Tag: COVID-19
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Stress, Fuzzy Symptoms, and Long COVID
by James A. Bacon WHRO Public Media tells the story of Chesapeake nurse Megan Temple, who contracted COVID-19 in October and has dealt with “long COVID” ever since. She got over the initial illness quickly. But in the weeks and months that followed, during which she also recovered from abdominal surgery, she developed an array…
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Another COVID Impact: Bad School Data
by Matt Hurt In a September 14th post, Jim Sherlock referenced some data points that were collected during the pandemic. Specifically he brought up the topics of chronic absenteeism and how the graduation rate didn’t seem to correlate with SOL scores. My intent here is not to refute any specifics; it is to inform readers…
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Elections Matter
by Kerry Dougherty There are lots of one-issue voters out there. Until the COVID pandemic I wasn’t one of them. This year and for the rest of my life I will vote against any candidate who supported unconstitutional lockdowns, school closures, curfews and vaccine mandates. If I were a Democrat. I’d be horrified that the…
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Widespread Fallout from School Closures
by Kerry Dougherty I feel sorry for 1st-grade teachers. Not only do they have the tough task of teaching kids to read, but they are now dealing with children who lack some of the most basic skills needed to learn. Skills the children should have learned in pre-school and kindergarten. An admissions officer from a…
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Mamas, Let Your Babies Grow Up Before Getting Vaccinated
by James A. Bacon About 21,000 Virginia children aged four and under have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in the three weeks since the shots were made available, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. That amounts to only 5% of the age group, observes reporter Eric Kolenich, but it’s significantly higher than the national average of 2%. I’m…
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The Variants Are Coming! The Variants Are Coming! The Worst One Yet!
by Kerry Dougherty Looks like it has arrived. I’m talking about the eagerly anticipated “Mid-Term Variant.” You know, the “worst one yet, the shape-shifting” variety. It’s the terrifying BA.5, which is spreading right now. And if that doesn’t have you trembling and reaching for an N95, the BA2.75 is on its way. From India! This…
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No Patient Should Ever Be Left Alone
by Kerry Dougherty Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this week signed the Sunshine State’s “No Patient Left Alone Act,” guaranteeing that Floridians can have their loved ones with them when they are hospitalized, ill or in long-term care. What’s truly unbelievable is that this needed to be legislated. The importance of family visits was always considered…
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Commonwealth Set for Major Broadband Expansion
by Dick Hall-Sizemore One of the issues underlined by the pandemic was the need for all areas of the state to have access to broadband internet. Without access to broadband, kids (and adults) in rural areas cannot take advantage of courses offered online. To the extent that more people will be working remotely, rural areas…
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So, How Did UVa’s Vaccine Mandate Work Out?
by James A. Bacon Readers may recall that last August the University of Virginia “disenrolled” 238 students for not complying with the university’s COVID vaccination mandate. (Of those, 49 had enrolled at the time the decision was made. The intentions of the others were not known. Many likely had made other arrangements knowing that the…
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What’s Causing Virginia’s Excess Deaths? Whatever It Is, It’s Not Just COVID
Virginia has high vaccination rates, and deaths from COVID-19 are a small fraction of what they were at the height of the pandemic. Yet “excess” deaths in Virginia — the number that would be predicted based upon projections from pre-COVID years — are running 13.4% higher than expected this year. According to Centers for Disease…
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COVID: It’s Baaack! But Relatively Few Deaths So Far
by James A. Bacon Just a reminder, people: COVID-19 may have receded from the headlines, but it hasn’t gone away. After bottoming out in April at less than 1,000 daily confirmed cases, the seven-day moving average in Virginia has climbed back up to 3,200 or more. You can be double vaxxed — as much of…
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Hey, Virginia State Workers, Take Off Your PJs
by Kerry Dougherty Hey, Virginia state employees, it’s time. Time to close those laptops, take off your pajamas and head back to work. I know, I know, it’s been fun sitting home with your cats since early 2020, when Gov. Ralph Northam shut down the commonwealth to slow the spread of COVID-19. And we all…
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Virginia’s COVID Performance Rates a D
by James A. Bacon Virginia performed worse than 35 other states during the COVID-19 recession, based on an analysis that encompasses mortality rates, economic performance and educational performance. The Commonwealth fared better than average in health outcomes, worse than average in economic performance, and near the bottom in school closures. The overall ranking: D. Nationally,…
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COVID Hospitalizations Rapidly Receding
COVID data junkies might want to check out the latest iteration of the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association COVID hospitalization dashboard. It now provides a regional breakdown. After winter’s Omicron surge, the numbers are heading down fast, and could well dip lower than the level Virginia enjoyed last summer. The seven-day moving average of COVID…
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ACLU Wants Masks on Kids
by Kerry Dougherty It’s official. One of the most malignant organizations in Virginia is the ACLU. These far-left lawyers, who are supposed to be concerned with civil liberties (hey, it’s in their name: the American Civil Liberties Union), sucked their thumbs as Democrat Gov. Ralph Northam stomped all over the civil rights of Virginians for…