35 thoughts on “C-19 Chat Post – September 15 2021”

  1. 7-day average deaths up to 1,900. We may actually wind up in 1st place among peer nations in terms of death rate – deaths per million – sooner than I thought. Perhaps even by the end of this month, or beginning of October.

      1. Note, the death rate being calculated is overall, for the entire pandemic. It’s obviously much higher at the moment than any peer nation. But, owing to the Delta wave (and especially the higher percentage of unvaccinated) we’ve moved from 6th to 3rd place with respect to deaths per million, and will soon be number 1 among peer nations. I define peer as similar in terms of GDP per capita.

  2. I heard on the morning news that 54% of adults in America have been fully vaccinated.

    Where do we rank with other nations?

      1. While I don’t entirely fault the Biden Administration for this, I think they were too optimistic back in April and May that we’d already achieved herd immunity or close to it, and so they took more of a hands-off approach on outreach, especially to the at-risk groups. They’ve since changed course, but too little and too late.

        The biggest blame rests on the shoulders of Governors of states like Florida, Texas, Arizona, Idaho, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, South Carolina, … must I go on … who mostly refused to be consistently pro vaccination, or in favor of any mitigation measure. Up to 90% of recent deaths were preventable. This is at least partly the fault of those Governors.

    2. First, I’ve been a lurker on this board since the start. I was directed here from the WBZ board, when that went “south”. I’ve found a daily home here and appreciate the amazing information on weather and Covid. As for Phillip’s question, I don’t have comparison to other nations, but the 54% data point is for all ages. Fully vaccinated is ~65.1% of adults in the U.S. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-total-delivered-rate-total

  3. I just returned from a curbside pickup from our local farm. So many businesses have stood out during this. I know some may be comparable, but I truly doubt there is one that has done more

    But I digress. They are having trouble finding help. The person I chatted with said everyone is. Even the bank they use is considering closing its lobby because they cannot find help. And it may not be alone.

    Is this because folks are worried about exposure? Is it because a good portion of our workforce is ill? The latter doesn’t make a ton of sense to me since numbers are lower in MA? UI ended so I wouldn’t think that is the cause.

    Anyone?

    2. I have no answer to these questions. But, I had a real eye-opening experience yesterday. It showed me that I have been living in a bubble within a bubble and not aware of how much things have changed.

      My son is taking four classes at Middlesex Community College in Bedford. He has just one in-person meeting per week. I drove him there yesterday and took advantage of the great weather for a walk. I walked a route that I have done many times, but not since everything closed about 18 months ago.

      I felt like I was in a Stephen King book or maybe The Twilight Zone. Some of the school parking lots that used to be overfilled with cars are abandoned to the point that there is grass a foot long growing through the cracks. I walked across the campus and saw no one else walking. I walked for 14 minutes before passing another walker. I am not a huge fan of crowds, but this gave me a serious feeling of melancholy.

      I next walked through the Bedford VA complex. Even that was eerily silent compared to the usual activity. At least it was good to see so many signs showing appreciation for health care workers.

      2. As Vicki said, that sounds eerie.

        I don’t know what to make of the worker shortages everywhere. It appears to be especially acute in the service sector – restaurants, but also shops and other retail.

        While there are worker shortages in certain sectors it’s hard for certain well-qualified folks to find a good-paying job. There are often hundreds of applicants for one or two positions.

        I’ve heard about the chip shortage which is affecting all car makers.

        1. Vaccination mandates could become a factor. Also jobs that offer work-from-home can be attractive for those who don’t want to face the public and/or co-workers all day, not to mention a daily commute.

          1. I think you may be right with medical areas. Some medical staff folks just do not want the vaccine. And I know that, as Joshua said, the jobs people want seem few and far between. And places have been hesitant to pay higher salaries for those with the experience. Although that isn’t new. But places such as banks and farms that have not had trouble in the past confuse me.

  6. Joe S .. Apologies that I just saw your post now. It’s approved. All first time usernames or email addresses automatically go to moderation and I just got to it. Glad you enjoy the blog. 🙂

    Philip there is a reply to your post this morning up above in case you did not see it.

    1. Thank you Joshua! I’ll try to represent the Seacoast NH area (Dover is home and Newington is work), for weather conditions. Like you, my favorite season is winter, but I’ve grown to like all seasons, with the exception of mud season in most years.

      1. Dover is a lovely part of NH. We did a lot of work with Federal Savings Bank so I was blessed to spend some time there

  9. This may be an unpopular opinion. As we know, that rarely stops me 🙂 🙂

    There is a chiropractor in FL who is handing out mask exemptions to the parents of any kids who want one. I am sick of the parents who insist they have a right to decide what their kid should or should not have to do. A choice of whether your child wears a mask is NOT a right.

    A persons right of the freedom to do something does not ever supersede a persons right to be safe from something

    1. Sorry Joe S, but if you have followed a while, you are painfully aware that I might have a strong opinion on some things. Because I don’t agree, definitely does not mean that I do not respect the right of others to feel the same.

    1. I don’t know if Dr Sanjay Gupta is underrated or just not mentioned often. I’ve always liked his steady and reasoned approach

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