Parting comments on Covid etcetera.

In most urban, coastal states, Covid appears to be ending. Positivity rates in Massachusetts are in the range of 0.3% and falling, with fewer than 50 people testing positive each day, the number is again going down by the day. Total number of hospitalized patients in the state were at about a hundred, which means most new cases aren't serious. The vaccination numbers look really good. The state has removed all the covid-related restrictions and emergencies.

Washington state isn't there yet, exactly, thanks to the large rural, alternative-reality based population in the Eastern part of the state, but they're on the way. The restrictions are to be lifted about two weeks from now, which seems like a decent option. Other larger, severely infected states such as California and New York have mostly opened, so it only makes sense. Gods save Florida and a bunch of other states that haven't been sufficiently vaccinated because aggressive strains that don't give an efff about your political affiliations seem to be gaining a foothold. The delta and gamma variants.

Outside the US, it's not too great. Europe is several months away from fully-vaxxed. Japan might never open up looking at their current trajectory, with a large population of anti-vax population combined with their xenophobia and the lack of interest in opening up tot he rest of the world.

India is...unclear...on what their opening strategy is. They're not going to be vaccinated in the necessary numbers to be fully open in the foreseeable future despite producing and vaccinating in huge numbers. They don't have a clear lockdown strategy. I'm imagining there's still a few more waves to go before things slow down.

And Nepal...is...going to be in a very tough place. There aren't enough vaccines for...ever. They're going to be opening soon. But what happens when things are back to 'normal'? How will they enforce social distancing? It's not clear. Lots of deaths, many in our extended family as well. Every family has had a few of those. Nobody believes the official numbers, officially, it's almost like a joke at this point. There's weddings in November/December, even if the gc situation worked out, unclear if I want to commit into going there. Because what if I get stuck? ED is not going because of potential health concerns for the baby.

I hope, hope, that this is going to be my last Covid update, at least for the U.S. Another half-year or so for the rest of the world, and we'll find ourselves in much more stable footing. Fingers crossed.