I got my Spring Covid booster today.
I’m in a high risk category. I turn 75 next month and I’m being treated with a biologic drug that suppresses my immune system.
I’m not saying everyone should have one. That’s a question you should take up with your personal care physician, if you can afford one.
My GI doctor gave me an emphatic yes when I asked her.
A problem is that the Biden administration has declared the pandemic over and will officially end the public health emergency on May 11.
There are few places anymore where masks are mandated.
I saw the face of my acupuncturist for the first time this week after six months.
He didn’t look like I expected.
No masks mean that with my hearing loss I can lip read again which is a big deal.
So, what’s the problem?
Federal health officials say that covid-19 remains one of the leading causes of death in the United States, tied to about 250 deaths daily, on average, mostly among the old and immunocompromised.
That’s me.
For people without insurance or with shitty insurance, Covid is still a risky thing and the lifting of the public health emergency makes it riskier.
It’s another reason for national healthcare.
At-home (over-the-counter) tests may become more costly even for those with insurance.
After May 11, older folks with traditional Medicare will no longer be able to get free, at-home tests. People with private insurance or Medicare Advantage will no longer be guaranteed free at-home tests.
Uninsured people in 18 states and territories that have adopted the temporary Medicaid coverage for them will no longer be able to obtain any type of free coronavirus testing services. The program ends with the public health emergency.
Vaccines will remain free for people with and without insurance. That is partly because the availability and costs of coronavirus vaccines, including boosters, are determined by the supply of federally purchased vaccines, not the public health emergency.
The Washington Post reports that a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that one-third of U.S. households used free at-home covid-19 diagnostic tests from a program the White House launched in January 2022 that allowed rapid antigen tests to be ordered at no cost to consumers through the U.S. Postal Service. The study suggested that, without the kits, 1 in 4 adults who used a test would likely to have gone untested.
You mentioned something about reading lips in a previous post.
Why don’t you get hearing aids. I have them. They work.