United States – Page 25 – Desdemona Despair

Coronavirus in the U.S., January 2020-January 2022, showing case rates, hospitalizations, and mortality. Data: Johns Hopkins University / Department of Health and Human Services. Graphic: CNBC

January 21, 2022

Two years since Covid was first confirmed in U.S., the pandemic is worse than anyone imagined – “Everybody wants to get to this thing called endemic. I still don’t know what the hell that means.”

By Spencer Kimball and Nate Rattner 21 January 2022 (CNBC) – A 35-year-old man returned to the U.S. from Wuhan, China on Jan. 15, 2020 and fell ill with a cough and fever. He had read an alert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about an outbreak of a novel coronavirus in Wuhan […]

Florida Department of Health in Orange County director Dr. Raul Pino speaks during the press conference that Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings help on 13 April 2020 to discuss COVID-19 and County updates. On 19 January 2022, the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis put Dr. Pino on leave and threatened criminal prosecution for encouraging his staff to get vaccinated. Photo: Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda / Orlando Sentinel

January 19, 2022

DeSantis administration puts Florida health director on leave for encouraging vaccinations for his staff – “I have a hard time understanding how we can be in public health and not practice it”

By Frank Gluck 19 January 2022 (Fort Myers News-Press) – Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, already facing criticism for downplaying the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccinations, has put on leave Orange County Health Director Dr. Raul Pino for encouraging his staff to get vaccinated. Pino had written in a 4 January 2022 email to his staff: “I […]

Leonard Rieser, chairman of the board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, moves the hand of the Doomsday Clock back to 17 minutes before midnight at offices near the University of Chicago on 26 November 1991. Photo: Carl Wagner / Chicago Tribune

January 19, 2022

The story of how the Doomsday Clock began ticking 75 years ago, the brainchild of a Chicago artist

By Ron Grossman 13 January 2022 (Chicago Tribune) – Martyl Langsdorf designed just one magazine cover, but it has had considerable staying power. A prolific painter of abstract and figurative canvases, she was commissioned 75 years ago by the scientists who built the atomic bomb that ended World War II. By 1947 the Cold War […]

U.S. hospital utilization by facility, 10 January 2022. By mid-January 2022, at least 18 states had less than 15 percent capacity remaining in their ICU facilities, as the United States grappled with surging COVID-19 cases, according to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) data. Graphic: HHS Protect

January 14, 2022

ICUs nearing capacity in at least 18 U.S. states – “The sudden and steep rise in cases due to omicron is resulting in unprecedented daily case counts, sickness, absenteeism, and strains on our health care system”

By Monique Beals 13 January 2022 (The Hill) – At least 18 states have less than 15 percent capacity remaining in their ICU facilities as the United States grapples with surging COVID-19 cases, according to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) data. The states include Delaware, Georgia, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, […]

Map showing natural catastrophe loss event worldwide in 2021. In 2021, natural disasters caused overall losses of $280 billion, of which roughly $120 billion were insured. Alongside 2005 and 2011, the year 2021 proved to be the second-costliest ever for the insurance sector (record year 2017: $146 billion, inflation-adjusted) – overall losses from natural disasters were the fourth-highest to date (record year 2011: $355 billion). Graphic: Munich Re

January 13, 2022

For the insurance industry, 2021 was the second-highest loss year on record, after 2017 – “The 2021 disaster statistics are striking because some of the extreme weather events are of the kind that are likely to become more frequent or more severe as a result of climate change”

10 January 2022 (Munich Re) – Worldwide, natural disasters caused substantially higher losses in 2021 than in the two previous years. Based on provisional data, storms, floods, wildfires, and earthquakes destroyed assets worth US$ 280bn. Losses in the previous year amounted to US$ 210bn, while in 2019 they were US$ 166bn. Roughly US$ 120bn of […]

Anti-COVID-19 “Vaccine Police” leader Christopher Key poses with multiple guns. On 9 January 2022, Key told The Daily Beast he advocates what he calls “urine therapy” and railed against “foolish” people who took the COVID-19 vaccine, which is safe and effective. Photo: Telegram

January 13, 2022

Anti-Vax leader urges followers to drink their own urine to fight COVID-19

By Zachary Petrizzo 9 January 2022 (The Daily Beast) – Anti-COVID-19 “Vaccine Police” leader Christopher Key has a new quarter-baked conspiracy theory for his anti-vax followers to use to cure themselves of COVID-19: Drink their own urine. “The antidote that we have seen now, and we have tons and tons of research, is urine therapy. OK, and […]

Daily positive COVID-19 test rate in the United States, 14 March 2020 - 5 January 2022. As of 11 January 2022, there were roughly 62.4 million cases and 841,000 deaths from COVID-19 in the United States. Over the previous 14 days, daily new cases increased by about 100 percent and daily deaths increased by about 13 percent. Graphic: Covid Act Now

January 13, 2022

The Great Resignation roars again: Here’s why more U.S. workers than ever quit in November 2021 – Nearly 3 million reported not working due to COVID-19 symptoms or caring for somebody who was sick

By Connie Lin 4 January 2022 (Fast Company) – New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the Great Resignation did not go gently into that good night; rather, it was very much alive at the end of 2021. A historic 4.5 million workers willingly quit their jobs in November, up from a succession of records […]

Daily COVID-19 cases reported to the CDC, 23 January 2020 - 10 January 2022 CDC. The United States reported 1.35 million new coronavirus infections on 10 January 2022 CDC, the highest daily total for any country in the world, as the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant showed no signs of slowing. The previous record was 1.03 million cases on 3 January 2022. The seven-day average for new cases tripled in two weeks to more than 700,000 new infections per day. Graphic: CDC

January 11, 2022

U.S. reports 1.35 million COVID-19 cases in one day, shattering global record – More than 65,000 L.A. students and employees test positive as school resumes – U.S. breaks COVID-19 hospitalization record

By Lisa Shumaker 11 January 2022 (Reuters) – The United States reported 1.35 million new coronavirus infections on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, the highest daily total for any country in the world as the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant showed no signs of slowing. The previous record was 1.03 million cases […]

Deaths from overdoses, alcohol use, or suicide in Washington state, 2015-2020. Nearly 3,900 Washingtonians died from “deaths of despair” in 2020, an increase of almost 600 since 2019. Graphic: Mark Nowlin / The Seattle Times

January 11, 2022

“Deaths of despair” spiked in Washington state in 2020, exceeding deaths from COVID-19

By Gene Balk 10 January 2022 (Seattle Times) – They’ve come to be known as “deaths of despair” — fatalities from drug overdoses, alcohol use, and suicide. Research has shown they’ve been on the rise for decades in the United States and have contributed to the decline in life expectancy over the last few years. Since the […]

Promo still for the film “Don’t Look Up” showing Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio. Photo: Netflix

January 10, 2022

The most depressing thing about “Don’t Look Up” (isn’t what you think)

By Andrew P. Street 1 January 2022 (Independent Australia) – Don’t Look Up, Adam McKay’s star-studded Netflix satire about scientists desperately (and unsuccessfully) attempting to warn a jaded and deeply compromised world about the imminent arrival of an extinction-level comet, has already garnered a veritable encyclopedia of hot takes. But as best as I can see, […]