THIS KNOCKED MY SOCKS OFF We have shut down our economy, New Jersey just put masks back on little children all because of covid. So exactly WHO is covid super dangerous for? A new study done of covid infections BEFORE the vaccine is out and it's rather shocking if you ask me. They specifically looked at the elderly and non-elderly to find out just how deadly covid is for younger people. You can read the whole study here if you'd like. Check out the survival rates from this study, put into a handy list by Listener Joe:
It is utterly apparent that people over 70 bore the brunt of this pandemic. So how does this stack up to the annual flu season?
These absolute numbers of fatalities are overall probably modestly higher than seasonal flu fatalities over three typical pre-pandemic years
But surely the high rates of hospitalizations in the early pandemic show that covid is worse for young people, right? Not so fast.
Moreover, in terms of absolute counts, the number of hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions are many times higher than the number of deaths in the non-elderly (Herrera-Esposito and de los Campos, 2022), resulting in non-negligible clinical and health care burden. However, in depth analysis of population data of health utilization show that for the non-elderly (and even more so for children) the number of hospitalizations was shaped initially in many countries by the precautionary principle, admitting many people to the hospital, especially early in the pandemic, while hospitalization rates declined over time. For example, population-level data from Vojvodina (Medić et al., 2022a) shows that 100% of COVID-19-diagnosed children and adolescents were hospitalized in the first wave (March–June 2020), but the hospitalization rate among COVID-19-diagnosed children and adolescents dropped to 0.8% in 2021.
And just for fun, what about AFTER the vaccine came out?
Finally, the data that we analyzed pertain to the pre-vaccination period. During 2021 and 2022, the use of vaccination and the advent of new variants plus pre-existing immunity from prior infections resulted in a marked decline in the IFR. Studies in Denmark (Erikstrup et al., 2022b) and Shanghai (Chen et al., 2022) suggest that in 2022, IFRs in vaccinated, previously not infected populations were extremely low. For example, in Denmark, IFR was only 1.6 per 100,000 infections for ages 17–35 and even in ages 61–72 it was only 15.1 per 100,000 infections. In Shanghai, in 2022, IFR was 0.01% among vaccinated individuals aged 40–59 and close to 0% for younger vaccinated people, while it was practically 0% for children and adolescents regardless of vaccination.
It's time to move on from Covid panic. We need to make sure our elderly folks are vaccinated and get on with life.
PREPARING FOR DUNKELFLAUTE IN COLORADO As we march towards an all renewable energy grid in Colorado you need to pay attention to this column by the Independence Institute's Jake Fogleman. In it he breaks down where we got our energy from over the New Year period when skies were gray and no wind was blowing. He doesn't have to speculate, as the energy mix in Colorado is constantly available so he has the facts. Spoiler alert: gas and coal saved our bacon. Check out this tweet for starters:
I've got the author of the column Jake Fogleman on at 1pm.
DO ANY OF YOU CARE ABOUT PRINCE HARRY? My GOD if you are on the internet looking for news Prince Harry and his new book are EVERYWHERE. There are not enough words to truly convey how little I care about this. And I LOVED the Queen. Is there some hotbed of interest into the airing of royal dirty laundry that I'm missing? WHO. CARES.
IT'S TIME FOR NUCLEAR Amy Oliver Cooke (also from the spectacular Independence Institute) has a great column here on embracing nuclear and I sure wish Colorado Republicans would not just jump on this bandwagon but drive it hard.
WHEN SETTLED SCIENCE STOPS INNOVATION I think many people, me included, fear Alzheimer's disease both for ourselves and our loved ones. It's a horrible disease with no good treatments and no cure. This column has me mad about science to be honest. In it, the author, whose father died of Alzheimer's disease, shares how the scientific "consensus" that amyloid protein buildup is the reason behind the disease have stymied all other theories even though attacking those proteins has been shown to be ineffective to treat the disease. This is part of the Scientific Industrial Complex Eisenhower warned us about and it's lead to countless people suffering with no end in sight. Tragic. I can't help feel that the same sort of thing is happening in climate science as well.
NOW AGE IS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT JUST LIKE GENDER You may think I am going to sarcastically tell you that I am transage and REALLY only 29 years old but you're wrong. I'm transage but I'm REALLY 70. This way I can get cheap healthcare via Medicare and take money out of my 401k without penalty. I'm being sarcastic because this is just as ridiculous as thinking you can change your gender. (don't email me telling me that's transphobic, it's not, even if you have surgery to adjust your gender presentation your genes will always tell the truth) But this is a thing now, as "transage" people say they have reverted back to their younger years or maybe they are older IDK. We are in the age of insanity.
FACEBOOK'S ENTIRE BUSINESS MODEL JUST GOT CLIPPED BY THE EU And this could be the beginning of the end for the massive data gathering that these companies have been engaged in for YEARS if our Congress pays attention and does the same. It seems the EU isn't happy with Facebook spying on it's users even when they aren't using the app and will be requiring users to OPT IN to allowing that practice to continue. This move has cost Apple about $10 billion in ad revenue last year alone. I sure hope they do it and you can read more here.
REMEMBER WHEN TRUMP'S TAX RETURNS WERE A "TREASURE TROVE" OF "BOMBSHELLS" And when they were released and only show that Trump mitigated his tax liabilities the same way our Governor did, the story got dropped like a hot potato. Newsbusters.has more here.
THIS IS A FASCINATING DISCUSSION BETWEEN TIM ROBBINS AND RUSSELL BRAND And though Russell's accent and speed talking are occasionally hard to understand it's worth your time. The cover the pandemic as a new religion and how Robbins uses drama therapy in prisons to change lives.
HOUSING IN THE METRO IS COOLING And I'm talking both sale prices and rent prices, which is good news for the younger set. Rents in the metro have fallen 1.5% but are still up 14% since before the pandemic. Home prices have fallen back down to where they were LAST December after a spike during the summer though we are way, way up since the beginning of the pandemic. Interest rates have definitely cooled the buyers market, but hopefully this correction will be enough to bring the market back to life.
HOW THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT GOT STARTED This is a great article on the beginnings of the environmental movement and I eagerly await part 2. Read part one here.
ANOTHER SAD EXAMPLE OF THE PRESS COVERING FOR DEMOCRATS And this one is about Rep. Katie Porter, who is apparently a horrible boss to her staff and everyone knows it. This column isn't about her misdeeds necessarily, but the way DC journalists cover up for such bad behavior when it comes from Democrats. Least surprising story of the year.
A FEW TIPS TO KEEP YOUR FITNESS RESOLUTIONS I really like this article because it's all about simplicity. When we make things too complicated, people check out. Whether it's a nineteen step skincare routine (hard pass) or a complicated approach to working out it all just becomes another stumbling block to overcome. Read this to keep it simple and keep yourself motivated.
HERE ARE SOME TIPS ON HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY And I told you guys I was working on my memory so I will report back on how well these tips work.
SHORT PEOPLE GOT GOOD REASONS... According to a columnist in the New York Times who argues that short people are better for the environment. Maybe it's because they use less because they can't reach the stuff on the upper shelves of the super market.
BUTTON UP VERSUS BUTTON DOWN If you're fashion challenged this should help. Click here if it doesn't load.
NOW I NEED A JAGUAR Click here if it doesn't load.
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED This is insane. Click here if it doesn't load.
THE RUSE OF PRIVACY IN PUBLIC IS JUST THAT When we went through security at DIA the other day I didn't realize that DIA already uses facial recognition software on travellers. This article sounds the alarm about facial recognition but I think that ship has already sailed. Americans are used to being spied on and by the time it's abused and used against us it will be too late.
THREE THINGS THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD NEVER DO Finland is the happiest place in the world allegedly and a psychologist says Finnish people never do these three things.
EVER WANTED TO SEE A COMET? You can February 1st if you have a telescope. Read more here.
IF IT WEREN'T FOR THE INTERNET WE'D NEVER SEE THINGS LIKE THIS. Click here if it doesn't load.