Covid-2019 - 2021-08-07

In "Recommended Reading," feels to us like the New York Times and Bloomberg are luxuriating in a little too much schadenfreude as they report on Austin, Texas's self-described "dire" shortage of ICU beds. We hear this in every Covid case wave. As always, reported capacity deliberately does not include stand-by capacity, or the ability to use the capacity of nearby cities or other states. US Department of Health and Human Services data shows, on a statewide basis, that Texas's overall ICU capacity utilization is a mere 35%. The most "dire" state is Louisiana at 44%. Come on, people.