Thursday, December 17, 2020
Another day closer to the end of the pandemic. At some point, I won't feel compelled to write these emails, and you won't read them. Or, should I say, there will be a future state where both of those things will be consistently and simultaneously true.
----- Latest Data
Global-View:
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938
Nationally:
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usca&areasRegional=usfl&areasRegional=ustx&areasRegional=usco&cumulative=0&logScale=0&perMillion=1&values=cases
Also, look at https://covidtracking.com/data
The U.S. Regionally - N.Y. Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
About the data:
https://covidtracking.com/about-data/visualization-guide is the best resource to understand data visualization and data integrity.
-----
I found some great resources on understanding the trade-offs of different testing methodologies. These write-ups include very digestible explanations of how timing and testing technology impact the test's sensitivity and specificity.
https://covidtracking.com/blog/test-types-101
and
https://gidmk.medium.com/most-positive-coronavirus-tests-are-true-positives-60c95fe54fec
So much for the pandemic baby boom. USA Today (I know) offered this article describing a few trends: less interest in sex (as measured via google analytics), fertility planning changes (as measured by a fertility company), and think tank data suggesting a smaller number of births for 2020-2021. I would love to see a more rigorous review, but this article is enlightening and, to be sure, time will tell if this data is correct.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/12/16/covid-19-baby-bust-coronavirus-pandemic-lead-birth-decline/6507974002/
Dr. Fauci predicts the future! For what it's worth, I agree with his timing predictions.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/16/dr-fauci-says-us-could-return-to-normal-by-mid-fall-if-most-people-get-covid-vaccine.html
I started seeing reports of this earlier in the week. It is very telling (and unusual) that Pfizer and the FDA are openly approving the use of the vial overfill. To be clear, having a bit extra in a multi-dose medication vial is not atypical. Approval for using it is.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/pfizer-vaccine-doses-us/2020/12/16/9d63848c-3fc1-11eb-8bc0-ae155bee4aff_story.html
The articles highlighted by Brief 19 cover various investigations around gender and socio-economic bias in both COVID media coverage and vaccination efforts.
https://brief19.com/2020/12/16/brief
Infographic of the day: What was on our collective minds in 2020
An amusing roundup of searches from Google
https://www.statista.com/chart/23748/most-common-google-searches-2020/
---Bonus Round--- Dinner Table Political Philosophy
Last night, my older son mentioned he is now reading excerpts from Edmund Burke in his Civ class. Though I am getting better at quickly hitting the highpoints, my enthusiasm for political philosophy gets tuned out after about three sentences. (Until it is time to proofread a paper, and then there are all sorts of gushing praise and interest - demonstrating the situational ethics in our household!)
Edmund Burke 1729-1797 was an Irishman who spent his political career in the British Parliament. Arguably, he was a philosophical founder of modern conservatism. But his writings on the topics of his time make him a bit hard to pin down. He was a fan of slow societal change, a defender of traditional societal structures (family, church, small towns) against the French Revolution's excesses. But he also espoused accomodating the American colonists and argued against exploitation of the Hindu and other populations of the British South Asian colonies. On a political spectrum of the day, he was probably a bit more conservative than Jeffersonian Republicans. But Burke's philosophy was defined by the British political issues of the day, not early American. As you take time to review 2020 and what will likely be the evolving politics of 2021, it is worth spending a few minutes reading Burke's modern interpretations.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/07/29/the-right-man
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/opinion/sunday/edmund-burke.html
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
I'll be back for an abbreviated week next week.
Another day closer to the end of the pandemic. At some point, I won't feel compelled to write these emails, and you won't read them. Or, should I say, there will be a future state where both of those things will be consistently and simultaneously true.
----- Latest Data
Global-View:
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938
Nationally:
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usca&areasRegional=usfl&areasRegional=ustx&areasRegional=usco&cumulative=0&logScale=0&perMillion=1&values=cases
Also, look at https://covidtracking.com/data
The U.S. Regionally - N.Y. Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
About the data:
https://covidtracking.com/about-data/visualization-guide is the best resource to understand data visualization and data integrity.
-----
I found some great resources on understanding the trade-offs of different testing methodologies. These write-ups include very digestible explanations of how timing and testing technology impact the test's sensitivity and specificity.
https://covidtracking.com/blog/test-types-101
and
https://gidmk.medium.com/most-positive-coronavirus-tests-are-true-positives-60c95fe54fec
So much for the pandemic baby boom. USA Today (I know) offered this article describing a few trends: less interest in sex (as measured via google analytics), fertility planning changes (as measured by a fertility company), and think tank data suggesting a smaller number of births for 2020-2021. I would love to see a more rigorous review, but this article is enlightening and, to be sure, time will tell if this data is correct.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/12/16/covid-19-baby-bust-coronavirus-pandemic-lead-birth-decline/6507974002/
Dr. Fauci predicts the future! For what it's worth, I agree with his timing predictions.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/16/dr-fauci-says-us-could-return-to-normal-by-mid-fall-if-most-people-get-covid-vaccine.html
I started seeing reports of this earlier in the week. It is very telling (and unusual) that Pfizer and the FDA are openly approving the use of the vial overfill. To be clear, having a bit extra in a multi-dose medication vial is not atypical. Approval for using it is.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/pfizer-vaccine-doses-us/2020/12/16/9d63848c-3fc1-11eb-8bc0-ae155bee4aff_story.html
The articles highlighted by Brief 19 cover various investigations around gender and socio-economic bias in both COVID media coverage and vaccination efforts.
https://brief19.com/2020/12/16/brief
Infographic of the day: What was on our collective minds in 2020
An amusing roundup of searches from Google
https://www.statista.com/chart/23748/most-common-google-searches-2020/
---Bonus Round--- Dinner Table Political Philosophy
Last night, my older son mentioned he is now reading excerpts from Edmund Burke in his Civ class. Though I am getting better at quickly hitting the highpoints, my enthusiasm for political philosophy gets tuned out after about three sentences. (Until it is time to proofread a paper, and then there are all sorts of gushing praise and interest - demonstrating the situational ethics in our household!)
Edmund Burke 1729-1797 was an Irishman who spent his political career in the British Parliament. Arguably, he was a philosophical founder of modern conservatism. But his writings on the topics of his time make him a bit hard to pin down. He was a fan of slow societal change, a defender of traditional societal structures (family, church, small towns) against the French Revolution's excesses. But he also espoused accomodating the American colonists and argued against exploitation of the Hindu and other populations of the British South Asian colonies. On a political spectrum of the day, he was probably a bit more conservative than Jeffersonian Republicans. But Burke's philosophy was defined by the British political issues of the day, not early American. As you take time to review 2020 and what will likely be the evolving politics of 2021, it is worth spending a few minutes reading Burke's modern interpretations.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/07/29/the-right-man
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/opinion/sunday/edmund-burke.html
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
I'll be back for an abbreviated week next week.
Comments
Post a Comment