THE VERY LATEST INFO ABOUT OUR PANDEMIC

            From Worldometer (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):

    DAY   USA  WORLD    Brazil    India    South Africa

June     9     1093     4732         1185        246       82

July    22      1205     7128         1293      1120     572

Aug    12      1504     6556        1242        835     130

Sept     9      1208      6222       1136       1168       82

Oct     21      1225      6849         571        703       85

Nov    25       2304    12025        620        518      118

Dec    30       3880    14748       1224       299      465

Jan     14       4142      15512        1151        189      712

Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398

Mar      2       1989     9490        1726       110      194

April     6        906    11787         4211       631       37

May     4        853     13667        3025      3786     59 

June    1        287    10637         2346      3205      95

 July    7         251      8440        1595        817      411

Aug     4         656    10120        1118        532      423 

Sept   22      2228      9326          839       279     124

Oct      6       2102      8255          543       315       59

Nov    3        1436      7830         186        458       23

Dec     1       1633      8475          266        477       28

Jan     7        2025      6729         148         285     140

Feb     2        2990   12012          946        991      175

Mar     2        1778     7756          335         173       28 

Apr     1         439      4056         290         52        12

May    5         225      2404        151            ?        64 

June    2        216      1413          130          10        31 

July    7         320       1958        297          38         9 

Aug   4         311        2138          258          70         ? 

         10        429       2400        254          53         ?

         11         290       1994         173          49         ?

        17          461       2502         246         72         ?

        18          264      1950         202           ?         ?

        24          369      2140         190          36        2

        25          245      1909         197          68        ?

        31          403      1989         115           37        ?

Summary:

• Pandemic not declining.
• USA led in most new deaths yesterday with 403.  Japan was #2 with 311 and Brazil #3 with 115.
• Japan continued to be #1 with 139,582 new cases yesterday.
• On August 29, the World Bank recorded 329,000 news cases, an all-time high.
• This number dropped to around 130,000, then today rose to 169,000 new cases.
• Since mid-August, the new deaths/day remained mostly between 200 and 300.  Averaging to 250, this is around 2 deaths/million.  The U.S. yesterday registered 1.2 deaths/million.
• South Korea was #2 in new cases with 103,919.  New deaths stood at 75, which is 1.5 new deaths/million.
• The USA was #3 in new cases with 71,334, or 213 new cases/million population.
• Japan  1111
• South Korea  2026.
• Note that the U.S. infection rate is thus around one-tenth that of South Korea.
• I add Hawaii with an average of 245 new cases/day, or 175 new cases/million, below the national average and much lower than Japan or South Korea.

If you are fully vaccinated and took all the recommended boosters, with the upgraded version to be signed off by the CDC on Friday, the mortality rate of COVID-19 should decline to about the same as the seasonal flu.  Your next concern will thus be something called long haul.  Here are some points made by Dr. Eric Topol of Scripps:

• The medical term is post-acute sequelae of SARS CoV-2 infection.
• He says that while there is uncertainty as to exactly what percentage of those infected actually become long haulers, reports are circulating indicating this potential can be anything from 5% to 40%.
• This bullet is mine, not Topol's, and segues into asymptomaticity, a different subject:
• Since the beginning of the pandemic, the general belief, and those of Dr. Fauci and the CDC, was that 35% of all COVID cases were asymptomatic.
• But not simply so, because 47% were children and 20% were elderly.
• Also, Fauci/CDC kept wavering between 25% and 45%.
• Using Worldometer data, 28% of Americans have so far contracted COVID.  However, the CDC speculates that 58% of Americans have been infected.  This places the asymptomatic rate at something closer to 70%.
• In other words, well into the third year of this pandemic, experts still cannot pin down the jja more accurate asymptomatic rate percentage.
• The reason why I inserted those bullets is that the understanding of long haul COVID also remains equally elusive.  Anyway, Topol goes on to say:
• 1 in 8 people (12.5%--remember, the current range is said to be 5% to 40%) who have had COVID-19 experienced prolonged symptoms over many months.
• This incidence drops to 6% if you are vaccinated.
• 1.25 million Americans showed increased risk of developing dementia, seizures and psychosis over two years.
• Similarly, there is increased risk of heart damage, diabetes and various organ damage.
• As a whole, more than10 million Americans have experienced the long haul.  This calculates to more than 3%.
• He doesn't provide an exact number, but he says that THE VAST MAJORITY of long COVID cases are those previously healthy in the age range of 30-50.  Says this is a big mystery as to why.  Also said that children generally don't get long COVID,
• Long haul symptoms include marked fatigue, exercise intolerance, difficulty in breathing, brain fog, muscle pain/weakness, chest pain, headaches, fast heart rate and light-headness.  THE NUMBER OF PROVEN THERAPIES IS ZERO.
• He thinks the cause is that a patient's immune response went haywire.  
• Measurements showed low cortisol in blood.  He went no further, so I add the following:  When you're under stress, your adrenal glands, which sit atop the kidneys, produce a hormone called cortisol, which helps your body respond to stress, immune response, etc.  Thus, something happened  to reduce cortisol formation.
• He says that further studies indicated that ACTH levels were also low, meaning that the problem was not with the adrenal gland, but brain disfunction.  Thus the use of steroids would not work, as has been attempted.
• That lightheadedness can cause fainting, especially when you try to stand after being in bed.  This probable cause is inflammation of the nervous system.
• In short, more than 25 different trials have been launched to identify drugs and supplements to ameliorate symptoms.
• Said that the solution is to get vaccinated and boosted.
• The best solution is to NOT GET COVID. 

Changing subjects, I wondered what percent of COVID deaths were the unvaccinated?  Couldn't find much, but a Washington state study showed that for those 65 and older, the unvaccinated died at 3.1 times the rate of the vaccinated.  I found this disappointing, as a year ago, I saw this headline from the University Georgia:

Staggering COVID-19 Statistic: 98% to 99% of Americans Dying are Unvaccinated

The state of Louisiana provided this above image.  If nothing else, this kind of statistic should convince people to get vaccinated and boosted.  

Early this year, the CDC said vaccination and boosting helps, but the BA.5 Omicron variant seemed to be reducing the effectiveness relative those unvaccinated.  Read this report and ding them for being medically obscure.  Not sure what they really said.

I've noticed that our local and national governments have shied away from scaring people to get vaccinated.  Maybe because that is morally un-American.  Perhaps because of information such as the immediate above.

I'll end with a HuffPost on:  How Quickly Can You Get Infected With Omicron After An Exposure.  In short:

• Incubation periods in days.
• Alpha  5.00
• Beta  4.50
• Delta  4.41
• Omicron  3.42
• A shorter incubation period means COVID can spread more easily.
• This timing difference could explain at least partly why so many are getting infected.
• Why Omicron is so contagious is that it has found a way to start the infection in the upper airway (nose/throat), compared t the lungs for earlier variants.

So much for how dangerous life is today.  Here is some humor from what people send me to use:

Well, Hinnamnor has returned to super-typhoon status today at 155 MPH, with its eye just south of Miyakojima and its current track between South Korea and Japan.  Other reports indicate Cheju Island will be in danger.

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