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COVID – week 75 – August 16 – August 22

Weekend – Still huge numbers of cases in the UK; >30k per day. Graph from The Guardian.

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Locally – over two weeks of >3000 cases; hospitals are filling. The death rate is still relatively stable.

Good write up from The Seattle Times on “ZIP code hesitancy” – echoes previous notes here.

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Friday – After last years UV light, bleach and then hydroxychloroquine; now we hear of Ivermectin (used to control stock parasites) being taken. 70% of recent calls to the Mississippi Poison Control Center are regarding Ivermectin poisoning.

Thursday – Local hospitals are full; mainly with younger, non vaccinated patients. From Portland, OR where there is a city-wide ambulance triage and rotation in place.

Wednesday – Delta variant is spreading in NSW, Australia; case numbers are low – but after 18 months of strict border control and late vaccinations – there’s a real risk.

Tuesday – UK numbers are still high. NZ reports first case in months. Strong lockdown has high approval in NZ.

Monday – Florida, Texas – cases, mask mandates, politics, schools and full hospitals.

This time last year – news of vaccine trials, mutations, folk rushing back from vacation to avoid lockdown.

The Guardian The Seattle Times
16 Aug here here
17 Aug here here
18 Aug here here
19 Aug here here
20 Aug here here
21 Aug here here
22 Aug here

https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/coronavirus-live

https://www.seattletimes.com/tag/coronavirus/

COVID – week 74 – August 9 – August 15

Weekend – King County is exploding with new cases. Data from King County Health: Key indicators of COVID-19 activity – King County Incidence rates are about where they were in November, before the vaccines. The overwhelming majority of these cases are in unvaccinated people.

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There are areas (Mercer Island, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Kirkland, parts of Seattle) with vaccination completion at >90%. The majority of the county is at >70%. There are some very specific outliers in South King County and the more rural parts. There is strong evidence showing this is both via race/ethnicity; as well as political allegiance.

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Friday – Away from the PNW for a moment – and Delta driven cases are surging everywhere. UK, France, Japan, Thailand. The huge concern is a new variant being vaccine resistant; I’ve written about this for over a year. Lambda variant, first detected in Peru, looks to be of concern. Still flagged as a Variant of Interest; if not this one – then soon.

Thursday – Covid test results back – negative (phew!).

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Wednesday – There is a surge in Covid cases in King County – and there are no appointments to be had for days. Eventually went to the UW/Bellevue drive through testing without an appointment, and got tested. Very busy.

Tuesday – Notified by the WA Notify app that I was potentially exposed to Covid. Concerning because working from home, carefully masking when out, avoiding crowds – and still someone was within 6 feet/2m for >15 minutes; and tested positive.

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Monday – Delta surge, back to school and already we have children sick and dying in the US. Delta related cases and deaths soar across the globe – Philippines, Iran, Europe. IPCC report on Climate Change bumps Covid from the headlines.

This time last year – UK quarantine chaos (nothing changes), work from home “for at least six months”.

The Guardian The Seattle Times
9 Aug here here
10 Aug here here
11 Aug here here
12 Aug here here
13 Aug here here
14 Aug here here
15 Aug here

https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/coronavirus-live

https://www.seattletimes.com/tag/coronavirus/

COVID – week 73 – August 2 – August 8

Weekend- large rush for Covid tests reported in WA; and the cases are really skyrocketing. Push to vaccinate Latino population across Washington. More and more anti-vaccine, Covid-hoaxers are dying.

Friday – Amazon pushes any return to office to January 2022. That’s almost two years! Long list of Seattle area bars/restaurants now requiring vaccination or negative test.

Thursday – UK cases are back at 30k/day. France looks to be approving a nation wide vaccination passport.

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Wednesday – “visitors to the US may require vaccination”

Tuesday – multiple Seattle areas companies – including Microsoft – will require vaccination for return to office.

Monday – 70% of US Adults have now received 1 or more vaccines. There is a rush for both testing and for vaccinations as Delta hits hard in the US South

This time last year – all over by “early summer [of 2020] changes to early 2021”.

The Guardian The Seattle Times
2 Aug here here
3 Aug here here
4 Aug here here
5 Aug here here
6 Aug here here
7 Aug here here
8 Aug here

https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/coronavirus-live

https://www.seattletimes.com/tag/coronavirus/

COVID – week 72 – July 26 – August 1

Weekend – The Seattle Times seems to be cutting back on daily updates; the graphic (below) is now updated a few times per week; and for the second week no Sunday summaries. Here in Seattle bars and restaurants are starting to self-impose “vaccination required” to enter. Florida and Texas continue to see record cases. Fauci warns “things will get worse”.

Friday – this seems very similar to last summer; except that the new outbreaks and deaths are all in the non-vaccinated parts of the country.

Thursday – US Eviction ban ends this weekend. 6.4M Americans are late on rent payments.

Wednesday – Tokyo cases at all time high. Olympic Games still progressing with few new cases. Israel approves Pfizer vaccine for some children 5-11. Mask mandates returning across the US.

Tuesday – much discussion of State and Federal worker mandated vaccination.

Monday – UK cases from Delta variant; look to be a sharp peak; rapid rise, rapid fall.

This time last year – after five months the rhythm of daily updates was set. US cases flattening. Initial fiscal impact of COVID >$320BN.

The Guardian The Seattle Times
26 Jul here here
27 Jul here here
28 Jul here here
29 Jul here here
30 Jul here here
31 Jul here here
1 Aug here

https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/coronavirus-live

https://www.seattletimes.com/tag/coronavirus/

COVID – week 71 – July 19 – July 25

Weekend – more discussion on a booster or top up for vaccines. Who needs it; when it needs to be given.

Weekly from The Seattle Times; concerning jump in positive cases.

Starting on Tuesday, July 27, we are reducing the number of days per week that we publish the chart tracking COVID-19 vaccination rates, coronavirus cases and deaths in Washington state. We will publish the chart on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. We’re reducing its publication as day-to-day numbers have become relatively consistent. As the spread of the coronavirus changes, we may bring back some removed metrics, or add others, as we find the best balance of information for our readers.

Friday – NSW, Australia in the midst of Delta Variant wave. AP – most unvaccinated American’s won’t take a vaccine. Clearly politicised.

Thursday – “half of European adults” have had vaccine. “Pandemic of the unvaccinated

Wednesday – Fauci calls BS.

Tuesday – Tokyo Olympics running into repeated positive tests, confusion and athlete frustrations. Delayed by a year – maybe this should have been cancelled? Italian blood sample review shows possible Covid-like antibodies from before December 2019.

Monday – “Freedom Day” in the UK. More new UK cases than vaccinations. Lots of concern about hospital intake and of course new variants.

This time last year – more schools moving to online only for September school year. US at >1000 daily deaths. Vaccine positive news.

The Guardian The Seattle Times
19 Jul here here
20 Jul here here
21 Jul here here
22 Jul here here
23 Jul here here
24 Jul here here
25 Jul here

https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/coronavirus-live

https://www.seattletimes.com/tag/coronavirus/