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In quite the change of tune this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it is time for fully vaccinated folks to take off their masks and mingle.
While this is a welcome benchmark that says vaccines are working, the sudden easing of guidelines reflects the scattershot approach to the pandemic the federal government has taken from the start. That Hawaii Gov. David Ige and Maui Mayor Michael Victorino are sticking to the sheet music as the CDC goes off on a COVID-19 jazz riff is no surprise.
Though COVID-19 is an airborne disease that primarily spreads indoors and in crowds, Ige and Victorino are correct in saying that lifting mask and social distancing rules for the vaccinated will make it impossible to enforce them for the unvaccinated. We all are tired of COVID-19 restrictions. Who doesn't long for a return to the days when gatherings, concerts, carnivals and sporting events weren't potential superspreaders?
Hawaii officials have consistently charted a cautious path with the pandemic. This break with the CDC is one more example of keeping community health a priority. It is about taking advantage of our remote location and also an acknowledgment that our health care systems are not equipped to handle a major outbreak.
In light of all the mixed pandemic messaging out of Washington over the past 14 months, it is amazing how far the nation has come. At this time last May, the pandemic had morphed from vague threat to frightening reality. The daily seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. was 22,420 and the average number of deaths was 1,446. Hospitals and morgues in hard-hit areas were stretched to the limit.
The pandemic peaked in the United States on Jan. 9 of this year with 300,669 new cases in one day. Deaths hit a high on Jan. 25 when 4,103 people lost their lives to COVID. This week's daily averages are 19,014 new infections and 629 deaths. There have been more than 32.9 million cases and 584,000 deaths in the U.S.
The learning curve has been steep, especially at the start when everyone from government and industry leaders to school custodians were struggling to conform to ever-changing guidelines.
There have been surprises, like how political a pandemic can be. Who would have expected the stock market and real estate to do so well, or that Maui's tourism numbers could rebound so quickly? With safe and highly effective vaccines developed in record time, who could have predicted such hesitancy to get a free jab?
Despite the unfounded wariness, 154.6 million Americans, or 47.1 percent of the population, have received at least one dose of vaccine. A year ago, that would have sounded too good to be true.
This pandemic and the political wrangling it inspires remind us of a drum solo that drags far too long. The only comfort is knowing it will eventually end.