Week of June 28, 2021
In the last few weeks, it feels like the pace of life is returning to pre-pandemic speed. Though novel and fun, playing catch-up with our broader social circle can be exhausting. There is part of me hoping the pandemic will be an excuse for eliminating unnecessary and perfunctory events. After all, even if we are no longer quarantining, it might take 2 or 3 years to catch up on the backlog of postponed activities I really want to do.
I am, however, watching the patterns of new variants. I am comforted that the small number of breakthrough cases in the fully vaccinated are asymptomatic. (And result in very few hospitalizations or deaths - and then mainly in the immune-compromised). Nevertheless, the unvaccinated (for any reason) will continue to be at risk and drive a smoldering spread of the virus. I increasingly suspect we will need booster vaccines in the fall or early winter. I also hope I am wrong.
-----
Data of note
U.S. Hotspot Map via N.Y. Times
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html
Delta Variant tracking dashboard
https://cov-spectrum.ethz.ch/explore/United%20States/AllSamples/AllTimes/variants/json=%7B%22variant%22%3A%7B%22name%22%3A%22B.1.617.2%22%2C%22mutations%22%3A[]%7D%2C%22matchPercentage%22%3A1%7D
-----
The CDC weekly data review is always a good source of information.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html
Israel is reinstituting masks in indoor spaces after seeing a spike in Delta Variant cases amongst fully vaccinated adults.
https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210625/israel-reinstates-indoor-face-mask-rule-delta-variant
Eric Topol and a thread on these spikes around the world: https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1408135897766195203
For now, this headline is still accurate and painful: "Nearly all COVID deaths in U.S. are now among unvaccinated."
https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-941fcf43d9731c76c16e7354f5d5e187
Wastewater monitoring is back in the news thanks to the Delta variant and low vaccination rates (described as "sluggish") in rural MO. A loyal reader shared this article:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/missouri-tracking-rise-delta-variant-through-wastewater-system-n1271696
I will share this Twitter thread with caution - it is confusing. However, the confusion stems from (mostly)intelligent people trying to understand a mass of data accumulating near real-time. Topics swirling in this thread:
Vaccinations in those that have had COVID
The relative effectiveness of the various vaccines against the Delta variant
Understanding the incidence and prevalence in local communities.
Many unanswered questions about how immunity works
Read with a sharp mind and intellectual hip-waders. It is a swamp of fact, opinion, and known unknowns.
https://twitter.com/erictopol/status/1408191037357510657?s=10
The Atlantic published an article on how challenging it will be to get newer vaccines to market quickly. Novovax's latest results are very positive, but there seems to be a general lack of urgency in getting newer vaccines approved at the moment.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/06/novavax-now-best-covid-19-vaccine/619276/
Infographics!
Who the hell was drinking coffee at age 10?
https://www.visualistan.com/2021/06/new-survey-shows-americans-coffee-consumption-habits.html
I missed the business opportunity in sending out bi-weekly advertiser-driven newsletters on infographics, but Chartr didn't.
https://www.chartr.co/newsletters/2021/6/25/the-2-trillion-club
---Bonus Round - Things I learned this week:
Evolution is more gradual and granular than we appreciate. Clear delineations between species in a single genus can feel arbitrary. And somewhere in our past is a genetic cousin (with really prominent eyebrows and square eye sockets) to whom we are more closely related than our previously understood evolutionary relatives.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/science/dragon-man-skull-china.html
And not all Homo Sapiens out-populated our Neanderthal ancestors. Apparently, various Homo- species lived together in the middle east 150,000 years ago (which is not known for peaceful cultural co-mingling).
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/new-prehistoric-human-unknown-to-science-discovered-in-israel-671949
It is fun to play with mathematical models. Doubly so if the model is a very well-done thought experiment on the balance between the spread of vampires and the recruitment of vampire hunters‽ I love the Stoker-King (as in Bram and Stephen) vs. Rice (as in Anne) models of vampirism.
https://www.omnicalculator.com/other/humans-vs-vampires
from https://www.omnicalculator.com/
While the government may or may not have materials from alien spacecraft, the Australians published findings on a new accidentally discovered zero thermal expansion (ZTE) material. This material (made from scandium, aluminum, tungsten, and oxygen) does not change its volume between -269 to 1126 °C or -452 to 2059 °F. And manufacturing seems scalable. While I'm sure the aerospace industry is the primary customer, I look forward to a new line of high-performance grilling equipment.
https://newatlas.com/materials/thermally-stable-zte-advanced-material/
On the other end of the spectrum of new knowledge, I also learned about Giordano Bruno. Bruno was a Dominican friar from the late 1500s who postulated that stars are distant suns surrounded by planets (amongst other "dangerous" ideas). Of course, he was burned alive by the Roman Inquisition for heresy. Good to be correct, but another excellent example of posthumous vindication.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giordano_Bruno
and
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/was-giordano-bruno-burned-at-the-stake-for-believing-in-exoplanets/
Read more!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/288453.The_Pope_and_the_Heretic
Clean hands and sharp minds, team
Adam
In the last few weeks, it feels like the pace of life is returning to pre-pandemic speed. Though novel and fun, playing catch-up with our broader social circle can be exhausting. There is part of me hoping the pandemic will be an excuse for eliminating unnecessary and perfunctory events. After all, even if we are no longer quarantining, it might take 2 or 3 years to catch up on the backlog of postponed activities I really want to do.
I am, however, watching the patterns of new variants. I am comforted that the small number of breakthrough cases in the fully vaccinated are asymptomatic. (And result in very few hospitalizations or deaths - and then mainly in the immune-compromised). Nevertheless, the unvaccinated (for any reason) will continue to be at risk and drive a smoldering spread of the virus. I increasingly suspect we will need booster vaccines in the fall or early winter. I also hope I am wrong.
-----
Data of note
U.S. Hotspot Map via N.Y. Times
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html
Delta Variant tracking dashboard
https://cov-spectrum.ethz.ch/explore/United%20States/AllSamples/AllTimes/variants/json=%7B%22variant%22%3A%7B%22name%22%3A%22B.1.617.2%22%2C%22mutations%22%3A[]%7D%2C%22matchPercentage%22%3A1%7D
-----
The CDC weekly data review is always a good source of information.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html
Israel is reinstituting masks in indoor spaces after seeing a spike in Delta Variant cases amongst fully vaccinated adults.
https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210625/israel-reinstates-indoor-face-mask-rule-delta-variant
Eric Topol and a thread on these spikes around the world: https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1408135897766195203
For now, this headline is still accurate and painful: "Nearly all COVID deaths in U.S. are now among unvaccinated."
https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-941fcf43d9731c76c16e7354f5d5e187
Wastewater monitoring is back in the news thanks to the Delta variant and low vaccination rates (described as "sluggish") in rural MO. A loyal reader shared this article:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/missouri-tracking-rise-delta-variant-through-wastewater-system-n1271696
I will share this Twitter thread with caution - it is confusing. However, the confusion stems from (mostly)intelligent people trying to understand a mass of data accumulating near real-time. Topics swirling in this thread:
Vaccinations in those that have had COVID
The relative effectiveness of the various vaccines against the Delta variant
Understanding the incidence and prevalence in local communities.
Many unanswered questions about how immunity works
Read with a sharp mind and intellectual hip-waders. It is a swamp of fact, opinion, and known unknowns.
https://twitter.com/erictopol/status/1408191037357510657?s=10
The Atlantic published an article on how challenging it will be to get newer vaccines to market quickly. Novovax's latest results are very positive, but there seems to be a general lack of urgency in getting newer vaccines approved at the moment.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/06/novavax-now-best-covid-19-vaccine/619276/
Infographics!
Who the hell was drinking coffee at age 10?
https://www.visualistan.com/2021/06/new-survey-shows-americans-coffee-consumption-habits.html
I missed the business opportunity in sending out bi-weekly advertiser-driven newsletters on infographics, but Chartr didn't.
https://www.chartr.co/newsletters/2021/6/25/the-2-trillion-club
---Bonus Round - Things I learned this week:
Evolution is more gradual and granular than we appreciate. Clear delineations between species in a single genus can feel arbitrary. And somewhere in our past is a genetic cousin (with really prominent eyebrows and square eye sockets) to whom we are more closely related than our previously understood evolutionary relatives.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/science/dragon-man-skull-china.html
And not all Homo Sapiens out-populated our Neanderthal ancestors. Apparently, various Homo- species lived together in the middle east 150,000 years ago (which is not known for peaceful cultural co-mingling).
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/new-prehistoric-human-unknown-to-science-discovered-in-israel-671949
It is fun to play with mathematical models. Doubly so if the model is a very well-done thought experiment on the balance between the spread of vampires and the recruitment of vampire hunters‽ I love the Stoker-King (as in Bram and Stephen) vs. Rice (as in Anne) models of vampirism.
https://www.omnicalculator.com/other/humans-vs-vampires
from https://www.omnicalculator.com/
While the government may or may not have materials from alien spacecraft, the Australians published findings on a new accidentally discovered zero thermal expansion (ZTE) material. This material (made from scandium, aluminum, tungsten, and oxygen) does not change its volume between -269 to 1126 °C or -452 to 2059 °F. And manufacturing seems scalable. While I'm sure the aerospace industry is the primary customer, I look forward to a new line of high-performance grilling equipment.
https://newatlas.com/materials/thermally-stable-zte-advanced-material/
On the other end of the spectrum of new knowledge, I also learned about Giordano Bruno. Bruno was a Dominican friar from the late 1500s who postulated that stars are distant suns surrounded by planets (amongst other "dangerous" ideas). Of course, he was burned alive by the Roman Inquisition for heresy. Good to be correct, but another excellent example of posthumous vindication.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giordano_Bruno
and
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/was-giordano-bruno-burned-at-the-stake-for-believing-in-exoplanets/
Read more!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/288453.The_Pope_and_the_Heretic
Clean hands and sharp minds, team
Adam
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