More signs of progress

The week's nearly over, friends, so hope you have a good weekend planned and get the weather to do some things you'd like to do!

It was a year ago today that we received so much news about how COVID-19 was already influencing our normal way of life.  On this day The WHO declared it to be a pandemic.  Then-President Trump announced a national ban on travel from Europe.  The NBA cancelled some games.  We learned that Tom Hanks and his wife had both been diagnosed with the virus.  And we were told by public health experts that things were going to get a great deal worse.

And they did.  

Today, though, I'm struck by how many positive things seem to be happening right now, and, of course, some of this is a matter of perspective.  First up, President Biden will sign the American Rescue Plan tomorrow, which passed both houses of Congress despite not receiving a single Republican vote.  Audacious in its dollar value of nearly $2 trillion, the bill provides funding to a number of COVID-related areas, including funding for vaccine distribution and testing, contact tracing, personal protective equipment, K-12 schools and higher eductation, rental assistance, expansion of the child tax credit, extended unemployment payment supplements and direct payments to families making up to specified levels of income. 

This is a huge development made possible by the narrow Democratic majority in the Senate, which passed the bill using the reconciliation process, bypassing the traditional requirement for a 60-vote majority for passage of legislation.  Ironically, even though Republican lawmakers uniformly voted against the bill, 75% of Americans asked in at least two different polls approved of the package.  This included approval by nearly 60% of Republicans who were polled.

Perhaps the funniest thing about this whole scenario is that at least one Republican senator has touted the benefits of the bill to his constituents (via Twitter, of course) despite having voted against it.  I expect there will be more contorted efforts by congressional Republicans to accept at least some credit for some elements of the bill before it's all said and done.

Another metric that give us some sense of hope is that 62 million of our fellow citizens have received at least one dose of COVID vaccination.  There are still large swaths of the population that have not received even their first shots, and less because of hesitancy and more because of lack of geographic access.  I know that the governor of my state, Kentucky, has spoken of the importance of ensuring that all who want it need to have a good chance to get it.

But let's face it, if the registration process is almost entirely online, that's going to be a challenge for a large percentage of people who aren't computer-savvy or lack access to a reliable Internet signal.  There are pockets of people who've taken it upon themselves to help the elderly through the registration process to ensure that they, too, receive the vaccine.  Let's hope this gets turned around, particularly now that supply of vaccine is increasing so much with the inclusion of a third vaccine.

Here in Kentucky, it appears that all residents of senior housing who wanted the vaccine have now received it, and the volume of new COVID-19 cases originating in senior housing has plummeted.  

On a personal note, I'm grateful that the Centers for Disease Control have spelled out what is and isn't possible for those who have received their full vaccination.  I work in healthcare, and therefore have received both shots, but my vaccination will not become fully effective for about another week.  My wife receives her second dose tomorrow.  According to the CDC, once we both have the full effect, we can visit with our son and his family safely.  And we have so missed them, particularly our grandchildren, so that will be a very happy occasion when we can resume that kind of activity!

I'm looking forward to again taking my wife out for dinner, going to a baseball game and just doing what we all used to do and took so much for granted.

It's not all positive, with several states announcing the end of their restrictions on businesses (particularly restaurants, bars and gyms) and also ending mask mandates.  I won't name those states or elaborate on the wisdom of those decisions, but will just say that maintaining vigilance just a little longer would help all concerned.

I hope you agree that we're moving in the right direction.