Read the mandate ends in two weeks, so seems this was more about baiting Biden admin into a mask/culture war
Probably not worth the politics.
But yes it shows another way our system is broken with these lifetime appointments by a executive who is only limited to max eight years (and a couple of POTUS who didn’t even win popular vote)
It's not worth the politics because the science is telling us otherwise. If we are to preach "trust the science" when Mango Mussoliniis in office, then we also need to trust the science when he is not - otherwise it wasn't really about the science, was it?
COVID has changed. This isn't March 2020 anymore. This is actually closer to an Ordinary Spring [emoji769] .
Yes, BA.2 is our there, and yes cases have risen. But they haven't skyrocketed like they did with the first COVID variant, and hospitalizations, while yes, they have risen, haven't risen at an alarming rate. Deaths have remained flat - even in the places where this next mutation has been with us for well over a month like DC and NY.
If you look at NY...
The hot spots are centered not around densely populated New York City, rather in two college towns upstate, and a few rural counties way way up state.
In other words - areas unlikely to be vaccinated.
Hospitalizations now take away those college towns - because whole young and healthy college kids spread this thing like candy, they don't get severe illness - keep those same rural areas (red counties where those at risk likely haven't gotten any shots because of politics), and a few parts of Long Island - at least one of which is very much a Red part of the state.
If you want to keep wearing your K95 on the plane, train or subway? Go ahead! They work! And unlike during the last administration, we actually have a shit ton of them!
If you're vaccinated you have very little to worry about here.
If you're young you have very little to worry about.
Children have very little to worry about.
We are at the point where we can allow people to make personal decisions on what is best for them and their families. We know enough now, and the virus has changed enough, to start to move forward.
Democrats should accept this not because it's politically viable (it is, by the way), but because it's just what they should be doing.
I know it's difficult to move on from this thing after the last few years - but we all know that this is eventually going to become endemic (it already is) and we also know what we as individuals can do to keep us safer.
So let's do that.
If another mutation comes around that is worse? Hey, we can always go back. We'll be better prepared to do so.
