I completely empathize with wanting COVID-19 to be a thing of the past, however, it’s anything but. Across America community spread is within the highest level and we still have people dying from COVID everyday. Yet seemingly no one is masking and most people are living life like it’s 2018. It’s hard feeling like those of us who are high risk and have kids too young to be vaccinated, are left behind.
Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor or medical professional. Just a mom who is high risk for complications from COVID .
Current State of COVID-19
I try to see all sides of every issue, but this just doesn’t compute for me. COVID is still spreading at an alarming rate, the current mutation of Omicron is more contagious than any before it, and yet almost everyone acts as if COVID is done. It’s not.
The images below are a huge undercount since most people aren’t testing or doing at-home tests that aren’t reported, but even with the tests that are being taken lately, spread is at the high level across the country. A rate that previously, would mean masking and distancing, but currently means nothing to most people.
Here in Minnesota
Here in MN, we have 2,000+ new cases reported each day. Sure, among the vaccinated and boosted, hospitalization and death are unlikely but they’re finding that more people are ended up with debilitating long-covid regardless of vaccination status. Vaccination is still important but more people, vaccinated and not, are getting covid now. I don’t get why it’s not being covered in the media more. It’s still a huge, ongoing issue.
The MDH graphic below shows the MN Dept of Health graph of cases, including a huge uptick in cases overall. The number of cases from the previous day is twice what it usually is, likely due to Memorial Day so numbers weren’t updated as much.
The CDC map shows most of the country, including MN, is within the high level of community transmission.
Spread is Still High
As shown above, the spread is still high throughout most of the nation, including here in Minnesota. I wish everyone would start acting as such. Wearing a mask when indoors and continuing to social distance could really help slow down this surge that we’re currently in.
I do realize that cases of severe COVID, hospitalization, and death are lower than they used to be. However, we’re learning more and more about Long COVID which can have debilitating effects even if the person only had slight symptoms when they were infected initially. More about that below.
I’m honestly not judging others and their decisions. We all make the decisions for what we feel is best for us and or families. I just wanted to put it out there that community transmission is high again, in case you’re not seeing it anywhere else in the media. It sucks but it is what it is.
Believe me, I really want this to all be done. Our twins don’t even know what it’s like inside of a grocery store or be within 6 feet of others. We’d love to get back to our lives someday but currently it feels that’ll never happen.
Mayo Clinic Positivity Rate
You can see here as well that the Mayo Clinic Positivity Rate is also continuing to climb. Remember from early COVID-19 days that anything above 5% positivity is of great concern. Again, this is a huge underrepresentation due to so many people testing at home or not at all.
Recent Podcast on Long COVID
There have been some very informational podcasts lately regarding COVID-19 and Long-COVID.
In Angela Davis’ recent podcast on MPR, Dr. Poland states in this podcast that, “60% long covid cases are in females…more likely to occur in young to middle age…What is interesting and scary is the risk of a subsequent mental health diagnosis goes up 40-60%, the risk of subsequently developing diabetes goes up 40%, the risk of some 20 different cardiovascular diseases for the next year goes up considerably.” Even with mild covid symptoms or none at all, long covid can show up months later and last for months, years, or even a lifetime.
Having covid can change your body for the rest of your life, damage your organs even with mild cases, even the gray matter in your brain decreases as well as lung capacity that you may not notice now but will notice as you age.
Dr. Osterholm COVID-19 Podcast
Dr. Osterholm’s credentials very impressive regarding his work with infectious diseases that spans decades. You can read more about him here.
In short, his bio reads “Dr. Osterholm is Regents Professor, McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, a professor in the Technological Leadership Institute, College of Science and Engineering, and an adjunct professor in the Medical School, all at the University of Minnesota.”
He’s been hosting weekly podcasts since March 2020 regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. He is very informative but also very personable in his delivery of new and often troubling information. He always starts his podcasts with a thoughtful dedication and ends them with a beautiful place submission from a listener and the lyrics of a song for the week. The bulk of the podcast is the science behind what’s happening currently within the pandemic and other disease outbreaks. He also answers questions submitted from listeners which is also very helpful.
The Way it Really Is
As I’ve mentioned many times in this post, keep in mind when looking at all COVID-19 data these days that they are likely a HUGE underrepresentation of the actual number of cases. So many people test at home and have no where to report their positive tests, at-home tests aren’t as sensitive/accurate as we’d like, and many people just don’t care to test anymore. For all of these reasons, we really have no idea how many cases are out there, but we can tell that there is still a huge risk out there and even the MDH Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm suggests everyone mask when indoors.
Our twins are still too young to be vaccinated and I’m high risk for COVID complications and long-COVID. We continue to be very cautious, limiting visits to small gatherings such as 4 people at the most, and only outdoors at a distance. If we have to go in someone’s house to use the bathroom or they come in ours, we request they wear a mask and we have separate hand towels for them. We still have all groceries and other items delivered as we don’t feel comfortable going into buildings to shop.
Stay safe out there everyone!
Resources
- Mayo Clinic COVID-19 Map
- MN Dept of Health COVID-19 Dashboard
- Angela Davis’ recent podcast on MPR about Long COVID
- Dr. Osterholm’s Podcast
- CDC COVID-19 Page
As a mom of identical twins and a son two years older, I have gained invaluable experience in the realm, and chaos, of parenting. With a Master's Degree and Education Specialist Degree in School Psychology, I spent years as a school psychologist, helping children navigate through their educational and emotional challenges. Now as a stay at home mom and professional blogger, I combine my areas of expertise to help you in your parenting journey.