There is a new cycle in the Covid pandemic, and yet I see almost no discussion in the media about it. We are already seeing deaths and, as this report details, “Nationally, emergency room visits for Covid increased by 15.7% in the past week. Rising hospitalization rates are now higher than last summer at this time…..Nearly 400 people died in the week ending 12 June, the last week for which full data was available” If you are in a crowded space I would wear a mask, as I intend to.
Covid is surging across the US, with levels of the virus on track to exceed last summer’s wave nationally and approaching the peak of last winter’s wave in the west, according to wastewater data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Yet vaccination and antiviral uptake, plagued by inequitable access, have remained low, and other precautions like mask-wearing are being met with increasing resistance.
“A lot of people right now are getting Covid all over the country,” said Dr Peter Chin-Hong, professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. “There are still hospitalizations, and there’s still a few hundred deaths every week in the US – and that’s a tragedy.”
The rise is being driven by a trio of variants, called Flirt because of shared mutations, that seem to be more immune-evasive and transmissible. And much of the US has been locked in heatwaves, with many Americans staying indoors to avoid the heat – which can lead to more spread of the virus.
Nationally, emergency room visits for Covid increased by 15.7% in the past week. Rising hospitalization rates are now higher than last summer at this time, although it can be difficult to make comparisons now that […]
Annie Gowen, Reporter - Microsoft Start / The Washington Post
Stephan:
Even though they must surely have access to all the social outcome data I do, the state legislature of Iowa has passed, and the governor has signed, the same remarkably stupid anti-choice laws passed in 17 other MAGAt controlled states. The result will be, as it is in all those states, that women will face degradation of their healthcare, there will be all kinds of female health problems, and OB/GYNs will leave the state. This control of women obsession is so anti-wellbeing, and yet this is what MAGAts do.
Iowa abortion ban taking effect as residents flee out of state for care. Credit: Zach Boyden-Holmes / AP
Planned Parenthood says it will continue providing abortions in Iowa but only in the very limited circumstances allowed by the state’s six-week abortion ban, which goes into effect at 8 a.m. Monday after a year of legal wrangling.
The law restricts the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy, the point when fetal cardiac activity can be detected, with the only exceptions being cases of rape, incest, a fetal abnormality “incompatible with life” or if the life of the mother is in danger. Iowa had previously permitted abortions until 22 weeks of pregnancy.
Reproductive care groups in neighboring states where the procedure remains legal are already seeing an influx of patients from Iowa. The Chicago Abortion Fund received more than 60 support requests from Iowa residents during the first three weeks of July, a 165 percent increase over previous months.
“It’s staggering even to me,” executive director Megan Jeyifo said Wednesday.
Agence France-Presse, - Raw Story / Agence France-Presse
Stephan:
Do some research, and get these products out of your life.
New research published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives says that pesticides used for both agricultural and residential applications are an important source of PFAS contamination in the environment Credit: Kerry Sheridan / AFP
Toxic “forever chemicals” are increasingly being used in U.S. pesticides, threatening human health as they contaminate waterways and are sprayed on staple foods, a study said Wednesday.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, but environmental regulations against them have mainly paid attention to sources such as industrial facilities, landfills and consumer products like certain cookware and paints.
New research published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives says that pesticides used on crops including corn, wheat, spinach, apples and strawberries — and other sources such as insect sprays and pet flea treatment — can now be added to the list.
“The more we look, the more we find it,” co-author Alexis Temkin, a toxicologist at the nonprofit […]
I am running an article on this poll because of what it reveals about how Americans feel about democracy. “When asked whether democracy is the best system of government, 58% of all voters “strongly agreed,” while 21% reported that they “somewhat agreed.” I think this is telling us one of the most important things we can know about this election. Nearly a quarter of American voters aren’t really committed to the preservation of our democracy. I think that is horrifying, and why this election is going to change the course of America’s history one way of the other.
A new national survey by Florida Atlantic University and Mainstreet Research USA reveals that U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former U.S. President Donald Trump are in a statistical tie in a 2024 presidential election matchup. The poll also highlights complex views on democracy among American voters.
Harris and Trump are both at 46% among all voters in the latest Florida Atlantic University Political Communication and Public Opinion Research Lab (PolCom Lab) and Mainstreet Research USA poll. Diving into key demographic groups reveals striking differences:
Harris holds a strong lead among women with 49% compared to Trump’s 42%
Among Black voters, Harris commands a significant advantage at 67%, while Trump trails at 22%
In the Hispanic demographic, Harris secures 54% support, leaving Trump with 37%.
Trump leads with 18 to 35-year-old voters, 45% to 36%
When Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is included, Harris has a 1% lead among all voters, which is within the margin of error
“While voters may be responding to the prospect of a new candidate in these results, they are also not sure what the Harris campaign messaging is,” […]
Laura Paddison, Jen Christensen, Mary Gilbert, Henry Zeris, Yukari Schrickel, Lou Robinson and Way Mullery, Reporters - CNN
Stephan:
If you read SR regularly you know that I have been telling you for years that climate change is going to render large parts of the world uninhabitable because of heat, and this will also ravage the matrix of life in Earth’s ecosystems. As you read this remember that criminal Trump and Frankenstein Vance, and the MAGAt cult are doing everything they can to keep humanity dependent on carbon energy. Why? Because the oil billionaires are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into American politics to urge the sadly ignorant American voters to keep the MAGAt cult in power. According to the best research I can track down 16% of Americans still do not believe in climate change (about 49 million people). How this can be true, given what people are experiencing everyday recently, I cannot explain but that’s the truth of where we are.
Philip Kreycik should have survived his run.
In the summer of 2021, the 37-year-old ultra-marathon runner used an app to plot a roughly 8-mile loop through Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park in California, a huge stretch of parkland threaded with trails.
On the morning of July 10, as temperatures crept into the 90s, Kreycik set off from his car, leaving his phone and water locked inside. He started at a lightning pace — eating up the first 5 miles, each one in less than six minutes.
Then things started to go wrong. GPS data from his smartwatch showed he slowed dramatically. He veered off the trail. His steps became erratic. By this time, the temperature was above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
When Kreycik failed to show up for a family lunch, his wife contacted the police.
It took more than three weeks to find his body. An autopsy showed no sign of traumatic injuries. Police confirmed Kreycik likely experienced a medical emergency related to the heat.
The tragedy is sadly far from unique; extreme heat is turning ordinary activities deadly.
