January 18, 2021- Monday
I am hopeful that our incoming federal leadership will mount a more organized pandemic response. But it is a tall order - everything from vaccine distribution to an organized set of data reporting standards needs to be improved. I worry that expectations and reality will not align -even when all agree on the science and the urgency. I don't know how much time they will get before they fully own the problems. However, it will be novel and comforting to watch a team row in the same direction. 2 days to go.
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/biden-adds-8-members-to-covid-19-response-team.html
-----Latest Data---
New cases are decreasing on the FT charts for the U.S., and the U.K. Death rates are still rising at an increasing rate.
The U.S. is now averaging ~900,000 vaccine doses per day.
Global-View:
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938
Nationally:
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usca&areasRegional=usfl&areasRegional=ustx&areasRegional=usco&cumulative=0&logScale=0&perMillion=1&values=casesf
Also, look at https://covidtracking.com/data
The U.S. Regionally - N.Y. Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
About the data:
https://covidtracking.com/about-data/visualization-guide is the best resource to understand data visualization and data integrity.
Vaccine Tracker
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/
-----
The COVID tracking project blog from 1/15/21 details the variability in state-level data about vaccine administration. It is hard for me to comprehend why organized, federal-level standards on state reporting are so hard. (Nevermind. I know why. See opening comment above.)
https://covidtracking.com/analysis-updates/state-level-vaccine-demographic-data-is-messy-and-incomplete
A loyal reader close to home (as in my wife) passed this article looking at the gut microbiome alterations in COVID patients. The cohort study included 100 patients. The data demonstrated that variations in gut microbes correlated with having COVID-19, and the severity of illness, irrespective of antibiotic use. I don't know that there is a lot of action to take based on this article, but the gut microbiome is fascinating.
https://gut.bmj.com/content/early/2021/01/04/gutjnl-2020-323020
Other loyal readers (who are not my wife) reminded me that we should be renewing our masks to maintain optimal filtration. Moreover, given the new strains with increased transmissibility and the increased supply of masks, it is worth moving from cloth to more medical-grade masks:
https://twitter.com/DavidLKeating/status/1346855545693761539
Which masks?
https://news.yahoo.com/one-man-is-on-a-mission-to-figure-out-the-best-covidprotection-mask-here-is-what-he-found-174756926.html
Why masks now? Let's remind ourselves about the various ways to think about vaccine efficacy - efficacy against becoming infected, transmission to others, and illness severity.
https://twitter.com/nataliexdean/status/134946770703747482
We need to wear masks for a while longer, especially those that cannot yet get vaccinated.
More on efficacy measures: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-is-vaccine-efficacy#Efficacy-versus-effectiveness
Infographics of the day: Lists and instructions
Though groomerisms.com focuses on pet grooming, I imagine their clipper maintenance guide is applicable across all species that require clipping.
https://www.groomerisms.com/blades/BladeCareWatermark8x11.jpg
Ignore the URL. The compilation of resources for online education is quite comprehensive.
https://fuckinghomepage.com/websites
----Bonus Round --- Cheese, Astrology and Medicine
Thanks to the magic of algorithms and behavior shaping, the tweet, "You may fascinate a woman by giving her a piece of cheese," has opened up a bunch of new sources of intellectual amusement.
https://twitter.com/Manigarm/status/1348836241773629440
I offer a fascinating look at the history of how astrology and healthcare are intertwined. https://www.forbiddenhistories.com/astronomy-and-astrology/
The interesting takeaway here is how astrology helped drive demand for astronomy and mathematics. What is even more fascinating is how astrology adapted to the rise of the catholic church, empiricism, and the renaissance. While this all seems foolish today, I am aware that some still put faith in astrology readings. (I'm looking at you super-serious and un-ironic employee at NOLA's Bottom of the Cup Tea Room who did not think my skeptical questioning was amusing but did prove an excellent foil by which to embarrass my older son!)
https://www.bottomofthecup.com/
Clean hands and Sharp Minds,
Adam
I am hopeful that our incoming federal leadership will mount a more organized pandemic response. But it is a tall order - everything from vaccine distribution to an organized set of data reporting standards needs to be improved. I worry that expectations and reality will not align -even when all agree on the science and the urgency. I don't know how much time they will get before they fully own the problems. However, it will be novel and comforting to watch a team row in the same direction. 2 days to go.
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/biden-adds-8-members-to-covid-19-response-team.html
-----Latest Data---
New cases are decreasing on the FT charts for the U.S., and the U.K. Death rates are still rising at an increasing rate.
The U.S. is now averaging ~900,000 vaccine doses per day.
Global-View:
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938
Nationally:
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usca&areasRegional=usfl&areasRegional=ustx&areasRegional=usco&cumulative=0&logScale=0&perMillion=1&values=casesf
Also, look at https://covidtracking.com/data
The U.S. Regionally - N.Y. Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
About the data:
https://covidtracking.com/about-data/visualization-guide is the best resource to understand data visualization and data integrity.
Vaccine Tracker
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/
-----
The COVID tracking project blog from 1/15/21 details the variability in state-level data about vaccine administration. It is hard for me to comprehend why organized, federal-level standards on state reporting are so hard. (Nevermind. I know why. See opening comment above.)
https://covidtracking.com/analysis-updates/state-level-vaccine-demographic-data-is-messy-and-incomplete
A loyal reader close to home (as in my wife) passed this article looking at the gut microbiome alterations in COVID patients. The cohort study included 100 patients. The data demonstrated that variations in gut microbes correlated with having COVID-19, and the severity of illness, irrespective of antibiotic use. I don't know that there is a lot of action to take based on this article, but the gut microbiome is fascinating.
https://gut.bmj.com/content/early/2021/01/04/gutjnl-2020-323020
Other loyal readers (who are not my wife) reminded me that we should be renewing our masks to maintain optimal filtration. Moreover, given the new strains with increased transmissibility and the increased supply of masks, it is worth moving from cloth to more medical-grade masks:
https://twitter.com/DavidLKeating/status/1346855545693761539
Which masks?
https://news.yahoo.com/one-man-is-on-a-mission-to-figure-out-the-best-covidprotection-mask-here-is-what-he-found-174756926.html
Why masks now? Let's remind ourselves about the various ways to think about vaccine efficacy - efficacy against becoming infected, transmission to others, and illness severity.
https://twitter.com/nataliexdean/status/134946770703747482
We need to wear masks for a while longer, especially those that cannot yet get vaccinated.
More on efficacy measures: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-is-vaccine-efficacy#Efficacy-versus-effectiveness
Infographics of the day: Lists and instructions
Though groomerisms.com focuses on pet grooming, I imagine their clipper maintenance guide is applicable across all species that require clipping.
https://www.groomerisms.com/blades/BladeCareWatermark8x11.jpg
Ignore the URL. The compilation of resources for online education is quite comprehensive.
https://fuckinghomepage.com/websites
----Bonus Round --- Cheese, Astrology and Medicine
Thanks to the magic of algorithms and behavior shaping, the tweet, "You may fascinate a woman by giving her a piece of cheese," has opened up a bunch of new sources of intellectual amusement.
https://twitter.com/Manigarm/status/1348836241773629440
I offer a fascinating look at the history of how astrology and healthcare are intertwined. https://www.forbiddenhistories.com/astronomy-and-astrology/
The interesting takeaway here is how astrology helped drive demand for astronomy and mathematics. What is even more fascinating is how astrology adapted to the rise of the catholic church, empiricism, and the renaissance. While this all seems foolish today, I am aware that some still put faith in astrology readings. (I'm looking at you super-serious and un-ironic employee at NOLA's Bottom of the Cup Tea Room who did not think my skeptical questioning was amusing but did prove an excellent foil by which to embarrass my older son!)
https://www.bottomofthecup.com/
Clean hands and Sharp Minds,
Adam
Comments
Post a Comment