Wednesday, April 14, 2021
The worst part of the pause in using the J&J vaccine is the increased fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD). Nothing in healthcare is black and white. Nuance, gradients of risk and efficacy, and trade-offs are the norm. The work of communicating and estimating the relative risk of getting COVID versus a complication from the vaccine just got that much harder. And, the pause was still the right thing to do. More questions I can handle, but I am not looking forward to emboldened skeptics and deniers in my Friday clinic.
One discussion about relative risks:
https://twitter.com/labyrinthweaver/status/1382184381687635969
A related musical commentary (featuring Mick Jagger and Dave Grohl) that feels forced but on point:
https://www.openculture.com/2021/04/mick-jagger-takes-shots-at-conspiracy-theorists-anti-vaxxers-in-a-new-song-eazy-sleazy.html
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CDC National Hospitalization trend data
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#hospitalizations
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
The U.S. Regionally - N.Y. Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
Vaccine Tracker
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccination-trends
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I swear I did not read this N.Y. Times editorial on the J&J vaccine pause until after writing my opening above. On the upside, you can read the same ideas, more eloquently wrought.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/opinion/johnson-johnson-vaccine-fda.html
And there are many, many very comforting data points on vaccines:
https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1382192440627535873
A loyal reader shared this CDC data on the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines' real-world efficacy in healthcare workers. These data demonstrated significant reductions in symptomatic and asymptomatic infection. In other words, more data supporting the notion that vaccinated people have a decreased likelihood of spreading coronavirus.
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p0329-COVID-19-Vaccines.html
The reason I was on the N.Y. Times website was for this outstanding Q&A on managing the situation many of us find ourselves in - vaccinated adults with unvaccinated children.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/well/family/parents-vaccinated-not-kids.html
A loyal reader also sent along with this 60-minutes transcript about more work sponsored by DARPA. They are working on "engineering antibodies [in 60 days or less] that are so effective that you get near-immediate protection once they're administered and you interrupt transmission in those communities "Remember science fact from science fiction.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/last-pandemic-science-military-60-minutes-2021-04-11/
Infographic of the day: Cats and Dogs
If you want to irk an entire group of readers, you should publicly state you do not like cats - even if the reason is near anaphylaxis in their presence. Perhaps I should say, "cats don't like me."
https://twitter.com/compoundchem/status/1381342788567117826/photo/1
I do like dogs but prefer them dry.
https://twitter.com/compoundchem/status/1381342788567117826/photo/2
----Bonus Round: Sun Tzu's The Art of War for forest signs by Smokey, the Bear's Grandfather
UX/UI and marketing teams- this one is for you! This article checked all the right boxes for me: quirky, people who care about communicating data effectively, and a sublime but enduring legacy.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/forest-service-signs-history
Read Ranger Carrell's original article! (4 pages)
https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/IND43862108/PDF
When you get very bored, I recommend the 681-page USDA Sign and Poster Guidelines for the Forest Service.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3810021.pdf
clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
The worst part of the pause in using the J&J vaccine is the increased fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD). Nothing in healthcare is black and white. Nuance, gradients of risk and efficacy, and trade-offs are the norm. The work of communicating and estimating the relative risk of getting COVID versus a complication from the vaccine just got that much harder. And, the pause was still the right thing to do. More questions I can handle, but I am not looking forward to emboldened skeptics and deniers in my Friday clinic.
One discussion about relative risks:
https://twitter.com/labyrinthweaver/status/1382184381687635969
A related musical commentary (featuring Mick Jagger and Dave Grohl) that feels forced but on point:
https://www.openculture.com/2021/04/mick-jagger-takes-shots-at-conspiracy-theorists-anti-vaxxers-in-a-new-song-eazy-sleazy.html
-----
CDC National Hospitalization trend data
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#hospitalizations
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
The U.S. Regionally - N.Y. Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
Vaccine Tracker
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccination-trends
-----
I swear I did not read this N.Y. Times editorial on the J&J vaccine pause until after writing my opening above. On the upside, you can read the same ideas, more eloquently wrought.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/opinion/johnson-johnson-vaccine-fda.html
And there are many, many very comforting data points on vaccines:
https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1382192440627535873
A loyal reader shared this CDC data on the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines' real-world efficacy in healthcare workers. These data demonstrated significant reductions in symptomatic and asymptomatic infection. In other words, more data supporting the notion that vaccinated people have a decreased likelihood of spreading coronavirus.
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p0329-COVID-19-Vaccines.html
The reason I was on the N.Y. Times website was for this outstanding Q&A on managing the situation many of us find ourselves in - vaccinated adults with unvaccinated children.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/well/family/parents-vaccinated-not-kids.html
A loyal reader also sent along with this 60-minutes transcript about more work sponsored by DARPA. They are working on "engineering antibodies [in 60 days or less] that are so effective that you get near-immediate protection once they're administered and you interrupt transmission in those communities "Remember science fact from science fiction.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/last-pandemic-science-military-60-minutes-2021-04-11/
Infographic of the day: Cats and Dogs
If you want to irk an entire group of readers, you should publicly state you do not like cats - even if the reason is near anaphylaxis in their presence. Perhaps I should say, "cats don't like me."
https://twitter.com/compoundchem/status/1381342788567117826/photo/1
I do like dogs but prefer them dry.
https://twitter.com/compoundchem/status/1381342788567117826/photo/2
----Bonus Round: Sun Tzu's The Art of War for forest signs by Smokey, the Bear's Grandfather
UX/UI and marketing teams- this one is for you! This article checked all the right boxes for me: quirky, people who care about communicating data effectively, and a sublime but enduring legacy.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/forest-service-signs-history
Read Ranger Carrell's original article! (4 pages)
https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/IND43862108/PDF
When you get very bored, I recommend the 681-page USDA Sign and Poster Guidelines for the Forest Service.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3810021.pdf
clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
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