Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs up to a plan to require COVID booster shots for Connecticut hospital and nursing home employees. While vaccines and boosters do not eliminate the risk of COVID, they dramatically reduce the chances of suffering the worst outcomes, including hospitalization and death. And with demand on the rise for medical services, the need for qualified personnel on staff has never been higher. Requiring vaccinations with boosters, as an executive order and an agreement with the state’s hospital association paves the way for, will help keep everyone safer as we endure yet another COVID winter.
Thumbs down to a resurgence of the flu. With COVID’s omicron variant raging across the state, less attention has been focused on the flu, but experts say it’s back this year and could pose real challenges. Last year, with many schools and workplaces closed and more people staying home, the flu was much less prevalent that previous years. That appears to have changed this season, with the added problem of fewer people than normal having protection via flu shots. With COVID and the flu each presenting with similar symptoms, it can be hard to differentiate, which is an even greater concern with health care facilities stretched thin. Experts note that flu shots are still available, along with COVID vaccines.
Thumbs up to increasing numbers of ordinances against gas-powered leaf blowers. They’re not exactly top of mind with snow covering the ground, but it’s an important issue nonetheless. The latest generation of leaf blowers are not only deafening but hugely polluting, and communities are increasingly proposing limitations on their use, if not outright bans. There have been concerns raised by landscaping companies, and there can be exceptions if communities deem them necessary. But a hard look at a quickly proliferating nuisance (Westport is just the latest town to take up the issue) is called for.
Thumbs down to a blast of cold air moving into Connecticut this week. Winter arrived a little late last week with the first substantial snowfall hitting the state, but temperatures had been on the milder side for most of the season. That all changes now, with subzero wind chills sweeping across the state amid warnings against extended time outdoors as the temperature plunges. The freezing temperatures pose “a significant threat for poorly insulated pipes to freeze and burst,” the National Weather Service said, but the biggest worry is people caught out in the cold. Communities must take every precaution to keep people safe.