Week of July 5, 2021
I do not fully understand the appeal of parades. And yet, I found myself on a sidewalk watching a Fourth of July parade this past weekend. Spectating during a Maryland July is a hot and humid affair - and the marchers do not look comfortable either. While I enjoy the rhythms of a lively marching band, I am unsure how to feel about the mish-mash of old-timey emergency vehicles, military equipment, bagpipe players, local politicians in borrowed car dealer-labeled convertibles, and candy-doling clowns. (Should I cheer? For what? And if I don't, am I being unpatriotic or unsupportive?) This year the weather was fantastic, and all the politicians waived with enthusiasm and vigor, anticipating an election that is 17 months away. Oddly, the perennial and perpetually losing third-party gubernatorial candidate hired day laborers to hold his signs. (They certainly juxtaposed the passion of their employer-candidate and reflect why he perpetually loses.) I think my younger son summed up the day well, "Younger people in old cars and older people in young cars."
It was comforting to have a semblance of normalcy circa summer 2019. However, the people we stood next to exemplified the new social dynamics. They marked a 6-foot zone with a pop-up tent and vociferously defended their "tental borders" from potential virus carriers. Curiously, they did not wear masks.
Being in crowds can be a novel adventure these days. And, as the Beatles put it when singing about Mr. Kite, a splendid time [was] guaranteed for all.
-----
Data of note
Case rates are rising. Hospitalizations and death rates are still decreasing. States with low vaccination percentages are driving the rising case rates. The NY Times hotspot table allows for sorting to see these trends. The Delta variant is now the most common genotype sequenced in the U.S. per GISAID (see tracker below).
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
-----
I continue to use the CDC COVID data tracker weekly review for a one-stop summary of data and analysis.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html
Data from Israel indicates Pfizer vaccine recipients may be susceptible to the Delta variant after a few weeks. Illnesses observed have been mild and NOT associated with hospitalization or death.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-05/israel-sees-decline-in-pfizer-vaccine-efficacy-rate-ynet-says
Some more analysis of this story:
https://twitter.com/hildabast/status/1412007215829975044
Andy Slavitt commented on the implications of this data as well:
https://twitter.com/ASlavitt/status/1412229839210254346
Eric Topol started some Twitter discussions on the variant prevalence.
https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1411738297123053569
The NY Times reviews Dr. Fauci's strategies for navigating the confusing grey zone of living in a mask-less world with unvaccinated individuals and variants of concern.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/07/04/world/covid-vaccine-coronavirus-mask#fauci-says-he-would-wear-a-mask-in-communities-with-low-vaccination-rates
The Atlantic covers this grey zone as well.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/07/americas-vaccine-fate-is-fragmenting/619358/
The Wall Street Journal offers an International Pandemic Travel resource guide.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-apps-and-websites-you-need-for-international-travel-during-covid-and-the-reopening-11624798801
Infographics!
The cost of renewable energy is dropping,
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/electricity-from-renewable-energy-sources-is-now-cheaper-than-ever/
A generator of entertaining excuses.
https://i.redd.it/f6ngo6d5kc971.jpg
I have stayed away from XKCD (it feels like cheating on an infographics section), but I will make an exception for this.
https://xkcd.com/1688/large/
-----Things I learned last week:
Ants are models for airline passenger boarding. And good metaphors for being an airline passenger.
https://www.afar.com/magazine/what-ants-have-taught-us-about-boarding-airplanes
I find the notion of lost written works fascinating. It appears the equivalent of paperback books and throw-away journals were more of a thing than I thought, even if the paper was papyrus and it was 2000 years ago.
https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/reading-like-a-roman
Humans from 30,000 years ago may have been trying to communicate via cave-painted hand stencils. The analysis of the paintings as language is fascinating. I can only hope that if we decipher their meaning, the drawings are more cultural commentary (a la Banksy) than simple graffiti - or worse, advertising. (This painting survives 30,000 years, and all it says is the equivalent of "Drink your Ovaltine!")
https://www.science20.com/inside_science/are_missing_fingers_in_gargas_cave_paintings_the_first_known_sign_language-255157
And for those that do not get the Ovaltine reference:
https://www.achristmasstoryhouse.com/a-christmas-story-movie-facts/little-orphan-annie/
Clean hands and sharp minds, team
Adam
I do not fully understand the appeal of parades. And yet, I found myself on a sidewalk watching a Fourth of July parade this past weekend. Spectating during a Maryland July is a hot and humid affair - and the marchers do not look comfortable either. While I enjoy the rhythms of a lively marching band, I am unsure how to feel about the mish-mash of old-timey emergency vehicles, military equipment, bagpipe players, local politicians in borrowed car dealer-labeled convertibles, and candy-doling clowns. (Should I cheer? For what? And if I don't, am I being unpatriotic or unsupportive?) This year the weather was fantastic, and all the politicians waived with enthusiasm and vigor, anticipating an election that is 17 months away. Oddly, the perennial and perpetually losing third-party gubernatorial candidate hired day laborers to hold his signs. (They certainly juxtaposed the passion of their employer-candidate and reflect why he perpetually loses.) I think my younger son summed up the day well, "Younger people in old cars and older people in young cars."
It was comforting to have a semblance of normalcy circa summer 2019. However, the people we stood next to exemplified the new social dynamics. They marked a 6-foot zone with a pop-up tent and vociferously defended their "tental borders" from potential virus carriers. Curiously, they did not wear masks.
Being in crowds can be a novel adventure these days. And, as the Beatles put it when singing about Mr. Kite, a splendid time [was] guaranteed for all.
-----
Data of note
Case rates are rising. Hospitalizations and death rates are still decreasing. States with low vaccination percentages are driving the rising case rates. The NY Times hotspot table allows for sorting to see these trends. The Delta variant is now the most common genotype sequenced in the U.S. per GISAID (see tracker below).
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
-----
I continue to use the CDC COVID data tracker weekly review for a one-stop summary of data and analysis.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html
Data from Israel indicates Pfizer vaccine recipients may be susceptible to the Delta variant after a few weeks. Illnesses observed have been mild and NOT associated with hospitalization or death.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-05/israel-sees-decline-in-pfizer-vaccine-efficacy-rate-ynet-says
Some more analysis of this story:
https://twitter.com/hildabast/status/1412007215829975044
Andy Slavitt commented on the implications of this data as well:
https://twitter.com/ASlavitt/status/1412229839210254346
Eric Topol started some Twitter discussions on the variant prevalence.
https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1411738297123053569
The NY Times reviews Dr. Fauci's strategies for navigating the confusing grey zone of living in a mask-less world with unvaccinated individuals and variants of concern.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/07/04/world/covid-vaccine-coronavirus-mask#fauci-says-he-would-wear-a-mask-in-communities-with-low-vaccination-rates
The Atlantic covers this grey zone as well.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/07/americas-vaccine-fate-is-fragmenting/619358/
The Wall Street Journal offers an International Pandemic Travel resource guide.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-apps-and-websites-you-need-for-international-travel-during-covid-and-the-reopening-11624798801
Infographics!
The cost of renewable energy is dropping,
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/electricity-from-renewable-energy-sources-is-now-cheaper-than-ever/
A generator of entertaining excuses.
https://i.redd.it/f6ngo6d5kc971.jpg
I have stayed away from XKCD (it feels like cheating on an infographics section), but I will make an exception for this.
https://xkcd.com/1688/large/
-----Things I learned last week:
Ants are models for airline passenger boarding. And good metaphors for being an airline passenger.
https://www.afar.com/magazine/what-ants-have-taught-us-about-boarding-airplanes
I find the notion of lost written works fascinating. It appears the equivalent of paperback books and throw-away journals were more of a thing than I thought, even if the paper was papyrus and it was 2000 years ago.
https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/reading-like-a-roman
Humans from 30,000 years ago may have been trying to communicate via cave-painted hand stencils. The analysis of the paintings as language is fascinating. I can only hope that if we decipher their meaning, the drawings are more cultural commentary (a la Banksy) than simple graffiti - or worse, advertising. (This painting survives 30,000 years, and all it says is the equivalent of "Drink your Ovaltine!")
https://www.science20.com/inside_science/are_missing_fingers_in_gargas_cave_paintings_the_first_known_sign_language-255157
And for those that do not get the Ovaltine reference:
https://www.achristmasstoryhouse.com/a-christmas-story-movie-facts/little-orphan-annie/
Clean hands and sharp minds, team
Adam
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