epidemic – Page 18 – Desdemona Despair

Joseph Mercola, an osteopathic physician in Cape Coral, Florida, is a key figure in the “Disinformation Dozen” spreading anti-vaccine messaging. Photo: Mercola

July 31, 2021

The Disinformation Dozen: 12 people are the source for 65 percent of anti-vaccine propaganda – “In full view of the public on the internet is a small group of individuals who do not have relevant medical expertise and have their own pockets to line”

By Sheera Frenkel 24 July 2021 SAN FRANCISCO (The New York Times) – The article that appeared online on 9 February 2021 began with a seemingly innocuous question about the legal definition of vaccines. Then over its next 3,400 words, it declared coronavirus vaccines were “a medical fraud” and said the injections did not prevent infections, provide immunity, […]

COVID-19 daily confirmed new cases in Florida, January 2020 - July 2021 (7-day moving average). Florida exceeded its previous peak in daily cases on 26 July 2021, as Gov. DeSantis downplayed the severity of the outbreak and told healthcare professionals that he will oppose any mask mandate for students. Graphic: Johns Hopkins University

July 27, 2021

Florida hits Covid daily case record as Gov. DeSantis downplays outbreak

27 July 2021 (Desdemona Despair) – Florida broke its COVID-19 daily-case record on Monday, exceeding the previous peak in January 2021. Hospitalizations hit the highest number since February 2021. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has downplayed the outbreak and told healthcare professionals that he opposes any mask mandate for students. Florida saw more than 18,200 new […]

U.S. life expectancy, 1900-2020. Data: NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, Mortality. U.S. life expectancy fell by a year and a half in 2020, the largest one-year decline since World War II. The decrease for both Black Americans and Hispanic Americans was even worse: three years. Graphic: AP

July 26, 2021

U.S. life expectancy in 2020 saw “basically catastrophic” decline, biggest drop since World War Two – “In 2021, we can’t get back to pre-pandemic life expectancy”

By Mike Stobbe 20 July 2021 NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. life expectancy fell by a year and a half in 2020, the largest one-year decline since World War II, public health officials said Wednesday. The decrease for both Black Americans and Hispanic Americans was even worse: three years. The drop spelled out by the […]

Global map showing COVID-19 vaccine doses administered per 100 people, 20 July 2021. The map shows the huge difference in vaccination rates between some wealthy nations and the rest of the world. Graphic: Max Roser / Our World In Data

July 20, 2021

Map shows striking vaccination divide between rich countries and the rest of the world – “We are making conscious choices right now not to protect those in need”

By Sinéad Baker 19 July 2021 (Business Insider) – A map shows the huge difference in vaccination rights between some rich countries and the rest of the world. The graph, produced by Max Roser of the site Our World in Data, shows the proportion of each country to receive at least one dose of a coronavirus […]

Daily new Covid cases per 100,000 people in Florida, 20 July 2021. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Monday downplayed the recent spike in coronavirus cases in his state, and criticized public health officials who continue to push unvaccinated Americans to get Covid-19 shots. Graphic: Covid Act Now

July 20, 2021

Florida governor DeSantis downplays increase in COVID-19 cases after selling “Don’t Fauci My Florida” merch

By Max Greenwood 20 July 2021 ORLANDO, Florida (The Hill) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Monday downplayed the recent spike in coronavirus cases in his state and criticized public health officials who continue to push unvaccinated Americans to get Covid-19 shots. “It’s a seasonal virus and this is the seasonal pattern it follows […]

Flames and smoke rise from the Bootleg fire in southern Oregon on Wednesday, 14 July 2021. The largest fire in the U.S. on Wednesday was burning in southern Oregon, to the northeast of the wildfire that ravaged a tribal community less than a year ago. The lightning-caused Bootleg fire was encroaching on the traditional territory of the Klamath Tribes, which still have treaty rights to hunt and fish on the land, and sending huge, churning plumes of smoke into the sky visible for miles. Photo: John Hendricks / Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal / AP

July 19, 2021

Can America save itself? Between the pandemic and climate change, the outlook is grim.

By Joel Mathis 19 July 2021 (The Week) – Is the pandemic akin to climate change? Back in March 2020, my colleague Ryan Cooper argued that it was, in an article that has haunted me ever since. “This is what an uncontrolled, exponentially-accelerating crisis looks like on the ground: first slow, then all at once,” Cooper wrote of […]

Affordable rents in the U.S. in 2021 and wage earners grouped by earnings. Even under the best of circumstances, rent is unaffordable for most low-wage workers. Graphic: NLIHC

July 18, 2021

Minimum wage workers can’t afford rent anywhere in America – “In no state, metropolitan area, or county can a full-time minimum-wage worker afford a modest two-bedroom rental home”

By Anna Bahney 15 July 2021 (CNN) – Housing has become so expensive in the United States that the typical minimum wage worker cannot afford rent, according to a new report. There is no state, county or city in the country where a full-time, minimum-wage worker working 40 hours a week can afford a two-bedroom […]

U.S. greenhouse gas emissions under current policy with energy market and economic uncertainty, 2005-2021 and projected to 2030. Under current trends, the U.S. will miss both of its Paris Agreement reduction targets in 2025 and 2030. Graphic: Rhodium Group

July 18, 2021

Taking Stock 2021: U.S. will miss Paris Agreement emissions reduction targets – Cheap natural gas threatens renewable energy transition

By Hannah Pitt, Kate Larsen, Hannah Kolus, Ben King, Alfredo Rivera, Emily Wimberger, Whitney Herndon, John Larsen, and Galen Hiltbrand 15 July 2021 (Rhodium Group) – For the past seven years, Rhodium Group has provided an independent annual outlook for US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under current federal and state policy. This current policy baseline […]

Map showing percent change in reported 12 month-ending count of U.S. drug overdose deaths, by jurisdiction, December 2019 to December 2020. Graphic: CDC

July 15, 2021

Drug overdose deaths in U.S. hit highest number ever recorded in 2020 – “This is the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period, and the largest increase since at least 1999”

By Maggie Fox 14 July 2021 (CNN) – Drug overdose deaths rose by close to 30 percent in the United States in 2020, hitting the highest number ever recorded, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. More than 93,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2020, according to provisional data released by […]

Number of undernourished people and prevalence of undernourishment globally, 2005-2020. The number of undernourished people in the world has been on the rise since 2015 and is back to levels seen during the global financial crisis in 2008–2009. Graphic: FAO

July 15, 2021

UN: World hunger continued its six-year rise in 2020 – Up to 160 million more people faced hunger in 2020 than in 2019 – “The world is at a critical juncture”

12 July 2021 (UNFAO) – The world is in a very different place to where it was six years ago when it committed to the goal of ending hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition by 2030. At the time, we were optimistic that with transformative approaches, past progress could be accelerated, at scale, […]