7 minutes ago, BuffaloWeather said:

I feel like that metric is the only real one we can go by in terms of overall covid impact. What is the excess death since covid started for the entire globe? Are those statistics even available? Worldometers has us at 2.8 million globally. I was thinking the real death toll is 4-5 million so far? This would put us at by far the worst pandemic in a century

I believe the real number of deaths is much higher also.

8 minutes ago, Hoosier said:

We may be sitting here a few months from now with Brazil having passed the US death toll if they don't get their **** together quickly.

What worries me about them is they don't have nearly the means as the US to tackle this virus 

3 minutes ago, CorePunch said:

The WSJ recently had an article about the US hitting a plateau in vaccinations later this spring. That will shed some light on overall vaccination rates. There will most definitely be a large segment of the population that will forego the vaccine for a period of time or completely all together. That alone opens the doors for increased social pressure against the unvaccinated. Goes without saying we could have a contentious summer. 

I just hope we don't politicize taking the vaccine too much. This needs to be a nonpartisan effort 

23 minutes ago, OSUmetstud said:

Theres definitely value in being over herd immunity. Herd immunity initially will not be particularly stable if there is open international travel. We could be looking at 2023 or 2024 until vaccines get around to the poorer areas of the world. There could be still pockets where there's more vaccine hesitancy so there's more outbreaks. Getting the most vaccinated as possible should be the goal. 

Yeah it's starting to sink in that this could take years to eradicate on a global scale 

Brazil with almost 4k deaths today. Heart really goes out to them.Worldwide as whole today was another really bad day. The risk of more serious variants is actually quite high. Thankfully America is doing much better with vaccinations but again variants will have to be monitored very closely

Just now, StormfanaticInd said:

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LIVING

Michigan coronavirus surge impacting younger demographic

By Alexandra Hein , Fox News

March 31, 2021 | 4:13pm

Shutterstock

A surge of new coronavirus cases in Michigan is hitting a younger demographic than previous spikes which officials said is likely due to high vaccination rates among those ages 70 and above. At Spectrum Health hospitals, the average age of hospitalized COVID-19 patients is now 60, whereas last fall the average was 73, officials said during a press conference on Tuesday, according to MLive.com.

“In this latest surge we are seeing, it shows the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine,” Tina Freese, Spectrum Health president and CEO, said, according to WOODTV.com. “People showing up in our hospitals with COVID-19 are significantly younger on average than during the fall surge, and we have yet to care for someone who has been fully vaccinated.”

Last week, health officials in the state noted an “alarming” rise in COVID-19-related hospitalizations among unvaccinated individuals. The first three weeks of March saw a 633% increase in hospitalizations among adults ages 30-39, and an increase of 800% among those ages 40-49.

Sounds like the Brazilian variant.

11 minutes ago, BuffaloWeather said:

 

Looks like we will see another surge though I think this one will be brief 

Today's numbers world-wide 

World wide we we are still doing very bad

2 minutes ago, CorePunch said:

For my understanding, the Black community is also concerned about that vaccine...The Tuskegee experiment isn’t exactly a proud moment. 

Good point but I think it is  in the world's best interest to have an effective vaccine 

If too many decide not to get vaccinated you run the very serious risk of this mutating into something far worse

Just now, Nickysixes said:

The vaccines work. The face diapers are virtue signals. They project fear and make the fearful feel safe. Our Covid patients,  I'd say 85% +, "I always wear my mask! Why'd  I get Covid?"

Wearing mask was never guaranteed to stop the spread 100% but it does help stop the spread. Why are so many willfully ignorant on this?

Vaccines have been working if you have been paying attention.

Just now, CorePunch said:

Wether we like it or not, many people will not get the shot. And with all do respect, that decision should be respected. Personal choice is enshrined in this country.  I do believe that most people are doing the right thing and are getting the shot for their own health and secondly, for the health of their fellow peers.  

Under these circumstances you can't respect that decision 

I see nothing wrong with needing proof of vaccination to get into big events. We have to remember we have not seen something like this in over a 100 years

Just now, StormfanaticInd said:

 

2 hours ago, CorePunch said:

Whats the average age of those in the ICUs? 

That's what I've been trying to figure out.  If I had to guess it's probably more young people now

Just now, BuffaloWeather said:

They're going into winter. Those numbers are going to be quite high for awhile. 

The concern I have is who is being affected with this brazilian variant. Seems to be affecting younger people more severely. This will be something to keep a close eye on 

The whole world is going to have to unify to get this under control 

Brazil is doing very bad. 

*Friday's numbers 

Hospitalizations overall are still falling which is good news. Thus weeks data should be interesting