covid-19
Things Change
Katelyn Jetelina writing for Your Local Epidemiologist:
But lack of risk communication isn’t because of bureaucratic timidity. It’s because risk is multidimensional, complicated to quantify, and even more difficult to communicate. This is especially true with infectious diseases, as risk changes with time and varies across different people, and individual-level risk needs
covid-19
The New Normal
New Harris polling shows some pretty striking numbers:
* 55% of Americans think it's time to start lifting indoor mask mandates
* 70% of Americans will continue to mask up if they think people around them are unvaccinated
* 71% of Americans think Covid-19 is a part of life now
Add to this some good
covid-19
No, I Will Not
If you ever wonder why people like me are so fed up when talking to people about Covid.
It's March 2020, will you stay home for a bit to try and slow the spread of this mysterious new disease? "No, I will not."
Now you can go basically anywhere you want,
covid-19
The Unifying Case for Getting Covid Under Control? Probably not, but It Should Be.
The National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund put out their 2021 End-Of-Year Preliminary Law Enforcement Officers Fatalities Report (PDF) and it leads with:
[A]s of December 31, 2021, 458 federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement officers died in the line-of-duty in 2021. This is an increase of 55% from the
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Omicron Doesn’t Change the Vaccine Math
Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist, over at (fittingly) Your Local Epidemiologist:
There is a lot of anxiety. I have a lot of anxiety. The public is being asked to understand the second most complex system in the human body while navigating a sea of misinformation while coping with significant pandemic exhaustion and mental health problems. All
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Consumerism as Patriotism
How 9/11 convinced Americans to buy, buy, buy:
This version of patriotism — consumer patriotism — was on full display after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the hijacking of United Airlines Flight 93 in 2001. The message from political leaders was that the way for Americans to move past the
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What Does it Mean to be Endemic?
Everyone keeps talking about covid becoming endemic, but as I listen to the conversation, it’s becoming more & more clear to me that very few of you know what “endemic” means.
So here’s a thread on how pandemics end. pic.twitter.com/uuYinUcynb
— Dr Ellie Murray, ScD (@EpiEllie) October 1, 2021
This is
covid-19
The COVID Vaccines are Engineering Triumphs
One of the Greatest Feats in Human History - Synapse
The reason this vaccine didn’t take as long isn’t that Pfizer skimped on safety protocols. It’s because instead of doing each step of the process sequentially one after another, Pfizer and other companies took on enormous financial risk and did every step of
covid-19
I’m Linking to the Pope?
Opinion | Pope Francis: The Covid-19 Crisis Reveals What Is in Our Hearts - The New York Times
Look at us now: We put on face masks to protect ourselves and others from a virus we can’t see. But what about all those other unseen viruses we need to protect ourselves from? How will we
covid-19
Save America’s Restaurants
Opinion | Save America’s Restaurants - The New York Times
A growing number of municipalities and states have imposed curfews on restaurants and bars, as if the virus were a vampire. Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California advised diners in his state to “keep your mask on in between bites.” That is absurd.
And:
What
covid-19
That Herd Immunity Plan Isn't Working in Sweden
Sweden Shows No Signs So Far Herd Immunity Is Stopping Virus - Bloomberg (Apple News link)
“The issue of herd immunity is difficult,” Anders Tegnell said at a briefing in Stockholm on Tuesday. “We see no signs of immunity in the population that are slowing down the infection right now.”
And:
Swedes will no longer be
covid-19
Being Thankful in 2020
Giving thanks during a pandemic — Antivirus: Issue #12 | Revue
Celebrating Thanksgiving during a pandemic is weird. It’s more stress, more risk calculations, more staying away from people you’d normally draw close to. It feels sucky and dark and I know there’s a lot of people like me who are going to be
covid-19
1,700 Google Engineers, and One of the Early BS Claims
Verily’s COVID Testing Program Halted in San Francisco and Oakland | Kaiser Health News
Problems emerged almost immediately, she said. People were suspicious of the requirement that they sign up with a Gmail account, and the request for personal information, such as health status and risk factors. “You don’t necessarily want to share that
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It’s a Great Idea with No Consequences. As Long as we Don’t Talk About the Consequences
Opinion | What Fans of ‘Herd Immunity’ Don’t Tell You - The New York Times
So the idea of returning to something akin to normal — releasing everyone from a kind of jail — is attractive, even seductive. It becomes less seductive when one examines three enormously important omissions in the declaration.
And from The Wall Street Journal
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The Origins of the “Masks Don’t Work” Narrative
The False Idea That Masks Make You Sicker - The Atlantic
In fact, the earliest instance of a “masks make you sicker” claim I could find was in a February 27 news article published on a Utah radio station’s website. (Its author did not return a request for comment.) Though the article has since been
covid-19
The “k” in COVID-19
Ok, this Atlantic article is worth reading in full, but here are some highlights that give you a good summary.
By now many people have heard about R0—the basic reproductive number of a pathogen, a measure of its contagiousness on average. But unless you’ve been reading scientific journals, you’re less likely to
covid-19
The Lingering Effects
‘It’s Not in My Head’: They Survived the Coronavirus, but They Never Got Well - The New York Times
The first few months, I didn’t believe myself. Is this in my head? When I got the antibody test a few weeks ago saying I had a positive antibody test, I sobbed for like an
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Shocker, Trump Knew Covid was More Serious than he Let on Publicly
The Washington Post reporting on an advance copy of Bob Woodward's new book:
“You just breathe the air
