Tuesday, May 19, 2020
How to make the most of "pandemic time" has been on my mind these last few days. I have a newfound interest in birds and an unhealthy focus on the appearance of my lawn. Never in my life did I think I would have the capacity to try growing tomatoes. I am concerned about the tradeoffs of minimized social interactions, missed family events, and altered work events. But, I am also enjoying the most extended period of time I have ever been home.
This is a strange brew of sentiment - fear of a pandemic, appreciation of the time with my kids, and gratitude for being so busy, albeit remotely.
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Data Visualization Update
State comparisons:
https://public.tableau.com/views/Coronavirus-ChangeovertimeintheUSA/2_Corona?:display_count=y&:origin=viz_share_link
Rt data
https://public.tableau.com/shared/7FH637YGW?:display_count=y&:origin=viz_share_link
FT data is still the best visualization I have found for country comparisons.
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&cumulative=0&logScale=1&perMillion=0&values=deaths
I am concerned about the integrity of some of this data. The data in the tableau pages comes from The COVID Tracking Project, which gets its data from the states. It appears some states are becoming less transparent with their data.
For example, here is an article about the FL state dashboard, which recently changed. But, The COVID Tracking project still gives FL an A+ for data quality. I think this topic needs more exploration, but it may be that FL is still sharing data with others and simply NOT presenting as robust an analysis.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article242773056.html
https://covidtracking.com/data (see FL)
https://covidtracking.com/about-data#state-data-quality-grades
------------
A small phase 1 vaccine trial generated a fair amount of hopeful coverage yesterday. The vaccine, when administered at certain doses, can stimulate the appropriate quantity of antibody response compared to patients that have had COVID. There is no formal data release, just a press release. It is unclear how effective these antibodies will be in real-life or the duration of protection (if any). But this is a good first step.
https://www.statnews.com/2020/05/18/early-data-show-moderna-covid-19-vaccine-generates-immune-response/
Likewise, another company is working on antibody-based therapies for COVID. While this is another press release, it addresses the rapidity with which the healthcare industry is applying tools and techniques for identifying and engineering therapeutic options for viral infections.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200518005767/en/Centivax-Antibodies-Neutralize-Pandemic-Coronavirus-Independently-Confirmed
Hydroxychloroquine made it back in the news yesterday. This is unfortunate. All the data to date has been negative - no apparent benefit in the severely ill, risk of complications in some patients and at some dosages, and creates a run on the medication for those who are using it for data-driven reasons (like lupus). However, we don't know about pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis, which is, I believe, the basis for reported use by certain public officials.
A relevant set of thoughts from an infectious disease doctor using HCQ in a trial at the Univ. of MN.
https://twitter.com/boulware_dr/status/1262503218845810698
A comprehensive published review: https://academic.oup.com/ofid/article/7/4/ofaa130/5820538
Two infectious disease physicians at Harvard have been putting out 1-hour video literature updates on COVID. It is an impressive body of work.
Interview with them: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/930662
Their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6IMYcJI34tQsi1bV3GdPcA
Wired offers us an article on using the metaphors of war to confront crises and problems. I have commented on this before. I firmly believe that this use of metaphor results in increasingly meaningless verbal hyperbole equivalent to 7-11 drink sizes -going from Big Gulp to MegaSuperGiga Gulp.
https://www.wired.com/story/metaphors-matter-in-pandemic-coronavirus/
I suspect contact tracing will be around for a while—more stories from this front line of the COVID epidemic.
https://www.statnews.com/2020/05/18/coronavirus-contact-tracer-sleuthing-stress-veering-off-script/
The Infographic of the day is hitting very close to home and is a tribute to my unrecognized fellow seasonal allergy sufferers. A set of symptoms annoying enough to make some days suck, but not such a big deal that we deserve a support group, fundraisers, or celebrity spokes-patients.
https://www.compoundchem.com/2014/06/20/hayfever/
----Bonus Round - Defining your world edition
Reminding us that we can take great photos of our immediate world, I thought the LightStalking photos of the week from last week were pretty good.
https://www.lightstalking.com/best-of-the-week-19-2020-light-stalking-community/
And an accompanying article on thinking about your "patch" of space/time:
https://digital-photography-school.com/photographing-on-your-home-patch/
Or you could think about defining your world in words. I love reading about various writer's work habits. And I believe everyone has at least one good short story in them. Here is an interesting article I found commenting on how Graham Greene and John Updike worked.
http://www.openculture.com/2020/05/write-only-500-words-per-day-and-publish-50-books-graham-greenes-writing-method.html
Clean hands and sharp minds
-AW
How to make the most of "pandemic time" has been on my mind these last few days. I have a newfound interest in birds and an unhealthy focus on the appearance of my lawn. Never in my life did I think I would have the capacity to try growing tomatoes. I am concerned about the tradeoffs of minimized social interactions, missed family events, and altered work events. But, I am also enjoying the most extended period of time I have ever been home.
This is a strange brew of sentiment - fear of a pandemic, appreciation of the time with my kids, and gratitude for being so busy, albeit remotely.
---
Data Visualization Update
State comparisons:
https://public.tableau.com/views/Coronavirus-ChangeovertimeintheUSA/2_Corona?:display_count=y&:origin=viz_share_link
Rt data
https://public.tableau.com/shared/7FH637YGW?:display_count=y&:origin=viz_share_link
FT data is still the best visualization I have found for country comparisons.
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&cumulative=0&logScale=1&perMillion=0&values=deaths
I am concerned about the integrity of some of this data. The data in the tableau pages comes from The COVID Tracking Project, which gets its data from the states. It appears some states are becoming less transparent with their data.
For example, here is an article about the FL state dashboard, which recently changed. But, The COVID Tracking project still gives FL an A+ for data quality. I think this topic needs more exploration, but it may be that FL is still sharing data with others and simply NOT presenting as robust an analysis.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article242773056.html
https://covidtracking.com/data (see FL)
https://covidtracking.com/about-data#state-data-quality-grades
------------
A small phase 1 vaccine trial generated a fair amount of hopeful coverage yesterday. The vaccine, when administered at certain doses, can stimulate the appropriate quantity of antibody response compared to patients that have had COVID. There is no formal data release, just a press release. It is unclear how effective these antibodies will be in real-life or the duration of protection (if any). But this is a good first step.
https://www.statnews.com/2020/05/18/early-data-show-moderna-covid-19-vaccine-generates-immune-response/
Likewise, another company is working on antibody-based therapies for COVID. While this is another press release, it addresses the rapidity with which the healthcare industry is applying tools and techniques for identifying and engineering therapeutic options for viral infections.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200518005767/en/Centivax-Antibodies-Neutralize-Pandemic-Coronavirus-Independently-Confirmed
Hydroxychloroquine made it back in the news yesterday. This is unfortunate. All the data to date has been negative - no apparent benefit in the severely ill, risk of complications in some patients and at some dosages, and creates a run on the medication for those who are using it for data-driven reasons (like lupus). However, we don't know about pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis, which is, I believe, the basis for reported use by certain public officials.
A relevant set of thoughts from an infectious disease doctor using HCQ in a trial at the Univ. of MN.
https://twitter.com/boulware_dr/status/1262503218845810698
A comprehensive published review: https://academic.oup.com/ofid/article/7/4/ofaa130/5820538
Two infectious disease physicians at Harvard have been putting out 1-hour video literature updates on COVID. It is an impressive body of work.
Interview with them: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/930662
Their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6IMYcJI34tQsi1bV3GdPcA
Wired offers us an article on using the metaphors of war to confront crises and problems. I have commented on this before. I firmly believe that this use of metaphor results in increasingly meaningless verbal hyperbole equivalent to 7-11 drink sizes -going from Big Gulp to MegaSuperGiga Gulp.
https://www.wired.com/story/metaphors-matter-in-pandemic-coronavirus/
I suspect contact tracing will be around for a while—more stories from this front line of the COVID epidemic.
https://www.statnews.com/2020/05/18/coronavirus-contact-tracer-sleuthing-stress-veering-off-script/
The Infographic of the day is hitting very close to home and is a tribute to my unrecognized fellow seasonal allergy sufferers. A set of symptoms annoying enough to make some days suck, but not such a big deal that we deserve a support group, fundraisers, or celebrity spokes-patients.
https://www.compoundchem.com/2014/06/20/hayfever/
----Bonus Round - Defining your world edition
Reminding us that we can take great photos of our immediate world, I thought the LightStalking photos of the week from last week were pretty good.
https://www.lightstalking.com/best-of-the-week-19-2020-light-stalking-community/
And an accompanying article on thinking about your "patch" of space/time:
https://digital-photography-school.com/photographing-on-your-home-patch/
Or you could think about defining your world in words. I love reading about various writer's work habits. And I believe everyone has at least one good short story in them. Here is an interesting article I found commenting on how Graham Greene and John Updike worked.
http://www.openculture.com/2020/05/write-only-500-words-per-day-and-publish-50-books-graham-greenes-writing-method.html
Clean hands and sharp minds
-AW
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