Covid was the third leading cause of death in the US in 2020 and 2021, accounting for one of every eight lives lost. Heart disease topped the list followed by cancer. I wonder what 2022's list will look like.
Here's another reason to get vaccinated. A study is out claiming that long covid was less likely to occur in healthcare workers who'd gotten two or three mRNA shots compared with unvaccinated workers. The prevalence of long covid was 41.8 percent for unvaccinated workers, 27.4 percent for workers who had gotten two doses of vaccine, and 16 percent for workers who had gotten three. A physician at Washington University in St. Louis who was not involved in the study notes, "Everyone is at risk. The more optimal strategy is to avoid infection or reinfection in the first place." He says that studying long covid "should be a national priority."
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research-SCAN Foundation survey conducted in mid-May reported 12 percent of 1,001 respondents as saying their lives were the same as they'd been before the pandemic. Another 54 percent reported their lives as being somewhat the same, while 34 percent said their lives were not the same as before. Fifty-one percent of the respondents said they considered vaccines as essential for them. Related to vaccination, 39 percent felt that things won't go back to the way they were until nearly all people are vaccinated. (Yeah, that's gonna take a while.) Half viewed the availability of effective treatments as essential for participating in public life. When it came to masks, 22 percent of respondents said that wearing masks in indoor public places was essential to going back to pre-pandemic life.
A study published Wednesday said that an experimental drug called sabizabulin developed to fight cancer cut the risk of death for patients hospitalized with covid. The company making the drug has applied for emergency use authorization. Some scientists have criticized the study for its small sample size: 134 patients who got the drug and 70 who got a placebo. Of the placebo patients, 45.1 percent died, compared to 20.2 percent of patients who received the drug, yielding a 55.2 percent reduction in the risk of death.
About six percent of Bhutan's gross domestic product comes from tourism revenue. As the country reopens, that tourism is going to cost about twice as much. Before the pandemic, tourists had to be affiliated with a tour, with a fee of $250 per day covering accommodations, meals, guides, and a government tourism fee. Starting in September, the government fee will be $200 paid directly to the government and all other costs will be the responsibility of the tourist. The aim is to rebrand Bhutan as "an exclusive destination" for "discerning tourists."
The physician who gained noteriety pushing hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for covid died last week. No, he did not die of covid, but of lung cancer.
Finally, Dr. Fauci figures that covid is his last pandemic. The 81-year-old is said to still work more than 12 hours daily, seven days per week. In retirement, he plans to teach and to write a story of covid as well as a memoir of his early life. He also wants to encourage young people to enter civil service. I hope he lives long enough to enjoy his retirement; he certainly won't be idle.
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