229,845,805 total cases
4,713,875 dead
206,523,668 recovered
In the US:
43,107,628 total cases
694,619 dead
32,675,982 recovered
Yesterday’s numbers for comparison:
Oh; btw:
In case anyone isn’t seeing the preview:
There are mixed opinions on that. The alternate opinion is that Americans are at much greater risk from variants arising out of unvaccinated Africa (currently at 5% ?) than they are from breakthrough infection after 2 shots, and that consequently, in naked self interest, Americans should be sending vaccines to Africa rather than taking 3rd doses.
230,326,827 total cases
4,722,911 dead
207,033,588 recovered
In the US:
43,242,302 total cases
696,867 dead
32,830,025 recovered
Yesterday’s numbers for comparison:
In raw numbers, the death toll of Americans from Covid-19 has surpassed that of the Spanish Flu. The 1918 Spanish flu lowered the average life expectancy in the United States by 12 years. The covid-19 pandemic may soon qualify as the deadliest event in U.S.history.
We do have a lot more people now than then. I feel like “the deadliest” should be in percentage terms, not number of deaths.
Not that I want to minimize the current pandemic. I’ve lost friends and relatives, and I’m still mostly cowering in my home to avoid it, and trying to get into a clinical study on booster shots. But I think this pandemic has a ways to go before it overtakes the 1918 flu pandemic. And I’m hopeful we have enough tools and are still a functional enough society to avoid that outcome.
With the hard-core stance of anti-vaxxers, I’m growing less confident that our tools will avoid covid-19 overtaking the 1918 pandemic in % deaths.
We’re at war with a deadly virus and anti-vaxxers are consorting with the enemy. I say make Fauci a 5-star general and declare Marshal Law.
I feel like we probably need an Australian update, in light of events over the last week…
Apparently Melbourne has been hitting the news overseas in light of current unrest and protests. This started in the construction industry, over new rules for mandatory vaccination and the regulations around CovidSafe practices in tearooms. Honestly I do have some sympathy for the tradies here - the mandatory vax rule was brought in with a pretty short deadline, in a situation where it still takes a fair bit of work to find yourself an appointment (and the vax booking hub was down for about a week and a half because it was crushed by traffic when they widened eligibility three weeks ago).
On Monday there was a smallish protest in the city, where a bunch blocked the roads by setting up their breakrooms outside, since masses of them had been closed for non-covid compliance. Then Anti-Vax Telegram got a hold of it, so they’ve all broken out their high-vis and come on down to kick heads while pretending to be tradies. This is on the back of an up-front anti-vax protest on Saturday which had about a thousand people, mostly young blokes, and put ten policemen in hospital.
In Certain Circles all this is being spun as “ooh, look, the Australians are revolting against their oppressive regime!” but the State Government popularity remains high, we just have a bunch of goddam loons roaming through the streets breaking shit. Joy!
In more positive news, vaccination rates are rocketing, and there’s a firm plan on how restrictions are going to get dismantled at different vax levels. 80% of 16-plusses fully jabbed is expected in about 6 weeks. Despite the (by our standards) big outbreak of actual infections, deaths are a trickle compared to last year’s wave. Just as well, because everyone is pretty tired and over it all.
We’ve probably been spared by advancements in science and medical care that didn’t exist back in 1918. But given the advancements we have, this is a devastating pandemic, and there’s end currently in sight.
…today’s New Zealand Covid-19 Briefing might be of interest to people here.
They have Shaun Hendy, one of the epidemiologists doing a lot of the modelling on covid, giving an update on the difference vaccines have made and will make in a NZ context. Fascinating watch.
Has anyone seen details on what qualifies as “at risk of severe disease”? I have several comorbidities and would sure love to be able to get a booster in October when I hit 6 the month mark.
…raw numbers from the modelling shown today:
If NZ opened up today with no restrictions: at 70% over 12’s vaccinated we would be looking at nearly 2 million cases, and 13,000 annual deaths.
At 80% vaccination we are looking at over a million cases and over 4000 deaths.
At 95% vaccination we are looking at 42,000 cases and just over 100 deaths.
But if you add in over 5’s vaccinated, the numbers change considerably. At 95% of everyone over 5 vaccinated: it drops to 3000 cases and 8 deaths.
I’ve been looking for this information as well, and so far I’m coming up empty. The closest I’ve seen to anything kind of addressing the question appeared in this New York Times article (unsure if paywalled for all viewers):
The F.D.A.’s decision to include those who are at high risk of severe Covid-19 captures another significant swath of the population. An estimated 60 percent of Americans suffer from obesity or other chronic medical conditions that heighten their risk of suffering from severe Covid-19, but not all of them might be included.
That last sentence makes it clear as mud, needless to say 
Awesome. Given pretty much every US death since July 1st has been avoidable, we’re on target to hit 100k preventable deaths on October 5th.
230,882,741 total cases
4,732,838 dead
207,590,922 recovered
In the US:
43,404,877 total cases
699,748 dead
32,947,854 recovered
Yesterday’s numbers for comparison:
New Daily Reported Cases (7 day average) reached a new record high in
Alaska (1054) – way above the previous record of 715 back on Dec 5 2020
Montana and Wyoming are rapidly approaching their previous record highs. It’s going up in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, but hasn’t gotten close to the previous records there yet.
What I’ve noticed is that it is the same wording as used before for scheduling purposes. So I had been working with the assumption it was the same list. You knows the one that included diabetes, any lung disease, high blood pressure, being overweight, etc.
First time I’ve seen this. It’s encouraging.
…
Barriers to getting the shot and information about the vaccines have hindered the “unvaccinated but willing,” who account for approximately 10 percent of the American population, according to a report last month by the Department of Health and Human Services. Unlike those who have declined vaccines, some vocally, because of their politics or ideology, a quieter share — about 44% of unvaccinated people — say they would get vaccinated but are on the fence for certain reasons. Some, like Orosco-Arellano, lack transportation or other means, while others wish to wait and see or don’t know coronavirus vaccines are free.
…The reasons people have not yet gotten their shot vary widely, making it difficult to find a one-size-fits-all approach.
Medical Outreach Ministries, a clinic in Montgomery, Ala., surveyed its patients, who are mostly Black and middle-aged, to learn about their thoughts about the vaccines. While clinic staff had thought the nation’s history of medical racism and victimization would play a large role in hesitancy, they learned it was much more complicated.
“You assume people are hesitant because of the Tuskegee syphilis study or something like that but they have their other reasons,” said Molly Stone, the clinic’s executive director. “And that’s something that we all had to learn.”
Volunteers, including pre-med student Cody Grier, found that patients were overwhelmed by information available online and preferred speaking to health workers about the vaccine by phone. Then, he found out through surveys and calls that patients had questions that people with better access to doctors would be able to ask at their appointments.
…
Also, a lot of the unvaccinated are ineligible, due to being under 12. The US is expected to give an EUA for both Pfizer and Moderna for the 5-11 cohort in the near future.