Today is Sunday, March 13, 2022. Even though the war waging in Ukraine has eclipsed news about the two-year-old pandemic, a worrisome online article for CNN says that the war could actually make the pandemic worse, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. The piece is written by Jen Christensen.

Even though cases have come down from the previous week, there’s significant risk there will be more severe disease and death due to low vaccination rates in Ukraine, as well as among the more than two million who’ve fled the country to surrounding areas, regions also with low vaccination rates. Ukraine’s COVID-19 vaccination rate is around 34%, while neighboring Moldova’s is around 29%, according to Our World in Data.

There have been a total of 791,021 new cases of COVID-19 and 8,012 new deaths in Ukraine and in surrounding countries between March 3 and 9, a WHO situation report published today said.

Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s health emergencies program, said there will be a rise in COVID-19 in Ukraine, “without a doubt.” “He attributed the predicted increase to lack of testing, halted vaccinations, and a stressed, war-weary population with already low vaccination rates.”

One of those countries accepting Ukrainian refugees, Hungary, is providing the Ukrainians with free COVID-19 vaccines, and the WHO has also offered lab support that includes COVID-19 testing.

The Romanian ministry of health has sent medical teams to test and give COVID-19 vaccines to Ukrainians who have fled their country. Slovakia has provided COVID-19 treatment free of charge. COVID-19 vaccinations are also free in Moldova for Ukrainians, with its ministry of health testing and monitoring COVID-19, among other diseases.

Not helping the cause of reducing infection rates of Ukrainians are the attacks on health care facilities. As of today, there has been a total of 31 verified attacks on such facilities, with more suspected. The WHO, in a joint statement with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has called for those assaults to end, so that the population can be successfully treated and tested.

With this article, we learn that now the poor Ukrainians have to deal not only with bombs and missiles directed at them, they must also face the consequences of a still-surging pandemic. How many more problems do these people need?

This blog entry must be short since it’s getting late here.

Elliot and I were at our friend “Mark’s” apartment, where we ordered in dinner from D’Angelo’s Pizza and Pasta, on 108th Street. I believe we came home a little before 9 and then we watched Episode 7 of Ozark on Netflix. That ended after 10, so here I am.

Earlier, we drove to Valley Stream to have breakfast with Elliot’s two daughters, “Emily,” and “Jody,” and Jody’s daughter, “Scarlett.” Scarlett just turned 7 in mid-January. We had bought her an electronic tic tac toe game and wanted to present it to her. I also had a book that I borrowed from Jody a while back, Truman Capote’s Unanswered Prayers. We had arranged to meet at 11, which was early for us, since this was the first day that we were on Daylight Saving Time. So we set the alarm at 9. I know, for many people, this time would be considered late. But as you recall, I don’t go to bed very early as a matter of course. As it were, I went to bed after moving the clocks, at around 2:33 a.m.

The place where we met, Itgens, is a very symbolic place since it evokes memories of an innocent childhood in the girls’ lives, as Elliot and his ex-wife used to bring the girls there for meals over a span of 30 or more years. It is now in a new owner’s hands and it has been remodeled, but the fare seems to be the same. There are burgers, omelets, French toast, and specifically, ice cream, sundaes, and other specialty drinks to choose from. Most of us topped off our entrees with fresh ice cream, except for Emily, who had the willpower to resist the temptation.

We spent a little more than an hour with the girls who were all going home right after our rendezvous. Then we all said goodbye outside and told them to call when they got home.

When we returned home, we lazed the rest of the day. I played around with using our borrowed microwave from our neighbor, “Denise.” I actually used it to heat up some slices of pizza from Nick’s. The pizza was not evenly warmed up, so I need to play around with it more. At least, we now have something to reheat food until the kitchen is finished.

That’s it for now. I really hope the situation in Ukraine doesn’t worsen. If it’s possible, the despot Vladimir Putin should be charged with crimes against humanity. The least is that he’s eventually deposed.

Have a good week. The weather is finally going to improve for most of the week.

Stay safe and be well.