06 September 2021 ⚡️Labor Day weekend football draws millions to packed stadiums
CARE Act unemployment benefits expire; fallout from Hurricane Ida continues; Americans second only to Russians in Covid-19 vaccine skepticism; 9-11 anniversary approaches
For the first time since 2019, college and professional football stadiums are open to fans, as are professional baseball stadiums. College football kicked off (week one) this weekend, with mask mandates and vaccination requirements varying by venue.
The risk: reported daily cases on Saturday of 163,728, up from 148,000 on 21 August and a rate equivalent to that in late January (seven day average). There is demonstrated risk of outbreaks from public gatherings without vaccination or testing requirements. When colleges and universities shun masks or vaccines, cases go up; Liberty University in Virginia had more Covid-19 cases last week than the four largest campuses combined (and with less than 15% of the combined student body).
Is it safe to go to a packed stadium even if you are vaccinated?
Six out of the seven public health experts that KHN spoke to from big football states were adamant in their response: No way. Not now…
“Delta changed the entire equation of how we looked at the risk,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville. “I do think there will be transmission’’ in stadiums.
And yet, images like this one of my alma mater flooded Twitter on Saturday:
Last week, the CDC linked spring break travel to a COVID19 outbreak at the University of Chicago.
This week, three key Covid-era unemployment programs established by the CARES Act have expired. The Century Foundation projects that 7.5 million Americans will lose all benefits. The $300 per week enhanced federal benefit lapses as well.
Afghanistan: the military-industrial-media complex has a new riff on the classic DC revolving door. “The eight generals who commanded American forces in Afghanistan between 2008 and 2018 have gone on to serve on more than 20 corporate boards,” which can yield millions in compensation as well as five-figure speaking fees. There has been moderate pushback on their TV punditry.
Air quality: the Environmental Protection Agency announces when it will test for fine particulate matter (pm2.5). NASA publishes data daily. No surprise when you compare the two: “the air was consistently cleaner in these areas on monitoring days… The magnitude of the gap also depended on the cost of being caught.” Paper: Unwatched Pollution: The Effect of Intermittent Monitoring on Air Quality.
Climate change: California and much of the west remains mired in the “deepest drought in at least two decades.” Warming waters in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico are leading to historic flooding on the east coast, such as that which engulfed New York and New Jersey last weekend in the wake of Hurricane Ida.
Too many people have migrated to vulnerable Gulf of Mexico coastline counties. Population in these counties grew 24.5% between 2000 and 2016, the fastest growth of all coastline regions. The total US population grew only 14.8% over the same period.
Too many died of flooding in New York City basements. Due to its housing shortage, in 2018 city officials “loosened rules around basement apartments.” Too many resident deaths in NOLA, too.
The National Flood Insurance program will expire on 30 September 2021 unless reauthorized.
Digital news consolidation: German media company Axel Springer plans to buy Politico in a deal worth more than $1 billion. Axel Springer already owns Business Insider and the newsletter publisher Morning Brew.
Opioid settlement: attorneys general of Connecticut, the District of Columbia and Washington are expected to contest “a sweeping settlement that will remove the Sackler family from ownership of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma.” The Sacklers will be shielded from future lawsuits related to opioids and must contribute $4.5 billion to “helping people and communities who have been hurt by the opioid crisis.”
Ruptured pipeline: there is a hurricane-related Gulf of Mexico oil spill from a pipeline of unknown ownership.
Vaccine skepticism: we are an outlier among other rich Western countries, second only to Russia. The Economist calls it “stubbornly high.”
🤓 Recommended reading
9/11 was a test. The books of the last two decades show how America failed. Washington Post, Carlos Lozada; 03 Sept 2021.
A New Breed of Crisis: War and Warming Collide in Afghanistan. NYT, 30 Aug.
Conservatives used to hate frivolous lawsuits. Now, Texas abortion law invites them. Fort Worth Star Telegram, 02 Sept 2021.
Created 150 Years Ago, the Justice Department’s First Mission Was to Protect Black Rights. Smithsonian Magazine, 01 July 2020.
How 9/11 changed TV, art, sports, education, millennials, bigotry, country music, fiction, policing, love — and more. Washington Post, 05 Sept 2021.
How a Small Town Silenced a Neo-Nazi Hate Campaign. NYT, 05 Sept 2021.
How Do You Tell the Story of a Fire? The Nation, 01 Sept 2021.
How Shrek Is Connecting People During the Pandemic. Atlantic, 30 Aug 2021.
Kevin McCarthy among GOP lawmakers whose phone records January 6 select committee asks to be preserved. CNN, 02 Sept 2021.
Medicaid Vaccination Rates Founder as States Struggle to Immunize Their Poorest Residents. KHN, 27 Aug 2021.
More than 200 health journals call for urgent action on climate crisis. The Guardian, 05 Sept 2021.
On the front lines, here’s what the seven stages of severe COVID-19 look like. LA Times, Karen Gallardo, respiratory therapist; 26 Aug 2021.
Republican bill tightening Texas election laws is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. Texas Tribune, 31 Aug 2021.
Scientists Discovered a New Arctic Warning Signal for Catastrophic Winter Weather. Vice, 02 Sept 2021.
The Conservative Justices’ Reasoning in the Texas Abortion Case Is Legal Mansplaining. Slate, 02 Sept 2021.
The Severe Weather Event We Routinely Ignore: Poor Air Quality. The New Republic, 03 Sept 2021.
Trump Tower’s key tenants have fallen behind on rent and moved out. But Trump has one reliable customer: His own PAC. Washington Post, 03 Sept 2021.
What the Justice Department should do to stop the Texas abortion law. Washington Post, Lawrence Tribe; 05 Sept 2021.
Why Hurricane Ida has been so devastating to Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. Vox, 30 Aug 2021.
💉 COVID-19 week in review
🏥 Hospitalizations: on Saturday 04 September, US hospitals were treating 93,291 coronavirus patients, down from 98,888 on 31 August. Idaho hospitals are crushed.
Nineteen states have hospitalization rates greater than the national average (31/100,000). Only one is outside of the south or midwest: ND (75), FL (69), AL (63), GA (61), MS (54), KY (53), TN (51), TX (50), SC (47), LA (46), AR (44), WV (42), OK (41), NE (38), MO (36), WY (36), NC (34), IN (34), and HI (32).
🪦 Deaths per day (seven-day average) reached 1,550 on Saturday (4 Sept 2021), which is a 50% increase in two weeks (from 1,274 on 29 Aug and from 1,000 on 21 Aug 2021).
Excess mortality:According to The Economist, the true global death toll of the pandemic is more than three times official numbers: 15.2 million, not 4.6 million.
In Florida, a woman died of the virus. As her family was planning her funeral, her mother died. The aunt who managed the double funeral died two weeks later.
📷 Photo of the week
Late summer dahlia, Lynnwood, WA, 22 August 2021.
CC license; attribution to this post, no commercial use, no mods.
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