Somber US COVID New Year: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/us-rings-new-year-covid-surge-scaled-back-celebrations-travel-woes-rcna10541 . WSJ: The same is mostly true globally: https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-years-eve-2021-covid-omicron-11640899751 .
US daily COVID cases near 500,000: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-cases-hit-record-high-us/ . That’s one for every Tesla recalled this week.
US exceeds 2 million COVID cases in one week for the first time ever: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-surpasses-2m-cases-in-one-week-for-first-time-during-pandemic-south-africa-study-finds-omicron-less-severe-latest-covid-19-updates/ar-AASj7Q5 . More: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/31/health/us-coronavirus-friday/index.html . With 62% of the US vaccinated but only 1/3 of those boosted, 80% of our population is less than fully protected.
At-home COVID tests: they’re quick, but not necessarily accurate: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-infectious-diseases-anthony-fauci-740278fd2c16925e6707d5a7a58e4ad3 . Doctors generally recommend you believe a positive, but be somewhat more circumspect if your result is a negative. In terms of public safety, that recommendation makes sense regardless of the test’s accuracy.
WSJ: Omicron stresses urgent care centers: https://www.wsj.com/articles/omicron-pushes-short-staffed-urgent-care-centers-to-the-brink-11640925930 .
California adopts CDC shorter isolation guidance for COVID exposure, but only with a negative test: https://www.capradio.org/articles/2021/12/31/california-coronavirus-updates-december-2021/ .
Duke University extends remote learning: https://coronavirus.duke.edu/2021/12/dec-31-update-to-plans-for-start-of-spring-semester/ .
Flight cancellations are still with us: https://apnews.com/article/flights-canceled-coronavirus-weather-640d9bf645e9d070870ccc0e4fe7c061 .
Almost 7% of London’s population had COVID last week: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/31/one-in-25-people-in-england-had-covid-last-week . Things are likely to be rough in the US for the next month. That does not mean COVID just disappears February 1.
WSJ: We deliver another nothing-burger on the future of pandemic: https://www.wsj.com/articles/will-covid-19-become-endemic-11636222687 . This article could have been a lot shorter and clearer. No, the COVID pandemic will not last forever; a pandemic never has. No, COVID won’t be eliminated from the human population with current technology. Only smallpox has, and it does not appear in other species of animals. Yes, COVID will become endemic, because that’s the only other choice besides permanent pandemic and elimination.
WSJ: Judicial ethics: https://www.wsj.com/articles/chief-justice-john-roberts-pledges-to-bolster-judicial-ethics-11640991604 . Gag me with a spoon. It’s just a lie to say that judges do not understand conflict of interest. They simply chose to not adhere to the standards. Roberts knows that.
Austrian police investigate vaccination card fraud: https://www.euronews.com/2021/12/31/austrian-police-investigate-fraud-at-vienna-covid-vaccination-centre .
WSJ: Evergrande takes another step to unwind its debts: https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-evergrande-revises-payment-plan-for-wealth-management-products-11640952156 .
Betty White passes three weeks short of 100: https://www.yahoo.com/now/betty-white-dies-at-99-golden-girls-star-200312960.html . What a legacy to leave – “basic decency”. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/betty-whites-seven-decades-on-tv-from-happy-homemaker-to-snl-host-11640985574 . Still more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/betty-white-golden-girls-star-actor-comedian-11640980678 .
Happy 2022! Regardless of the COVID news, there is a way forward. Here are a few statistics on this newsletter. We have published for 550 straight days and counting. As of today, the newsletters in total contain 15,823 links to news articles. These links are policed daily, with broken links replaced with another source from that same (original) day if possible. Hundreds of links have been replaced in this manner, and the newsletters in the archive are annotated to note the date of any replacement. Thank you for your readership – that’s what keeps me going.