I hope everyone is healthy and safe, regardless of where you live.
Everyone in my immediate family continues to remain healthy and COVID-free, thankfully. At this point I feel like I know more people who have caught COVID than those who haven’t. And yet, nobody in my immediate family has caught this thing. Granted, my parents and I have been avoiding mass transit, avoiding crowds, avoiding indoor restaurants, and haven’t been surrounded by lots of people–things that many can’t say for one reason or another (and, in all due fairness, things that many are unable to do even if they wanted to for one reason or another).
All that being said, I feel like I am not hearing as many people on a weekly basis saying that they have tested positive for COVID. There was a period from late December to mid-January where it felt like everyone and their dog was testing positive for COVID on a weekly basis. But not anymore. Which brings me to an update on COVID numbers from where I live…
As for where I live, case numbers are still high (higher than they were at the highest of any of the previous surges during the pandemic) but on a rapid decline. Thankfully, hospitalizations are also on the decline, which is important because it means that any hospitals that may be overwhelmed are starting to be less so.[1] At the rate things are going, my hope is that New York City will be in a somewhat more normal-ish situation by about mid-February or so. And when I mean normal, I am talking about leading a life where one is able to do many activities without catching the virus, as long as one took the proper precautions such as mask-wearing and being vaccinated and boosted.
And speaking of getting your booster, I most certainly hope that all of my readers have gotten their booster shots. I say that because of the increasing body of evidence showing that taking your booster will make it much more likely to avoid emergency medical care than if you don’t take your booster.[2] So please…get your booster if you can!
While I was talking about a normal-ish life hopefully coming in a few weeks, the normal I really long for is one where we can see our friends and family without worry of making someone seriously sick just by each other’s presence, one where we can see each other’s smiles again, one where we can feel safe travelling and eating at indoor restaurants and doing many other things we used to take for granted. Not all of our previous normal was good, and that fact may be the subject of a future blog post, but there are certain aspects of the old normal that I long for myself.
As usual, I’m happy to hear updates from others!
[2] https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/booster-shots-effective-severe-illness-omicron-rcna13038
Blind Injustice 
Here in Los Angeles, I’ve lost track of infection rates and deaths as we no longer get weekly updates from the LA Health Department on our local TV channels. I went out today by bus to the pharmacy and supermarket at a local shopping mall. I was happy to observe that lots of people are out in public spaces going about their lives.
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No more weekly updates from the LA Health Department? That’s not good. To my way of thinking, current data is important in order to have a gauge of how, if at all, we need to adjust our lifestyles.
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I’m so happy to hear that you and your family are still Covid-free! We are too, despite the fact that my daughter is a nursing supervisor and had five employees who tested positive for Covid a few weeks ago. And yes, we have all had our boosters! I still don’t go out in public, though, for I think with my other health issues, a case of Covid would likely be the end of me. Keep safe (and warm!) my friend!
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