WSJ: COVID-19 long-hauler symptoms studied: https://www.wsj.com/articles/doctors-begin-to-crack-covids-mysterious-long-term-effects-11604252961 . Chronic inflammation continues to be a concern. A newer emerging issue is the appearance of autoantibodies, which attack the patient’s tissues.
WSJ: Nursing home staffing dropped during initial outbreaks: https://www.wsj.com/articles/staffing-at-some-nursing-homes-plummeted-during-early-covid-19-outbreaks-11604242040 . This is a significant consideration in assessing deaths and virus spread in these facilities.
US missteps in virus response: https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-public-health-ap-top-news-355ee8f0a217be330f7f9b67547c8dc5 .
WSJ: Drone companies look to deliver vaccines: https://www.wsj.com/articles/drone-startups-aim-to-carve-out-role-in-delivery-of-potential-covid-19-vaccine-11604239201 .
WSJ: Transparent face masks: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-transparent-face-mask-takes-off-amid-covid-19-11604182472 .
US cases continue to rise: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa/u-s-coronavirus-cases-keep-rising-in-grim-march-to-election-day-idUKKBN27H1NW .
WSJ: ACA enrollment starts Sunday (today): https://www.wsj.com/articles/health-care-in-spotlight-as-aca-enrollment-begins-days-before-election-11604232000 .
WSJ: Public health experts advise their own gyms: https://www.wsj.com/articles/gym-rules-pandemic-crossfit-covid-airborne-11604172773 .
Australia records zero new COVID-19 cases for the first time since June: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54768038 .
WSJ: Europe considers strategy for next lockdown re-emergence: https://www.wsj.com/articles/europe-aims-to-emerge-smarter-from-latest-lockdowns-11604249580 . Better testing, more strategic contact tracing are on the agenda.
Germany enters partial lockdown, WHO chief in quarantine: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-digest-germany-enters-lockdown-who-chief-in-quarantine/a-55468913 .
WSJ: Israel’s second lockdown showing improved results: https://www.wsj.com/articles/israels-second-lockdown-seems-to-be-working-better-than-its-first-11604235601 . Greater acceptance of masks is helping.
Atlas uninformed about just about everything: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-11-01/white-house-coronavirus-adviser-atlas-apologizes-for-russian-tv-interview .
Plasma Technologies from Rick Santorum: https://apnews.com/article/technology-virus-outbreak-pandemics-south-carolina-only-on-ap-5990d2ac718bc26070e72ce55bc712f8 . Besides the smell of swamp water described in the article, Rick Santorum is a former US Senator from Pennsylvania. He is chiefly known for his appearances as a punching bag on CNN.
White House rebukes Fauci over Post interview: https://news.yahoo.com/fauci-trump-coronavirus-statement-153644981.html . This is political malpractice. It is 2 days before Election Day. Even among Republican voters, Fauci’s opinion on the virus is more respected than Trump’s. COVID-19 is at record-breaking levels not only nationally but in almost every state. Politically, the White House should have taken a nice warm cup of shut the hell up.
Trump says he may fire Fauci: https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-health-anthony-fauci-e65e07c633ff0b312c3704ba318f3ba5 . Not if we fire you first.
WSJ: Corporations remain cautious about COVID-19: https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-fret-over-coronavirus-despite-rebound-11604226600 .
WSJ: Fed reviews asset purchases: https://www.wsj.com/articles/fed-turns-attention-to-asset-purchases-after-spelling-out-low-rate-pledges-11604226601 . As indicated previously, the Fed is running out of tools to support the economy.
WSJ: Reposting evades Facebook content monitoring: https://www.wsj.com/articles/political-groups-elude-facebooks-election-controls-repost-false-ads-11604268856 .
Record early voting continues: https://electproject.github.io/Early-Vote-2020G/index.html . As of 11:59 pm Eastern 11/1, 93.3 million votes have been cast, 59.3 million by mail and 34.0 million in person. For states reporting party affiliation, 20.7 million Democrats and 13.8 million Republicans have voted. The Democratic advantage holds steady from yesterday at 6.9 million.
Projections have been that 150 to 160 million will vote in this year’s election. Even at 160 million, 93.3 million represents over 58% of the total vote, with 1 day to go before Election Day. WSJ: More or less: https://www.wsj.com/articles/mail-balloting-is-fueling-historic-early-voting-in-the-2020-election-11602591220 . This is “more or less” because WSJ just updates this article every day. They don’t do a stellar job. They have now fixed the Wisconsin comment noted yesterday.
Pennsylvania expects to count majority of votes by Friday: https://www.wsj.com/articles/pennsylvanias-top-election-official-cautions-it-could-take-days-for-vote-count-11604235600 . Our entire election structure will need reassessment after this election. In Arizona, for example, they count votes for the two weeks preceding the election. The scanned ballots are fed into a secure, isolated server with no connection to the Internet.
WSJ: Seven defining election events: https://www.wsj.com/articles/election-2020-seven-episodes-that-defined-the-most-unusual-campaign-of-modern-times-11604241015 . This list is apparently WSJ writing for its readers. Biden’s victory in South Carolina upended the Democratic race. COVID-19 and the government’s response has been the defining event of 2020. Very little else has moved the polls, with the possible exception of Trump’s first debate performance. Much of that change has proved temporary. Extraordinary early voting has been another defining event.
Biden has a high bar: https://www.axios.com/biden-high-bar-coronavirus-america-divisions-dd685f48-8338-4a81-b48d-d54318942564.html . Biden will definitely control the coronavirus, as his presidency will last 4 years. Mass vaccination is likely to commence around August 2021. The virus will remain embedded in the population, but the pandemic will pass. Back to normal will be a “new normal”, but ultimately vaccines will be sufficiently effective that the remaining risk will be very heavily on the unvaccinated. I completely agree with David Axelrod that the narrative is critically important to Biden’s level of success.