Someday scientists will come up with tiny shots we can inject in our shoulders that will reduce the risk of dying from these diseases by >90%, or even contracting them in the first place by 50-80%!
They will be called “vaccines.” This word comes from the Latin “vacca” meaning cow. They will be better than cowpox inoculation to prevent smallpox.
And even crazier is that in the future we will be dialing up entire viral proteins using synthetic mRNA molecules so our immune systems can target practice before the viral invasions. People are going to be so thrilled!
I am in Florida. Our Surgeon General is anti- science. Our Governor tried to exterminate us during the pandemic. I don’t trust anything that comes from them. Thanks for your clear explanations and your figures.
Our school district just put out guidance that because there are so many absences, it is ok to come to school if you are not feeling well. Gotta keep that A rating and get the state funding! Our local health department no longer requires a covid isolation/quarantine, so the schools will not either.
It is no great mystery why numbers aren’t going down. And it is sad that our health department is no longer a leader:
Unfortunately the 54% is...54% of the people who actually got the shot. One of the most heartbreaking aspects of the current state of affairs is how many people aren't doing *anything.*
Thank you for these updates. Have you seen any data about how JN.1 is affecting the body physiologically? Purely anecdotal, I have noticed an uptick in bleeding / clotting issues at the hospital I work in. Several patients have had GI bleeds while also having DVTs. None have tested positive on our antigen screening tests, but it has the feel of the CVA / PE increase when covid first hit. I’m curious if this strain (or flu or RSV) is proving to cause certain non respiratory problems again.
Is there anyway to have hospitals continue to report? I think this year is going to be a different year with all the role backs. It is so vitally important when comparing sewer studies to ER visits and then hospitalizations then to excess deaths. I’ve been having a tough time just finding the cdc page for excess deaths that is current. Anyone have that? For my patients these visuals really hit home. It takes more of the “politics” out. Additionally, I was able to get more traction at the state level for ventilation and schools. Not sure if this is lip service, true concern or combo. But it is an election year and covid is the virus that has no name. Any recommendations of how we can continue this data?
Offering my grateful thanks to you, once again, for a clear, concise, and invaluable state of affairs. BTW, speaking of clear and concise, a while back you noted a book you had read about clear writing. If you see this and have time, can you ID the name of that book again? Thanks for all you do. You are a national treasure.
Thank you! As we are navigating this with so little actionable data, your updates are so helpful! This validates my sense of what is happening. I’d asked for your sources and on a reread, you cite them under the graphs.
Looking forward - I'd be interested if you could engage an expert to talk us through the science of vaccine updates and what we will probably be looking at in fall of 2024. Seems that we are still getting offshoots of Omicron, even though far afield, so I am guessing that the fall vaccine will be more finely tuned to JN1, even though it will have long passed its peak. Would the assumption be that if tuned to JN1 and all its mutations, that it will still be "sticky" enough to work with whatever progeny JN1 shoots off?
I appreciate your evaluation of the two data sets from CDC comparing COVID to Influenza. The nuances between the two are apparent to many in the field, and confuse the public. Add in wild conspiracy claims and you increase the number of people who mistrust government scientists. Makes me recall an old communication adage, “Be the first source of information, and the best source of information.”
Why is there seemingly no consideration being given to allowing and recommending at least two shots a year for seniors, since we are so much more at risk than others except the immunocompromised? We are also a huge group- 30+ million people over 65. But “radio silence” on this issue!
As a retired doc I really really appreciate your work! Two comments. First, to emphasize handwashing for norovirus, since alcohol hand san doesn't work. Second, since communication is an emergent property of two (or more) people, I think a lot of the complaining about unclear communication from public health officials reflects the failures of the educational system to prepare people to deal with complex and ambiguous data. I won't go into why that has happened except to suggest it may be somehow related to politics. YLE is the epitome of clear presentation of complex data, yet I would guess the majority of our fellow citizens would see it as being way to complicated to guide action. In my primary care practice of 40 years I often felt I was trying to make up for what the educational system hadn't helped people learn. Not the fault of teachers, but of our national priorities.
Thank you for another informative article. I am ready for this respiratory season to be over.
Regarding the "different data stories" - if covid is more contagious than the flu, isn't it likely that in urban areas, covid would have peaked sooner than the flu?
As far as "Vaccine effect. Urban places have more Covid-19 vaccinated than rural; thus Covid-19 hospitalizations are lower on the bottom graph than the top." On the lower graph (urban areas), Covid-19 hospitalizations are higher than flu hospitalizations except until recently, which supports the "covid peaked before flu" theory, and (unfortunately) doesn't seem to support the "vaccine effect" theory.
Do you periodically write updates on the state of Public Health reporting and changes to regulations requiring specific data to be sent to the CDC from every state in a standardized electronic format to allow timely reporting and reaction?
I'm wondering why Oregon hasn't had much flu at all this year....so far (?). We've been green on the Flu Bites map the whole time, & yet Washington & California were, at one time, both red (high flu). Oregon isn't an island! And I don't recall a year, other than 2020, when we didn't have a flu season, like others have. Any ideas?
I really appreciate your State of Affairs posts, Katelyn! Can't find this info elsewhere. I'd also like more info on norovirus; is there anything else we can do to prevent other than washing hands? Terrible virus! And one I hugely fear....
Someday scientists will come up with tiny shots we can inject in our shoulders that will reduce the risk of dying from these diseases by >90%, or even contracting them in the first place by 50-80%!
They will be called “vaccines.” This word comes from the Latin “vacca” meaning cow. They will be better than cowpox inoculation to prevent smallpox.
And even crazier is that in the future we will be dialing up entire viral proteins using synthetic mRNA molecules so our immune systems can target practice before the viral invasions. People are going to be so thrilled!
I am in Florida. Our Surgeon General is anti- science. Our Governor tried to exterminate us during the pandemic. I don’t trust anything that comes from them. Thanks for your clear explanations and your figures.
Our school district just put out guidance that because there are so many absences, it is ok to come to school if you are not feeling well. Gotta keep that A rating and get the state funding! Our local health department no longer requires a covid isolation/quarantine, so the schools will not either.
It is no great mystery why numbers aren’t going down. And it is sad that our health department is no longer a leader:
Unfortunately the 54% is...54% of the people who actually got the shot. One of the most heartbreaking aspects of the current state of affairs is how many people aren't doing *anything.*
Thank you for these updates. Have you seen any data about how JN.1 is affecting the body physiologically? Purely anecdotal, I have noticed an uptick in bleeding / clotting issues at the hospital I work in. Several patients have had GI bleeds while also having DVTs. None have tested positive on our antigen screening tests, but it has the feel of the CVA / PE increase when covid first hit. I’m curious if this strain (or flu or RSV) is proving to cause certain non respiratory problems again.
Is there anyway to have hospitals continue to report? I think this year is going to be a different year with all the role backs. It is so vitally important when comparing sewer studies to ER visits and then hospitalizations then to excess deaths. I’ve been having a tough time just finding the cdc page for excess deaths that is current. Anyone have that? For my patients these visuals really hit home. It takes more of the “politics” out. Additionally, I was able to get more traction at the state level for ventilation and schools. Not sure if this is lip service, true concern or combo. But it is an election year and covid is the virus that has no name. Any recommendations of how we can continue this data?
Offering my grateful thanks to you, once again, for a clear, concise, and invaluable state of affairs. BTW, speaking of clear and concise, a while back you noted a book you had read about clear writing. If you see this and have time, can you ID the name of that book again? Thanks for all you do. You are a national treasure.
Thank you so much for the wonderful information!
On the “few more thoughts” on vaccines, I cannot access because I don’t have Twitter (X). How else can I read this?
Thanks
Thank you! As we are navigating this with so little actionable data, your updates are so helpful! This validates my sense of what is happening. I’d asked for your sources and on a reread, you cite them under the graphs.
Looking forward - I'd be interested if you could engage an expert to talk us through the science of vaccine updates and what we will probably be looking at in fall of 2024. Seems that we are still getting offshoots of Omicron, even though far afield, so I am guessing that the fall vaccine will be more finely tuned to JN1, even though it will have long passed its peak. Would the assumption be that if tuned to JN1 and all its mutations, that it will still be "sticky" enough to work with whatever progeny JN1 shoots off?
I appreciate your evaluation of the two data sets from CDC comparing COVID to Influenza. The nuances between the two are apparent to many in the field, and confuse the public. Add in wild conspiracy claims and you increase the number of people who mistrust government scientists. Makes me recall an old communication adage, “Be the first source of information, and the best source of information.”
Why is there seemingly no consideration being given to allowing and recommending at least two shots a year for seniors, since we are so much more at risk than others except the immunocompromised? We are also a huge group- 30+ million people over 65. But “radio silence” on this issue!
As a retired doc I really really appreciate your work! Two comments. First, to emphasize handwashing for norovirus, since alcohol hand san doesn't work. Second, since communication is an emergent property of two (or more) people, I think a lot of the complaining about unclear communication from public health officials reflects the failures of the educational system to prepare people to deal with complex and ambiguous data. I won't go into why that has happened except to suggest it may be somehow related to politics. YLE is the epitome of clear presentation of complex data, yet I would guess the majority of our fellow citizens would see it as being way to complicated to guide action. In my primary care practice of 40 years I often felt I was trying to make up for what the educational system hadn't helped people learn. Not the fault of teachers, but of our national priorities.
Thank you for another informative article. I am ready for this respiratory season to be over.
Regarding the "different data stories" - if covid is more contagious than the flu, isn't it likely that in urban areas, covid would have peaked sooner than the flu?
As far as "Vaccine effect. Urban places have more Covid-19 vaccinated than rural; thus Covid-19 hospitalizations are lower on the bottom graph than the top." On the lower graph (urban areas), Covid-19 hospitalizations are higher than flu hospitalizations except until recently, which supports the "covid peaked before flu" theory, and (unfortunately) doesn't seem to support the "vaccine effect" theory.
Do you periodically write updates on the state of Public Health reporting and changes to regulations requiring specific data to be sent to the CDC from every state in a standardized electronic format to allow timely reporting and reaction?
I'm wondering why Oregon hasn't had much flu at all this year....so far (?). We've been green on the Flu Bites map the whole time, & yet Washington & California were, at one time, both red (high flu). Oregon isn't an island! And I don't recall a year, other than 2020, when we didn't have a flu season, like others have. Any ideas?
I really appreciate your State of Affairs posts, Katelyn! Can't find this info elsewhere. I'd also like more info on norovirus; is there anything else we can do to prevent other than washing hands? Terrible virus! And one I hugely fear....