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As Thanksgiving approaches, Covid-19 cases going up again, but hospitalization, deaths remain lower than earlier in the year
By adamg on Wed, 11/17/2021 - 9:29pm
Covid-19 particles found in Deer Island sewage (southern MWRA district), which can predict rises in cases.
Massachusetts today reported 2,650 new Covid-19 cases, a 52% increase over the same day last week and the highest one-day total since February.
The state reported 642 Covid-19 patients in hospitals on Tuesday, compared to 527 the previous Tuesday, a 22% increase. However, an indicator that vaccines are working is that Tuesday's number is far lower than the numbers reported in February, when most people were yet to be vaccinated. That month started with 1,640 people in hospital beds and ended with 788.
The number of Covid-19 deaths reported today was 20, the same number as a week ago. As with hospitalization, the number has come down since February: On Feb. 17, 55 Massachusetts residents died from the disease.
Samples from the MWRA sewage plant on Deer Island are showing an increase in coronavirus RNA found in sewage from both of the MWRA's two service areas. Growing numbers can indicate an impending surge within a couple weeks, because people can start secreting viral particles before they know they're sick or get a confirmed diagnosis.
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Comments
Get a booster if you want it.
Yes, there are rules about who is "supposed" to get boosters, but if you look at the guidelines, a wide berth is given.
Many concessions are outlined, beyond immunocompromised people, to people facing mental health challenges and substance abuse issues. I say this without snark and with full compassion: if you've made it this far without suffering a mental health crisis or without a substance abuse episode, then congratulations. But the eligibility guidelines are written in vague and ambiguous terms, perhaps designed to encompass pretty much anyone.
If getting the booster will ease your anxiety or perhaps prompt you to drink or use substances less frequently, then go get that booster.
The third shot is abundant, it's available, and it's free. Don't wait for "official" permission. If you feel you need a booster, then I am telling you that you are justified in making an appointment and getting the third jab.
I got my booster at the Head of the Charles Regatta
from a state-sponsored van parked on Memorial Drive. All they cared about was my birth date and the date and manufacturer of my most recent shots. As long as it was Pfizer and more than six months ago, they were happy to jab me again. (This was before mix-and-match was approved. They told people who wanted Moderna to go to their doctors or pharmacies instead.)
I also went most of the way through the CVS sign-up process, stopping just short of making an appointment. On their site, all you had to do was say that you considered yourself to be in an eligible category. You didn't have to say *which* category or anything else related to it.
Also, one of the eligible categories (though not applicable to me) is 'overweight', defined as a BMI greater than 25. That covers a *lot* of the population.
If you don’t listen to tblade…
…then listen to the OG Ron Newman.
^^^
It's funny that you say that
It's funny that you say that because when I got my booster i was publically berated by a family member that i couldn't possibly be eligible. Spoiler Alert: I am in fact eligible
Why would they care?
Your getting a booster shot in no way deprives anyone else; if anything, it makes them safer. Why would your family member care? Just felt the need to shake a finger at you?
Booster eligibility rules are now gone in Massachusetts
except these: You must be 18 or over, and you must have received your second Pfizer or Moderna shot at least 6 months ago (or your J&J shot at least 2 months ago). That's it.
Several other states preceded Massachusetts in doing this, and I expect more to follow shortly if the FDA and CDC don't get there first.