In "Recommended Reading," a paper revealing that the post-pandemic "teacher shortage crisis," which is so often asserted as fact, doesn't actually show in the data. So what is it? A union talking point, more panic-mongering -- or just another case of labor market statistics in the age of COVID that make no sense at all?
Covid-2019
Covid-2019
Monday, August 29, 2022
Today we introduce a new daily feature on page 3: the Monkeypox contextualizer. Any time you see something in the media trying to get you spun up about the new Monkeypox pandemic, consult this page for comforting context. At the comparable point, 106 days from the first cases, COVID cases were 93 times today's Monkeypox cases.
Covid-2019
Sunday, August 28, 2022
In "Recommended Reading," Alex Berenson reports that highly vaxxed, highly masked and highly locked-down Hawaii is committing to buy only a tiny stockpile of the new variant-specific shots (even there, nobody wants any more shots, apparently. Also, a heartbreaking story from the frontlines of the other epidemic from China -- Fentanyl.
Covid-2019
Saturday, August 27, 2022
In "Recommended Reading," here's a weird one: left-leaning quant Nate Silver (who predicts the outcomes of baseball games and elections) is ventilating his belief that the initial release of Covid vaccines was deliberately delayed till after the 2020 election in order to hurt Trump. If we've lost Nate Silver, we've lost the middle class.
Covid-2019
Friday, August 26, 2022
It's been a while since we've highlighted our most reliable indicator of Covid spread -- the days-to-double-mortalities. Only two countries now show exponential spread: Australia and Japan. Japan's spread is hyper-exponential, with new cases at all-time highs every day for weeks. Yet authorities there are easing travel restrictions. We've come a long way, baby.
Covid-2019
Thursday, August 25, 2022
In "Recommended Reading," the UK health authorities are reporting that Monkeypox cases are in decline. Well, that was easy. Must have been all the masking in elementary schools.
Covid-2019
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
In "Recommended Reading," from our friends on the Wall Street Journal editorial page, the horrifying story of Lina Wen. You'd think a CNN commentator, former president of Planned Parenthood and strong supporter of Biden's vaccine mandates would be immune -- but now she's being viciously attacked by advocates on the far political left for advocating a more relaxed attitude toward Covid going forward, centered on "personal responsibility." They're trying to get her cancelled from an upcoming conference panel discussion on -- wait for it -- "Harassment, bullying and death threats: Staying the course while under attack."
Covid-2019
Tuesday, August 23, 2022
Fauci is stepping down in December to pursue his "next chapter." Perhaps he expects it won't involve being booed in Seattle when he throws out the first pitch. Time to go.
Covid-2019
Monday, August 22, 2022
In "Recommended Reading," the New York Times flails about Monkeypox risk for children. It's a terrible and dangerous new global health crisis, on the one hand. On the other hand, it seems to only spread by -- ahem -- close contact by adults. So parents should "trust your 'spidey sense." And if it tells you to panic (as this story encourages) then, yes, send your children to school in, yes, masks.
Covid-2019
Sunday, August 21, 2022
In "Recommended Reading," interesting study from UC Berkeley about the sluggish revival of American cities post-Covid -- using the cellphone-tracking methods we introduced over two years ago. But they don't make the next step -- linking up the correlation between immobilization and success in combatting Covid (there is none, by the way).