The World is nearing 700 million covid cases and 7 million deaths, a mortality rate of 1%. The highest number of daily deaths occurred on 21January2021 with 17,000. Deaths dropped to 109 two days ago. Yesterday the world had 225,694 new cases, with South Korea alone suffering from 164,461.  The USA was #2 with 16,332 new cases. The mortality rate this past week for the World was 0.4%. S. Korea 0.02% USA  0.5% Thus you can see that the mortality rate has dropped quite a bit for the World and U.S., probably because of vaccinations and other treatments. But why is S. Korea's mortality rate today 25 times lower than the USA?  Looking at the mortality data from the beginning, S. Korea's rate is "only" 10 times lower. World  1% USA  1% S. Korea  0.1% How does the covid mortality rate compare to the seasonal flu? From the  World Health Organization : Influenza remains one of the world’s greatest public health challenges. Every year across the globe, there are an estimated 1

President Joe Biden tested negative for COVID-19.  The four shots and Paxlovid worked well. Authorities don't know how best to  de-stigmatize Monkeypox , but: The global   monkeypox outbreak   appears to mostly affect men who have sex with other men.   A study published   in the   New England Journal of Medicine   found that 98% of people diagnosed with the virus between April and June in more than a dozen countries identify as gay or bisexual men, and   the WHO says   that 99% of U.S. cases are related to male-to-male sexual contact. Maybe the best policy is to just focus on this community. As of a week ago there were  14,000 cases and only 5 deaths.   While in the past  monkeypox  had a 5% mortality rate, the strain that is currently dominating has a much lower death rate, similar to COVID-19 before vaccinations.  There is a vaccine, and if given within four days of exposure, protects about 85% of the time.  There are also antivirals and immunoglobulins to treat the disease. The

Again, no Trump nor COVID-19, but I should comment on the Georgia Senate runoffs, with voting day being a week away on January 5.   About a third of the voters  have cast early ballots, similar to the general election.  Voters so far in Georgia   are 55 percent non-Hispanic white, 32 percent non-Hispanic Black and 13 percent of other races ( or of unknown race ) .   My early viewpoint was that both Republicans would win, and the betting odds then favored them.  Today, still the same, although there has been a small trend in the Democratic direction.  Still, the two Republicans ( with David Perdue even more so ) remain solid favorites in the -150 to +150 range, meaning 60% chance for the Republican candidate and 40% for Democrat candidate. Here are some of the latest odds from bookmakers across the globe, as betting on elections is not allowed within the United States at legal wagering outlets. There is an exception domestically for sites such as   PredictIt , which are exempted by the