10 thoughts on “C-19 Chat Post – November 27 2020”
You may recall I wrote about the fact that we’re now at a pace of infections that may have us reach herd immunity before vaccine rollout, or at least widespread rollout. Well, a recent government report confirms that the number of infections is at least 8 times the number of confirmed cases. With the recent acceleration of cases, as a nation we may be at 150 million by the time emergency use authorization is granted to one or more vaccines. Both require 2 doses, separated by several weeks. This means that we may be at 200 million infections by the time even the limited subset of people who get emergency access are truly vaccinated. Well, >200 million infections takes us into herd immunity territory.
Does this mean that herd immunity here in the U.S. will be an “unintended” success compared to Sweden?
The numbers, coupled with the rapidly rising case numbers and yet unknown consequences of the post covid syndrome – I really think last week’s 60 minutes on long haulers should be required viewing by all Americans – leaves me honestly almost paralyzed with fear.
This country – and specifically our health care system and our insurance industry – is not equipped to handle either the short term medical crisis we are in the middle of nor the long term fallout should covid turn out to be another 9/11 post event health crisis.
Honestly I am shaking my head because in 1998 I did my college thesis on a comparison of the US and Canadian health care systems and why ours needed to be fixed immediately but it must start from a movement away from the “myth” of socialized medicine – almost 25 years later here we are – the chickens are coming home to roost.
And of course there’s our third world economic situation as well – millions facing food insecurity while simultaneously the dow past an all time high.
Amazing what decades of paralysis capped with 4 years of corruption can do – and how important elections really are – only 4 years later I’m not certain the US will ever fully recover from what we have done to ourselves. Time will tell but from what I cam see we are not in a good place at all right now.
I totally agree with your analysis. Health care in this country has been ignored far too long now.
I read this three times. A great but worrisome post. How are we not understanding this? Thank you, mama.
Mama Mia, good post. Thank you. We’re witnessing right now the effect of a herd immunity approach. Not everywhere in the U.S., but certainly in many states.
Philip, we’ve been less successful than Sweden. While its death rate is high, ours has been much higher. And, when all is said and done, ours will be the worst in the industrialized world.
As I’ve said before, Sweden has had and still has what it calls a “virtual lockdown.” While masks play an insignificant role in Sweden’s mitigation strategy, physical distancing, gathering size limits, and strict indoor capacity restrictions, do. Sweden would have never allowed indoor rallies of any kind to happen. Even outdoor rallies or demonstrations, in which distancing and gathering size limits are not complied with, are banned. The country’s messaging on the need to avoid non-essential activities is daily, repetitive, and consistent.
Among the many “fake news” messages floating around the ether and media has been praise for Sweden’s so-called “laissez-faire” approach. While it is more relaxed than many European countries, it is not laissez-faire. It is not “let’s go for herd immunity.” In sum, it is not the U.S. approach in many states AND the one taken by our executive branch.
Yep….my swedish friend who has majority of her family in Sweden has said the same thing all along. As you know, I’ve been irritated by the misinformation in our media
That is 482 in one week and DESE is not reporting all. I had….as I said for a bit…been ok with in person as long as it is safe for kids and teachers and staff. How can this be considered safe? 482 kids and all ages. We have a minimum of 11 …I lost count….in Sutton and they range from our early learning center to high school.
C-19 for 11-28 is ready.
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You may recall I wrote about the fact that we’re now at a pace of infections that may have us reach herd immunity before vaccine rollout, or at least widespread rollout. Well, a recent government report confirms that the number of infections is at least 8 times the number of confirmed cases. With the recent acceleration of cases, as a nation we may be at 150 million by the time emergency use authorization is granted to one or more vaccines. Both require 2 doses, separated by several weeks. This means that we may be at 200 million infections by the time even the limited subset of people who get emergency access are truly vaccinated. Well, >200 million infections takes us into herd immunity territory.
https://twitter.com/NPR/status/1332304838437244928
Does this mean that herd immunity here in the U.S. will be an “unintended” success compared to Sweden?
The numbers, coupled with the rapidly rising case numbers and yet unknown consequences of the post covid syndrome – I really think last week’s 60 minutes on long haulers should be required viewing by all Americans – leaves me honestly almost paralyzed with fear.
This country – and specifically our health care system and our insurance industry – is not equipped to handle either the short term medical crisis we are in the middle of nor the long term fallout should covid turn out to be another 9/11 post event health crisis.
Honestly I am shaking my head because in 1998 I did my college thesis on a comparison of the US and Canadian health care systems and why ours needed to be fixed immediately but it must start from a movement away from the “myth” of socialized medicine – almost 25 years later here we are – the chickens are coming home to roost.
And of course there’s our third world economic situation as well – millions facing food insecurity while simultaneously the dow past an all time high.
Amazing what decades of paralysis capped with 4 years of corruption can do – and how important elections really are – only 4 years later I’m not certain the US will ever fully recover from what we have done to ourselves. Time will tell but from what I cam see we are not in a good place at all right now.
I totally agree with your analysis. Health care in this country has been ignored far too long now.
I read this three times. A great but worrisome post. How are we not understanding this? Thank you, mama.
Mama Mia, good post. Thank you. We’re witnessing right now the effect of a herd immunity approach. Not everywhere in the U.S., but certainly in many states.
Philip, we’ve been less successful than Sweden. While its death rate is high, ours has been much higher. And, when all is said and done, ours will be the worst in the industrialized world.
As I’ve said before, Sweden has had and still has what it calls a “virtual lockdown.” While masks play an insignificant role in Sweden’s mitigation strategy, physical distancing, gathering size limits, and strict indoor capacity restrictions, do. Sweden would have never allowed indoor rallies of any kind to happen. Even outdoor rallies or demonstrations, in which distancing and gathering size limits are not complied with, are banned. The country’s messaging on the need to avoid non-essential activities is daily, repetitive, and consistent.
Among the many “fake news” messages floating around the ether and media has been praise for Sweden’s so-called “laissez-faire” approach. While it is more relaxed than many European countries, it is not laissez-faire. It is not “let’s go for herd immunity.” In sum, it is not the U.S. approach in many states AND the one taken by our executive branch.
Yep….my swedish friend who has majority of her family in Sweden has said the same thing all along. As you know, I’ve been irritated by the misinformation in our media
https://www.google.com/amp/s/boston.cbslocal.com/2020/11/27/massachusetts-schools-coronavirus-covid-19-positive-tests-students-staff-november-19-25/amp/
Last week.
That is 482 in one week and DESE is not reporting all. I had….as I said for a bit…been ok with in person as long as it is safe for kids and teachers and staff. How can this be considered safe? 482 kids and all ages. We have a minimum of 11 …I lost count….in Sutton and they range from our early learning center to high school.
C-19 for 11-28 is ready.