Still creepin' back up

People are in denial about Covid. The time of widespread mask-wearing and social distancing seems to be pretty much over. It would be great if the statistics on infections warranted all the relaxation, but truth be told, they don't. Even vaccinated people get the virus, and some of them wind up in the hospital. The current strains are as wickedly contagious as ever.

At this point, we're all entitled to make our own assessment and decisions. But be sure you choose knowingly. Here are the hospitalization curves in Oregon. The top line is people in the hospital with Covid, the middle line is people in the intensive care unit with Covid, and the bottom line is people on respirators with Covid. The statewide numbers as of today are 337, 43, and 5, respectively.

I'm ever so grateful and relieved that I've never appeared anywhere on this chart. But I don't want to be the guy just off to the right of the screen. And so as annoying as it is, I'm still going to lie quite low for a while.

It's painful. I used to make a trip to Washington, D.C. for a tax conference every May. It was always a valuable experience, sharing information and ideas with fellow tax people from all over the country. I haven't gotten the benefit of that in three years.

This year they held that conference for the first time since Covid took over, and it turned out to be a super-spreader event. I know a fellow who attended. He wound up in the hospital getting monoclonal antibodies shortly after he got back home. I'm glad I missed it.