PhineasC

Radar looks set up for another decent slug to move in here soon.

Will that shift a bit east eventually?

Well, picked up .08” but in a lull now.

Light rain has started. Feels great.

Should be fun. Rain on the doorstep here.

Just when we thought 2020 couldn’t get any worse!

Wow, there is an actual blob of real precip headed towards my house. It's been a while.

Better practices in the nursing homes could cut deaths almost in half compared to March-May. We made a lot of mistakes early on. Spent more time worrying about the beaches than the LTC facilities... also, "ventilator shortages."

This debate is honestly pointless because after Election Day, America is done with COVID. It will quickly drop completely off the radar (it's already become mostly background noise). That's not to say the virus will be gone. It will just no longer be advantageous to harp on it non-stop.

Sure count them. Just factor in the corresponding drop in deaths from ARDS, pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and general organ failure from past years in that population to get a better view of the real "excess deaths" toll. There is no hiding that COVID-19 is really only truly deadly for people age 65 and up with major underlying diseases, despite the persistent narrative that young healthy college students are dropping dead left and right. People under 25 should fear the flu much more.

Probably not, when you analyze based on quality-adjusted life years and factor in the up to 50% of victims who were 80+ with existing major underlying diseases who were in hospice/nursing homes already... Yes, it's sad they died, but a cold or stumble in the hallway could also be deadly for them. It's kind of disingenuous to put those deaths in the same broad bucket as the vibrant 30-something mom who succumbed.

Let's hope everyone becomes sick of seeing that phrase.

Yeah, I feel pretty good for 1.5”+ here. Hopefully that Randolph magic will be in play to wring out every last drop of precip.

He’s just mad I am not in MD wallowing in the swampy misery with him any more.

Glad we both get to chill out in NNE at the same time.

LOL did you read the rest of my post. We are saying the same thing. By "peer pressure" I just mean you get into the habit because everyone else is doing it and you want to fit in, not because you are thinking about COVID death. Public pressure is a much better way to motivate people than fear.

For most people I know, wearing a mask has become more about peer pressure than fear of the virus at this point. It was the other way around in early summer. I think most people have a bit of COVID news/stat fatigue and have been tuning it out, and the hygiene, social distancing, and mask practices are really just habits now versus something they think about actively. That's not a bad thing, really. Fear of dying from COVID when that likelihood is incredibly remote is very unhelpful. Better to just get into good habits that becomes second-nature. I do know a few people who are still "on lockdown" (of their own choosing) and basically never leave the house... I am little worried about them now. It's time to come out, folks.

In order to determine the rates and severity of these long term effects, we need to follow survivors for 5-20 years after recovery and also control for the many other factors that could be causing their lingering issues (such as existing lung tissue scarring from smoking). There is no way to be speaking definitively on long term effects right now. It's just not possible.

Oh yeah I have been out and about. Lots of stuff to do with the house, hoping that winds down soon so I can enjoy that recreation more. Ice gulch is a really neat hike. We did that back in June.

Wow, that’s interesting. I had no clue that was there.

The flu is much deadlier for kids than COVID. Stats show this.

It’s doesn’t necessarily apply to any pandemic. Past flu pandemics killed healthy young people and children at a much higher rate, for example.

About 4%, according to the CDC. https://fox8.com/news/coronavirus/new-cdc-report-shows-94-of-covid-19-deaths-in-us-had-underlying-medical-conditions/