US COVID deaths up 57%: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/live-updates/coronavirus/?id=81578912 . An average of 1,150 daily deaths equates to 420,000 deaths annually. This rate is essentially our average COVID deaths over the past 2 years. We are still in the throes of the pre-Omicron pandemic, as these deaths are entirely Delta.
Upper Midwest COVID hospitalizations nearly double: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/6-states-account-half-countrys-recent-covid-hospitalizations-rcna7776 . More on Michigan: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/07/health/michigan-covid-cases-hospitalizations/index.html .
Omicron detected in Sacramento in late November: https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article256408336.html .
Omicron detected in Houston: https://www.chron.com/coronavirus/article/COVID-19-Omicron-Houston-16681867.php .
The Omicron re-infection risk; myocarditis patients recover: https://www.aol.com/news/omicron-may-raise-infection-risk-205441629-142355724.html . We continue to learn more about COVID each day.
GlaxoSmithKline says its antibody drug is effective against Omicron: https://fortune.com/2021/12/07/gsk-covid-antibody-effective-against-omicron-pfizer-merck-gilead-eli-lilly-antibody-antiviral-treatments/ . The article covers a variety of other COVID drugs and their effectiveness against Omicron. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/glaxo-says-its-covid-19-antibody-drug-works-against-omicron-11638897599 .
Pfizer vaccine only partially protects against Omicron: https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2021-12-07/pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-partially-protective-against-omicron-bloomberg-news . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/omicron-expected-to-be-dominant-strain-in-parts-of-europe-within-weeks-11638889781 .
WSJ: Omicron sends some office parties to Zoom: https://www.wsj.com/articles/office-holiday-parties-were-coming-back-then-the-omicron-variant-showed-up-11638891526 .
Another non-expert doctor seeks his 15 seconds of fame: https://money.yahoo.com/coronavirus-variants-emerge-vaccination-rates-doctor-160422826.html . This is not bad for someone who has no more information than reading the newspaper, but there is a big red flag in here. Until we reach some new era of medical technology, the COVID virus will always be with us. And we are not going to reach a level of vaccination in the US that will stop COVID.
The big picture of the future is becoming clearer. We are now dividing as a global society into two camps: those who are sufficiently educated to critically analyze scientific (and other) information, and those who do not have that ability. The first group is able to effectively engage with their doctors and medical knowledge; the second is not. This isn’t a spectrum; increasingly, it’s a dividing line. And much of this is life and death.
With COVID, ultimately it will be get vaccinated or get COVID. Now, 99% of the COVID patients will recover, although perhaps with long COVID. But the long-term path of COVID will be more of a problem in the societies with the greatest percentage of unvaccinated people. Many other countries have higher vaccination percentages than the US, and we are likely to continue to slip down the list.
Thousands in military remain unvaccinated: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/military-service-members-miss-covid-vaccination-deadlines-rcna7785 . However, all of the branches are above 95% vaccination as of December 2.
WSJ: Half of Americans back vaccine mandate: https://www.wsj.com/articles/wsj-poll-biden-covid-19-vaccine-11638899917 . But the mandate suffers another court setback: https://www.wsj.com/articles/judge-blocks-biden-administration-vaccine-mandate-for-federal-contractors-11638911477 .
Major outage at Amazon hampers many businesses: https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-amazoncom-inc-web-services-e-commerce-121b3bccaac0b546a18235bd9c4e4c80 . While the outage may be traceable to the East Coast, it certainly affected me in Oregon. More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/amazon-says-it-resolved-network-device-issue-that-caused-outage/ar-AARAiqa?li=BBnb7Kz . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-web-services-appears-to-be-down-for-many-users-11638898270 .
Huge vaccine loss in Nigeria: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-12-07/exclusive-up-to-1-million-covid-vaccines-wasted-in-nigeria-last-month . As we have been reporting, distribution remains a major problem in many less developed countries. WHO needs to align its strategies with reality. Specifically, it needs to focus on getting shots in arms.
Debt limit deal reached: https://apnews.com/article/business-janet-yellen-congress-2044ae1969a650b0400916dfca758f1d . This political positioning is an incredible waste of time and energy. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/lawmakers-close-in-on-debt-ceiling-deal-11638901052 .
Meadows reverses course, won’t cooperate with January 6 select committee: https://apnews.com/c3968697e8ba30f28df07e7ea895a79f . Again, the executive privilege claimed by Orange Julius is ridiculous. As a federal judge has already ruled, “Presidents are not kings, and (Orange Julius) is not President.” Meadows is just trying to run out the clock. I expect another referral to DOJ for enforcement of a (coming) contempt citation. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/mark-meadows-faces-new-contempt-threat-after-halting-cooperation-with-jan-6-panel-11638913909 .
However, Pence’s former chief of staff is cooperating with the committee: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-capitol-siege-subpoenas-457fdd68ff0c10a31c9306b3b0e0657c .
GOP Senator Susan Collins supports codifying Roe v Wade: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/gop-sen-susan-collins-supports-codifying-roe-v-wade-abortion-n1285202 . I read this as trying to undo the damage she caused herself by supporting the Kavanaugh nomination. Codification isn’t going anywhere in the Senate. But it does send a little message to the Supreme Court.
Musk supports raising birthrate: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/elon-musk-says-there-arent-enough-people-birthrate-could-threaten-human-civilization/ar-AARz2lM?li=BBnb7Kz . Elon Musk is entitled to his opinion. In this case, it is astonishingly ignorant. We need to maximize the potential of the children already in the world before mindlessly adding more.
WSJ: Evergrande defaults on offshore debt: https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-evergrande-heads-toward-default-as-it-misses-payment-deadline-11638879732 . This is another major step toward bankruptcy. China’s growth rate will likely suffer significantly in 2022 as other real estate sector companies falter.
Background on Russia’s designs on Ukraine: https://apnews.com/article/europe-russia-ukraine-vladimir-putin-moscow-1170930d07c3b41d227dbf44b062aa26 . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-ukraine-border-what-to-know-11638874853 .