Philosophy This article talks about a (perceived) disconnect between Dr. Henry saying that we need to manage COVID-19 like we do other viruses, but not getting rid of all the mitigation measures. The author says that lots of people have been radicalized, traumatized such that they are COVID-obsessed. I believe that there is nuance missing.… Continue reading 2022-01-22/23/24 BC
2022-01-22/23/24 General
Weather This article says that the amount of lightning decreased during the pandemic because of less fossil fuel burning and hence fewer aerosols. Vaccines This article says that in extremely rare circumstances, people report Long COVID symptoms after vaccination. Variants This preprint says that the risk of hospitalization from Omicron is 25% that of Delta,… Continue reading 2022-01-22/23/24 General
Only 17K deaths?
There is outrage going around. People feel like they’ve been lied to because there were “only 17K deaths due to only COVID-19” in England and Wales. Outrageous! Except that it’s not exactly what it sounds like. What it really means is that COVID-19 was the only thing listed on the death certificate. HOWEVER, it is… Continue reading Only 17K deaths?
2022-01-21 BC
NOTE: I had been grabbing the number of tests from the wrong place on the BC CDC dashboard, which meant that my positivity numbers were wrong. I’ll go back and fix blog posts retroactively, but among the charts below is a rolling 7-day average of positivity from the BC CDC dashboard. Transmission I’ve gotten some… Continue reading 2022-01-21 BC
2022-01-21 General
Vaccines Pfizer had disappointing results with its first trial of COVID-19 vax for the under-5 year-olds. The youngest kids mounted an adequate response, but not the older kids, which to me says that the dose was too low. This article speculates that Pfizer will add a third minidose (3 mg, compared to the 50mg it… Continue reading 2022-01-21 General
2022-01-20 BC
Mitigation Measures This article says that the province has walked back their statement on unvaccinated people: unvaccinated people really do have to isolate for TEN days. (Maybe a staffer’s fingers slipped?) I am pleased. Transmission The BC COVID-19 Modelling Group has released another report. They think that: We will see ~50K cases per day at… Continue reading 2022-01-20 BC
2022-01-20 General
Transmission I found this article interesting. They modelled two air flights and got pretty good agreement with reality. On the first flight, early enough in the pandemic that people weren’t wearing masks, one infected passenger on a 12-hour flight in business class got 12 people sick. On the second flight, four infected passengers on a… Continue reading 2022-01-20 General
2022-01-19 General
Vaccines This preprint says that there were zero children in France who had been fully vaccinated and went on to develop MIS-C. Pathology This preprint says that kids recover pretty well from MIS-C. This speculative preprint wonders if maybe the reason kids have milder symptoms and MIS-C after a delay is because their bodies make… Continue reading 2022-01-19 General
2022-01-19 BC
Testing The BC CDC recently updated their testing web page to say who was eligible. Basically, if you are young, vaccinated, and not CEV, then you don’t get a PCR test (unless your job is in a special category like HCW or prison guard) There are some people who are upset, but I am having… Continue reading 2022-01-19 BC
2022-01-18 BC
Press Briefing Here’s what they said which I found new and interesting: The Orders about bars and nightclubs being closed and performances being at half-capacity have been extended until 16 Feb. Funerals and weddings can still go on as always, but the parties associated with them are still restricted. COVID Safety Plan requirements and vax… Continue reading 2022-01-18 BC