Friday, January 15, 2021

Yet Another Grim Milestone

 The current death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has now exceeded four hundred thousand, with daily deaths exceeding four thousand on several days.  The official worldwide death toll has surpassed two million, but I really don't trust governments in Putin's Russia, Xi's China, Bolsonaro's Brazil, Modi's India, or Trump's US to release accurate figures.  

Last week's MAGA insurrection knocked the pandemic off the front pages for a while, but it sure looks like it will end up being a superspreader event that even affected Congress members sheltering in place.  One far-right troll claimed to have been COVID-positive while storming the Capitol, but he's a mendacious manlet, so who knows what to believe.  I can imagine the mass of maskless MAGA morons shouting and criming all day long spreading the virus throughout the DC community, and then bringing it back to their hometowns, where they await the inevitable knocks on the door that are coming.

Back in March of last year, I predicted that a half-million Americans would die of COVID-19 before this pandemic is brought under control... I think I might have been overly optimistic.  We should be in the home stretch, with a vaccine available, but the rollout of vaccinations is shamefully slow.  Anecdotally, one of my coworkers told me of a newly hired employee on his other job who died of the 'rona at the age of 41.  I'm not optimistic about sufficient vaccines being available before June at the earliest, even with a competent Biden administration in charge.  Ominously a sizable population remains rabidly anti-vaccine as well as anti-mask. I joked to friends about becoming an eremite until I get a vaccine, and then becoming a party animal once I leave the hermitage, bloodstream coursing with vaccine antibodies.

It can't come too soon, but I fear that the final death toll will be considerably greater than my predicted half-million.


4 comments:

StringOnAStick said...

I too think "just" 500,000 deaths in the US is optimistic.

Richard said...

Hang in there people it is going to get worse. I have no protection from this aside from masks and hand sanitizer.
I would say more than 50% of people around here think that this is a pedophile plot to destroy their baby Jesus trump tv monster. They are half way correct.
If we survive this, i will never trust a trump christian again. I have seen how they behave. I have seen their true beliefs. Which is disgraceful.
I was thinking about dogs. I have only lived with 3 to speak of and they lived with beauty and dignity.

Long story short, wear a mask. Don't make excuses.

Jimmy T said...

The new Covid-19 adaptation may up to 70% more efficient in regards to transmission. Not sure if lethality is higher, but it may be. Considering the vast number of anti-vaxers in this country, the death toll may easily pass 1,000,000. Dark days ahead indeed...

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

I too think "just" 500,000 deaths in the US is optimistic.

I was a starry-eyed naïf back then.

Hang in there people it is going to get worse. I have no protection from this aside from masks and hand sanitizer.

And for the love of all that's good, stay home if possible.

The new Covid-19 adaptation may up to 70% more efficient in regards to transmission. Not sure if lethality is higher, but it may be. Considering the vast number of anti-vaxers in this country, the death toll may easily pass 1,000,000. Dark days ahead indeed...

Yeah, and the right-wing noise machine will blame Biden for the death toll.