MSNBC reports 100,000 new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. per day as BA.5 variant spreads, a pandemic update

I mentioned the pandemic as a major contributor to the record low rate of U.S. population growth yesterday, so it's time to discuss the current state of the disease. MSNBC uploaded three videos that updated how the BA.5 variant is infecting and affecting Americans during the past three days, beginning with Ali Velshi's segment, What To Know About The Covid Variant, BA.5, Behind A New Wave Of Infections.

Dr. Vin Gupta, a critical care pulmonologist, talks about the rise in infections with the BA.5 coronavirus variant, what it means for vaccinations, and how best to avoid getting it.

I got my booster last December, but have not received a second booster shot yet, even though I'm eligible. After watching this segment, I decided to schedule my appointment to get it.

MSNBC uploaded Velshi's interview on Saturday and it was probably recorded the night before. Things have gotten worse since then and Mehdi Hasan reported that in New Covid Subvariant Brings Summer Surge | The Mehdi Hasan Show, uploaded yesterday.

The Omicron BA.5 variant is now dominant in the U.S., with one expert calling it “the worst version of the virus that we’ve seen.” Dr. Robert Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco, joins Mehdi to discuss the new subvariant and how he’d like to see the administration respond to this new threat.

I wrote "the virus isn't done with us even though a lot [of people] are acting as if they're done with it" in ASAPScience asks 'When Will COVID End?' I elaborated on that thought in Fauci on MSNBC: 'COVID is not done with the U.S., nor...the world,' a pandemic update in February.

The loosening of mask requirements strikes me as another example of Americans being done with the pandemic even though the pandemic isn't done with us. I picked up groceries just before sunset last Friday and the number of people out about and going into restaurants without masks surprised me. Thousands of Americans were dying of COVID-19 each day last week, and people have decided to accept it as normal.

The U.S. is now down to hundreds of Americans a day and thousands every week dying from the disease, but the people I see are still mostly acting as if it's now just background noise.

In this morning's upload, Zerlina Maxwell repeated both the case numbers and the contrast between the behaviors of Americans and the virus in U.S. Sees 100k Covid Cases A Day | Zerlina.

As much as people act like Covid is over, the virus has other plans. Dr. Uché Blackstock breaks down where the country stands.

Most of the people around me are not masking, but I still am. I'm not taking any unnecessary risks, especially in light of the likelihood of long COVID. I hope my readers follow my example. Stay safe and healthy out there!