Week of November 15, 2021
In the last few weeks, calibrating the appropriate care against COVID has felt more challenging. A general apathy, variable mask-wearing, reports of more vaccine breakthrough cases, and an uptick in the "someone tested positive" notices from school are some of the many variables we face. I am concerned about safely navigating indoor holiday events, yet I feel a strong desire to connect with family and friends. On the upside, we are weeks (I hope) away from oral antiviral drugs. And, I can more liberally (and cost-effectively) feed the demon of anxiety with frequent at-home COVID testing thanks to CVS coupons and better availability. But finding the right balance of reasonable medical judgment and social appropriateness is still unclear. For instance, is it weird, rude, or expected to bring an air purifier, a CO2 monitor, and side dishes to Thanksgiving dinner? If the pandemic continues, I wonder if there will be a market for holiday-themed air purifier decorations, like the yard geese with seasonal clothing? Festive-themed and customer-friendly medical and HVAC equipment all seems probable in this timeline of reality. Bacon-scented masks, anyone?
Dress-able yard geese https://www.mileskimball.com/shop-goose-outfits
Air purifier https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02669-2
CO2 monitors https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/10/health/coronavirus-ventilation-carbon-dioxide.html
Bacon-scented masks https://www.breathablebacon.com/
---- Latest Data
Case rates are now rising in the U.S., mainly in the Western states. E.U. and Eastern European countries are experiencing more rapidly rising case and death rates.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html
and
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&areas=rus&areas=rou&areas=lva&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usla&areasRegional=usnv&areasRegional=usar&areasRegional=usks&areasRegional=usmo&cumulative=0&logScale=1&per100K=1&startDate=2021-06-01&values=cases
The CDC did not update its Weekly Review of Data and Variant Tracking this week (still dated 11/5/21).
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html
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Here is an example of the events driving my concerns: The causes of the COVID case spike in Colorado are unclear. How do you plan for gatherings and events with rising rates in a community?
https://denver.cbslocal.com/2021/11/12/covid-surge-cases-trajectory-colorado-state-university/
The data on boosters (3rd doses at six months) is increasingly compelling. Eric Topol offered an excellent roundup of data and considerations:
https://twitter.com/erictopol/status/1459570332377907200?s=10
Dr. Faust offers clear and compelling data on why waiting to vaccinate children is "[A] bad idea masquerading as prudence." https://insidemedicine.bulletin.com/2917791195197974/
I'll throw this in here to see if anyone is paying attention:
https://twitter.com/aetiology/status/1457388986440237057?s=10
There is increasing data on the (very low) risk of COVID vaccine-induced myocarditis in young men. However, there is confusion and mixed data to review. FWIW, I would not let this worry get in the way of vaccinating my teenage boys.
Latest information on a retracted paper:
https://twitter.com/i/events/1444053191482429440
Data-driven comments from a real-life Stanford pediatrician:
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/tips-tools/ask-the-pediatrician/Pages/Does-the-COVID-19-vaccine-cause-myocarditis-in-teens-and-young-people.aspx
And concerning air purifiers and CO2 monitors, here is an interesting set of observations and data from an Irish architect specializing in planning and environmental policy. She suggests that a small number of physical locations are "hubs" for COVID spread. Given where we are in this pandemic, it seems like a thoughtful thread of investigation. While masks, people, and vaccines matter, her data argues for a greater focus on airflow and air filtration.
Non-peer-reviewed Paper from May 2021:
https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/committee/dail/33/joint_committee_on_health/submissions/2021/2021-05-19_opening-statement-orla-hegarty-associate-professor-school-of-architecture-ucd-member-of-the-expert-advisory-group-on-ventilation-and-covid-19_en.pdf
Twitter discussion of mixed quality:
https://twitter.com/Orla_Hegarty/status/1459614891627663361
Infographics!
1) The secret life of nephrologists - we see kidneys like Neo sees the Matrix:
https://twitter.com/NatRevNeph/status/1459549616144216067/photo/1
from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41581-020-0259-8
2) The politics of COVID - a correlation of geographic voting patterns and COVID rates.
https://acasignups.net/21/11/08/weekly-update-covid19-casedeath-rates-county-partisan-lean-vaccination-rate
Things I learned this week:
A retired U.K. physician discovered a previously unknown "species of dinosaur with an extremely large nose." I am adding "finding extinct species with uniquely proportioned body parts" to my list of retirement jobs (which currently includes kinetic sculpture artist and history teacher who wears Hawaiian shirts and has a Michael Bolton bald-guy ponytail).
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/nov/11/big-nosed-dinosaur-brighstoneus-simmondsi-discovered-retired-doctor-isle-of-wight
There are now two (two!) photography books about female arbonauts.
Women in Trees (Frauen auf Baumen)
https://www.amazon.com/Women-Trees-Jochen-Raiss/dp/3775741674/
and More Women in Trees
https://www.amazon.com/More-Women-Trees-Climbing-Again/dp/3775743154/
Hyper-intellectual analysis: https://www.themarginalian.org/2021/11/13/women-in-trees-jochen-raiss/
and
https://hyperallergic.com/315881/inexplicable-found-photographs-women-trees/
A very detailed article entitled, "What would happen to the human body in the vacuum of space?" answered succinctly with the sub-headline, "Nothing Pleasant."
https://www.livescience.com/human-body-no-spacesuit
Once again, The Expanse does an excellent job with this topic (spoiler alert):
https://thegeekiary.com/the-expanse-5x07-review-oyedeng/91049
Clean hands and sharp minds, team
Adam
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