covid 19-now what should we be doing

COVID 19-NOW WHAT SHOULD WE BE DOING

50% of americans have had at least one covid 18 vaccine
the goal is 75-80%
add to that those who had the virus who are immune
then
we are getting to a good place that looked unobtainable weeks and months ago
i personally feel less gloom and doom

here in santa barbara we moved from the restrictive purple tier to the red tier and are about to enter the much less restrictive orange tier to be followed to the real unrestrictive yellow tier soon after that
the next tier i guess you could call it the white tier as it will be wide open with little restrictions

why are we able to open up here
first when you walk around most people are wearing masks
you cant go into a store here without a mask on 

we arent stupid you know
masks prevent the spread of the virus

we have had 4 covid 19 deaths in a county of 400,000+ people in the last 2 weeks
we have 5.2 cases per 100,000 which allows us to enter the less restrictive tier
when you drive around you can feel and see the increased activity 

the icus only have 2.5% of their cases with covid 19

the schools are now all open
the high school sports are open 
its interesting to see volleyball and football being played in the spring
the restaurants are open partially inside and open fully outside

i see it in trader joes shopping
all shoppers and employees wear masks
you now wipe down your own carts
you still cant bag you own groceries inside the store with your reusable bags
you like me do it outside
there is not a limit on how many can go inside
there doesnt seem to be the old people hour at the store anymore

so here in santa barbara the numbers have fallen dramatically from the winter
things are opening up 

now in places like michigan this cant and shouldnt be done

california is following the data the science not the politics
like michigan if things were to get worse than the restrictioins would return

one limitation soon and this is a big one
will be 
liability

once the fda gives it final official approval of the vaccine
remember
for now
the vaccines are under emergency approval 

once that official approval happens
thats when liability restrictions kick in 
eg
employers can require that you get the vaccine before you can work
a proof of vaccination may be required before you enter some businesses or sporting events etc

the liability insurance companies may or should i say more than likely will be place a restriction on covid 19 coverage

eg if an employee or customer catches covid 19 from your business etc the insurance company may not protect you from being sued

those suits are right now being lined up ready to go when that full approval by the fda occurs

remember to keep your covid 19 vaccination record safe as you will probably need it

we photo copied ours and filed a photo of it and have it at our primary care doctors office

so 
now that things have improved here with the covid 19
how should i handle masking etc

these are my opinions from reading a lot about all of this

should i be wearing a mask if i am fully immunized
yes
it is not 100% known if its possible for an immunized person to carry the virus asymptomatically
thus exposing those around them to the covid 19 infecting them

it is not 100% known if some of these new variants are 100% susceptible to the vaccines
especially the brazilian one which is now in the us

no vaccine is a 100% effective

so if you have gotten the vaccine its unlikely you will catch the virus and or spread it
but
its possible

for that reason if you have been vaccinated you should wear your mask to protect yourself and others

in our group
mr hudson who is immunocompromised  from the drugs he has to take to prevent him from rejecting his kidney
this makes him susceptible to catching the covid 19 virus

so
anyone vaccinated or not should wear a n95 type mask around him
his parents and my wife she and i are vaccinated so we are unlikely to be the one that passes it to him
we still wear a mask around him

anyone unvaccinated who gets near him should be doing the same

his sister ms b is unvaccinated and thanks to the covid 19 has had to live a restrictive kindergarten life this year away from school and friends

remember her age group may be asymptomatic carriers of the virus
so 
far now her restrictive life will continue
she probably will attend full school this fall

hopefully this fall once the vaccine is approved in her age group she will be protected
then mr hudson will be more protected

so for mr hudson we need to be 100% sure

we are close real close to being near the end of all of this

if i am around folks who have been all immunized should i wear a  mask
yes
remember that 100% thing

if i am around folks who are unimmunized what do i do 
i wear my mask mainly to protect them

i would expect them to also wear a mask

if you arent immunized you should always wear a mask
remember
you unimmunized folks are the only ones left for the covid 19 virus to infect
there is about 150 million of you left

would i travel on a plane
yes if it was necessary that i travel
otherwise i will wait until more folks get immunized

will i get my booster shot this fall or winter
absolutely 

would i go to a restaurant to eat
sorry 
i would only eat outside

its still hard for me to remember im mostly wearing my mask to protect you not myself

should an unimmunized person go swimming
swimming itself doesnt spread the virus 
it whether you are exposed to unimmunized persons at the pool or beach 

also
remember it appears that the virus doesnt stay on surfaces like they thought at the beginning
its mainly a respiratory virus

we used to save our groceries and mail for 3 days now we dont
we used to wash off our refrigerator groceries now we dont

so
i wear my mask when i go outside the door
its simpler that way i dont have to decide whether i should wear a mask
i just do it
its no big deal

i wash my hands and use hand sanitizer
probably a good idea even before the pandemic to prevent viral and bacterial infections

i still space myself from others
remember its for their own good

i cant make myself go to a large gathering or go in a movie theater or museum yet
and probably wont until the numbers of vaccinated are higher and until we know what the variants wil do and  until we get down into that white tier the do what you want tier

my guess is soon the recommendation will be if you are immunized you dont need to wear a mask
unitl
that time arrives you should stay masked

do keep an eye on whats happening since we still are having 60,000 cases a day in the us
we may lose another 58,000 americans to covid 19 before august
so
its not gone
until it does go away 

remember what i do is based on where i live
where you live may be more restrictive or should i say should be more restrictive

be safe

the organicgreen doctor