Our patient was doing better but is on the verge of a relapse.
That patient’s name is the United States of America. Its ailment is COVID-19.
Stalled vaccination rates and a surging Delta variant have caused cases to surge again. In Virginia, from a low of about 100 new cases a day a month or so ago, we are now witnessing close to 1000 daily; and on Wednesday, the new case total topped that figure.
This is deeply discouraging for a nation which recently believed that “normal” seemed just a few weeks in the future. Now, we cannot predict normal.
The Centers for Disease Control is recommending that fully vaccinated people wear masks in public indoor settings where risk of community transmission is rated as substantial or high.
According to the CDC website, Gloucester’s risk is rated as substantial. For now, the transmission risk in Mathews is considered moderate.
Vaccinated people in rare cases are contracting COVID-19. While the CDC said the disease can be undetected or moderate among th...