So plastic

Worldwide (Map) 
July 7, 2022 - 522,200,200 confirmed infections; 6,344,300 deaths
July 8, 2021: 185,236,000 confirmed infections; 4,005,000 deaths
July 30, 2020: 17,096,000 confirmed infections; 668,590 deaths

US (Map) 
July 7, 2022 - 88,241,700 confirmed infections; 1,019,110 deaths
July 8, 2021: 185,236,000 confirmed infections; 4,005,000 deaths
July 30, 2020: 17,096,000 confirmed infections; 668,590 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
July 7, 2022 - 3,995,800 confirmed infections; 101,850 deaths
July 8, 2021: 2,112,340 confirmed infections; 63,100 deaths 
July 30, 2020: 471,125 confirmed infections; 7,498 deaths

Post from:
July 8, 2021: “Refugees” 
July 9, 2020: “Pestilence, thunderstorm, and a locust” 

News blues

The “bad” Covid news:

[The] omicron subvariant known as BA.5 now comprises a majority of U.S. COVID-19 cases, according to data released Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The data is a sign of the rise of the highly transmissible subvariant, which has prompted concern about a new increase in cases.
BA.5, along with a related subvariant known as BA.4, has mutations that have shown an increased ability to evade the protection from vaccines and previous infection.

• BA.5 now makes up 53.6 percent of U.S. cases, according to the CDC.
• BA.4 makes up another 16.5 percent, putting the two together at around 70 percent of infections.

The “better” news:
New vaccines coming: The Food and Drug Administration last week advised vaccine makers to target the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants in updated vaccines they are preparing for this fall.
The sobering news:
An infectious disease expert at New York University stressed that people should not wait for the updated vaccines to be available to get a booster shot.
“The updated vaccines won’t be available until October at the earliest,” she wrote. “That’s 4+ months away. That’s a big window of risk.”

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Data: Shiels MS, Haque AT, Berrington de González A, Freedman ND.
Leading Causes of Death in the US During the COVID-19 Pandemic, March 2020 to October 2021.
JAMA Intern Med. Published online July 05, 2022.
Chart: Axios Visuals
Click to enlarge.

According to a new review of death certificate data in JAMA Internal Medicine, COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2020 and 2021, accounting for 1 in 8 lives lost.
The virus exacted a huge human toll even after vaccines became widely available and indirectly affected other causes of death like heart attacks and strokes, in part by discouraging some Americans from seeking care.
The National Cancer Institute study found COVID-19 trailed only heart disease and cancer among the leading causes of death between March 2020 and October 2021.

• The virus last year was the first and second leading cause of death among people ages 45–54 and 35–44, respectively.
• Deaths among those 85 and older dropped during the period studied, likely because of targeted vaccination efforts.
• There was a downward age shift in the distribution of COVID-19 deaths in 2021 compared with 2020, possibly driven by higher vaccination rates.

The true toll was, in all likelihood, significantly higher. Some COVID-19 deaths were misattributed to other causes. And the analysis didn't cover the Omicron wave of late 2021 and early 2022.

Read more >> 

On war

Citizens’ Images of Potential War Crimes in Ukraine Flood the Internet, but Might Not Hold Up in Court 

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The Lincoln Project: Last week in the Republican Party - July 5, 2022  (2:00 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Supreme Court strikes at environmental issues:  “According to the court, the EPA has the authority to regulate individual plans, but not to make more sweeping efforts to regulate carbon emissions – that has to come from Congress. The court’s decision follows the expanding logic of its so-called “major questions doctrine.” The doctrine states that the Supreme Court can strike down regulatory action of “vast economic and political significance” if Congress did not specifically delegate a rule-issuing agency to issue that regulation.”

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© M. Wuerker, Politico

“Climate change is here and happening regardless of whether a tiny, extremist minority wants us to do something about it,” a White House official said of the decision under condition of anonymity. “This decision is shocking in its impact even if it’s not surprising.” 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Took the day off from work to hang out with my bestie, Meso Mary. She’s remarkably upbeat for someone with a cloud of unknown outcome hanging over her head. 
Since mesothelioma is a rare diagnosis, particularly for women, Mary and I are working with assorted mesothelioma support groups. The law firm with which we’re working most closely turns out to have on board Erin Brockovich, the subject of the Oscar-winning film, Erin Brockovich  (2000). I doubt we’ll have direct contact with Erin, but it’s good to know she’s in our corner – or we’re in hers….
Mary and I have begun carefully combing through Mary’s history to understand where and how she may have encountered free floating asbestos. I predict we’ll narrow it down to a few possibilities and, in the process, deepen our already depressing understanding of how companies duck and dive to avoid responsibility for the damage they cause – too often knowingly. I’ve spent many a day interviewing people cheated out of what they’re due from such corporate antics, but as emotionally hard as that has been, it's more emotionally draining to have a beloved person struck in this way.
Draining. And infuriating. (Read Richard Power’s novel, Gain,  for a view of lives affected by corporate wrong-headedness.)
What to say?
One step in front of the other, and focus on what matters: truth and love and appreciation.

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SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 5:54am
Sunset: 8:34pm

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:54am
Sunset: 5:14pm