Thumbs up, thumbs down

Thumbs down to the potential that a surge in foreclosures is likely as the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continues. A Federal Reserve Bank of New York analysis suggests such problems in Connecticut are greater than in other parts of the country because the state’s 90-day delinquency rate was the secondworst in the nation even before the pandemic took hold here in March of 2020. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has said that mortgage debt is worse now than during the peak of the Great Recession of the 1930s. Homeowners in distress should stay in touch with lenders to seek information about funding still available through the Homeowner Assistance Fund Program.

Thumbs up to word from Pfizer that it will soon seek emergency authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. The company said it has seen promising results without negative side effects in the younger cohort, who are mostly back at in-person schools despite being ineligible for vaccination. Getting protection for younger children would ease a lot of parents’ minds even as the drive continues to see older students are vaccinated. Mask mandates are in place in schools and likely to continue, but a combination of vaccines and best practices for limiting the spread will be necessary to finally move to a postCOVID future.

Thumbs up to Connecticut high school coaches and athletic directors who have invented creative strategies during a shortage of bus drivers

to get their athletes to games. It’s still early in the fall season, and coaches have had to hire coach and party buses and ask parents to help car pool athletes. The problem is not unique to Connecticut, so remedies are limited. The situation should improve as more drivers get certified, but for now schools that are opponents on the field need to team up to address the problem.

Thumbs up to efforts to make it easier for Connecticut residents to provide digital proof of their vaccination status to gain entry to places

that are limiting entry for COVID reasons. Officials including Gov. Ned Lamont have resisted calling them “vaccine passports,” since that terminology has inspired pushback, but the idea is sound. A growing number of public and private entities are requiring people to provide proof of their vaccination status as a condition of entry, and there should be an easy way for the vaccinated to provide it. A plan in the works in Connecticut, possibly in conjunction with nearby states, would make this process easier. We need to make it happen.