The FDA gives the Pfizer vaccine full (that is, non-emergency) approval. Did you know that since last December it has been marketed under the name "Comirnaty"? According to Pfizer's branding consultant, "The name is coined from Covid-19 immunity, and then embeds the mRNA in the middle, which is the platform technology, and as a whole the name is meant to evoke the word community." We see now.
Covid-2019
Covid-2019
Monday, August 23, 2021
In "Recommended Reading" today, from the Wall Street Journal editorial page, the most novel idea so far to encourage vaccinations: "Lecturing and moral superiority aren’t working. Healthcare workers should try humility and respect." Even better than free doughnuts.
Covid-2019
Sunday, August 22, 2021
In "Recommended Reading" today's New York Times just can't decide how to set the pandemic narrative. There's a chirpy story about a fellow who is eating one doughnut per day to promote vaccinations (no, it doesn't make sense) -- side by side with the most nihilistic opinion piece ever: "We Weren't Happy Before the Pandemic, Either." Obviously more than one doughnut is required (think of it as a booster).
Covid-2019
Saturday, August 21, 2021
Last week the Biden administration reiterated that it would let enhanced unemployment benefits expire as scheduled on September 6. The very next day, the Labor Secretary said they might be extended. The ongoing Covid response is making Kabul look downright orderly.
Covid-2019
Friday, August 20, 2021
Further small advance signs of tentative progress. Three US states now in two-week downward trajectory of new cases; nine in two-week downward trajectory of test-positivity.
Covid-2019
Thursday, August 19, 2021
In "Recommended Reading," the story of a suppressed study documenting the Chinese "wet market" live animal origin of Covid. Remember not much more than a year ago, you were called a racist if you pointed to those markets (we were, on national television no less). Now, suddenly, this research is revealed -- we suspect because now the Wuhan lab-leak theory is even more problematic.
Covid-2019
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Of all US states, Utah has the highest prevalence of the Delta variant. And yet it is one of two states in a declining 2-week trajectory for new cases. Hmmmm....
Covid-2019
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
With vaccines, the need for booster shots is surely not unheard of. And yet the Biden administration's plan to urge them now smacks of that classic problem with government programs -- when they don't work, just do them again bigger. Even setting that aside, this feels like every other policy initiative in the pandemic: improvised, made in ignorance, but pronounced with the voice of authoritative certainty.
Covid-2019
Monday, August 16, 2021
In Texas, a furious battle rages in the courts between Dallas County "Judge" Clay Jenkins and Governor Greg Abbott. Jenkins wants mask mandates, Abbott's executive order rules them out. At the moment, the Texas Supreme Court is siding with the governor. This case will speak volumes for the future of powers to interfere in private affairs for the sake of public health.
Covid-2019
Sunday, August 15, 2021
In the US, seven states are now showing a two-week declining trend in test-positivity; new vaccinations exceed 1 million for the first day in several months; and state-wide hospital and ICU capacity shows no stress. Globally, our days-to-double-fatalities indicator, our most reliable, shows no exponential spread in any jurisdiction (Africa and Iran are on the edge).