This is what the Rutland Herald had to say about the state of the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic in Vermont:
It is good news that Vermont is seeing fewer cases of COVID.
As of Tuesday, the seven-day average for cases had decreased 11 percent during the past week, but increased 13 percent over the past 14 days. Vermont averaged around 130 cases during the past seven days. Hospitalizations also remain low, and for a few days this week there were no cases confined to ICUs in the state.
On Wednesday, the number of new cases was up to 209, with only 13 hospitalizations. Deaths since the start of the pandemic resulting from COVID were at 617 in Vermont. Washington County saw an uptick in cases, with 30 reported Wednesday, bringing the average to 250 over the 14-day period. In Rutland County, there were nine cases reported Wednesday, keeping the average down to 112.
The BA.2 variant, which is more transmissible than the original omicron variant, now makes up more than 72 percent of cases in New England and 55 percent of cases nationally, according to state and federal health officials.
We must not take our eye off the ball, no matter how low the numbers go.
Consider the following from The Associated Press.
Experts are watching for a potential new COVID-19 surge in the U.S. — and wondering how long it will take to detect. Despite disease monitoring improvements during the past two years, they say, some recent developments don’t bode well:
— As more people take rapid COVID-19 tests at home, fewer people are getting the gold-standard tests that the government relies on for case counts.
— The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will soon use fewer labs to look for new variants.
— Health officials are increasingly focusing on hospital admissions, which rise only after a surge has arrived.
— A wastewater surveillance program remains a patchwork that cannot yet be counted on for the data needed to understand coming surges.
— White House officials say the government is running out of funds for vaccines, treatments and testing.
In addition, this week 21 states (all with Republican attorneys general) sued to halt the federal government’s requirement that people wear masks on planes, trains, ferries and other public transportation amid the coronavirus pandemic. (The states are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.)
The lawsuit, announced by Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody and filed in federal court in Tampa, Florida, contends that the mask mandate exceeds the authority of the CDC.
The CDC rule, effective Feb. 1, 2021, requires “the wearing of masks by people on public transportation conveyances or on the premises of transportation hubs,” according to the agency website. The rule has been relaxed somewhat, to end requirements for certain buses, but was recently extended until at least April 18 for domestic and international travel in general.
The mandate in its current form may be in effect only a few weeks more. The CDC recently extended it until April 18 while also indicating it is weighing scaling back the rules for a more targeted approach.
The states named in the lawsuit are pressing on with the lawsuit, which comes amid a partisan divide about the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and issues of government control versus individual rights, the AP notes.
Numerous countries across Europe, North America and elsewhere recently lifted nearly all their COVID-19 protocols, relying on high levels of vaccination to prevent another infection spike even as the more infectious omicron subvariant BA.2 is causing an uptick in new cases.
Our guard cannot go down. Here in Vermont we are waiting for recommendations from the state Department of Health on the news the U.S. expanded the use of vaccine boosters Tuesday as regulators said Americans ages 50 and older can get a second booster at least four months after their last vaccination.
We cannot ignore what we have learned from this pandemic. And for sure, we cannot pretend the seriousness of COVID’s longstanding effects on our state, nation and the world should ever be diminished.
We must remain obligated to the guidelines and rules, and respect the challenges that still remain.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.