Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Several Covid Stories

 1.  Several weeks ago, across Germany, there was hype of cancelled fireworks on 31 December (New Years Eve).  The reasoning was prevention of Covid (yeah, as silly as it sounds).  The wording?  It was never clear.

So yesterday, the Premier-President of Hessen (my local state)....made it crystal clear.  While you can't fire off fireworks in public parks or metro public areas....there's no ban for selling fireworks or using them in your own yard/garden.  

2.  The new Health Minister had some kind of agenda figured up....to get everyone hyped up on the 'booster' shot.  It didn't really mattered if you finished up your second shot two months ago.....he wanted everyone on the 'wagon' to get a booster (even though it has no advantage for the Omikron variant).  

Well.....he woke up yesterday to learn that no matter which vaccine you talk about....there just ain't enough 'juice' for some magnificent booster program.  The two primary companies were a bit surprised over the sudden logistics change and admitted....'no, we can't deliver on this new schedule'.

Getting a 'solution-date'?  Probably in the next day or two....a schedule will arrive but I doubt if they can deliver what they want for at least six to eight weeks.  

What was the logic for the booster?  Well....this was explained back three months ago.  They figured shot one/two would be good for about ten to twelve months originally, then they changed the words to say nine months.  Some medical folks now say the antibody strength is mostly gone by nine months....so they want six months to be the new goal.  

3.  The 'League of Doctor Dooms'?  Yesterday, the Health Ministry announced that a group of nineteen virus experts from across Germany are now 'hired-up' (paid in some way) to meet regularly and provide 'advice' to the new coalition government and the Health Minister.

The basic idea?  If you stand back and admire it.....they would have x-solution for this problem and 'agree'.  The Health Minister would try to push that as the national solution.  

Problems?  The sixteen German states....run by politicians....might have various issues and bump up against the Health Minister.  The idea being discussed.....science should run governmental decisions.  

Will the nineteen 'Doctor Dooms' even agree on things?  This might be another problem.  

4.  Late yesterday, there was some highly confusing chatter from the government (I'll even admit four different sources of news.....gave difficult to understand changes in ban rules).

So, the jest of this involves the booster shot business.  Once you dig into what the government said.....if you were going to a place that required 2G-PLUS (meaning you were vaxed-up or recovered, AND tested).....you could skip testing if you had the booster shot.

What kind of places?  Well....I looked it up.  Concert halls, disco operations, night-clubs, and places of prostitution.  Yes....brothels.  

Restaurants or pubs?  NO.  None of them were involved in the 2G-PLUS stuff.

The confusing business?  The way it continually got explained....people felt they meant restaurants and pubs being 2G-PLUS, which they weren't in that category.

Driving people to get the booster?  Maybe,  All of this on that tray of continual rule/ban changes?  Well....that's the chief problem that most people are discussing....change after change.  If you stepped out of the country for two months and came back in....you'd have to sit down and read the current regulations because Covid rules continually change.  

5.  Vaccine 'credit-cards'?  Some pharmacy operations in Germany are selling a vaccine-pass credit-type card.  You walk in....show your vax record, and they make up a nifty-pass (as they say....you might need it if your cellphone battery ran out).  Cost?  10 Euro.  

The issue I see....if we get to the point of boosters every five or six months.....you'd have to continually go back to a pharmacy to get a new updated card.  

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