Monday, December 7, 2020
During my Friday clinic, I encountered my first hard-core, very vocal, and in-my-face COVID denier. The conversation was difficult. I have provided care to this person for years. The arguments offered were protean, conspiratorial, not founded in science, and illogical. The experience felt like trying to wrestle an octopus or an amoeba. It left me angry. In the end, we could not even agree that wearing a mask protects the patient or their family members. (The person opened the discussion by expressing unhappiness about having to wear a mask during the office appointment.) I am pretty good at working with a wide range of people. This experience was unsettling.
For those wanting a more tactile version of this story, here is the physical equivalent of what my office discussion felt like https://www.homesciencetools.com/article/how-to-make-slime/
-----Latest Data---
I note both deaths and cases (7-day rolling average) are rising in the US.
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=cases
Also, look at https://covidtracking.com/data
The US Regionally - NY. Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
About the data:
https://covidtracking.com/about-data/visualization-guide is the best resource to understand data visualization and data integrity.
-----
I suggest starting with the COVID Tracking Project blog from 12/4, highlighting improvements in HHS's data quality. It is comforting to see good alignment between 41 out of 52 jurisdiction-level data and the national-level data. If nothing else, it seems we are better at counting our cases with reasonable precision.
https://covidtracking.com/blog/what-weve-learned-about-the-hhs-hospitalization-data
I expect the COVID-19 case rates to continue to rise.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/americans-struggled-to-maintain-social-distance-for-thanksgiving-cellphone-location-data-shows/2763551/
A loyal reader alerted me to this report from Yale on research examining COVID-19 reduction tactics' comparative effectiveness. "Among the policies that reduced fatality growth rates were general mask mandates, mask mandates for employees, stay-at-home orders, limiting gatherings to 10 people, and closing restaurants, gyms, and parks and beaches. [But], instituting a mask mandate reduces a county's future fatality growth rate by 12%—about the same, in isolation, as more disruptive measures including stay-at-home orders and closing restaurants."
Paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3725015
A more consumer-friendly article about the paper
https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/study-shows-which-restrictions-prevent-covid-19-fatalities-and-which-appear-to-make-things
President-Elect Biden has announced many well-regarded healthcare leaders for roles in his administration, focusing on public health, science, and data.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/06/rochelle-walensky-cdc-biden-443384
Infographic of the day: The Amusing Pain Scale
https://i.redd.it/prv82souwk361.jpg
----Bonus Round - Electoral College Stuff
I started seeing more comments about the election of 1800 and its impact this weekend. From the electoral college gridlock (36 rounds of voting to break a tie) to the loss of Federalist party power that resulted, it is a fascinating time in US history. Thanks to Hamilton, there is a ton of interest. I suppose Mr. Carey, my high school AP US history teacher, should have sung us the textbook.
Here are some very digestible readings capturing the evolution of political philosophy through time, due to the election of 1800:
https://www.history.com/news/aaron-burr-alexander-hamilton-election-1800
and
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/duel-federalist-and-republican-party/
Many of the same ideas with differences in labels, scope, and magnitude permeate our politics today.
clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
During my Friday clinic, I encountered my first hard-core, very vocal, and in-my-face COVID denier. The conversation was difficult. I have provided care to this person for years. The arguments offered were protean, conspiratorial, not founded in science, and illogical. The experience felt like trying to wrestle an octopus or an amoeba. It left me angry. In the end, we could not even agree that wearing a mask protects the patient or their family members. (The person opened the discussion by expressing unhappiness about having to wear a mask during the office appointment.) I am pretty good at working with a wide range of people. This experience was unsettling.
For those wanting a more tactile version of this story, here is the physical equivalent of what my office discussion felt like https://www.homesciencetools.com/article/how-to-make-slime/
-----Latest Data---
I note both deaths and cases (7-day rolling average) are rising in the US.
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=cases
Also, look at https://covidtracking.com/data
The US Regionally - NY. Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
About the data:
https://covidtracking.com/about-data/visualization-guide is the best resource to understand data visualization and data integrity.
-----
I suggest starting with the COVID Tracking Project blog from 12/4, highlighting improvements in HHS's data quality. It is comforting to see good alignment between 41 out of 52 jurisdiction-level data and the national-level data. If nothing else, it seems we are better at counting our cases with reasonable precision.
https://covidtracking.com/blog/what-weve-learned-about-the-hhs-hospitalization-data
I expect the COVID-19 case rates to continue to rise.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/americans-struggled-to-maintain-social-distance-for-thanksgiving-cellphone-location-data-shows/2763551/
A loyal reader alerted me to this report from Yale on research examining COVID-19 reduction tactics' comparative effectiveness. "Among the policies that reduced fatality growth rates were general mask mandates, mask mandates for employees, stay-at-home orders, limiting gatherings to 10 people, and closing restaurants, gyms, and parks and beaches. [But], instituting a mask mandate reduces a county's future fatality growth rate by 12%—about the same, in isolation, as more disruptive measures including stay-at-home orders and closing restaurants."
Paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3725015
A more consumer-friendly article about the paper
https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/study-shows-which-restrictions-prevent-covid-19-fatalities-and-which-appear-to-make-things
President-Elect Biden has announced many well-regarded healthcare leaders for roles in his administration, focusing on public health, science, and data.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/06/rochelle-walensky-cdc-biden-443384
Infographic of the day: The Amusing Pain Scale
https://i.redd.it/prv82souwk361.jpg
----Bonus Round - Electoral College Stuff
I started seeing more comments about the election of 1800 and its impact this weekend. From the electoral college gridlock (36 rounds of voting to break a tie) to the loss of Federalist party power that resulted, it is a fascinating time in US history. Thanks to Hamilton, there is a ton of interest. I suppose Mr. Carey, my high school AP US history teacher, should have sung us the textbook.
Here are some very digestible readings capturing the evolution of political philosophy through time, due to the election of 1800:
https://www.history.com/news/aaron-burr-alexander-hamilton-election-1800
and
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/duel-federalist-and-republican-party/
Many of the same ideas with differences in labels, scope, and magnitude permeate our politics today.
clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
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