Week of September 27, 2021
More vignettes from a pandemic. During a recent full-body skin check by my dermatologist, we started discussing vaccines. Like a bad dream from middle school, mid-sentence three (the "boosters may best for older individuals debate" part), I was struck by the surreal juxtaposition of emphatically discussing medical information while masked and nearly naked. One could say I aligned with the current trends of ultra-casual attire. (After all, the age of Zoom has demonstrated pants are not the critical variable for successful meetings.) And, it is also an excellent reminder to us all to continue routine health screenings despite the coronavirus. I do recommend keeping the exam conversation light.
---- Latest Data
Deaths are still rising. Cases and hospitalizations are falling for now.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html
Note that the hotspots are migrating state to state, from the South up toward the Northeast. Mayo Clinic offers a very coarse animated map with forward-looking forecasts:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/coronavirus-covid-19/map
or this version with finer detail:
https://theuscovidatlas.org/map?src=county_usfacts&var=Confirmed_Count_per_100K_Population&mthd=lisa&v=2
Country Comparison from FT.com
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=eur&areas=usa&areas=gbr&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usla&areasRegional=usnv&areasRegional=usar&areasRegional=usks&areasRegional=usmo&cumulative=0&logScale=1&per100K=1&startDate=2021-06-01&values=cases
CDC Weekly Review of Data and Variant Tracking
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html
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CDC director Dr. Walensky overrode the recommendations of the CDC advisory panel and issued broad guidance for individuals to receive booster doses of the vaccine this week. How FDA and CDC recommendations get translated into organizational policy is a bit complex. Here is one of the more concise and thoughtful breakdowns of what went on:
https://insidemedicine.bulletin.com/4985699421444566
Vaccinated, immunocompetent younger individuals seem to maintain protection from hospitalization and death even 6+ months after vaccination. However, there is still a mix of data on the relationship between time from the immunization and symptomatic infection. Dr. Topol shared some of this data.
https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1441817837966745608
Likewise, I finally found a discussion about why we do not see delta variant-specific mRNA vaccines. I am not sure Twitter is the most definitive source of this information, but Dr. Boulware started the discussion, and seemingly rational people offered some thoughtful comments.
https://twitter.com/boulware_dr/status/1442069202165276673
Dr. Fauci was interviewed a few days ago about the possibility of mixing and matching brands of vaccines, amongst other topics.
https://amp.mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavirus/article254395014.html
And, here is recent data from Canada following an outbreak of Delta in a youth sports league. The household transmission rate was limited when vaccinated individuals lived in the same house as the children.
https://twitter.com/sailorrooscout/status/1442123331054964746?s=10
More info: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/09/the-vaccinated-arent-just-as-likely-to-spread-covid/620161/
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports published two articles on the real-world case-control studies running in various school districts throughout the United States. Unsurprisingly, school districts with mask mandates correlate with fewer COVID outbreaks.
Association Between K–12 School Mask Policies and School-Associated COVID-19 Outbreaks — Maricopa and Pima Counties, Arizona, July–August 2021
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7039e1.htm?s_cid=mm7039e1_w
and
Pediatric COVID-19 Cases in Counties With and Without School Mask Requirements — United States, July 1–September 4, 2021
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7039e3.htm?s_cid=mm7039e3_w
I have seen an increasing number of editorials and commentary about unvaccinated healthcare workers and doctors who espouse treatments for COVID that do not comport with the available evidence. The tone is growing harsher. Two examples:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/21/state-medical-boards-should-punish-doctors-who-spread-false-information-about-covid-vaccines/
and
https://www.clinicaladvisor.com/home/the-waiting-room/mandatory-covid-19-vaccines-needed-hwcs/
Infographics!
The most hated brands by country. I had no idea the Portuguese so disliked Tesla.
https://www.ravereviews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/01_The-Most-Hated-Brands_World-Map_Biggest-Global-Brands-1.png
from
https://www.ravereviews.org/brands/the-most-hated-brands-in-every-country/
Things I learned this week.
A hamster is beating the S&P 500. I don't know the recommended investment goals for a hamster (a short life span would imply lower risk), but it should be able to retire early?
https://www.npr.org/2021/09/25/1040683057/crypto-trading-hamster-goxx-warren-buffet-s-p-500
The New York Times offered a fascinating survey of subway door closing chimes from around the world. I'm partial to the bossa novan (can you make bossa nova an adjective‽) sounds from Rio.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/13/arts/subway-train-sounds.html
And in follow-up to the "taste of dinosaurs" article, I found more wisdom from gustatorily-focused scientists. Space (or at least space dust) tastes like raspberries and rum. Or at least it might. It may pair nicely with a fillet of brontosaurs and a bottle of Venusian methane.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/what-space-smells-like/259903/
and
https://www.eater.com/2015/9/17/9345507/space-taste
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
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