

We were told we could take off our masks while seated, but the menu requested we wear them when talking with the wait staff, all of whom wore masks.

We enjoyed a leisurely meal and put on our masks to leave, this time passing a boisterous crowd of customers packed in booths. All the customers were maskless, even around wait staff.

This new normal was mildly confusing. We were glad to see the locally owned business with a good crowd, but . . . While we were happy to comply with the restaurant’s rules, others evidently were not. And why wear masks standing up but not sitting down?

It’s not as though the pandemic is history. While numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations nationwide have fallen, an average of more than 225,000 new virus infections are reported daily and an average of 100,000 people are hospitalized daily with COVID-19. On average, about 2,600 people die of COVID every day in the United States.

We all yearn to get on with life, and politicians are responding. California, Illinois, New York and other states with Democratic governors who once were wary about lifting restrictions now race to drop various iterations of statewide mask mandates.

But more people are rightly confused and frustrated. Those who have followed public health guidance to get vaccinated and boosted wonder what we should do now to keep safe ourselves, friends, family members and those whose jobs require them to meet the public. Mask or no mask?

It should be easy to find out, but when I searched the Virginia Department of Health site for guidance, I found the experience frustrating. Clicking on tabs often brought me right back to the same page. A friend had the same experience.

I had better luck with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention site, which is sticking for now with familiar guidance. Those up-to-date on COVID vaccinations should wear a mask indoors in public “if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission.” That includes all of Virginia. 

And almost everywhere else: 95% of U.S. counties have high or substantial virus transmission, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC director, told reporters Wednesday. High transmission is when there are 100 positive cases per 100,000 people per day, and substantial is 50 cases per 100,000.

“Our hospitalizations are still high; our death rates are still high,” she said. “We are not there yet.”

Oft-changing messages have led many people to tune out public health guidance, leading to more confusion.

“Confusion is now the most common reaction to shifts in public health guidance: 60% of U.S. adults say they’ve felt confused as a result of changes to public health officials’ recommendations on how to slow the spread of the coronavirus, up 7 percentage points since last summer,” the Pew Research Center reported Wednesday in its latest survey.

About half those surveyed said the CDC and other agencies are doing a good or excellent job responding to the pandemic, but half said they are doing a fair or poor job.

It shouldn’t be this way. The CDC has changed its recommendations as the pandemic has changed, but its messaging hasn’t been clear.

For people to make wise decisions, the CDC, state and local health agencies need to ensure their guidance is easily available, science-based, understandable and up to date.

As politicians sprint toward normalcy and a mask-free society, no matter the science, we can still choose to wear masks indoors to protect those who are immunocompromised or have other health conditions that preclude vaccination.

Don’t toss your masks just yet.

©2022 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.

New Year -- 2022 off to a rocky start -- Jan. 6, 2022 column

By MARSHA MERCER

 Hey, 2022, could we have a do-over?

 You may be hardly a week old, but this in-with-the-new thing isn’t working out. A new year promises a fresh start and a clean slate, but, honestly, you haven’t delivered.

 It’s bad enough that we’re entering our third year of coping with an invisible enemy, the coronavirus. The first case of COVID-19 in the United States was identified on Jan. 20, 2020. We didn’t know then it was called alpha to distinguish from later variants.  

 Vaccinations and boosters were supposed to set us free, but no. Even those who did the right thing, got their shots, wore masks and washed their hands got caught by the latest and most transmissible variant, omicron.

 People who want to be tested must stand in long lines, if they can find tests at all. The good news is the people who followed health guidelines are less likely to be hospitalized and to die than those who shun vaccinations and boosters.

 Still, omicron is disrupting society as it rampages the country and the world.

 Hospitals and the saints who take care of patients are slammed, mainly by those who haven’t gotten their jabs. Airlines canceled thousands of flights around Jan. 1 due to staff shortages caused by sick and quarantining employees. Then a snowstorm hit the East Coast.

 Those who abandoned air travel for cars and trains this week were also headed not for their destinations but for misery. We simply couldn’t get there – or anywhere – from here.

 The debacle on nearly 50 miles of I-95 in Virginia, coupled with gridlock on surrounding roads, created a logjam that affected hundreds of motorists trying to head north and south. Amtrak trains were also stuck under the weather, unable to handle even the most basic of passenger needs – food and toilets.

 Schools in Chicago and other places shut down or returned to remote learning as the pandemic again made in-person classes risky to teachers, staff and students. Businesses pulled back on bringing staff to their offices. Reports of the death of the Zoom culture were premature.

 It’s easy to make New Year’s resolutions for other people – and much more satisfying than making them for oneself – so here’s one for Virginia and federal transportation officials: Work together to focus on essential services.

 We need a country where the systems work. Competence may not be sexy, but it is necessary for peace and prosperity.

 We know Northern Virginia hadn’t had a good snow in a couple of years, and the bizarre change from balmy temperatures in the 60s over the weekend to rain and then heavy snowfall – up to 2 inches an hour – on Monday was discombobulating.

 Transportation officials said they couldn’t pretreat highways because the chemicals would have washed away in the rain. But other states routinely deal with heavy snowfalls without such disastrous consequences.

 And once nearly a foot of snow stopped traffic, surely authorities could have done something to help people stranded in their cars in the cold and dark for more than 24 hours.

 Gov. Ralph Northam wasn’t helpful when he stated the obvious, that people should have stayed off I-95. I’m sure they wish they had.

 But truckers, who are trying to alleviate supply chain shortages and have schedules to keep, as well as other seasoned motorists, know interstates are usually cleared of snow first and are safer than secondary roads in inclement weather.

 When people were finally able to get off I-95 near Fredericksburg, they faced more gridlock on secondary roads. Many travelers reported an absence of authorities to direct traffic or help in any way.

 As officials probe what went wrong, they need to avoid finger pointing, make solid recommendations and implement them.

Americans don’t want more politicking. We want to know we can go where we need to go, safely, and at reasonable speeds. We want our highways and trains to operate efficiently.

 So, while we might like a do-over for the first disastrous week of the new year, there are still 51 weeks left to inspire confidence in America’s ability to function – even if more snow falls. We’re counting on you to do better, 2022.

 ©2022 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.

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No holiday from masks, tests as omicron surges -- Dec. 23 2021 column

By MARSHA MERCER

As omicron tightens its grip, the mayor of Washington, D.C., Monday declared a state of emergency.

Once again, masks are required indoors in such places as churches, gyms and grocery stores, regardless of vaccination status. Masks are not yet required in restaurants and bars in the nation’s capital, as they are in New York and Los Angeles.

“I think we’re all tired of it. I’m tired of it, too,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said, announcing the mask mandate will last until Jan. 31. “But we have to respond to what’s happening in our city and what’s happening in our nation.”

The mayor is correct. What’s happening is nearly three-fourths of the new coronavirus cases in the United States are now from the highly transmissible omicron variant, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. Coronavirus daily case totals are at their highest level since last summer.

There is no statewide mask mandate in Virginia, but the Virginia Department of Health recommends masks be worn indoors in communities with substantial or high COVID-19 transmission.

More than 800,000 people in the United States have died from COVID-19. Public health officials knew the coronavirus mutates and new variants were likely. Still,  fast-spreading omicron caught nearly everyone by surprise last month.

Much remains unknown, including whether the illness omicron causes is less severe than the delta variant’s, and what the long-term effects of even a mild case may be.

The first death in the United States related to omicron was announced Monday. The victim was an unvaccinated man in his 50s with an underlying health condition in Houston, authorities said.

So, while we all feel coronavirus fatigue, we find ourselves on the verge of another  New Year having to rally again to fight an insidious, unpredictable virus.

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who died this year, once said you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might wish you had.

It’s wrong that Americans have had to stand in line for hours for coronavirus tests, as they have in some parts of the country. Other nations have long been able to supply their residents with free, at-home test kits.

The Biden administration is now rushing to make available, starting next month, 500 million free, rapid, in-home coronavirus test kits. The government is opening more testing and vaccination sites, deploying military medical teams to overwhelmed hospitals, and plans to expand hospital capacity.

These are important changes that remind us we are not in the same place we were a year ago. Last year during the holidays we glimpsed the hope of vaccinations as the end of the pandemic. This year, we known the pandemic is still with us, and we are lucky if all we must endure are its inconveniences.

Mask and vaccination mandates cannot be partisan when the virus is bipartisan. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, who both are vaccinated and boosted, tested positive for COVID-19, as did Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, and a cancer survivor.

Breakthrough COVID-19 cases are common. President Joe Biden, 79, sat near someone on Air Force One the other day who later tested positive.

Most breakthrough cases seem to be mild, which is why Biden is urging every eligible American to get fully vaccinated and boosted.

And yet, when former President Donald Trump said Sunday in Texas he had received a booster, some in the audience booed. That’s a sad commentary on the misguided, ill-informed, anti-vax crowd.

Fortunately, there are no plans for lockdowns or a widespread return to remote schooling. We are learning to live with uncertainty.

Wearing an effective mask, such as the N95, getting vaccinated and boosted, and tested if we feel sick or are exposed to someone with COVID-19 are steps all of us can take to protect ourselves and others.

Those who feel their personal liberty is abridged by mask mandates can do something about it: They can stay home, off public transportation and out of public places.

As much as we Americans don’t like rules or mandates, especially rules that change, we must live in the real world. We all want the pandemic to end. We also want our families, friends and ourselves to be around next year. Be vigilant.

©2021 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.

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Midterm campaigns kick off with a political jab -- Dec. 9, 2021 column

By MARSHA MERCER

During a recent medical test, I noticed my face mask had slipped down.

“Sorry!” I said to the technician, who was also masked. “I’m vaccinated and boosted, and you are too, right?” Slight pause.

“I’m healthy,” he said, using a favorite dodge of the unvaccinated.

Why would anyone whose job requires close contact with people who could be sick or immune-compromised take such a risk for himself, his patients and co-workers?

He said he had decades of experience, including at a hospital where tuberculosis patients coughed in his face, and was healthy. He doesn’t buy the need for vaccinations against COVID-19, thinks they could be harmful, and believes the number of reported COVID deaths is inflated.

Scientists, however, agree vaccinations help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and its severity and are less risky than the disease.

Most healthcare workers voluntarily take the commonsense precaution of vaccinations. Still, about 30% of workers in hospitals were unvaccinated as of September, according to a Centers for Disease Control study.

Last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued rules requiring vaccinations for healthcare workers and for businesses with 100 employees or more. Both rules are stalled, at least temporarily, by court challenges.

The healthcare rule would require all workers in facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid funding to be fully vaccinated, with no exceptions, or facilities could lose federal funding. The OSHA rule includes a provision that allows workers who do not get vaccinated to be tested weekly and wear masks on the job.

 President Joe Biden was reluctant to impose such vaccination mandates, but after incentives and voluntary behavior weren’t enough, he earlier rolled out requirements for federal workers and employees of federal contractors to be vaccinated.

The mandate for contractors, which included limited exceptions for medical and religious reasons, was blocked Tuesday in federal court. The White House vows to continue fighting for mandates.

Many private employers have imposed vaccination mandates on their own. They realize the economy won’t get back to normal – whatever that is -- until more of the population is protected against this deadly, unpredictable disease.

The latest troubling news about the fast-spreading omicron variant has led public health officials to urge everyone eligible to get vaccinations and booster shots. New research from Pfizer and BioNTech indicates a booster shot may help protect against omicron, but it’s too soon to know.

Opponents argue vaccination mandates are an example of federal overreach. Politicians like to claim they personally are pro-vaccine but anti-mandate. They conveniently forget they and their children had to receive vaccinations against other diseases to enroll in school.

But COVID-19 vaccination mandates are seen as a potent political issue for the midterm elections. The Senate voted Wednesday to repeal Biden’s mandate for companies with more than 100 employees. All Republicans and two Democrats – Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana -- voted to nullify the mandate.

The 52-48 vote was largely symbolic, if not a political stunt. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is unlikely to bring the measure up for a vote in the House, and if it were to pass, the White House said Biden would veto it. It would be his first presidential veto.

Opponents of mandates say their constituents fear mandates will cost jobs and wreck the economy, but instead of working to educate the uninformed, politicians pander.

“Encouraging and requiring are two different things,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito. Republican of West Virginia, told reporters. More than killing the American economy, she said, the vaccine mandate is “killing the American spirit of being able to make decisions about yourself, to be respected for that.”

Oh, please.

Vaccination mandates may be more popular than Republican politicians think. Half of Americans support the mandate for businesses with at least 100 employees, while 47% oppose it, a Wall Street Journal poll reported this week. Slightly more – 55% -- support vaccination mandates for public safety workers, such as police and firefighters.

Everyone is sick of the pandemic, but it shows no sign of waning. We all need to take responsibility to fight it. To everyone who’s eligible, except those with a legitimate medical excuse: Get your vaccinations and boosters.

©2021 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.

Treat: A not-so-spooky Halloween -- Oct. 28, 2021 column

By MARSHA MERCER

Americans are going out this Halloween. All out.

Rising in yards and at homes to haunt – and delight – us are a host of ghosts, wealth of witches, bevy of bats and bones, surplus of spiders, skeletons and skulls, and a trove of tombstones.

We’re getting our costumes and pets’ costumes ready. We’re going to parties again. And, we’re spending.

Halloween-related spending is expected to reach an all-time high of $10.14 billion this year, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey.

On average, consumers plan to spend $102.74 on costumes, candy, decorations and greeting cards -- $10 more than last year.

Last year, with COVID-19 raging and no vaccine available, most communities gave Halloween a wide berth. This year, with millions of us fully vaccinated, receiving booster shots and having recovered from COVID-19, the government invites Americans to enjoy Halloween.

“I would say, put on those costumes, stay outside and enjoy your trick-or-treating,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control, said on Fox News Sunday.

Having been scared for real for so long, we’re evidently ready to enjoy being scared for fun. Spooky is not so spooky.

Dr. Walensky did, however, offer a cautionary note: If you’re unvaccinated, you still need to protect yourself and others.

“I wouldn’t gather in large settings outside and do screaming like you are seeing in those football games if you are unvaccinated, those kids that are unvaccinated,” she said, “but if you are spread out, doing your trick-or-treating, that should be very safe for your children.”

The infection rate has dropped 50% since September in the United States, but that doesn’t mean the pandemic is over. More than 70,000 COVID-19 cases and about 1,500 deaths are still being reported each day. We have lost more than 740,000 people to the disease.

Even with COVID sticking around, we all yearn to get back to normal. And yet there’s a nagging doubt we may be, Halloween notwithstanding, whistling past the graveyard.

Much remains unknown about the insidious coronavirus. A new, highly contagious delta subvariant known as “delta plus” or AY.4.2 is surging in Great Britain, and the United Kingdom’s science adviser predicts “a pretty difficult winter ahead of us.”

Delta plus is believed to spread more easily than the delta variant but to cause no more serious illness. Vaccinations are effective in reducing severity of disease, authorities say.

So far, delta plus makes up only one-tenth of a percent of the COVID cases here. Some localities are easing mask and other restrictions.

But around the world, countries that thought their high vaccination rates would allow life to return to normal have been hit with outbreaks. After a spike in cases, Singapore last week extended some restrictions until next month, reimposing a limit of parties of two people dining out.

Russia, which reportedly set a new daily record for cases this week, has closed schools and is shutting down workplaces nationwide for a week. Only essential stores like pharmacies and groceries are allowed open.

Some cities in China have also tightened rules on activities as cases have risen.

No one wants to reinstate lockdowns here, and some states vow to stay open no matter what. So, how do we live with COVID?

The best path to a new normal is vaccinations, and yet more than 60 million of us still refuse. They need to wear masks in public indoor settings, CDC says, although resisters probably resist that precaution as well.

Other tips: Those who are fully vaccinated still should wear a mask in public indoor settings in communities with substantial to high transmission rates or if someone in their household is more susceptible to illness.

Outdoor activities are safer than those indoors, and we should all avoid crowded, poorly ventilated spaces.

Everyone 6 months of age and older should get a flu shot, with rare exceptions. Those who are unvaccinated against COVID should particularly get a flu shot. And, no, the flu vaccine cannot cause the flu.  

As we head into the holidays, each of us can, and should, do our part to make our world a little safer. Give friends and family members peace of mind with vaccinations and, if applicable, a booster.

And mask up. They’re not just for Halloween.  

©2021 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.

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Signed, sealed, delivered -- seven months late -- Oct. 21, 2021 column

By MARSHA MERCER

An “OFFICIAL BUSINESS” brown envelope from the United States Postal Inspection Service arrived in the mail the other day.

“Dear Postal Customer: The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has recovered stolen mail bearing your name and address. The suspect(s) were identified and prosecuted,” the letter inside said.

“It was determined he/she is not a postal employee and is not affiliated with the Postal Service in any way. The original mail is being returned to you in the condition in which it was recovered.”

With the letter was a sympathy card addressed to me about my dad, who died in February. The card was postmarked Feb. 26 in Lubbock, Texas. The envelope had been sliced open, but the card was intact.

I was amazed, and grateful, postal inspectors had gone to the trouble to deliver a condolence card after seven months.

The inspection service is the U.S. Postal Service’s law enforcement arm and the first federal law enforcement agency. Ben Franklin appointed the first of what would become postal inspectors in 1775.

Today the postal service has many problems, largely stemming from bad management at the top, so it’s a pleasant surprise when something goes right.

Mail theft may seem like a crime out of the 19^th century Wild West, when robbers on horseback stopped stagecoaches and made off with gold, cash and bank transfers.

In 2021, perps see opportunity in greeting cards and business envelopes for cash, checks, money orders or gift cards. None that was in the card to me, which contained only kind words.

The inspection service’s letter included a case number, and I searched online to no avail. But I did find many news stories about people around the country being charged with mail theft. One report caught my eye.

A man, 22, and woman, 35, were indicted Oct. 15 in Lubbock and charged with conspiracy to possess stolen mail and possessing stolen mail.

The two, who worked for a contractor that loads USPS mail on and off planes at the airport, allegedly looked through the mail while on the job Feb. 25 and 26 and stole eight checks totaling more than $2.3 million. Two were corporate checks, one for $2 million and another for about $242,000, news reports said.

I don’t know if the duo also happened upon the card addressed to me in Virginia on Feb. 26.

Most postal workers are dedicated and honest, although there are bad apples. One postal worker in Lubbock charged with mail theft admitted he stole mail every day he was on the job for four months last year.

Many, if not most, mail theft cases in the news are outside jobs. In Mount Jackson, Va., a man was charged Oct. 5 with 28 counts of identity theft to defraud less than $1,000, 12 counts of financial fraud and other crimes.

He allegedly stole people’s mail and used their personal information to open several accounts and credit cards in their names.

That wasn’t the extent of his troubles with the law. After the local sheriff and police officers went to his home, the man was also charged with 10 counts of animal cruelty and five counts of inadequate care by owner, The Northern Virginia Daily reported.

Nearly everyone has a story to tell about mail delayed or lost. The inspection service received about 300,000 mail theft complaints in the year that ended in February – and could investigate only a fraction of those cases.

Its 1,300 inspectors and 500 uniformed police officers around the country have responsibility for investigating about 200 federal crimes besides mail theft.

They protect postal workers, intercept illegal narcotics and hazardous materials sent through the mail, and investigate cybercrimes, consumer fraud and scams against veterans and the elderly, among other things. The inspection service also investigates COVID-19 scams and makes sure pandemic relief checks reach their rightful destinations.

To keep mail safe: retrieve mail promptly; deposit mail inside the post office, in blue collection boxes before the last collection of the day or hand it to a mail carrier; and never send cash. Learn more. 

It’s not the Wild West, but some things don’t change. We’re all potential victims of mail theft, and postal inspectors can’t catch all the criminals.

©2021 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.

Masks, vaccines turn classrooms into battlegrounds -- Sept. 2, 2021 column

By MARSHA MERCER

This Labor Day weekend, my candidate for Worker of the Year is a professor who quit.

Irwin Bernstein, a psychology professor at the University of Georgia, walked off the job Aug. 24 because one of his students refused to wear a mask properly in class.

“That’s it. I’m retired,” Professor Bernstein reportedly said and left.

Bravo, Professor, for drawing your personal red line and for your long run in the classroom. Bernstein began teaching in 1968. He is 88. That’s not a typo.

He retired in 2011 but returned to teach part time. This school year he was teaching two classes.

But Bernstein has Type 2 diabetes. His age and other health problems put him at higher risk for complications of COVID-19.

It’s not too much for him and other teachers in the nation’s classrooms to expect their employers to follow the guidance of public health authorities and require masks and vaccinations.

The University System of Georgia offers vaccinations and encourages masks inside campus facilities -- but does not require them.

So, Bernstein adopted his own “no mask, no class” policy.

Two of his students missed the first day of class after having tested positive for COVID-19, the student newspaper The Red & Black reported. On the second day, 25 students in Bernstein’s seminar did wear masks, but one student refused to pull the mask over her nose, saying she had “a really hard time breathing.”

Bernstein asked her twice. An Air Force veteran, he said he risked his life in the military but wouldn’t do so during the pandemic.

Bernstein’s last stand came as the delta variant is ravaging the country.

The daily average of hospitalized COVID-19 patients topped 100,000 over the last week, the highest level since last winter, The New York Times reported.

Hospitalizations nationwide have risen 500% in the last two months, primarily in the South, and intensive care units are reaching capacity. About 1,000 people a day are dying of COVID in the United States, the most since March, the Times said.

With such devastating numbers, mask and vaccination mandates in schools and universities should be welcome.

And yet, anti-maskers and anti-vaxers, spurred by irresponsible Republican politicians, still complain that requiring a mask or vaccination is an infringement of their personal freedom and rights. Critics of mandates complain of “tyrants,” and worse.

Some flout the rules with appalling consequences. Consider a case from California the Centers for Disease Control reported this week.

In Marin County, an unvaccinated elementary school teacher removed their mask while reading aloud to the class last June and half the pupils, who were too young to be vaccinated, got COVID-19. Removing the mask was against school rules.

And yet, as students return to schools and campuses this fall, classroom conflicts are spreading.

The Republican governors of Florida and Texas have fought school districts that have imposed mask mandates. The federal Education Department is investigating whether five states that have prohibited mask mandates have violated the civil rights of disabled students.

At least 16 states have statewide school mask mandates, according to tracking by the Times. But that doesn’t always matter to misguided local officials. A rural school district in Oregon just fired its school superintendent because he followed the state guidance and required masks.

Virginia requires all students, teachers and staff in K-12 schools to wear masks indoors, even if vaccinated. Most colleges and universities in Virginia also require vaccinations and masks.

Virginia Tech disenrolled 134 students and the University of Virginia disenrolled 238 who failed to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19. It’s unknown how many of these students had made other plans for the school year.

Fortunately, with full approval of the Pfizer vaccine, more employers – including governments at all levels -- are requiring vaccinations as a condition of employment, with a few exceptions.

That’s good news. Few teachers or other public employees can afford to say, “Take this job and shove it.”

Universities and schools that hold in-person classes, especially where children are too young to be vaccinated, should protect everyone involved with vaccination and mask mandates. And they should get community support when they do.

©2021 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.

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Biden's road is rocky, Trump's is rockier -- column of Aug. 26, 2021

By MARSHA MERCER

As bad as things look for President Joe Biden these days, Donald Trump may have it worse.

After seven months on the job, Biden’s job approval ratings have plunged as the debacle in Afghanistan, the raging delta variant, the crisis at the border and other calamities take a toll.

Only 47% of Americans approve of the job Biden is doing as president and 49% disapprove, according to the Real Clear Politics poll average on Thursday.

Such numbers disturb Democrats, but Biden has time and the economy on his side. The midterm elections are more than a year away.

Biden faces an array of crises that challenge his governing skills. Most Americans support getting U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, but the speedy Taliban takeover showed a lack of strategy and preparedness.

Now, however, the administration is working tirelessly to evacuate tens of thousands of Americans and our Afghan allies. Secretary of State Tony Blinken said Wednesday rescue efforts would continue even if U.S. troops leave by the Aug. 31 deadline.

In the war on the pandemic, Biden declared victory too soon. The surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths nationwide has devastated hospitals. But with full government approval of the Pfizer vaccine and others likely soon, more unvaccinated Americans will choose, or be forced, to get the jab, and the vaccinated will get boosters, extending protection.

With luck and barring new variants, the United States should get ahead of the deadly coronavirus and find a new normal way of life next year.

Biden’s massive American Rescue Plan made it through Congress, and House Democrats held together to pass pieces of his ambitious legislative agenda. September will be do-or-die for infrastructure and the budget. The Senate remains a stumbling block, but Biden’s proposals are still on track.

As for Trump, who teases about another presidential bid, he lost the 2020 election by 7 million votes. He also lost his White House megaphone, his favorite social media platforms and much, though not all, the news media coverage he craves.

The sore loser continues to claim falsely he won, and, sadly, many Republicans still believe him, despite numerous recounts and court cases that have turned up no widespread election fraud.

Trump draws large crowds of supporters to his rallies, but his overall approval rating is lower than Biden’s. Only 41% of Americans have a favorable opinion of Trump with 52% unfavorable, in the latest Real Clear Politics’ average of polls.

Trump even got booed briefly Aug. 21 at an Alabama rally, and right-wing talk radio host Alex Jones turned on Trump, for suggesting people might want to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Fewer than 35% of Alabama residents are vaccinated.

“I believe totally in your freedoms. I do. You’ve got to do what you have to do,” Trump said. Raising his voice for emphasis, he said, “BUT, I recommend take the vaccines. It’s good. I did it. Take the vaccines.”

Trump faces mounting personal woes. The Justice Department said in July the IRS must release Trump’s tax returns to a Congressional panel, as some courts have ruled. Trump’s lawyer says they will fight “tooth and nail” to keep the returns private.

The Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol Wednesday released a barrage of requests to the National Archives and seven other federal agencies for information on a wide range of topics. They set a deadline of Sept. 9.

The Democratic-controlled committee plans to examine Trump’s Sept. 29 comment that the far-right Proud Boys group should “stand back and stand by” as well as “documents and communications related to any plan for the President to march or walk to the Capitol on January 6, 2021” and “documents and communications related to the metal stability of Donald Trump or his fitness for office.”

And that’s just the first wave of the inquiry. In their zeal to hold Trump accountable for one of the worst days in American history, Democrats risk overreach, yet it may take only one incriminating document to land Trump and some congressional allies in trouble.

Biden has time to tackle and solve the many crises facing the country. He and Democrats will need to make effective use of that time to remind voters why they chose Biden over Trump.

©2021 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.

One war ends badly as another escalates with hope -- Aug. 19, 2021 column

By MARSHA MERCER

Images of the fall of Afghanistan and the resulting chaos as tens of thousands of Afghans desperately try to escape the Taliban have shaken many Americans. How, after 20 years of war, could this happen so quickly?

Here at home, the delta variant tightens its deadly grip on the unvaccinated, overwhelming some hospitals and raising death tolls. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines show signs of waning effectiveness. How could this happen?

The short, unsatisfying answer in both cases is circumstances change.

But unlike in Afghanistan where the Taliban’s sudden takeover was a shock, the government insists it has a plan for the next phase of the war against COVID-19.

President Joe Biden and the nation’s health experts Wednesday outlined steps to pressure the 85 million Americans who still have not rolled up their sleeves to do so and to provide booster shots starting with the 150 million adults who are fully vaccinated with the Pfizer and Moderna.

The federal government already has vaccination requirements for federal workers and contractors, medical staff at veterans’ hospitals, active-duty military, reservists and National Guard. Biden now will require vaccinations of all workers who care for Medicare or Medicaid nursing home patients as a condition of federal healthcare payments.

Biden also extended until year’s end federal reimbursement to states for National Guard personnel engaged in COVID-19 emergency activities. He praised health systems, universities and private businesses that require vaccinations and urged others to follow suit.

And he took aim at governors who intimidate school officials over mask mandates, saying federal funds can pay school personnel, if needed.

Although vaccines were initially touted as a two-and-done shield from COVID-19, they were developed before the highly transmissible delta variant became dominant. Recent data indicate the vaccines still protect against severe illness, hospitalization and death. They are not as effective against delta as the earlier virus, though, and protection decreases over time. 

“Having reviewed the most recent data, it is now our clinical judgment that the time to lay out a plan for COVID-19 boosters is now,” Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told reporters. 

“The plan is for every adult to get a booster shot eight months after you got your second shot,” Biden said.

Pending approval from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control’s outside panel of experts, the booster program is slated to begin the week of Sept. 20.

At that time, adults fully vaccinated before Jan. 20 with doses from Pfizer or Moderna will be eligible for a booster. Health care providers, residents of nursing homes and long-term facilities, and the elderly will be at the front of the line. It’s likely those who received the single Johnson and Johnson shot will also need a booster, but authorities are waiting on more data to decide.

Only those with compromised immune systems are currently receiving boosters. The rest of us can safely wait, officials said.

The boosters will be free and given regardless of insurance or immigration status. The government intends to use the 80,000 locations in place to deliver the boosters. About 90% of Americans live within five miles of a vaccination site.  

Some medical professionals worry the dual track of persuading the unvaccinated to roll up their sleeves while providing boosters to the fully vaccinated may confuse the public. Some world leaders say the United States should not offer a third shot while many around the world have not had their first.

But the administration insists we have enough vaccines to inoculate those at home and abroad. The United States has donated more doses of COVID-19 vaccine than all the other countries in the world combined, Biden said, adding we have pledged to give away 600 million doses.

“The threat of the delta virus remains real. But we are prepared. We have the tools. We can do this,” Biden said.

At such a bleak time, it’s encouraging to see the government be straight about the latest data and adjust its plans based on changing circumstances. Doing so should help restore Americans’ trust in their government.

The government sets the strategy. Vaccinations, masks and boosters are our weapons. But each of us will need to take personal responsibility if we are to win the war on COVID-19.

©2021 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.

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`Month of action' lures with carrots, not sticks -- June 3, 2021 column

By MARSHA MERCER

Free donuts! Free beer! Free groceries! Free rides! Free childcare! Free college! Free cash!

Free guns! Wait. What?

The escalation of incentives to lure Americans to do something they should do willingly and gratefully rang the absurdity gong in West Virginia.

Gov. Jim Justice Tuesday announced his state would give away to lucky West Virginians who get vaccinated against COVID-19: two full, four-year scholarships to any state university, two new custom-outfitted pickup trucks, 25 weekend getaways to state parks, five lifetime hunting and fishing licenses, a million dollars – and, yes, five customized rifles and five customized shotguns.

Shaking my head.

Justice, a Republican who used to be a Democrat, acknowledged his state shouldn’t have to resort to such giveaways, but he said, “Unfortunately, it’s the way of the world today.”

And there’s a practical side to the vaccination nudge -- or bribe, depending on your point of view.

“The faster we get ‘em across the finish line, the more lives we save” and the more money the state will save on COVID-19 testing and hospital care for COVID patients, he said.

It’s sad the demand for vaccinations nationwide has plummeted so fast. Fewer than 555,000 people a day are getting new vaccinations now, compared with nearly 2 million a day in early April, the Associated Press reported.

In one sense, vaccinations may be the victim of their own success. COVID-19 cases are down more than 90% and deaths down more than 85% since January. Some people may feel they don’t need to get jabbed.

“The fact remains: If you are not vaccinated, you are at risk of getting the virus or spreading it to someone else,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

About 63% of adults have received at least one shot, but President Joe Biden’s goal of having 70% of adults fully vaccinated by July 4 appears in doubt. On Wednesday, he launched a “month of action.”

The campaign will include door-to-door canvassing, texts, media ads featuring celebrities, free rides to vaccination sites by Uber and Lyft, and free childcare for parents while they’re getting shots.

Black barbershops and beauty salons will help clients find vaccinations, which are readily available. Some pharmacies will stay open 24 hours on Fridays in June to give shots.

Krispy Kreme is giving away free donuts to the vaccinated. Some supermarkets are offering free groceries to customers who get vaccinated in their stores.

When the 70% goal is achieved, Anheuser-Busch promises a free round of beer to those 21 and older who are vaccinated and sign up on their website. 

The multi-carrot approach is needed because nothing turns Americans off faster than sticks – such as mandates. And it’s hard to counter the rampant misinformation on social media.

Some people fear side effects, but they typically are mild and far less scary than the unpredictable effects of COVID. For others, not getting vaccinated is a misguided political statement, although the former Republican president and his wife got vaccinated quietly at the White House.

“Getting the vaccine is not a partisan act,” Biden emphasized. The science was done during Democratic and Republican administrations, and the first vaccines were authorized under a Republican president and developed and deployed by a Democratic one.

“I don’t want to see the country that is already too divided become divided in a new way – between places where people live free from fear of COVID and places where, when the fall arrives, death and severe illnesses return. The vaccine is free, it’s safe, and it’s effective,” Biden said.

Reason and patriotism have gotten us only so far; now it’s time for blatant self-interest, largely paid for with federal funds.

Several states, including Ohio, New Mexico and West Virginia, have launched lotteries open only to residents who have gotten vaccinated.

Ten lucky vaccinated New York students Wednesday won full tuition, room and board scholarships to any State or City University of New York campus. The state will raffle a total of 50 free rides, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, adding each scholarship is about a $100,000 value.

Justice is right that incentives shouldn’t be necessary. But if they get us across the finish line to near normalcy, they’re a price worth paying.

©2021 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.

 

What will we choose to remember -- May 27, 2021 column

By MARSHA MERCER

Dozens of small white flags flutter on green grass at Rivergate Park in Old Town Alexandria. Each flag represents one city resident who died of the disease caused by the coronavirus. 

Titled Alexandria Remembrance, the flags -- set off by white picket fencing and a bed of red and white geraniums -- are a temporary memorial where, signs say, “With love, we remember our 137 friends and neighbors lost to COVID-19.”

On April 6, when City Council authorized the memorial, 129 residents had died, but the numbers have had to be updated. Family members are invited to write a message or the name of a loved one on a flag. I took a closer look:

“Our beloved Ray, I & the kids will love you forever and ever. Please watch over us. XOXO Vicky.”

If that doesn’t break your heart, well, you may not have one.

All around, life on a lovely weekday afternoon in May went on almost as usual. A father and his young son played catch. A shirtless man sat cross-legged, drinking in the sun. A couple sat talking in the cool shade.

They, I, you reading this – we -- somehow survived. With vaccinations and luck, we hope to resume our lives. Our long, international nightmare appears nearly over, but not yet. Look at Japan.

The pandemic has been a shared experience. Though some groups have suffered more than others, we all have been affected. Each of us probably knows someone who has died of COVID-19.

As we go maskless, what will we choose to remember – and how -- of this year of loss, lock downs and fear?

Television networks and local stations as well as other media run pictures and bios of individuals who have succumbed to the pandemic -- nice words, a few seconds on screen, done.

Alexandria’s memorial with a beautiful vista of the Potomac River does what a memorial should: It invites passersby to pause and reflect. It will be on display at the foot of Madison Street until June 21.

The memorial happens to coincide with Memorial Day, which has become the unofficial start of summer. After the hiatus last Memorial Day, Americans are boarding planes in record numbers, planning barbecues and beach trips, and checking ads for mattress sales.

Memorial Day was originally Decoration Day, a day to decorate the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers with flowers. In time, it became a day to honor all who gave their lives in military service, and now many families take time that day to visit their relatives in cemeteries.

We have lost upwards of 590,000 to COVID-19, more than the number of Americans killed in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

The toll of the Civil War was even higher. Historians now believe perhaps 750,000 were killed – most by disease, not in combat. As a country, we’ve struggled recently to reassess and remove memorials to the men who led the rebellion and sought to destroy the union.

Now we face the challenge of memorializing the worst public health crisis in American history. Almost no monuments commemorate the devastating 1918 influenza, which may have contributed to our lack of preparedness for the coronavirus.

On the eve of his presidential inauguration, Joe Biden did something his predecessor never did. He acknowledged the pain of the pandemic. At a sunset ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial, where 400 lanterns representing those we have lost were illuminated in the Reflecting Pool, Biden said:

“To heal we must remember. It’s hard sometimes to remember. But that’s how we heal. It’s important to do that as a nation.”

Forgetting is easy. In 1996, children touring Washington, D.C., were asked what Memorial Day meant.

“That’s the day the pools open!” they responded.

So, in 2000, Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed a measure calling for a Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day, a time when most of us are celebrating our freedoms.

Whatever you’re doing at 3 p.m. Monday, take one quiet minute to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

And, though we may want to put the horrible pandemic behind us as quickly as possible, we do need to heal. That means we must remember all we lost to COVID-19.

©2021 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.