So far, we still have personally been spared being infected by COVID.

*************************************

However, the Worldwide Pandemic is not over.

*************************************

“A surge in coronavirus infections in Western Europe has experts and health authorities on alert for another wave of the pandemic in the United States, even as most of the country has done away with all pandemic restrictions. Infectious-disease experts are closely watching the subvariant of omicron known as BA.2, which appears to be more transmissible than the original strain, BA.1, and is fueling the outbreak overseas. Unfortunately, predicting the future course of the virus has proved difficult throughout the pandemic.”

“The US has a lower overall vaccination rate than most of the European countries currently seeing spikes in cases, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Research Center. About 66% of the US population (ONLY 44.5 %; plus not going up where we live) is vaccinated, while Germany and the UK have full vaccination rates of approximately 76% and 74%, respectively.”

“That lower vaccination rate is very likely to matter as BA.2 spreads further in the United States, especially in regions where it is significantly lower than the national rate, several experts said. (Here we go again). Even for people who are fully vaccinated and have received a booster shot, research data is showing that immunity to the virus fades over time.” (Our boosters were last October; so we are already going on 6 months post, protective booster. The drop in effectiveness becomes sharp 4 months after being boosted.) Now what?

“‘Any place you have relatively lower vaccination rates, especially among the elderly, is where you’re going to see a bump in hospitalizations and deaths from this,’ said Céline Gounder, an infectious-diseases physician. ‘As the public sheds masks — every state has dropped its mask mandate or announced plans to do so — another layer of protection is disappearing.’” Business Insider

So, with this new COVID variant in the USA, what be will be. We have no control over what happens outside our bubble.

*************************************

Meanwhile, Kansas legislature is currently working on a law that will prevent masking; no matter how contagious the next variant of COVID may be or even if a more deadly disease threatens the US. It’s politics over health and science. The Kansas State Senate health committee also approved a bill that would allow parents to get a no-questions-asked exemption from requirements to vaccinate their children against more than a dozen diseases, including measles, whooping cough, polio and chickenpox. So COVID is not the only disease (that has an effective vaccine) that may be on the horizon in the state in the future.

Equally conservative Missouri undoubtedly will follow their conservative sister state concerning “personal health freedoms”. During the entire pandemic, the Missouri AG has initiated dozens of lawsuits to prevent any and all Missouri mask mandates; even while record new cases of COVID caused record hospitalizations and deaths.

Vaccination and testing sites have closed or are closing in both states. Ads to encourage the public to vaccinate or test are now history. The pandemic is considered to be over. However, tell that to the highly transmissible BA.2 Omicron variant that is pushing infections back up in many places.

*************************************

By the time the next full moon in April, we’ll know somewhat more about where things are headed. This is the last full moon of the Fall 2021/Winter 2022 Season. The next full moon will be in Springtime of the 3rd year of the Pandemic.

Hopefully Spring and Summer of 2022 will be a lot less eventful than the Winter Omicron Surge that we recently experienced. Except for those who either died or are having long lasting COVID effects (which can be many and very serious), most other people in the US have already forgotten about those months. People tend to block out negativity. The United States is now 100% open for business as usual and COVID is of little concern to most.

*************************************

The moon sure was beautiful this month. Or at least it was before the skies clouded over & couldn't be seen anymore. Because the sky was clouding up prior to rain, I took my full moon photo 7 hours before the actual apex. The heavy moisture in the atmosphere produced a very orange looking moon. It has been raining ever since.