Coronavirus Week 30: A few brief thoughts

We're past 230,000 dead now. There's more and more indication that the economy will have a second "dip," especially if not enough Democrats win Senate seats via special election to outmuscle McConnell in any lame duck session this year to do more for stimulus issues.

• And, the new wave? It's a "red" wave. Not "red" states nearly as much as "red" counties. Counties of 10,000 and under are getting hammered. These are the places where the die-hardest Trumpers are likely to be. They're also the places with the most limited medical services, meaning that denialists, minimizers, plandemicers etc have all just signed themselves up for a good shot at Darwin Awards. Schadenfreude is a bitch. As the Times notes, many of these counties don't have hospitals, period. But, one thing they do have, as they're concentrated in the "Great White North"? Long, snowy winters. Rides to a hospital a county or two over are fraught with danger if on a back-area state highway not fully cleared of snow.

• Vaccines? The two currently leading candidates to get FDA's "safe and effective" imprimatur may be safe, effective — and unfeasible. Two-dose vaccines that need shots either 21 or 28 days apart won't help the general public. A vaccine that has to be frozen is bad enough, but one that needs to stay at dry ice temperatures may not even help health care people in rural areas.

• Here in Texas, in places like Denton County, Gov. Strangeabbott's ruling that masks aren't needed at voting places is being used by wingnut poll workers to try to sign up other poll workers for Darwin Awards.

• Also in Texas, ongoing COVID concerns have meant that urban school districts, far more than rural ones, have a high percentage of students in remote learning. Or, per the Trib, maybe allegedly in remote learning and actually playing hooky, one of several problems. And, the state has said that school districts can't force remote learners into in-person learning solely because they're failing classes remotely.

• Also here in Texas, DosCentavos is worried about COVID-19, so, he posted a good Q&A with COVID hunter, Dr. Varon from UMMC.

• I missed this, this summer. Churches that are members of major denominations got some rule-bending directed their way on PPP funds.

• Sadly, Dems like Pelosi, as well as our wingnut in chief, continue to talk about "crushing the virus." American exceptionalism as mouthed by BOTH duopoly parties continues to crumble in our semi-failed nation-state.

• Stop blaming lockdowns for harming the economy, wingnuts. It just ain't true.

• That paper claiming that hundreds of thousands of lives could be saved if more Merikans would just #WearADamnMask? Per Retraction Watch, the authors had underestimated mask wearing, and so, while we could save TENS of thousands of lives, which is not to be sneezed at, the HUNDREDS of thousands claim is just incorrect. (We FULLY practice scientific reporting at this blog.)

• On the third hand, if North Dakota is below 50 percent masking, maybe it's not so wrong after all.

Final thought?

• Per a Minnesota epidemiologist saying the rest of this year is going to be "the darkest days of the pandemic," due to a mix of "pandemic fatigue and pandemic anger," we'll be past the 300,000 mark when the calendar rolls over. It's like the old Fram commercial, and too much of America refused to pay a lesser amount early on. The story notes that in Minnesota, new case numbers are rising faster than testing. Remember, like six months ago, how Trump talked about all this testing? And Strangeabbott here in Texas?

Lies, lies and lies.

Yes, rates are rising again in Europe, too, but most European countries remain well below the US on death rates.

Sadly, Dr. Osterholm overlooked a third factor. "Pandemic denialism" is just as much a part of the mix, even now, as fatigue and anger.