Welcome to this edition of
First Downs and Second Guesses
Blog #197 - January 2022
January 2022 is upon us and Covid-19 refuses to leave. There are plenty of reasons why it's still here. A new variant has exposed itself: omicron. Less deadly, more contagious.
College basketball, National Hockey League, National Football League, international soccer. They've all been affected. The NHL has banned their players from participating in the Olympics in February. NFL rosters were wracked by sick players, coaches, and front office personnel. And college basketball, both men's and women's teams, were postponing games because rosters were depleted because of the pandemic. A new CDC study found that vaccinations are more effective in stopping hospitalizations than any anti-bodies created after a bout with Covid-19. In other words, vaccinations are going to give you a better chance at staying out of the hospital. In Nebraska, almost 80% of adults living in the three largest cities in the state are vaccinated and boostered. However, when you get into smaller northern, southern, and western Nebraska cities where population numbers are much lower, vaccination rates are under 50%. Hospitalizations are up almost 400% in the state. ICU beds (over 90%) are occupied by un-vaccinated people. My family doctor told me that omicron might bring the population into herd immunity simply because so many people are being infected. He said people still should be vaccinated, though, since vaccination is still the best answer to winning the battle. Sports is just a microcosm of life in general. But since sports draws a huge crowd of interested people, sports can also be the leader to get us to herd immunity. We need more stars advocating for the vaccine. We need more coaches getting their entire program vaccinated. Let's hope my January 2023 blog is not mentioning this topic again.
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