Pandemic (still) not over; current wave is pretty bad

And, sharing a few good sources of information

Hello, there!

• thanks for being a subscriber

• as you can tell from the 6 months or so between posts, I don't (and don't plan to) use this newsletter to keep you up to date—so please find and use other sources of information

• i've considered deleting this list, but i think the infrequent posts are still useful, and the list might still be used for posting big things

My wife and I are still COVID-cautious; we still have shifted our activities to outdoors more, and closed spaces less often. When we're indoors with other people, we continuously wear a good-fitting N95 respirator (usually 3M Aura masks) whether it's a trip to the grocery store, holidays with family and in-laws, or curb-to-curb when travel by air (infrequently). On long trips or hot places, we use a SIP valve rather than taking off our mask.

COVID is airborne.

COVID isn’t like a common cold; some percentage of people who get COVID, even mild cases, will end up with long-term, potentially very serious consequences.

You can wear an N95 even if no one tells you that you need to. (Unless it’s literally been made illegal where you live; in that case, try to get a health waiver.)

As a consequence of not keeping you up to date, please find and use other sources of information. Don’t rely just on government or media sources. A few sources I find very useful:

• https://x.com/michael_hoerger/

• https://pmc19.com/data/

  • lots of great data at PMC, one thing to look at specifically is the “Year-Over-Year Comparison of U.S. COVID-19 Transmission” where you can compare this year’s waves and other years’

• https://peoplescdc.org/

• COVID Precaution Community (on Discord)

  • active discussion on the Discord server (back-channel me if you need help with Discord)

  • first Sundays at 4pm US Eastern time, Kaitlin Sundling has a voice update and answers questions; I recommend her live sessions

• Violet Blue’s Pandemic Roundups

Some quick, rough figures from Michael Hoerger:

• There is more COVID-19 transmission right now than during 86.3% of the pandemic.

• The US is currently at about 1 million new infections per day.

• Roughly 1/3 to 1/2 of people will likely have gotten COVID during the current wave.

And Hoerger’s advice:

Moreover, families can substantially reduce risk through multi-layered mitigation. Vax up when available. Use serial testing when symptomatic, exposed, for gatherings, or for purposes of asymptomatic surveillance. Wear a well-fitting high-quality mask (N95, KN95, KF94, elastomeric). When someone is sick, use the strictest criteria of the CDC and FDA of requiring 3 negative rapid tests on separate days before ending isolation. Hold meetings virtually and outdoors. Increase indoor air quality by keeping the HVAC 'on' (not 'auto') and using HEPA and DIY air purifiers. Donate masks, tests, and air purifiers to those in your community. Set house rules for precautions, and stick to them. 1/2 to 2/3 of people in the U.S. will NOT get infected this wave, and that might as well be you.

Stay safe, stay well!