Mitigation measures are lacking in evidence
The next time your local politician or public health director tells you it’s Based on ScienceTM, show them this: Non-drug interventions should be based on evidence. We need to generate…
Fabric from 1903 Wright Flyer sent to Mars
This is so cool! A piece of the Wright brothers’ first airplane is on Mars. NASA’s experimental Martian helicopter holds a small swatch of fabric from the 1903 Wright Flyer,…
Surge in good news: AstraZeneca Covid vaccine 79% effective in U.S. trial
The safety and efficacy analysis of the vaccine was based on 32,449 participants in a phase 3 trial. Source: AstraZeneca Covid vaccine 79% effective in U.S. trial
Former CDC Director Redfield’s honesty problem
The reasons for spelling “vaccine” as “vacksine” is to slide past the Twitter auto-censor bots. This finding is interesting and unfortunate. Some more background here.
Surge in good news: “Pfizer Covid vaccine blocks 94% of asymptomatic infections and 97% of symptomatic cases”
Pfizer said its Covid-19 vaccine blocked 94% of asymptomatic infections in an Israeli study – a result CEO Albert Bourla called “extremely important.” Source: Pfizer Covid vaccine blocks 94% of…
This describes disease models too: “The risks of communicating extreme climate forecasts”
The same for 2020/2021’s Covid-19 disease models: For decades, climate change researchers and activists have used dramatic forecasts to attempt to influence public perception of the problem and as a…
Geologists leveraging Amateur Radio networks in aftermath of large quakes
Early damage and “shake” reports help seismologists quickly understand the quake’s impact. But the loss of communications typical after a major quake has created a “donut hole” of missing information.…
Surge in good news: You no longer need wipe down your groceries and packages
Joint statement of the US FDA and USDA: there is no credible evidence of food or food packaging associated with or as a likely source of viral transmission of severe…
The end of beards: “Tight fit more important than a second mask to prevent COVID-19 spread”
More flip flopping on masks – most people don’t know it but OSHA rules for N95 masks mandate no beards. And now this: Tight fit more important than a second…
Putting an end to the “holiday surge” meme – there was none
Summary There were no holiday surges The acceleration in new cases flipped in mid November before the holidays On February 18, 2021, the UW’s Trevor Bedford reported Rt began declining…
Non-partisan brains differ from those of partisans
A new study suggests that the brains of non-partisans function differently than those of partisans. Source: Non-partisan brains differ from those of partisans – Big Think I am not a…
Scientists warn over misuse of models
I’m so old, I remember Neil Ferguson’s projection of 2.2 million deaths in the U.S. by last spring, and Christopher Murray’s projection that NY would run out of ventilators (so…
Epidemiologists panic as cases continue to plummet
Kinsa Model This Week Kinsa Model Forecast Next Week Forecasts falling cases in all but 2 states. Both states had pretty strict rules. As the surge in good news continues,…
The epidemiologists Strike Back: Revenge of the Models Episode III
Fearful of the damage that may occur from the continued surge in good news, epidemiologists are striking back. WE HAVE MODELS. Late last week, the Institute for Health Metrics and…
California’s non-existent holiday surge
There was a surge in epidemiologists saying there would be a surge in post holiday cases of Covid-19. There was also a surge in news reports saying that California’s expanding…