A new era for the Memo

What’s new with me and what it means for you.

Howdy! It’s been a while.

Here’s what’s new with me and what it means for you, someone who is subscribed to my Covid19 news summaries.

First, it’s been more than a year-and-a-half since the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic.

In too many places in the United States, the virus is worse now than it was then. Take Tampa, for example, where 8,400+ students and 307 staff members have been affected (700+ are infected, 20 times the number a year ago).

A Florida school board is set to hold an emergency meeting this week to consider a mask mandate as more than 8,000 students and hundreds of employees in its district are in isolation or quarantine because of a surge in coronavirus cases and possible exposure.

And Houston, Texas:

The Washington Post @washingtonpost

Man shot 6 times waits more than a week for surgery after hospital is overwhelmed by covid

wapo.stMan shot 6 times waits more than a week for surgery after hospital is overwhelmed by covidThe number of new daily covid-19 hospital admissions and ICU admissions in Texas are both nearing peak levels not seen since December.

Why do I say this is worse than last year? Because (a) just about anyone 12 and older could be vaccinated and (b) those younger than 12 are being affected by the Delta variant in a way that they were not with the original virus.

Just look at these per capita case rates:

Next, it might be my reading habits, but it seems like the news hole is incredibly crowded: climate change, Afghanistan, fires, Delta, political scandals (Cuomo), January 6th, vaccine boosters …

Like last year, the news focuses too much on “what” and not enough on “why” or “how”. That is, it remains highly non-contextual, as many analysts pointed out after the initial rain (and reign) of Afghanistan woe-is-Biden headlines:

💫 Margaret Sullivan @Sulliview

The Afghan debacle lasted two decades. The media spent two hours deciding who to blame. …My column on the winners-and-losers, hot-take punditry we’re seeing way too much of

washingtonpost.comPerspective | The Afghan debacle lasted two decades. The media spent two hours deciding whom to blame.This tragedy deserves far more care in coverage than a political “winners and losers” story.

And so, I’m returning. And pivoting.

The goal:

• Public posts: a once-a-week contextual news summary, which may focus on the pandemic, misinformation, or trends (political, tech, social).

• Subscriber posts: once-a-week drill down on one issue.

Big reminder that I am a generalist at heart! Therefore, it helps me to know your questions and concerns.

Subscribers will be able to comment on any post. Anyone can talk to me on Twitter; ask for a follow to DM (I don’t have open DMs on purpose).

Photo of the week

Sunset above Spring Lake, Santa Rosa, CA. 08 August 2021.
CC license; attribution to this post, no commercial use, no mods.

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