The "Summer Covid Surge" is here again, and Dr. Eric Chow, King County’s chief of communicable diseases is warning people it is time to take precautions. 

Mask up, Seattlites, Seapolitans, or whatever the City of Summer of Love in 2020 calls its citizens. 

The Seattle Times doubled-down and reposted the same nonsense this morning. Come on, give it up! 🤣 https://t.co/GjjGtVD7BU

— Kristen Mag (@kristenmag) June 18, 2024

It's hard to believe we are still being fed this nonsense still. But then again, we are being fed all sorts of nonsense (such as videos of Biden looking senile being deep fakes), so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. 

For that matter, I shouldn't be surprised that some NPCs are doing what they are told, but like Charlie Brown, I still think that this time, it will be different. People will wake up. Sanity will erupt. 

Naahh. 

A summer COVID-19 surge is on its way through Seattle and the region.

Infection rates and emergency department visits in King County have been rising since the end of April, causing some concern among doctors and public health officials as travel season picks up and people begin gathering more frequently.

“This is the time when people should start taking precautions,” said Dr. Eric Chow, King County’s chief of communicable diseases. “I don’t know how high this [peak] is going to be, when it’s going to peak, but taking precautions now is the best way for people to be able to mitigate the complications related to COVID.”

King County’s virus-related emergency department visits hit a new low the week ending April 27, when only about 0.5% of visits involved a COVID diagnosis. As of last week, COVID patients made up about 1.5% of hospital emergency visits.

How many of those visits are people who have been freaked out by a cold after being told that COVID is back to kill them? I bet it's more than a few. 

Here's a pro-tip: masks don't work to prevent infection or transmission, the social distancing guidelines were pulled out of some bureaucrat's a$$, and respiratory viruses spread regardless of what you do. 

I have been reliably informed by the very same people who these sheep are listening to that vaccines prevent infection and transmission, so get a jab if you think these guys are right about COVID. 

Oops: almost nobody is getting the jab anymore. 

In King County, vaccination rates have fallen since last October, after the most recently updated shot became available. Statewide, just 19% of Washingtonians are up to date with their COVID vaccinations, although nearly 70% have been vaccinated with their full primary series. 

The only people still getting freaked out about COVID are people who WANT to get freaked out. It's as if feeling that one is a bit player in a world-historic crisis gives them meaning in life. 

Could a COVID-19 infection become a serious crisis for some tiny fraction of people? Of course. But so can any infection. My mother died of a strep throat infection that turned septic. There are millions of bacteria and viruses out there, and if our immune system hiccups, something relatively benign might kill us. 

But COVID is endemic. It will be with us from now until eternity. Get used to it. Quit freaking out. And if you want to avoid getting COVID the best policy is to avoid all people all the time; otherwise expect to get it, symptomatically or not. Most infections are asymptomatic, by the way. 

For those at high risk of severe infection, he also recommended checking in with a health care provider about ways to stay safe while traveling. He urged COVID patients eligible for an antiviral treatment to seek that option early in their diagnosis to help protect them from hospitalization or death.

“We’re excited that people now have the ability to travel,” he said. “But this poses a new risk that we didn’t see at the same degree during the height of the pandemic.”

Oh. Come. On. Give it a rest.