Sometimes part of being an adult is admitting you were wrong. Sometimes it means it means having to admit you didn’t fully think through a position you took – or that you took it based on emotion as opposed to logic and what I like to call “doing what works.” For me, today is one of those days.
In recent weeks, I have been opposed to bringing back a countywide mask mandate. I thought that requiring vaccination or a recent negative COVID test to enter public spaces such as bars, restaurants, and gyms would be sufficient. New York City, San Francisco, and New Orleans have adopted such a measure, and it’s under consideration in L.A.
However, the headline article in today’s Daily Memphian has changed my mind. The ER directors of all the major hospitals in the county have called for an immediate re-implementation of the countywide mask mandate. Not just for schools, but for everyone entering a public, indoor facility.
Here’s the thing: Banning unvacc’d people from restaurants, bars, and gyms would drive the vaccination rate way up. But that doesn’t provide aid to the ER doctors today, which is when they need it. Consider this: Let’s say you realize getting a vaccine is a must, and you go get your first dose of Pfizer or Moderna today, Wednesday, August 18. You’d then return for your second dose in three weeks, Wednesday, September 8. But you wouldn’t be fully vaccinated until two weeks after that, September 22. The ER doctors say they expect hospital COVID cases to increase sixfold by the end of September.
And we’re already in a situation where MFD Chief Gina Sweat has already said, if you call for an ambulance, they can’t guarantee that there will be one for you. Doctors have said that if you try to come to the hospital – for COVID, a broken leg in a car wreck, or a heart attack – they may not have a bed for you.
In other words, if we don’t do what we can to reduce the spread of COVID, people will die needlessly. And masks are proven to reduce the spread of COVID.
I still support doing what NYC, San Francisco, and New Orleans did, regulating that only the vaccinated can have nice things. But that alone isn’t enough.
On to the news… according to Nextdoor, there was an armed robbery on Monteigne Blvd. near South Bluffs Apartments around midnight Sunday. A resident was robbed and beaten but is said to be okay. Keep in mind the crime happened INSIDE A GATED COMMUNITY. That wall that seals off South Bluffs near Georgia Avenue only appears about 6 feet high when I look at it on Google StreetView. A crew of 2 or more could easily scale that with each other’s help.
Karly Driftwood, Jeremy Stanfill, Paul Crum, and Todd Nations will put on a show at South Main Sounds, 550 S. Main, this Friday 7 to 9.
The MBJ has info on the new Sweet Magnolia gelato location coming to The Edge at 655 Marshall next year.
Action News 5’s latest 5 Star Story: The show goes on at the Orpheum
Today is National Fajita Day and Pinot Noir Day.
A Shelby County Schools teacher has died after catching COVID in the classroom. Kids were not known to transmit earlier COVID variants much, but they do appear to be transmitting the Delta variant, putting their teachers and classmates at risk.
There’s free outdoor disco this Saturday on S. Second St. to celebrate Raiford’s Day.
It’s been suggested that I create a TikTok for Perjorie T. Roll. I will look into it.
There will be a free vaccination event at the Greenlaw Community Center, 190 Mill, this Saturday 3-6 PM. The event is coordinated by Cordelia’s Market, the Memphis Fire Department, and UTHSC. Everyone getting a Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccine from the MFD mobile vaccination unit will receive a free Cordelia’s hot dog and soft drink.
That’s it for today. Back tomorrow with more news.