But he ran on a campaign of fixing the virus problem. You know he said that NO ONE would have died if he had been president. Now you tell us he is able to influence only democrats. We know you have your scripts ready to go. But I will have to check Biden's poll numbers to see how it is playing with the public. So far, more people have died under Biden than Trump. I think Biden will be okay though as long a the people are more concerned about Trump and Michael Cohen and Stormy's bra size because that seems to be the dem and NY media strategy. ie. When the going gets tough for Joe, return to the golden oldies about Trump. You are doing your part, per the script.
Let's take a look at case and death data from the point after the vaccine was widely available. The blog by Charles Gaba's outlines the details... In which I owe a thank you to both Prof. Krugman and a random Twitter troll for an important data point... Sun, 01/23/2022 - 1:36pm So, I plugged in the latest COVID case & death rates at the county level as I do every week. I recently decided to switch from using the beginning of the Delta wave as my starting point (June 30, 2021) to using the "start" of the Omicron wave (around December 15, 2021 as far as I can figure) instead. Last night, however (yes, I know I'm a nerd doing this on a Saturday evening), I decided to see what it looks like if I use June 30th as my starting point again, and this generated a pretty remarkable contrast which goes to show two things: First, just how insanely contagious the new Omicron COVID variant is; and second, how extremely effective the COVID vaccines are (especially with the 3rd/booster dose added to the mix). Here's the updated county-level case rates across all 50 states +DC, broken out into 10 roughly equal populations by 2-dose vaccination rate (booster data wasn't available as of this writing): As you can see, while there were some points during the Delta wave when cases were running as much as 2.3x higher per capita in the least-vaccinated decile of the U.S. than the most-vaccinated decile, this has been completely cancelled out in the first five weeks or so of the Omicron wave. ALL TEN BRACKETS have now seen almost identical case rates over the past 6 1/2 months. OK, this proves how crazy contagious Omicron is (as if the nearly-a-million-new-cases-per-day we've seen in recent weeks wasn't evidence enough). What about death rates, however? Wow. Even with nearly the exact same case rates across all 10 deciles of the U.S. population, the death rate since June is still a whopping four times higher in the least-vaccinated tenth than the most vaccinated tenth. This is a hell of a testament to how effective the vaccines are at preventing death from Omicron, even if they aren't so great at preventing actual infection. Anyway, I posted both of the graphs above on Twitter last night, and while most of the responses were understandably impressed by the contrast, there was one particularly inane criticism: The catch is data since 6/30/2021 is some of the worst cherry picking you can do. If you expand the data series to the start of the pandemic the death rate is basically similar. This is terrible misuse of statistics! — IDKFA (@IDKFA3) January 23, 2022 Ummmm...ok, then. Can anyone tell me what's wrong with this person's logic? Yes, that's right: They're criticizing me for not including the COVID deaths during the ~11-month period when there was no COVID vaccine available, as well as another couple of months when only a small percent of the population could get vaccinated when creating a graph which specifically looks at the COVID death rate based on vaccination rates. (blink.) I made a quick, snarky comment about this on Twitter and didn't think any more of it...until this morning, when none other than economics professor, NY Times columnist and Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman picked up my point and ran with it: I think Charles may be being too subtle here. Also, not just one critic. I'm getting a lot of "You say vaccines save lives, but lots of people died in highly vaccinated New York back in early 2020 (before vaccines were available)" 1/ — Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) January 23, 2022 And, of course, accusations that anyone comparing death rates since the vaccines — which are correlated with Trump vote, bc vaccination is so partisan — is being a dishonest political shill 2/ — Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) January 23, 2022 Obviously the original critical tweet didn't deserve any response from either myself or Krugman; "don't feed the trolls!" is the common refrain. However...once in awhile I can't help myself, so I decided to say what the hell and treat the complaint as if it was an intellectually honest one. Why? Because I have wayyyy too much free time on my hands. And so, I decided to go ahead and run the exact same death rate by vaccination rate graph INCLUDING that horrific first COVID wave nearly two years ago, when New York City in particular (along with New Jersey and several other major urban population centers) were being devastated, when there was not only no vaccinations available but also little to no testing and for at least part of that time, no masking or social distancing in most areas. In short, the graph below includes the ~330,000 Americans who died before COVID vaccines were made available to any Americans, the ~240,000 who died between the first Americans receiving a shot and the vaccines being made widely available to all adults in early April, and the ~30,000 more who died between then and June 30th...the starting point of the graph they complained about. (Keep in mind that it takes around 5-6 weeks from the point someone receives their first dose until the point that their 2nd dose is fully effective.) Here's the kicker: Even when you include every American who died prior to vaccines being available, the cumulative COVID death rate as of today is still 73% higher in the least-vaccinated tenth of the U.S. than the most-vaccinated tenth: It's important to note that the vaccination rates themselves obviously change over time, as more and more people get vaccinated. The brackets above are based on the current 2-dose vaccination rate as of Friday, January 21st, 2022. One more thing: Just for the heck of it, I took it one step further: Remember, the original critic emphasized the absurdly high death rate in New York City specifically during that first terrible wave in March-May 2020. So, what does the cumulative death rate look like if you take NYC out of the equation? Voila: That's right: As horrible as the massive COVID death toll has been in New York City, it still only comprises around 4.4% of total U.S. COVID deaths to date...and NYC's deaths through 6/30/21 only make up 3.9% of it. Get vaccinated, for the love of God, and get boosted if you're at least 5 months out from your 2nd shot. P.S. For the record, here's what the case & death rates since June 30th look like when broken out by 2020 partisan lean as of January 23rd. Both cases rate and death rate graphs are almost identical to their vaccination rate-based counterparts, except that case rates are still slightly higher in the reddest decile than the bluest, while death rates are still 4.1x higher in the reddest decile than the bluest.
Trump Counties Have Higher COVID Death Rates Counties that voted for Donald Trump in 2020 are seeing higher mortality from COVID-19, a U.S. News analysis shows. https://www.usnews.com/news/health-...voted-for-trump-have-higher-covid-death-rates Just as a disparity along political lines exists when it comes to getting vaccinated against COVID-19, partisan divides are apparent in relation to deaths from the disease as well. A U.S. News analysis of COVID-19 data from USAFacts alongside voting results from the 2020 presidential race shows that counties where former President Donald Trump received the most votes by a massive margin have a 52% higher death rate over the course of the pandemic than counties where President Joe Biden won in a relative landslide. Death Rates by Candidate Win Margin The following chart shows the number of COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 population in counties grouped by results of the 2020 presidential election. That disparity shrinks, however, with the winning margin: Looking at cumulative data as of Feb. 1, counties where Trump won by up to 25 points have a death rate only 8% higher than counties where Biden won by a margin in the same range. Overall, counties won by Biden have a death rate of 236 per 100,000 people, the U.S. News analysis shows, compared with a rate of 293 deaths per 100,000 in Trump counties. Death Rates Over Time The following chart shows the COVID-19 death rate over time in counties grouped by results of the 2020 presidential election. Early in the pandemic, as COVID-19 hit urban centers – which tend to vote Democratic – Biden counties were the ones facing higher death rates. Notably, COVID-19 vaccines became available starting in December 2020, and a crossover in death rates occurred in early 2021, with the gap widening in ensuing months. A similar but smaller trend exists when examining COVID-19 case data. Counties won by Biden have a rate of 21,657 cases per 100,000 people, compared with a rate of 23,022 cases per 100,000 for Trump counties – about a 6% increase. That gap roughly triples to 18% among counties where the candidate won by a margin of more than 50 percentage points.
This study covers the Delta wave... Third wave of COVID-19 hit rural America especially hard https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220210154230.htm The third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2021 spread far faster in rural America, much of which has low rates of vaccination. A new study led by the University of Cincinnati found that rural counties had 2.4 times more infections per 100,000 people than urban areas between July 1 and Aug. 31, 2021, when the delta variant surged across the United States. About 82% of rural America has a vaccination rate lower than 30%, according to data collected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Conversely, rural counties accounted for just 131 of the 376 areas with vaccination rates of 50% or more. Unlike some countries, the United States has a lot of variation in vaccination rates from state to state and county to county. So understanding where vaccinations are lagging could help government and health agencies address vaccine hesitancy and shortfalls in health care, UC epidemiologist and lead author Diego Cuadros said. He is director of UC's Health Geography and Disease Modeling Lab. Areas with low vaccination rates experienced a more intense surge of new cases during the third wave of the pandemic in the United States, driven primarily by the delta variant, according to COVID-19 infection data collected by Johns Hopkins University. The study was published Feb. 10 in the journal JAMA Network Open. Rural areas in the United States face many challenges responding to the pandemic, including less access to health care compared to urban areas. "We found that infections from the delta wave increased much faster in low-vaccination areas. Not only did we have more cases per capita in low-vaccination areas but the epidemic infection spread much faster compared to high-vaccination areas," said Cuadros, an assistant professor of geography in UC's College of Arts and Sciences. "Our study underscores the importance of vaccination to mitigate the rate of spread of COVID-19 in the United States," said study co-author Phillip Coule, MD, associate dean at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. "Although we have long known that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, this study concludes that communities with higher vaccination rates have slower rates of community spread when an outbreak of COVID-19 does occur," said Coule, vice president and chief medical officer for Augusta University Health System. UC's Cuadros said some people have a fundamental misunderstanding of vaccines, which are designed to help the body's immune system fight infection. "They think it's an invisible shield that protects you against the virus. That's not how it works," Cuadros said. Vaccinated people can still contract the virus, sometimes called "breakthrough cases," but for most people the vaccinations boost the immune system to prevent catastrophic illness that can lead to hospitalization or death. Former UC College of Pharmacy Dean Neil MacKinnon, now provost at Augusta University, said knowing which areas have low rates of vaccination can help policymakers and health advocates steer efforts to improve access to health care. "This tells us something powerful," MacKinnon said. "Rural areas in the United States have faced many challenges responding to the pandemic. Important studies like ours are vital to understanding these areas characterized by vaccination hesitancy and vaccine availability to address concerns in the future." Now researchers are studying the impact of the omicron variant this winter. Preliminary data, which were not part of the published study, suggest this variant, known for being highly contagious, spread more quickly in congested urban areas. But since far more people per capita in these counties were vaccinated, fewer people in urban areas have died compared to rural areas where vaccinations are lagging. "Omicron is more infectious than delta and started spreading in highly connected urban areas," Cuadros said. "Most infections are concentrated in high-vaccination areas." While the latest surge of infection is worse in urban America, omicron is still wreaking havoc on the health of rural America, causing more per capita hospitalizations and deaths there than in urban areas. "Vaccination still protects you from complications from infection, hospitalization and death," Cuadros said. Scientists and medical professionals need to do a better job explaining the science to the public to help overcome vaccine hesitancy and restore trust, Cuadros said. "Science is dynamic. We're always working to develop the best strategies based on what the data tells us," he said.
The death rate in much higher in rural red counties as the vaccine uptake is much lower. Gap in COVID-19 vaccine uptake between urban and rural areas in the US continues to widen: CDC 75% of urbanites have had at least one dose compared to 58% of rural residents. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/gap-covid-19-vaccine-uptake-urban-rural-areas/story?id=83227636 The gap in COVID-19 vaccination uptake between rural and urban Americans is continuing to widen, a federal report published Thursday found. As of Jan. 31, 2022, 75.4% of people aged five and older living in urban counties have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By comparison, just 58.8% of those living in rural areas had been given at least an initial shot -- a nearly 17% difference. However, a previous report by the federal health agency found that, in April 2021, the gap was smaller with 45.7% of urban residents given at least one dose of the COVID vaccine compared to 38.9% of rural residents. This means that in the span of nine months, disparities based on geographic location have more than doubled. The authors say the large gap is likely due to less access to health care and increased vaccine hesitancy in rural areas. "Addressing barriers to vaccination in rural areas is critical to achieving vaccine equity, reducing disparities, and decreasing COVID-19-related illness and death in the United States," the authors wrote. According to the new report, 46 states had higher COVID vaccine uptake in urban areas than in rural areas with just one state -- Arizona -- having higher coverage in rural areas. Three states: Delaware, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C., have no rural counties so differences in vaccination coverage could not be evaluated. In both rural and urban counties, women were more likely to be vaccinated than men. Data showed 77.4% of urban women and 61.4% of rural women had received at least one dose by the end of January compared to 73.2% of urban men and 55.7% of rural men, respectively. This is similar to the CDCs report looking at April 2021 vaccination rates, which also showed more women getting vaccinated. Among all age groups, vaccination uptake was higher in urban counties with the largest difference being among 12-to-17-year-olds. The report showed just 38.7% of rural teenagers had received at least an initial vaccine dose compared to 64.9% of urban teenagers. However, the researchers found that there was relatively no difference in the percentage of people in rural or urban areas who received booster or additional doses, both being similarly low. About 50.4% of fully vaccinated urban residents had received a booster shot as of Jan. 31, 2022 as had 49.7% of rural residents. The CDC authors noted Americans living in rural counties tend to be aged 65 or older and have more pre-existing conditions. This puts them at high risk of severe COVID-19 complications and is why rates of death from the virus are higher in rural areas than in urban areas.
This thread should be closed because it is fake news and misinformation. GWB-Trading has had a crusade against Florida and claimed that Florida was going to have this massive death count. Despite having a large population of old people, Florida still sits in the middle of the pack as far as deaths per million are concerned.
Tell us where Florida ranks since Covid vaccines were readily available in April of 2021. A vaccine which prevents severe illness and death from Covid. You would think that Florida would be actively promoting these vaccines in view of its older vulnerable population. Name one time in the last six months when DeSantis promoted vaccines. His appointed anti-vax state surgeon general, Ladapo not refuses to say if he is vaccinated but pushes fake cures regularly while being associated with "America's Frontline Doctors". The Florida leadership is the very face of Covid fake new and misinformation