From CDC data, 2020 has the lowest weekly death rate in a decade – so far A pandemic that commands the attention of the public, and action by the medical field, is one that sickens many people, overwhelms healthcare resources, and raises the total death rate above that of a typical year or season. The COVID-19 era…
Tag: Epidemiology
Fortune reports “Sweden’s top virologist has a message on how to defeat coronavirus: Open schools and no masks”
The coronavirus outbreak in Sweden has been one of the worlds deadliest. But in the past six weeks, Sweden has seen a remarkable turnaround, convincing health officials that its light-touch approach is working. By a per-capita basis, the coronavirus outbreak in Sweden has been one of the world’s deadliest—worse than the United States, France, or…
The Telegraph reports “Exclusive: Top WHO disease detective warns against return to national lockdowns”
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, who helps lead the WHO’s pandemic response, said that ‘localised’ measures should instead be used to stem Covid-19 The World Health Organisation has urged countries not to reimpose national lockdowns in an attempt to stem the spread of Covid-19 due to the health, social and economic repercussions. In an exclusive interview…
DailyMail reports “The land with no face masks: Holland’s top scientists say there’s no solid evidence coverings work and warn they could even damage the fight against Covid-19”
For while 120 countries in the world, including much of Europe, have ordered citizens to wear masks in public places to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the Dutch are doing things differently. The nation’s top scientists, having examined key data and research, have declared there is no firm evidence to back the use of face coverings….
Newsweek reports “Sweden COVID-19 Death Rate Lower Than Spain, Italy and U.K., Despite Never Having Lockdown”
While novel coronavirus cases have spiked across several parts of Europe, including Spain, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, Sweden—where a countrywide lockdown was never issued—continues to report a downward trend in new cases and new deaths. As of Sunday, the latest death rate in Sweden (deaths per 100,000 people) was reported to be 56.40….
Newsweek reports “Sweden, Which Never Had Lockdown, Sees COVID-19 Cases Plummet as Rest of Europe Suffers Spike”
Amid fears over a potential second wave of the novel coronavirus across Europe, new infections in Sweden, where full lockdown measures were not implemented, have mostly declined since late June. The number of new cases per 100,000 people in Sweden reported over the last 14 days since July 29 dropped by 54 percent from the figure reported…
University of Oxford study reveals “Covid herd immunity may be much lower than previously thought”
Here, we demonstrate that HIT may be greatly reduced if a fraction of the population is unable to transmit the virus due to innate resistance or cross-protection from exposure to seasonal coronaviruses. The drop in HIT is proportional to the fraction of the population resistant only when that fraction is effectively segregated from the general…
Bloomberg reports “Sweden Unveils ‘Promising’ Covid-19 Data as New Cases Plunge”
As other countries face renewed outbreaks, Sweden’s latest Covid-19 figures suggest it’s rapidly bringing the virus under control. “That Sweden has come down to these levels is very promising,” state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell told reporters in Stockholm on Tuesday. The Health Agency of Sweden says that since hitting a peak in late June, the infection…
Medium reports “Coronavirus: Why everyone was wrong the immune response to the virus is stronger than everyone thought”
Beda M Stadler is the former director of the Institute for Immunology at the University of Bern, a biologist and professor emeritus writes: The coronavirus is slowly retreating. What actually happened in the past few weeks? The experts have missed basic connections. The immune response against the virus is much stronger than we thought. This…
The Intercept reports “Scientists pin blame for some coronavirus on air pollution, PFAS, and other chemicals”
The link between Covid-19 and air pollution is particularly strong. A study set to publish in July linked six air pollutants in 120 Chinese cities with cases of the viral disease. Researchers in Italy have also shown that long-term exposure to air pollution is “significantly correlated with cases of Covid-19” in up to 71 provinces in that country. And…