North Carolina

(This obviously turned into a rant! Oh well, thanks for listening.)

They caved to whiney pressure from folks to rescind the mandate, and crunched numbers to justify doing so. I hope our governor will continue with one, but states that do are "going against" the CDC. States act based on their constituents, governors, legislatures. The CDC provides the federal guidance and states (and individuals and corporations) interpret and take it from there.

Yesterday I stopped at a grocery store after work.
I've see the sign on the door before, on other stores, but it really struck me this time.
Don't recall the exact words, but essentially it conveyed that

CDC says if you're vaccinated you don't need to wear a mask!

My thought was oh? I know better but most people follow that guidance.

So, when the CDC flip flops again and advocates for masks many will comply.
But so many people won't wear one until it's "required" not just highly recommended. Whatever behaviors states might mandate and fight about (governor, legislatures, mayor's, etc) regarding masks, the CDC is the agency that has the overall ultimate responsibility to guide us.

They are supposed to be the Center for Disease Control! They're not doing a great job.

Having said that, I've actually seen more people wearing masks in the last week. My coworkers have all started again, and when someone comes into the store and sees all of us (compared to just me and 1 other) wearing a mask they are more likely to put one on. Peer pressure? Conformity? A dose of reality?

In my little red western NC tourist town, the infection and hospitalization rates are very high.
My boss, who was born and raised here and knows a lot of people, gets a lot of inside information. Her MD told her she is no longer going into the supermarket due to the high positivity rate. Also told her about how the local hospital is swamped by cases.

I've been following the numbers here and across the country. I am a statistician by training, although I no longer work. Still, I read numbers, follow and analyze trends, and understand how data {and analysis) can be used or misused, misrepresented, manipulated, omitted, and misinterpreted.

The numbers and trends in NC and across the country (and the world) tell me we are (still) in a pandemic that won't just disappear, and we need to exercise extreme caution.

Be safe. Wear a mask!