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COVID – week 88 – November 15 – November 21

Weekend – quite a miserable weekend of news. Bright spots in the local trends, and behaviours (masking, vaccinations, high rates of vaccination).

Friday – looking ahead just a few months, when the calendar rolls around again and into the third year of the pandemic. What to do? Continue daily updates? It certainly seems that after 20 months the pattern is: vaccinations, mandates, protests, cases and lockdowns.

Thursday – continuing the theme. Restrictions on the unvaccinated (Europe, some of the US), bans on vaccination mandates and testing (some of the US). Maddening.

Wednesday – it has been a while since looking at the JHU dashboard; this was go-to-reading at the start of the pandemic. Clear

Global cases show a clear fourth wave building.

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Tuesday – in Europe, more cases, more lockdown, more restrictions on the non-vaccinated. In the US – law suits against all of these.

Monday – heading towards Thanksgiving and the holiday season. King County has >76% vaccinated; close, but still breakout cases.

This time last year – the leap in local, positive cases. 20% positive test rates. Huge pre-Thanksgiving test lines.

Monday (16 Nov 2020) – talking with friends about the last 36 weeks about “lockdown”: no school (all from home), no work (all from home), seen friends twice (socially distanced, wearing masks, outside), been outside the town a handful of times (to collect flour and visit Orcas Island for some isolated time away). This has not been normal, it’s not been with people. Our bubble of four has has had near zero contact with anyone else.

The Guardian The Seattle Times
15 Nov here here
16 Nov here here
17 Nov here here
18 Nov here here
19 Nov here here
20 Nov here here
21 Nov here

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

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

COVID – week 87 – November 8 – November 14

Weekend – vaccine mandates are on, off, on again – with court cases across the US and Europe. Meanwhile CDC moves away from getting to herd immunity – meaning breakouts, variants and Covid becoming an endemic disease.

Weekly update from The Seattle Times.

Friday –

Thursday – case numbers plateauing in Washington State; rising elsewhere in the US again. Austria discusses “lockdown for the non vaccinated”, The Netherlands warns of new lockdowns. Continued legal challenges against vaccine mandates for staff.

Wednesday – the roll call of cases and deaths continues across Europe and Russia.

Tuesday – US Government (via the NIH) and Moderna arguing around patents.

Monday – this week I’ll get a booster, as will the eldest child. Moderna for both – so Pfizer-Pfizer-Moderna. International travel restrictions into the US start being lifted.

This time last year – post election, lots of new cases, folk urged not to travel for Thanksgiving. 1M new cases in the US per week.

The Guardian The Seattle Times
8 Nov here here
9 Nov here here
10 Nov here here
11 Nov here here
12 Nov here here
13 Nov here here
14 Nov here

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

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

COVID – week 82 – October 4 – October 10

Weekend – we’ve been out a few times in the last month – and every time it’s been to vaccination required, masks required venues. Bands, movies, sports. This is going to become the new normal; and it’s been made easier with the higher vaccination rates in the Seattle area.

In Washington State, positive cases are declining. In King County >80% adults and around 70% of all residents are fully vaccinated.

Friday – Good numbers coming from US CDC about vaccination numbers – but it’s still very skewed.

Thursday – flu shot. Good line of folk getting first, second or booster Covid vaccines.

Wednesday – flu shot booked for tomorrow, reported shortages.

Tuesday – UK still at >30k cases per day, 100k kids off school.

Monday – Russia urging vaccinations. Booster shots live in the US.

This time last year – the beginning of the massive Covid ramp in the UK.

I wrote this week retrospectively; so shorter notes.

The Guardian The Seattle Times
4 Oct here here
5 Oct here here
6 Oct here here
7 Oct here here
8 Oct here here
9 Oct here here
10 Oct here


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

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

COVID – week 79 – September 13 – September 19

Weekend – 42 million COVID cases in the US, 1 million in the last week. Nowhere close to being out of this yet.

Weekly data from The Seattle Times. Cases at a plateau (and hopefully downward trend), deaths still climbing.

Friday – Washington cases may have peaked – above the rate of last winter.

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Thursday – “over 90% of young adults have antibodies” – did the last wave of Delta in the UK bring about enough for herd immunity?

Wednesday  – Covid deaths and cases in the US are at and above the levels of last winter. Healthcare crisis (and potential triage/rationing) in Idaho.

Tuesday – Pfizer looking for Emergency Use Approval for kids 5-12 and fast following 6 months – 5. That will certainly help with schools being a major vector for infection right now.

Monday – vaccine passports and vaccine mandates are starting to become required. This is the next round of politicisation of Covid.

This time last year – back to school, virus outbreaks, no vaccines “for a year”. BBC stopped doing daily updates

The Guardian The Seattle Times
13 Sep here here
14 Sep here here
15 Sep here here
16 Sep here here
17 Sep here here
18 Sep here here
19 Sep here

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

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

COVID – week 78 – September 6 – September 12

Weekend – deaths, protests, politics.

Seattle Times weekly status. Average case numbers seems to be stabilising at around 4300 cases per week – which is still higher than any point of the pandemic to date.

Friday – vaccine mandates announced in the US. Political firestorm follows.

Thursday – Microsoft “no return to office in foreseeable future, indefinitely delayed” – which seems to be the new normal with Delta cases across the State, US and world climbing still. Here in King County – cases per 100k population seems to have stabilised. Still too high by far.

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Data from King County Health Key indicators of COVID-19 activity – King County

Wednesday – those UK case numbers look dreadful. More cases in the last month than over the 2020 winter break.

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Tuesday – Chile approving Sinovac for over 6 year olds.

Monday – UK positive numbers are huge; big discussion on whether this will burn out quickly (October) or slowly (mid 2022). Mu detected variant across the US.

This time last year – vaccine trials, record cases in Europe. Rising cases in US.

The Guardian The Seattle Times
6 Sep here here
7 Sep here here
8 Sep here here
9 Sep here here
10 Sep here here
11 Sep here here
12 Sep here

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

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