I posted yesterday that Northeastern University will no longer require students who are fully vaccinated to get weekly Covid tests. Since even the fully vaccinated can still get the virus, I don’t understand why the university made this decision. Where I work at Mass. Art and Wentworth still require tests regardless of vaccine status. I hope other colleges are still doing the same.
What is Northeastern thinking? The average student is not going to take it upon him/herself to get tested anyway.
It’s getting better. Water not as murky, but the signs are still up.
I have to say, last Sunday, the water in The Charles River
was about as clean looking as I have ever seen it and I have been watching that for nearly 3/4 century. 🙂
Philip, the one factoid in my piece that is a highlight is that there is hardly any decoupling in the U.S. between cases and hospitalizations. If you look at the raw numbers there is no decoupling at all. Winter wave: We peaked at 250,000 cases/day and 125,000 hospitalizations. Currently, we’re at 110,000 cases/day and >63,000 hospitalizations. While there is some decoupling between cases and deaths, even there it’s a relatively small degree of decoupling compared to ALL of our peer nations. Lots of factors responsible for this: Really poorly orchestrated vaccination campaign is number one. You got to make sure the most vulnerable are vaccinated before doing 18 year olds. That was crazy back in April and it’s even crazier now. We’ve only vaccinated 81% of >65. That’s really appalling, considering that ALL of our peers are over 92%, and most are over 96%. Then there’s inadequate testing, which has gotten much worse in the past 4 months. People are not only not being diagnosed on time, they’re also not being treated on time, which leads to worse outcomes. Overall, it’s a miserable record. There are no excuses for the U.S. to be doing this poorly. None. Shame on DeSantis and other clueless governors, but also shame on the Biden Administration for just dropping the ball big time.
Thanks Joshua, much appreciated for those highlights from your article.
What I find ironic about that 81% vaccination rate for those >65 is that imagine if there was an 81% vaccination rate for the entire U.S. we would well be on our way back to 2019 normalcy by now.
Again, I don’t understand Northeastern U. not continuing testing for its students. I hope their medical advisors take another look and reconsider.
As for the Biden Administration, they got cocky and underestimated vaccine hesitancy, for starters.
I sure agree with your comments, philip.
Joshua, thank you. For Biden….his approval rating is dropping. DeSantis’s is also but parents for the most part want their kids in school so at the moment are behind him. I also heard 70+ folks support him. I don’t get that but maybe I read incorrectly
For 65+ vaccines. We all reacted in here when baker kept lowering age eligibility. I wrote to him and nicely said that many older folks were yet to be vaccinated and appointments were very difficult to get. Baker had a blind spot where his program was concerned. He refused to see that anyone was having problems scheduling.
States rights makes this an issue. Biden administration is doing everything possible but the states control a lot of the outcome. We are a divided nation and red states are causing many of the issues.
Vaccines will be mandated for all troops mid-September. UMass Amherst will require masks for all.
Joshua, I can’t help but think that the case numbers are severely underreported due to insufficient testing here in the US. Hard to know what the real numbers are, but assuming they are (much) higher, there may actually be decoupling between cases and hospitalizations, just not detectable.
Regarding costs of international travel, you can get credit cards that have a 0% international transaction fees. For next time…
And the UK government is looking into price gouging of travel related COVID tests.
Where did you buy your travel insurance?
Number of hospitalizations for children is approaching the highest rate from mid winter
Joshua – awesome article that I’m widely disseminating in my circles. Your insight and research has been the sole source of completely reliable and thoughtful info for me during this pandemic – basically I owe you one for life! No font is big enough but THANK YOU!!!
I find it a cruel form of poetic justice that our main social ailment right now is disinformation (total
Lack of understanding or respect as to why actual truth matters over spin) and the “powers that be” hit humanity with a global health pandemic. Arguably pandemics create the one set of facts it’s almost impossible to deny or gaslight or wait out for too long – although gosh we are trying! But it becomes pretty hard to hide patients in the Icus and numbers deaths for very long – it’s perhaps the most extreme test of fact vs fiction… but it still amazes me that even in a life-death situation the anti-facts folks are still plowing ahead – even if it kills them – literally. Unbelievable.
And I just realized anti-facts rhymes with antivax! Hmmmm…
C-19 for 8-10 is ready.
Comments are closed.
Your no-hype southeastern New England weather blog!
I posted yesterday that Northeastern University will no longer require students who are fully vaccinated to get weekly Covid tests. Since even the fully vaccinated can still get the virus, I don’t understand why the university made this decision. Where I work at Mass. Art and Wentworth still require tests regardless of vaccine status. I hope other colleges are still doing the same.
What is Northeastern thinking? The average student is not going to take it upon him/herself to get tested anyway.
My latest is on why the Delta wave is worse (and will be worse) in the U.S. https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshuacohen/2021/08/09/delta-variant-waves–trajectory-bodes-poorly-for-the-us/
Outstanding article Joshua. Well Done!
It seems that I have reached my limit on free articles. Sorry Joshua. 🙁
Perhaps you can highlight your thoughts later at your convenience?
A JP sunset over Jamaica Pond last evening. Photo courtesy of my son:
https://ibb.co/nsHPvbQ
Oops, should have been on the other page.
That’s ok JPD. Nice photo!
Btw, how’s the algae? Hope it goes away soon.
It’s getting better. Water not as murky, but the signs are still up.
I have to say, last Sunday, the water in The Charles River
was about as clean looking as I have ever seen it and I have been watching that for nearly 3/4 century. 🙂
Philip, the one factoid in my piece that is a highlight is that there is hardly any decoupling in the U.S. between cases and hospitalizations. If you look at the raw numbers there is no decoupling at all. Winter wave: We peaked at 250,000 cases/day and 125,000 hospitalizations. Currently, we’re at 110,000 cases/day and >63,000 hospitalizations. While there is some decoupling between cases and deaths, even there it’s a relatively small degree of decoupling compared to ALL of our peer nations. Lots of factors responsible for this: Really poorly orchestrated vaccination campaign is number one. You got to make sure the most vulnerable are vaccinated before doing 18 year olds. That was crazy back in April and it’s even crazier now. We’ve only vaccinated 81% of >65. That’s really appalling, considering that ALL of our peers are over 92%, and most are over 96%. Then there’s inadequate testing, which has gotten much worse in the past 4 months. People are not only not being diagnosed on time, they’re also not being treated on time, which leads to worse outcomes. Overall, it’s a miserable record. There are no excuses for the U.S. to be doing this poorly. None. Shame on DeSantis and other clueless governors, but also shame on the Biden Administration for just dropping the ball big time.
Thanks Joshua, much appreciated for those highlights from your article.
What I find ironic about that 81% vaccination rate for those >65 is that imagine if there was an 81% vaccination rate for the entire U.S. we would well be on our way back to 2019 normalcy by now.
Again, I don’t understand Northeastern U. not continuing testing for its students. I hope their medical advisors take another look and reconsider.
As for the Biden Administration, they got cocky and underestimated vaccine hesitancy, for starters.
I sure agree with your comments, philip.
Joshua, thank you. For Biden….his approval rating is dropping. DeSantis’s is also but parents for the most part want their kids in school so at the moment are behind him. I also heard 70+ folks support him. I don’t get that but maybe I read incorrectly
For 65+ vaccines. We all reacted in here when baker kept lowering age eligibility. I wrote to him and nicely said that many older folks were yet to be vaccinated and appointments were very difficult to get. Baker had a blind spot where his program was concerned. He refused to see that anyone was having problems scheduling.
States rights makes this an issue. Biden administration is doing everything possible but the states control a lot of the outcome. We are a divided nation and red states are causing many of the issues.
Vaccines will be mandated for all troops mid-September. UMass Amherst will require masks for all.
Joshua, I can’t help but think that the case numbers are severely underreported due to insufficient testing here in the US. Hard to know what the real numbers are, but assuming they are (much) higher, there may actually be decoupling between cases and hospitalizations, just not detectable.
Regarding costs of international travel, you can get credit cards that have a 0% international transaction fees. For next time…
And the UK government is looking into price gouging of travel related COVID tests.
Where did you buy your travel insurance?
Number of hospitalizations for children is approaching the highest rate from mid winter
https://imgur.com/a/FuZBCHQ
Belmont has enacted an indoor mask mandate.
I’m praying between proof of vaccine and indoor mask mandates that this is the start
https://www.wcvb.com/article/indoor-mask-mandate-now-in-effect-in-belmont/37255831
Joshua – awesome article that I’m widely disseminating in my circles. Your insight and research has been the sole source of completely reliable and thoughtful info for me during this pandemic – basically I owe you one for life! No font is big enough but THANK YOU!!!
I find it a cruel form of poetic justice that our main social ailment right now is disinformation (total
Lack of understanding or respect as to why actual truth matters over spin) and the “powers that be” hit humanity with a global health pandemic. Arguably pandemics create the one set of facts it’s almost impossible to deny or gaslight or wait out for too long – although gosh we are trying! But it becomes pretty hard to hide patients in the Icus and numbers deaths for very long – it’s perhaps the most extreme test of fact vs fiction… but it still amazes me that even in a life-death situation the anti-facts folks are still plowing ahead – even if it kills them – literally. Unbelievable.
And I just realized anti-facts rhymes with antivax! Hmmmm…
C-19 for 8-10 is ready.