Okay, you guys. I'm tired. You're tired. We're all tired of COVID-19. And my power got knocked out by Zeta, so today's newsletter is going to be a ... recap!
First, the latest updates ...
General Update
I gotta give you some good news. Evidently, this fall/winter's flu season is off to a late start, largely because of our fight against COVID-19. We usually begin flu season by receiving it from the southern hemisphere who have just now ended their season, but not so many people are traveling here. And social distancing measures, and possibly even mask wearing, has caused the flu virus to take a big hit. So ... a pleasant surprise. It could help to offset some of the COVID deaths that are about to hit the next few months ... we'll have to see. I'll let you research this one on your own, but to get you started, here's just one of many reports on this.
And what does the NY Times dashboard tell us this week?
New case counts per capita over the past week:
- The five worst states are: North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Montana, Wyoming.
- North Dakota and South Dakota also have the highest Total Cases per capita in the nation ... yes ... even more than New York and New Jersey.
- The five best states are: Vermont, Maine, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New York .
- My state of NC has counts still rising ... breaking records in the 7-day averages. And my county of Forsyth ... rising again after having started to come down a little after the Trump bump last month.
Death counts per capita over the past week:
- The US remains in 8th place and Peru remains in 1st place, with 2nd place Belgium coming up fast.
- The five worst states are: North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin, Arkansas.
- The five best states are: Vermont (none), Maine (none), New York, Oregon, California.
The Recaps
Okay ... over the past couple of months, I've been providing weekly coronavirus newsletters, striving to bring together data and trying to explain things in a way that most anyone can understand. If you want to learn ... it's all knowledge that's available from all over the web. I've attempted to compile much of this information, and have even provided my own analyses. So, check out the topics below, and pick your poison. What would you like to learn more about?
Or, you could read these in order ... I tried to order them in levels of importance.
Here we go:
The Simplicity: What is the goal of epidemiology, and what simple things can *we* do today to help lower the number of active cases?
The Anti-Hype: What is the source of so much misinformation and contention? Learn about nefarious forces that are working to weaken our nation and maximize death. What is the best way to determine what information is good, and what is bad?
Voting: Is it safe to vote in person? (It's safer than you may think.) What are other alternatives to ensure your vote is counted? I placed this one high in importance just because our election is only a few days away.
Contact Tracing: What is it? How does it work? What can I do to help fight the virus?
Masks: Are they effective? How other other countries faring? Are masks against our freedoms?
Lockdowns: Do they work? Can we avoid them? Or in other words, is it possible to open everything up and protect our vulnerable at the same time?
Herd Immunity: What does this mean? Can we obtain it? And how much would it cost?
Building Immunity: What can we do to build our immunity, just in case we unfortunately catch this virus?
Trump's Report Card: How is Trump doing in the handling of this epidemic? Note: I was very tempted to add more recent events to this today, but decided against it. The results of his efforts speak for themselves.
Excess Deaths and Other Random Topics: A fun read.
Churches: What can we do to protect churches from spreading the virus like wildfire?
Schools: What can we do to open up schools and protect our children -- and more importantly the older staff, parents, and grandparents?
Miracle Cures: There are so many "cures" out there for those who have caught the virus. Which are effective, and which are more akin to snake oil? Written three months ago, it's already a little outdated!
Flat Earthers and the Coronavirus: One of my favorite whinging sessions, but not that important.
Conspiracy Theories I'm Going to Ignore: One way to bring sanity to my life.
And finally, about all this "tired" talk that I keep hearing about... Here's a video to remind us that some people will not be tired. They will continue doing their jobs ... people on the frontlines in the hospitals and in the funeral homes. I will also not be tired, but will continue doing my best to help us work together to end this. Giving up is the worst thing we could do at this moment. So, I'll be back next week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YS95WeODsc
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