February 4, 2021, Thursday
Our Team COVID Q&A yesterday was very engaging. A solid 60 minutes of great questions about the vaccines, data, and life during a pandemic. It is an excellent reminder of how challenging it is to navigate the unknowns and unknowables. But, I suppose, so much of life is like that. Deciding what to do in the face of incomplete information and unclear outcomes feels like an amped-up version of being an adult, right?
-----Latest Data---
There are consistent decreases in hospitalization rates and death rates this week. However, I worry we are in a race between vaccinating fast enough and the spread of more transmissible variants.
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/
-----
I want to use today's email to address several items that came up in the Q&A:
Vaccines do not cause autism. Full stop.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html
Sign up to get vaccinated. The COVID vaccines are VERY effective at stopping death and hospitalization. All of them reduce the likelihood of mild illness. Even against the new variants.
https://twitter.com/MonicaGandhi9/status/1356818441064206337/photo/1
It is unclear how well the vaccines prevent transmission. It is reasonable to believe vaccinated persons pose less transmission risk (if they get infected). But, we do not know by how much (yet).
https://www.statnews.com/2021/02/03/with-a-seductive-number-astrazeneca-study-fueled-hopes-that-eclipsed-its-data/
This data suggests that vaccinated individuals still have to wear a mask to protect others.
Get vaccinated, even if you have had COVID. The best data we have suggests the COVID vaccine offers more robust, longer-term, and broader immunity than those who have had and recovered from COVID. TO be very, very clear, getting the virus to obtain immunity risks death, disability, hospitalization, and spread to others.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/27/covid-vaccines-new-strains/
While there is no explicit data in pregnant and lactating women, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends that "...COVID-19 vaccines should not be withheld from pregnant individuals who meet criteria for vaccination based on ACIP-recommended priority groups."
https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/practice-advisory/articles/2020/12/vaccinating-pregnant-and-lactating-patients-against-covid-19
We will not resume pre-pandemic normalcy until 70-80% of the population is vaccinated. My STRONG opinion is we should all be vaccinated and encouraging our family and friends to do the same.
https://twitter.com/nbcwashington/status/1352409421679374338?s=20
I suspect the White House COVID-19 Response Team will address much of the above and more. They are answering questions today:
https://twitter.com/WHCOVIDResponse/status/1357120249871663107?s=20
Infographic of the day: Visualizing Vonnegut's Shapes of Stories
https://i.redd.it/qqw17gwpxff61.jpg
from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/02/09/kurt-vonnegut-graphed-the-worlds-most-popular-stories/
Thank you, Maya Eilam: https://twitter.com/mayaeilam
Bonus Round --- Culinary Grammar
Here is a fantastic article on how different cultures have unique food pairings and the order of eating food. Moreover, it discusses the gustatory dissonance that occurs when cultures collide. It is a fascinating topic artfully discussed.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/do-italians-eat-spaghetti-and-meatballs
And, it pointed me to this fun, odd fact:
https://www.simplemost.com/outer-banks-island-still-speaks-elizabethan-english/
Clean hands and sharp minds, team
Adam
Have a safe weekend, back on Monday.
Our Team COVID Q&A yesterday was very engaging. A solid 60 minutes of great questions about the vaccines, data, and life during a pandemic. It is an excellent reminder of how challenging it is to navigate the unknowns and unknowables. But, I suppose, so much of life is like that. Deciding what to do in the face of incomplete information and unclear outcomes feels like an amped-up version of being an adult, right?
-----Latest Data---
There are consistent decreases in hospitalization rates and death rates this week. However, I worry we are in a race between vaccinating fast enough and the spread of more transmissible variants.
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/
-----
I want to use today's email to address several items that came up in the Q&A:
Vaccines do not cause autism. Full stop.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html
Sign up to get vaccinated. The COVID vaccines are VERY effective at stopping death and hospitalization. All of them reduce the likelihood of mild illness. Even against the new variants.
https://twitter.com/MonicaGandhi9/status/1356818441064206337/photo/1
It is unclear how well the vaccines prevent transmission. It is reasonable to believe vaccinated persons pose less transmission risk (if they get infected). But, we do not know by how much (yet).
https://www.statnews.com/2021/02/03/with-a-seductive-number-astrazeneca-study-fueled-hopes-that-eclipsed-its-data/
This data suggests that vaccinated individuals still have to wear a mask to protect others.
Get vaccinated, even if you have had COVID. The best data we have suggests the COVID vaccine offers more robust, longer-term, and broader immunity than those who have had and recovered from COVID. TO be very, very clear, getting the virus to obtain immunity risks death, disability, hospitalization, and spread to others.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/27/covid-vaccines-new-strains/
While there is no explicit data in pregnant and lactating women, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends that "...COVID-19 vaccines should not be withheld from pregnant individuals who meet criteria for vaccination based on ACIP-recommended priority groups."
https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/practice-advisory/articles/2020/12/vaccinating-pregnant-and-lactating-patients-against-covid-19
We will not resume pre-pandemic normalcy until 70-80% of the population is vaccinated. My STRONG opinion is we should all be vaccinated and encouraging our family and friends to do the same.
https://twitter.com/nbcwashington/status/1352409421679374338?s=20
I suspect the White House COVID-19 Response Team will address much of the above and more. They are answering questions today:
https://twitter.com/WHCOVIDResponse/status/1357120249871663107?s=20
Infographic of the day: Visualizing Vonnegut's Shapes of Stories
https://i.redd.it/qqw17gwpxff61.jpg
from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/02/09/kurt-vonnegut-graphed-the-worlds-most-popular-stories/
Thank you, Maya Eilam: https://twitter.com/mayaeilam
Bonus Round --- Culinary Grammar
Here is a fantastic article on how different cultures have unique food pairings and the order of eating food. Moreover, it discusses the gustatory dissonance that occurs when cultures collide. It is a fascinating topic artfully discussed.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/do-italians-eat-spaghetti-and-meatballs
And, it pointed me to this fun, odd fact:
https://www.simplemost.com/outer-banks-island-still-speaks-elizabethan-english/
Clean hands and sharp minds, team
Adam
Have a safe weekend, back on Monday.
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