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Dear Congress, You Needed to Pass Funding for Pandemic Relief…Last Week

Note to readers: This post is going to be unlike any other blog post I’ve ever done, in that this is going to be written like a letter, namely, an open letter to Congress. I hope this open letter will inspire others who care about the issue I am writing about to think about this further, and perhaps write letters to their own congressional representatives about the issue I write on here.

Additionally, I will add that there are reports that Congress has agreed to a deal on this. To my knowledge, the deal hasn’t passed yet so I decided to still publish tonight’s post.

Dear Congress,

Over two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be tempting to throw in the towel and say that the pandemic is over, endemic, or not a big deal. But not one of those three things is a reality yet. As of the time I’m writing this, the pandemic is still taking the lives of over 600 Americans a day, meaning that we are losing thousands a week to this virus. I remember when America grieved over 1,000 troops and then 2,000 troops lost in the Iraq War. We are losing that number of Americans to the pandemic every 2-3 days.

Worse yet, there are parts of the United States, including where I live in New York City, where the BA.2 subvariant of the Omicron variant is spreading.

During a time like this, a time when we may need to prepare for another wave of this pandemic (regrettably, as I’m tired of the pandemic too), we should be doubling down on three basic public health measures we’ve been pushing for many months: testing, tracing, and vaccinating.

And yet, because of your inability to do your jobs as public servants—serving the public, first and foremost—you have put this into doubt for uninsured Americans.

Also, just on a semi-random tangent: the fact that the phrase “uninsured Americans” exists is an indictment on Congress’s ability to give even the most basic of safety nets to people who might not otherwise have a safety net. That’s before we even start talking about all the Americans who are underinsured, as well as Americans with insurance companies that lack any sort of generosity or compassion with the benefits they give out.

Because you failed to do your jobs, COVID tests for uninsured patients are no longer free, even if they have COVID symptoms. How can people test or trace when they struggle to pay out of pocket for health care? Millions of Americans don’t have the money to make such a choice, and as a result have to resort to rapid tests that aren’t quite as accurate but still require a certain amount of money to buy them. Because of your inability to do your jobs, the public health strategy of testing and tracing has been put in danger in at least some parts of the United States.

Then there is the free funding for vaccines for those who are uninsured. Funding is supposed to run out for that this week. By not ensuring funding for this, especially at a time when we are urging people to get boosted and others fifty and older to get their second boosters, Congress is essentially taking an anti-vaxxer posture, or at least an anti-vaxxer posture for the uninsured. Let us be clear—not ensuring funding for COVID vaccines for the uninsured is an anti-vax policy, period.

And then there are all the other things in danger as a result of your irresponsibility: the curtailing of a relief fund that has allowed hospitals to treat uninsured COVID patients,[1] the potential running out of monoclonal antibodies by June,[2] and more.

I read that Republicans in Congress want “a more detailed accounting of where previous COVID-19 funding has gone.”[3] One can debate over whether there is a need for this detailed accounting, but regardless, said accounting should not keep those who are uninsured from access to things like vaccines and tests. However, one detailed accounting we really need is how we are going to prevent people from dying when we are pursuing a strategy of cutting off funding for things that help people live.

We need funding for COVID treatment, and we needed it last week. Congress needs to act.

Sincerely,

Grumpy from New York City

[1] https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/03/29/1089355997/free-covid-tests-and-treatments-no-longer-free-for-uninsured-as-funding-runs-out

[2] https://www.newsweek.com/monoclonal-antibodies-could-run-out-june-without-more-funds-psaki-warns-1688318

[3] https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/03/29/1089355997/free-covid-tests-and-treatments-no-longer-free-for-uninsured-as-funding-runs-out

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Coronavirus Update From New York City: March 3, 2022

I hope everyone is healthy and safe, regardless of where you are.

Personally, everyone in my family remained (knowingly) COVID-free throughout the Omicron variant, thankfully (though it’s always possible that one or more people in my family got it asymptomatically). Even though there were some nerves about remaining that way throughout, we got through it. Things are now coming back to a modified normal for my immediate family–returning back to a physical office for me, retuning to church for my family, and eating indoors at places that are either: a) not crowded or b) checking for proof of vaccination (and not every restaurant is checking for proof of vaccination, but more on that later in this post).

In New York City, all the COVID numbers, from test positivity to rate of infection, look so much better now than they did even at the start of February, when I curtailed the weekly COVID update posts and scaled them back to monthly posts again. In fact, the numbers are looking good enough (Or is it that people are sick and tired of COVID? Or both?) that some restrictions are being scaled back. The requirement that you must show proof of vaccination in order to eat indoors in New York City, for example, is expiring on March 7th.

I personally have mixed feelings about the removals of some of these restrictions.

Some of the restrictions, such as the restaurant and gym vaccine proof requirements, felt somewhat moot at times because many such places were not checking vaccination status to begin with (and I get that to an extent because there have been a few violent encounters involving anti-vaccine types at places where proof of vaccination was required; those encounters may’ve spooked some restaurant workers elsewhere, for example). Or, at least in my experiences some (Many?) places were not checking proof of vaccination in New York City.

But at the same time, I fear that loosening up too much, too quickly (even on mandates that are unevenly dealt with, such as proof of vaccination requirements for restaurants and gyms) will result in the most vulnerable being left behind–namely, those who are immunocompromised and families with kids under the age of 5 (kids who are therefore unable to get vaccinated). I fear that we are looking to move on without thinking about the most vulnerable among us as these policy decisions are being made. Of course, as I’m typing this, I recognize the fact that decisions and policies, on both a small scale and a larger scale, are made on a daily basis without keeping in mind those who are most vulnerable. But still, I am concerned that this is the case here.

But those are my thoughts, in any event. As always, I’m happy to hear how readers are doing!

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Coronavirus Update From New York City: February 3, 2022

I hope all of my readers are remaining healthy and safe, regardless of where you live.

I thankfully continue to remain COVID-free. I am grateful for that because, to be honest, even among those I know who have “mild” symptoms, there can still be certain symptoms that linger for quite a few weeks after they first test positive. For example, I know of people who, even though they have mostly recovered from the virus, still have lingering coughs that they are so incredibly tired of. Even “mild” COVID is no fun, albeit it is nothing compared to landing in the hospital with the virus.

Where I live, cases continue to decrease, and the number per cases per 100,000 people is at its lowest level since right before the holidays. Such numbers (as well as numbers when it comes to the percentage of people testing positive) is still relatively high compared to where we have been at most other points of this pandemic, but it is relatively low compared to where we were at the peak of the Omicron surge.

Also important is the fact that hospital and ICU admissions are on the decline now. While such statistics are lagging indicators relative to the number of people who test positive, what has made this pandemic so scary on so many occasions is how it has had the ability to completely overwhelm hospitals with patients. In the case of where I live, hospitalizations were higher with this variant than with COVID last winter, though ICU admissions were lower than they were past winter.

Given the rate at which things are slowing down, in terms of the rate of infection, I will be scaling back my COVID update posts to about once a month again. The pandemic isn’t over so I’m not ready to end these posts entirely, but it seems like an appropriate time to scale my posts back again because there may not be too much for me to report for a little while.

That is pretty much it, as far as updates are concerned on my end. As always, I’m interested in hearing how others are doing.

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Coronavirus Update From New York City: January 27, 2022

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!

[1] https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/coronavirus/ny-covid-hospitalizations-drop-below-10000-as-numbers-improve-quickly/3510043/

[2] https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/booster-shots-effective-severe-illness-omicron-rcna13038

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Coronavirus Update From New York City: January 20, 2022

I hope that all of my readers are healthy and safe, regardless of where you are.

On a personal note, everyone in my family seems to be continuing to avoid the virus. We’ve been very cautious when it comes to things like masking and large indoor gatherings, so I imagine all of that has helped. Hopefully this trend continues, because even among my fully vaccinated and boosted friends who’ve gotten the virus’s Omicron variant, it still sounds rather unpleasant (albeit, beating ending up in a hospital, or worse, in many of the cases of those who are not vaccinated).

However, there is one way in which it is difficult to do what needs to be done in order to prevent getting the variant myself: it has been a struggle to get one of the types of masks the medical experts recommend. Medical experts are saying that the N95 masks (the highest quality of mask from a protection standpoint) and the KN95 masks (not quite as good as the N95s, but still very good) are the best ones to have. However, it has been a challenge, to say the least, to find such masks. My family is doing the best that it can, by wearing two masks whenever we go indoors (with a blue surgical mask under a cloth mask). But it would still be nice to have a greater availability of the kinds of masks the medical experts recommend.

I also think we need to make sure to be forceful about the messaging around wearing a cloth mask by itself. I am still seeing a lot of people wearing a cloth mask by itself, even though all the medical experts I’ve been hearing lately are saying that cloth masks by themselves are little more than a face decoration when it comes to protection against the Omicron variant. I would like to think that we could prevent some spread of the virus if there were more forceful messaging when it came to wearing cloth masks by themselves, but of course, I am not a public health expert, so I don’t know how much said forceful messaging would have helped.

The promising news is that the number of people testing positive in New York, as well as in many other parts of the northeastern United States, is down. This makes sense to me, as this part of the United States also seemed to be the first part to get slammed by the Omicron variant. This creates some hope, I think, that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel, at least when it comes to this specific variant of the virus.

The number of people getting infected by this is still quite high, so I would urge against complacency, even in the parts of the United States or the world where cases continue to decline. I especially urge against this because there are parts of the region where hospital beds and ICU beds are filling up again, so we want to make sure to do what we can to keep hospital and ICU beds from getting overwhelmed, if they aren’t overwhelmed already. Furthermore, a lot of people seem to be getting sick in a short span of time, resulting in continuing shortages of everything from bus drivers to certain kinds of food. Now is not the time for complacency, indeed.

So, that is pretty much it from my corner of the world. As always, I am interested to hear how others are doing.