Monday, March 8, 2021
Over dinner, my older son pointed out that whales were mammals; therefore, we could have whale milk. The internet disabused us of this notion as practical (you can look it up), but the conversation (to which there was much more not suitable for print) made us laugh—a lot. It was one of those "am I a bad parent?" moments. I wonder if overtly enjoying his somewhat immature humor reinforces the right messages? Did I find him this funny a year ago? I wonder how he will look back on the year, when he was 14 and 15, that his parents were his closest social contacts. Likewise, I wonder if we should ban George Carlin and Jerry Seinfeld's videos to avoid his emerging uncouth observational monologues about nothing.
-----Latest Data---
As of yesterday, the U.S. is vaccinating more than 2 million people per day. Despite the decreasing case and death rates nationally, my county's per capita case rate still warrants a "very high" risk level. It is a good reminder.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/anne-arundel-maryland-covid-cases.html#methodology-risk-levels
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
Vaccine Tracker
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/
-----
There was a lot of discussion on the messaging around vaccine hesitancy last week. Specifically, the argument is by glossing over the three vaccines' differences, U.S health officials and the media may create a false narrative of efficacy that could undermine public confidence. I get it, but I still feel confident in saying, "get the first vaccine you can get." I have been working with many patients (and staff) in my practice who are not getting vaccinated. They are not focusing on the nuance in the percentage of hospitalization risk reduction or the variations in study design. The objections most commonly fall into the "rush to market" and "we don't know the long-term consequences" tropes. At least in my experience, people seem overly focused on the potential of a low-likelihood outcome (an unknown vaccine complication) and under-focused on protecting themselves (even not 100%) from a much higher likelihood event (getting COVID). The concerns I encounter seem more like a variation of loss aversion in social psychology than quibbling over data, but I suspect there is a broad mix of objections.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/03/pfizer-moderna-and-johnson-johnson-vaccines-compared/618226/
Twitter discussion from the author and others
https://twitter.com/hildabast/status/1368624198592040961
and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_aversion
Updated data on vaccines:
https://twitter.com/MonicaGandhi9/status/1368671671423365121/photo/1
from https://twitter.com/MonicaGandhi9/status/1368671671423365121
Remember, this is study data. Real-world experience will be different. This data is the basis of saying, "I should get vaccinated."
We have some significant vaccination milestones to celebrate.
https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1368644368643493889
The weekend also saw further discussions about the still unclear impact of the variants. We still have a lot to learn and may see a "4th wave".
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/07/world/covid-variant-us-cases.html
and
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00564-4
Infographic of the day: 100 Women in Chemistry
In recognition of International Women's Day, Compound Chemistry offers:
https://www.compoundchem.com/2021/03/07/women-in-chemistry/
Bonus Round ---- One last medical history note
On Friday, I came upon this Washington Post book review of a book I will indeed be reading. It highlights how building off ideas and pushing the envelope of science may not always be the right path. Learn about Dr. Robert White and his quest to transplant heads (or bodies, depending on if it was your head, I suppose - it is relative).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/transplant-an-organ-why-not-an-entire-body/2021/03/04/ae55bf54-64b4-11eb-8c64-9595888caa15_story.html
I will contrast the above moral and ethical horror show with a blog post and article on mRNA vaccines' potential uses (both from fall 2020). These articles are far more uplifting and highlight the many unknowns to overcome.
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/12/messenger-rna-gave-us-covid-19-vaccine-will-it-treat-diseases-too
and
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/the-promise-of-mrna-vaccines-68202
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
Over dinner, my older son pointed out that whales were mammals; therefore, we could have whale milk. The internet disabused us of this notion as practical (you can look it up), but the conversation (to which there was much more not suitable for print) made us laugh—a lot. It was one of those "am I a bad parent?" moments. I wonder if overtly enjoying his somewhat immature humor reinforces the right messages? Did I find him this funny a year ago? I wonder how he will look back on the year, when he was 14 and 15, that his parents were his closest social contacts. Likewise, I wonder if we should ban George Carlin and Jerry Seinfeld's videos to avoid his emerging uncouth observational monologues about nothing.
-----Latest Data---
As of yesterday, the U.S. is vaccinating more than 2 million people per day. Despite the decreasing case and death rates nationally, my county's per capita case rate still warrants a "very high" risk level. It is a good reminder.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/anne-arundel-maryland-covid-cases.html#methodology-risk-levels
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
Vaccine Tracker
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/
-----
There was a lot of discussion on the messaging around vaccine hesitancy last week. Specifically, the argument is by glossing over the three vaccines' differences, U.S health officials and the media may create a false narrative of efficacy that could undermine public confidence. I get it, but I still feel confident in saying, "get the first vaccine you can get." I have been working with many patients (and staff) in my practice who are not getting vaccinated. They are not focusing on the nuance in the percentage of hospitalization risk reduction or the variations in study design. The objections most commonly fall into the "rush to market" and "we don't know the long-term consequences" tropes. At least in my experience, people seem overly focused on the potential of a low-likelihood outcome (an unknown vaccine complication) and under-focused on protecting themselves (even not 100%) from a much higher likelihood event (getting COVID). The concerns I encounter seem more like a variation of loss aversion in social psychology than quibbling over data, but I suspect there is a broad mix of objections.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/03/pfizer-moderna-and-johnson-johnson-vaccines-compared/618226/
Twitter discussion from the author and others
https://twitter.com/hildabast/status/1368624198592040961
and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_aversion
Updated data on vaccines:
https://twitter.com/MonicaGandhi9/status/1368671671423365121/photo/1
from https://twitter.com/MonicaGandhi9/status/1368671671423365121
Remember, this is study data. Real-world experience will be different. This data is the basis of saying, "I should get vaccinated."
We have some significant vaccination milestones to celebrate.
https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1368644368643493889
The weekend also saw further discussions about the still unclear impact of the variants. We still have a lot to learn and may see a "4th wave".
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/07/world/covid-variant-us-cases.html
and
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00564-4
Infographic of the day: 100 Women in Chemistry
In recognition of International Women's Day, Compound Chemistry offers:
https://www.compoundchem.com/2021/03/07/women-in-chemistry/
Bonus Round ---- One last medical history note
On Friday, I came upon this Washington Post book review of a book I will indeed be reading. It highlights how building off ideas and pushing the envelope of science may not always be the right path. Learn about Dr. Robert White and his quest to transplant heads (or bodies, depending on if it was your head, I suppose - it is relative).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/transplant-an-organ-why-not-an-entire-body/2021/03/04/ae55bf54-64b4-11eb-8c64-9595888caa15_story.html
I will contrast the above moral and ethical horror show with a blog post and article on mRNA vaccines' potential uses (both from fall 2020). These articles are far more uplifting and highlight the many unknowns to overcome.
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/12/messenger-rna-gave-us-covid-19-vaccine-will-it-treat-diseases-too
and
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/the-promise-of-mrna-vaccines-68202
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
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