From Worldometer (new COVID-19 deaths yesterday):
DAY USA WORLD Brazil India South Africa
2020
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
2021
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
2022
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 6 316 1627 335 35 12
Aug 4 311 2138 258 70 ?
Sep 1 272 1732 174 ? ?
Oct 6 281 1305 119 9 ?
Nov 3 167 980 16 ? ?
25 88 985 71 3 ?
Dec 3 149 1029 131 3 ?
8 194 1320 104 6 86
15 147 1295 124 4 ?
22 289 1637 165 9 ?
28 296 1768 337 2 ?
Jan 4 346 1534 207 ? ?
Summary:
- Oh, oh, the USA showed more new deaths than since April, nine months ago.
- No question that these numbers above are not comparative anymore, but this pandemic is hanging around, especially when you insert the world hotspot today, China, which does not report much. Well, there were numbers yesterday with 7,689 new cases and 5 new deaths. But how accurate are they?
A new covid danger looms. We've been waiting for China to send this next pandemic virus. Turns out that, indeed, another Omicron offshoot, XBB.1.5, might drive the new wave. Guess what? This subvariant is coming from the USA. XBB.1.5 in the U.S.:
- Was first detected in New York and Connecticut in late October.
- Is a recombinant of two different BA.2 sublineages that fueled rises in parts of Asia, including Singapore. So, maybe, blame them, not us.
- Is already in 29 countries, and no doubt more.
- Is said to have a growth rate similar to distant cousin BA.5.
- Has more than doubled it's share for the past four weeks, rising from 4% to 41% in December, dropping BA.5 to only 3.7%.
- In the Northeast, is causing 75% of new cases.
- This partly explains that table above.
- XBB.1.5 is also in Canada, and is already popularly known as the Kraken strain. The media has a way of making things look worse than they are with scary terms. The kraken is a legendary sea monster of enormous size said to appear off the coasts of Norway.
- White House COVID-19 coordinator Ashish Jha said that XBB.1.5 is likely more immune evasive than other omicron variants, meaning more contagious. Still not know if the latest Omicron booster can handle kraken. He did say, however:
“If you had an infection before July OR your last vaccine was before bivalent update in September your protection against XBB.1.5 infection is probably not that great,” he wrote. “We will soon have more data on how well vaccines neutralize XBB.1.5.”
- New cases rose from the week before to 1316, hospitalizations from 60 to 81.
- Positivity increased to 7.9% from 7.1%.
- The bivalent booster uptake in Hawaii, though better than the U.S. overall, is only at a quarter of the state's eligible population. Well, actually only 23.4%. Why aren't more rushing to get inoculated?
- We've suffered 1765 deaths, a mortality rate of 1261 deaths/million population. The world average is 838, while the USA stands at 3343. Interesting to note that we have a mortality rate half the USA average, but double that of the world. Want to blame inaccurate reporting rather than reality?
I can go on and on about long covid, China and Kevin McCarthy, but I'll save him for tomorrow. He has now lost nine ballots in a row (which ties the stalemate of 1923), and going nowhere.
If you haven't yet, you'll someday come to a conclusion that your personal health is more important than almost anything else. Maybe I should have picked a more credible individual, so here is Lee Strasberg. Oh, he's an entertainer. Well, Dr. T.P. Chia was nominated for the Nobel Prize.
I've recently been harping on the importance of sleep to control your weight. The other end of this scale is that not enough sleep can be, in the long term, deadly.
- At the top was weight-loss shots. I'll treat this subject at the end of this posting.
- A practice called quiet quitting was shared a lot on social media. The term refers to doing the bare minimum at work, rather than going above and beyond. What a terrible attitude, and worse, experts say going into this mode at work elevates the risk of burnout, stress and anxiety. A better solution? Find a job that can be more energizing to better use your skills, talents and passion.
TikTok users are bombarded with mental-health content.- #autism has had more than 15 billion views.
- Videos about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which begins as a child and continues into adulthood. 2 billion views.
#orderlinepersonalitydisorder hashtag has 190 million viewers.- A lot of misinformation is spread: People often use TikTok to find language to describe an experience they’re having but didn’t previously know how to express. While this can foster feelings of support and validation, self-diagnoses based on information shared by unqualified content creators won’t always be accurate.
The body-positivity movement aims to accept all, regardless of size, shape and ability.- Critics say body positivity has turned toxic.
- In 2023, aim to practice body neutrality.
- Instead of saying I love my body, shift to I accept my body as it is.
- I did not realize these feelings were prevalent last year.
Another TikTok entry showing 15 seconds of good eating. 14 billion times on this site. The problem, these videos promote unrealistic expectations. I don't watch TikTok so I don't know what they're saying. I think it has something to do with those showing off tending to be too perfect.
Maybe you can blame The Kardashians, for it showed Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber lounged on couches while hooked up to IVs pumping vitamins into their bloodstreams. Mind you, they're not cheap, typically a few hundred dollars per 30- to 60- minute session. They promise to deliver hangover recovery, mental clarity, dewy skin, boundless energy and a lot more. In a word...DON'T.- The dangers of immune-boosting products.
- Hydration powders and gummies are being taken.
- You can't boost your immune, and there is the danger of your immune system going haywire.
- Massage guns were all the rage in 2022.
- These small devices pummel your muscles, thus softening and smoothing stiff tissues to relieve soreness, to aid post-workout recovery.
- So what should you do instead Sleep, relax, hyration and good nutrition.
TIME had two more wellness trends to ditch:
Melatonin.- Americans are getting less sleep than before the pandemic, leading to more use of this over-the-counting sleep aid, which has not yet been well-studied.
- Perhaps used for special occasions, like traveling though different time zones, would be okay, but not every night.
- Weight-loss shots.
- Hot commodities in 2022 were Ozempic and Wegovy, two weight-loss injections to treat Type2 diabetes and obesity...even if those taking them didn't have those conditions.
They turn down appetite, and the average person loses about 15% of their body weight in 68 weeks.- But do you want these daily or weekly injections? When you stop, the weight generally comes back.
- Of course, you also need to follow-through with all those other lifestyle enhancing mechanisms, like exercise, nutrition and so on.
Then, side effects can be pancreatitis, low blood sugar, and kidney and gallbladder problems.- Interestingly enough, The Mayo Clinic generally supports these remedies, and says they work. But before you jump into them, read that article, and see your personal physician first.
What are the downsides to injections and those mysterious ingredients? Fear and pain for two. You need to do this 365 days/year, or, for Wegovy, 52 times/year. Costs as a third. Some medical plans do pay for this treatment. Without insurance, $1350 and more/month. However:
As a general rule, Medicare does not cover medicines that treat overweight or obesity, including Wegovy. however, certain Medigap and Medicare Advantage plans for retirees may provide this coverage. Contact Medicaid Check with your benefits administrator to learn more about your options. But, this site says it is.
Side effects: Mild gastrointestinal side effects are common when taking Wegovy. The other most common side effects include:
Serious side effects are rare, but still possible. If you experience any of the following, please seek emergency treatment:
- Ongoing pain that begins in the upper left or middle of the stomach but may spread to the back, with or without vomiting
- Rash or itching
- Swelling of the eyes, face, mouth, tongue, or throat
- Difficulty breathing or swallowing
- Decreased urination
- Swelling of legs, ankles, or feet
- Vision changes
- Fainting or dizziness
- Pain in upper stomach
- Yellowing of skin or eyes
- Fever
- Clay-colored stools
- Rapid heartbeat
Wegovy may not be right for everyone.
What about the others? Not much different.
So for many of you (36.5% of American adults are obese and another 32.5% are overweight!!!), it comes down to this: sleep one hour more/night...or, suffer through the above fate...find a less intrusive diet...or get fat. I like simple solutions, and this one is about the best I've stumbled across. Still working on World Peace and the Blue Revolution.
Sleeping together. Good way to end this posting.
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