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Greetings!
This week we continue to pivot from a barrage of Covid Data and daily pandemic reporting to offer more on the long term impact of Covid on our families, our communities, and our work place. As before, we are looking for and linking sources and experts you may not have found on your own. Today’s podcast returns to a favorite host, Ezra Klein; yet we broaden the scope of our explainer with a great guest Jason Furman, an economist at Harvard and the chair of Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers from 2013 to 2017. Furman offers a must-listen effort at answering: "What the heck Is going on with the U.S. economy?"
- New coronavirus cases have been falling rapidly for weeks after reaching record highs. Though infection numbers remain elevated, the country is adding fewer than one-third as many cases as it was in mid-January.
- More than 900,000 coronavirus deaths have been reported nationwide. Since late January, the country has been averaging more than 2,500 newly reported deaths each day, the most since last winter.
- Hospitalizations are declining rapidly, largely mirroring the progress in cases. Still, more than 100,000 people with the virus are hospitalized nationwide.
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Cases are declining almost everywhere in the country. Over the last two weeks, reports of new infections are down more than 70 percent in Nebraska, Nevada and Utah.
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West Virginia has the highest recent hospitalization rate of any state. Case numbers there peaked later than in most other Eastern states.
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Before turning to world data, we link you to The New York Times Covid Live Updates, which focuses on Mask Policy in "New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island will let mask mandates expire."
This issue posts for the first time the World Version of The New York Times State of the virus; here it is updated for Feb. 9:
- The world surpassed 400 million known coronavirus cases, just one month after reaching 300 million, a staggering increase driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. That new figure is likely a vast undercount, since many at-home tests do not make the official tally. And because an Omicron infection is less likely to lead to hospitalization or death, case counts require a fresh perspective.
- Britain announced plans to lift its remaining coronavirus restrictions one month earlier than scheduled, and several German states also eased measures, as health systems in Western Europe appeared able to manage the Omicron surge.
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Cases rose sharply in South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore and other Asian countries following the Lunar New Year, a holiday period usually marked by large family gatherings.
- After recording just one case during the pandemic, the South Pacific nation of Tonga is now grappling with a widening outbreak following the start of aid deliveries to help the island recover from a volcanic eruption in January.
- More than 10.2 billion vaccine doses have been administered worldwide, including over 1.1 billion boosters or additional doses. Track each country’s vaccination progress here.
Let us focus on Denmark through a link to The Atlantic article "How Denmark decided Covid isn’t a critical threat to society –The country became the first in the EU to lift all Covid restrictions despite leading the world in per capita infections
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Now to impact at home and in our homes with the multi-faceted Washington Post article "Pandemic fallout," which is described accurately as an endeavor “in part, spurred by the pandemic.” This great review succeeds at exploring and analyzing the tragedy that “For millions of Americans, the past two years included a revolving door of loss, grief, isolation and fear.”
ABC News keeps the focus on mental health with Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in "Pandemic's impact on youth mental health." Dr. Murthy is clear that the impact of children’s mental health is “devastating” and that it must be categorized as “not just medical, it's moral."
Axios offers one big thing: "The next culture war — vaccines for young kids", we link to great reporting on the topic. Given the U.S. date, perhaps the first battles of that war are now ongoing as we see in CalMatters great article "Amid low Covid vaccine rates, more California children hospitalized in omicron surge."
Our legal reporting curator wandered into the StatNews stack of articles and found a great article authored by Paul R. Michel who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit from 1988 to his retirement in 2010. We are glad that our legal eagle found his way to StatNews and very much encourage you to read "The lack of Covid diagnostic tests has been blamed on everything from the FDA to manufacturers. But there's another culprit: the U.S. Supreme Court."
Is it really six weeks into a New Year, and more confusing are we six weeks closer to the endemic? In a story posted to Politico, our friend and great health care reporter Vicky Colliver and her colleague Susanna Luthi report "California to ease Covid rules in path to 'endemic' strategy." Please follow the link to that story and dig into your own local and national sources to decide if you want to switch from pandemic to endemic, or remain as we are undecided.
From Culver City, with Jerry headed North to Oakland this is Revitalize for February 10, 2022:
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Revitalize: The week in health-care news you need
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What the heck is going on with the U.S. economy? Should we be celebrating a Biden boom? Lamenting inflation and its consequences? Both? We know how to talk about booms, like the ’90s. We know how to talk about busts, like after the financial crisis. We know how to talk about stagnation. What we don’t know how to talk about is contradictory extremes coexisting together. But that’s the economy we have right now. And a lot rides on figuring out how to balance those extremes. Because if we solve inflation while killing the labor market, we’ll have blown a hole in our foot to save our hand.
Covid Live Updates: New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island will let mask mandates expire. New York drops its “mask or vax” indoor mandate for businesses, and Massachusetts will end its statewide school mandate, as liberal-leaning states move away from mask requirements. But the C.D.C. director said her agency was not ready to change its recommendations on masks. Hochul says New York State will drop its mask-or-vaccine mandate.
How Denmark decided Covid isn’t a critical threat to society. The country became the first in the EU to lift all COVID restrictions despite leading the world in per capita infections.
Pandemic Fallout: The endeavor is, in part, spurred by the pandemic. For millions of Americans, the past two years included a revolving door of loss, grief, isolation and fear. The pandemic’s immense emotional toll exposed the barriers to quickly and easily accessing addiction and mental health care.
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The Pandemic's affect on children's mental health: Dr. Vivek Murthy said addressing the issue is "not just medical, it's moral."
"The next culture war — vaccines for young kids."
Amid low COVID vaccine rates, more California children hospitalized in Omicron surge. The number of California children diagnosed with COVID-19 during the omicron variant surge has “skyrocketed,” challenging earlier notions that the coronavirus largely bypassed children. Child vaccination rates are relatively low, and children who contract COVID-19 could be at increased risk for rare conditions and diabetes.
The Supreme Court is partly to blame for the Covid-19 test kit shortage. The lack of Covid diagnostic tests has been blamed on everything from the FDA to manufacturers. But there's another culprit: the U.S. Supreme Court.
California to ease Covid rules in path to 'endemic' strategy. Gov. Gavin Newsom is poised to ease statewide restrictions on mass gatherings and indoor masking as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to recede.
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Jerry Seelig, CEO
Fax: 310-841-2842
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