Case Rates Dropping. Mask Requirements Dropping, Too.

It's Tier Tuesday so time for a weekly check of Coronavirus statistics. The main metric, average daily cases per 100,000 population, has continued to decline. A week ago it was 81,823. Today it stands at 58,986. This is not only a 28% decline in one week but a 93% decline from the peak of 805,062 on January 15. Figures are per New York Times Coronavirus in the U.S. (retrieved 1 Mar 2022).

Along with the dropping case rates, mask requirements are dropping. The governor's office allowed the statewide mandate to lapse two weeks ago. Two counties, Santa Clara (where I live) and Los Angeles, kept indoor mask policies in place. But one week ago Santa Clara announced it would drop its policy if data supported such a change. The latest data have, so mask laws are largely lifted here, effective Wednesday. Example news coverage: KRON 4 news article, 1 Mar 2022; San Jose Spotlight article, 1 Mar 2022.

Previously I described the new policy as still requiring unvaccinated people to wear masks in indoors public settings. That is inaccurate. The new policy makes masks voluntary— though recommended— for all.

Masks remain required for all in certain settings. Masks must be worn in schools and child care facilities per a state requirement in effect through March 11. The governor has indicated he expects to lift that restriction starting on March 12. A separate rule mandating masks on public transit and in homeless shelters, health care and long-term care facilities, and correctional institutions remains in effect with no sunset date proposed yet.

Good News/Bad News

In the last several of my Tier Tuesday updates I've warned that the news is good news/bad news. That remains true this week. While Tuesday's 7-day average case rate is down sharply from the height of the Omicron surge, it is still higher now than before the Delta and Omicron waves.

The last time California lifted its mask mandates, 15 June 2021, the national average case rate was 12,620. Today my county decided to lift mask requirements with nearly 5x that rate... and most of the rest of the state and most of the rest of the country lifted theirs long before that. Other key metrics— test positivity, hospitalization, and deaths— remain substantially higher, too.

This all adds up to a conclusion that this lifting of the mask mandate is unscientific, that it's a premature, rushed change because the political will to tolerate restrictions in the name of public health no longer exists. We're effectively a nation of children who vote now.

Pizza on Half the Dough

I've made calzone at home twice now using pre-made pizza dough from the grocery store. Both times I used half the 1-lb package of dough. I'm glad I did because that turned out to be the right amount!

With calzone #1 I used the other half of the dough to make a bunch of garlic knots. With calzone #2, which I posted about last night, I used the other half of the dough to make a pizza for Hawk.

The idea seemed so obvious once it occurred to me: if a half pound of dough works great for a calzone, it'd work great for a individual pizza. Yet it was a revelation because every time in the past I'd made a pizza from store-bought dough I used most or all of the 1-lb ball to make the pizza crust.



Indeed an 8-oz. portion of dough made a nicely sized individual pizza. Hawk ate most of this and left a slice for me.

The pizza shown here is sauce-less. Hawk doesn't care much for tomato sauce. I brushed olive oil on the rolled out dough, covered it with cheese, then topped it with a generous spread of sliced red onion. The yellow color you see on the cheese is from Hawk sprinkling on turmeric. Indian style pizza? Not exactly my thing... though, yes, I've tried it. Both in my own kitchen as well as at Indian pizzerias. But that's the great thing about individual sized pizza. You get your favorite toppings even if nobody else agrees!

Swelling from the Shingles Vaccine

Monday I got two vaccine shots. Not, not the Coronavirus vaccine— I got those months ago. These were the shingles vaccine and pneumococcal vaccine.

"I got all the vaccines when I was a kid," you might think. That may be true; there are a bunch of vaccines recommended in early childhood. I got all the standard childhood vaccines, too. But there are various additional vaccines and boosters recommended for adults. See the CDC's Vaccine Information for Adults plus additional Recommended Vaccines for Adults based on age and risk factors. The shingles vaccine is recommended for adults 50+. That's me, now.

Sometimes vaccines cause side effects. With the Coronavirus vaccines mild body aches and sleepiness within a 24 hour period were common. When I got the booster 3rd shot I had swelling around the injection site. A similar thing has happened this week after the shingles vaccine jab.

I've got a bruise on my arm around the injection site. It's about 3 inches across, discolored, and slightly swollen. At the moment I'm deeming this to be within the range of normal side effects, though I've sent a message (including this picture) to my doctor asking her opinion on whether I should continue toughing it out or seek clinical attention.

BTW, for any who point to side effects like this as a reason to avoid vaccines: I would much rather have a 100% chance of a bruise like this that goes away in a few days than a 1-in-3 chance (CDC info page) of getting shingles.

UPDATE: My doctor's clinic replied to my text message with a link to the CDC's page, "What you can expect after getting Shingrix" (Shingrix is the brand name of the vaccine). Front and center is a picture of swelling around an injection site that looks very similar to the picture I sent. I don't know if they intended that response to be mildly humorous, but it was to me.