The Numbers and The News

It's getting better. I'm sharing the Marin County (pop 250,000) COVID-19 stats -- 17% at least partially vaccinated now! Cases in care homes are now almost nil after their vaccine drive. Marin is moving from the the most restrictive tier ahead of most of the rest of the state. 

In the wake of the new variants arriving in the US and having an administration now giving more timely advice, masks are stepping up a notch much like what's happening in Europe. The phenomenon of double masking has emerged and also, for those who have them, the emergence of N95 and KN95 masks in daily use. Almost everyone we see walking around has leveled up in the mask department. Generally I stick to the cloth mask for running and walking outside and double up for a run into a store and reserve my one coveted N95 for visiting a clinic. Kids masks are also leveling up. I have small KN95 masks that fit the boys well enough to replace their cloth ones for a Drs visit. It's been good to see the CDC and all the medical journals all on the same page finally. 

source: https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/blog/should-we-be-double-masking-now

In the news, headlines like 

White House says teacher vaccinations are 'not a requirement to reopen' schools

have reopened bitter resentment between teacher's unions and local parents and government. San Francisco is suing it's own school board in a case that's as ugly as that sounds. Some parents are picketing school boards with signs demanding an end to distance education while others are behind the unions demanding that teachers be put into the vaccine priority ahead of retired adults who can shelter in place at home a little longer. Other parents (more like us) are just staying out of the whole thing and planning to enroll next fall when everyone has had a chance to protect themselves as best they can.