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COVID AND OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Using Worldometer data, the USA had 66,046 new cases during the past week.  This was 55% the World total of 119,320 cases.  This past week, however, saw a 48% drop in the U.S. from the previous full week. That 55% rate is far too high, as many countries, such as Japan and South Korea, don't report anymore, and I know from other sources that South Korea at more than 10,000 or so cases/week.

South Korea began to have covid outbreaks after most of its citizens were vaccinated.  Thus, their overall mortality rate is  only 0.1%.  Today it is still at 0.1%, twice that of the seasonal flu at  0.05%.  The USA overall is now at 1%.  However, in recent weeks, the mortality rate has dropped to 0.2%, or four times the flu mortality rate.
The USA during the 2021-2022 flu season had 9 million cases, or divided by 365 meant 25,000 flu cases/day.  Of course most people got sick during the colder months.  So let's double that to 50,000 cases/day.  We are beginning to enter the 2023-2024 flu season.   The daily U.S. covid new case rate is only 10,000/day, so there will be 5 times more flu cases than covid cases.  There will thus be more flu deaths than covid deaths this coming year in the U.S.  Meaning, get your annual flu shot!

By the way, the FDA, then the CDC, approved the latest covid vaccine a couple of weeks ago, which means that insurance plans will pay for what would otherwise cost you $200.  Want to save your life and also get paid $200?  Take that new covid vaccination!  In Hawaii, however, there has been a delay caused by local medical plans.  All signs point to a coming swift approval, but this hasn't happened yet.  15 Craigside usually brings in a pharmacy to do this here.  No announcement yet, and I am 5 weeks away from a long fall trip to Japan.

Also from Worldometer, during the past week, Germany had the most covid deaths, 222, compared to the USA at #2 with 190.  However, during the previous weekly period, the U.S. had 464 deaths.  So people are still dying of covid.

Finally from Worldometer, new cases in the last 7 days / million population:

  • #1      Bahrain  942
  • #2      Macao  888
  • #3      Lithuania  686
  • #4      New Zealand  541
  • #8      USA  197
  • #11    Canada  126
  • #14    Germany  97
  • #36    Thailand  3
From WHO, most covid cases:
  • #1      USA  103,436,829
  • #2      China  99,238,850
  • #3      India  44,997,710
  • #4      France  38,997,490
  • #5      Germany  38,437,756
  • #6      Brazil  37,717,062
  • #7      S. Korea  34,571,873
  • #8      Japan  33,803,572
  • #9      Italy  25,977,012
  • #10    UK  24,704,113
The point of showing the above is that COVID-19 is still around.  In fact, it was just announced that the U.S. government will resume offering free at-home COVID tests again.  Go to COVIDTests.gov starting September 25 to order up to four free tests/household.  Once you get it, the kit has a shelf life of only 4-6 months, so all the old ones you previously had are now out of date.  I checked all of mine.  Must have more than a dozen.  They are all seriously expired, a few going back to 2021.  Manufacturers all announce extended expiration dates, but good luck trying to find them.

I live in a senior's community, and our clinic gives free tests, but they generally also take a second PCR test that takes 2 or more days to get the result, depending on weekends.  Even if the quick antigen test is negative, they could quarantine me in my apartment until the PCR results become available.  I once waited five days because Monday was Labor Day.  

Thankfully, I'm among the two-thirds of Americans who have not yet been covid-infected.  

  • Worldwide, only 10% have been bitten by the covid virus.  Why is the USA so high:  33% vs 10%? My guess is that many countries did not accurately count their covid cases.
  • Back on 12April2022, statistical analysis of the world published by The Lancet indicated that nearly 44% of the world's population were infected at least once.  That article further sugggested that portions of the sub-Saharan Africa region had an infection rate of 79.3%.  Western Europe as at 48.9%.  USA/Canada at 30.9%, which is the only one that coincides with the Worldometer data.
  • That's one problem with this pandemic.  Some countries purposefully concealed these data, and some others had no reliable reporting system.
I've always been intrigued as to what the asymptomatic rate was, that is, those who got COVID, but showed very little or no symptoms, and thus went on to innocently infect others.  
  • Very early studies ranged from 4% to 75%.  What a range, but read this article for details.  
  • In September of 2020, Anthony Fauci guessed a range of 40-45% asymptomatic.
  • Even into March of 2021, this range was 1.4% to 78.3%.  Remember, mass vaccinations started from December of 2020.
  • Then in August of 2021, this percentage seemed to settle at 35%. 
  • In April 2022, China reported that 70% of covid cases had no symptoms in Shanghai.  Said to be because of comprehensive vaccinations, existing immunity and early detection.
  • Shanghai and other location in China seemed to say that the asymptomatic rate was north of 90% later in 2022.
  • In March of 2023, 38 studies were included in a meta-analysis, and indicated that the asymptomatic rate was 44.1%.  But this percentage averaged the overall rate from day one into the Spring of 2023.
  • With all those vaccinations and so many already recovering from covid infections, the asymptomatic rate today must be very high.  Perhaps more than 75%.  Maybe even 95%???  But I can't find a reliable source providing any number.
I've long thought that Governor Ron DeSantis was an idiot.  Well, maybe others do too.  He currently sits in 5th place to become the Republican nominee in New Hampshire.  As you know, this state follows the first, Iowa.  He is in fourth place in South Carolina and second in Iowa.  However, Trump is at 50%, while DeSantis is at only 14%.  Remarked a Trump supporter, the strategy of his campaign of not having to win any state is coming to fruition.

From all reports, Vivek Ramaswamy's efforts are helping his cause.  I think he is just a younger idiot, with seriously flawed views on most things.  Can you imagine, though, a 38-year old against old Joe Biden at 80?  Scary thought if Biden suddenly gets seriously ill, or worse.

Say you're a female in an outhouse bathroom at Dixon Lake, Michigan, and you drop your Apple Watch below you.  What do you do?  She got rescued, but the police in that village cautions other not to climb inside of toilets.

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