If you've been lax about masking, now is a good time to pick it back up. Especially in busy public places.
There are two different variants that might be at play, the one that started in Asia/Australia is more contagious due to better ACE2 binding, which seems bad.
But the new strategy our country and most people I know are going with is "just catch it, spread it to as many people as possible, and get it over with so you can go back to brunch" so good luck to everyone.
Florida is seeing the largest increases in transmission of any state right now. Almost 3x higher than any time in the past 9 months.
Other southern and west coast states are rising too but not as quickly. Everywhere else is staying low+flat.
Are there vaccines or they illegal now?
With brainworm in charge it's a bit up in the air. Right now they are approved for 65+ or people with a health condition and not recommended to anyone else, so it's up to you to pay self attest that you have a condition and/or pay out of pocket if you don't have insurance or your insuance doesn't want to cover it. Some places are just doing what they've always done and give them to anyone who wants one, some places are being strict about it. It's a fucking mess. Other countries have been restricting access to the vaccines as well, and RFKjr is citing them as an example for why the US should restrict them as well. All of this might change on a whim.