General Update / Farewell
Yeah ... you read that right. I'm done. I've been writing these newsletters for months now -- first on my Facebook page, and then over here on this blog. It's been fun, but ... let's face it ... it's pretty much too late to do anything anymore. Just hunker down and wait for what's coming over the next couple of grim months. Plus, I need a break, and starting the first week in January, I'm going to launch a whole new and exciting initiative.
I'll continue doing my weekly model updates on my Facebook page (which last run showed us hitting 400k total deaths by around January 20-ish). And I'll continue updating my deaths per million graphs once a month going forward (on Facebook). And every now and then when I feel like it, I'll come back and give a few more "Coronavirus Updates."
So, one more general update, and then some closing thoughts.
General Update
It's bad out there ... just bad. Practically all states are red on the hotspot map, except for Maine, Vermont, and Hawaii.
Hospitals continue to fill up. You can check statuses on that here.
Cases per Capita -- last 7 days:
- Worst States: Rhode Island, Indiana, Alaska (wha?), Idaho, Kansas
- Best States: Hawaii, Vermont, Maine, Oregon, Washington
- North Carolina: Cases have skyrocket this last week. Forsyth County is increasing, but not in the top 20 counties.
Deaths per Capita -- last 7 days:
- Worst States: South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Rhode Island
- Best States: Hawaii, Washington, Maine, Virginia, Vermont
The Pfizer vaccine is about to start rolling out, as it is now approved by the FDA for emergency use. Though, we're not entirely sure if it was under duress with President Trump's threats to fire the head of the FDA.
Most of my readers will not be eligible for the first round, and we'll run out of doses. But don't worry -- other vaccines are likely to be approved shortly.
Emergency use means that the government will continue to monitor the vaccine and halt it if it turns out to have too many adverse effects or turns us into zombies. Two possibly identified side effects may be intense allergic reactions for those who use epipens (but no reports of anaphylactic shock), and possibly Bell's Palsy (it may have been a coincidence, but it was statistically significant). If you want to learn more about these, check out this Reuters fact check.
Hopefully this and other vaccines will help get R(t) < 1.0 and kill off the virus.
Farewell
Okay -- time for final words.
The good news is that every day, more and more people get on board. A majority of the people are sincerely working hard to fight the virus. They wear their masks, practice social distancing, and do whatever else they understand to help out and do their part. We are now estimated to be at around 73% mask coverage -- higher from 70% a couple of weeks ago.
The bad news is that the other 20%-30% are still fighting this. They fear that their rights are being taken away. Or they believe that since they're under 55 years old, they have no need to be careful, and let the vulnerable people fend for themselves (it's their fault if they catch the virus).
Unfortunately, this minority is responsible for the vast majority (85%+) of the spread of the virus in our nation -- whether it be through spreading misinformation or the virus itself through sick or asymptomatic spread.
Sadly 27% of us not wearing masks still provides the virus plenty of fuel for spreading and maximizing death.
If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading the following three newsletters, which I consider to be by far the most important posts I've written concerning the fight against the virus.
The Simplicity -- What is the main goal of fighting the virus? R(t) < 1.000. But what does that mean? Click here to learn more about what we've learned from several outbreaks in the past.
By far, President Trump, Dr. Scott Atlas (a radiologist?), and a couple of rogue epidemiologists, are the most responsible for the spread of the virus in our nation. They have done so through their teachings, rhetoric, and actions. If you read those three articles and strive to understand them, then you, too, should be able to see this as well. Use these people as an example of what NOT to do.
I think it really will get better when Biden takes office in January. Then we will have much more consistent messaging coming from the top, and hopefully there will be a lot less confusion and nonsense coming from the minority.
We shall see. It's not too late to join the fight against the virus. Join the majority who are already doing it. Working together, we can stop this virus.
Well ... you all can stop this virus. I've already done more than my fair share to fight the most disruptive virus in my lifetime, and my conscious is fully clear. Eventually I'll be back after the dose of reality we're all going to get in the next few weeks. But for now, I'm going to enjoy Christmas. I'm going to relax. And hopefully this annoying cough that I've just now developed is going to go away.
I wish you all well, and I'll see y'all on the other side.
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