Where Did Influenza Go This Year?
Not the Northern Hemisphere.
- Globally, despite continued or even increased testing for influenza in some countries, influenza activity remained at lower levels than expected for this time of the year.
- The current influenza surveillance data should be interpreted with caution as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has influenced to varying extents health seeking behaviours, staffing/routines in sentinel sites, as well as testing priorities and capacities in Member States. The various hygiene and physical distancing measures implemented by Member States to reduce SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission have likely played a role in reducing influenza virus.
Masks and distancing put in place to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission seem to be preventing flu as well. Influenza vaccination rates rose a bit over previous years.
Update on Herd Immunity
From our friends at the New Yorker cartoon contest.
Alien Monolith Disappears from Remote Utah Desert Canyon
Who but aliens could have planted this shiny monolith?
My bet is the self-proclaimed “intrepid explorers” did it. Then again, the artist, John McCracken made a similar one in 2011. McCracken claims it is at the Zwirner gallery on West 20th Street in Manhattan as I write. Oh, really?
The best answer is obviously that McCracken, the park guys, and the aliens worked together to promote the artwork and intergalactic humor.
Go ahead, prove me wrong.
I had to get this urgent news out before we take a close look at the modes of action of remdesivir and vaccines. For now, put them in the coming soon category.
Mark
1 thought on “Mysteries of Covid Times”
Hey mark,
What do you know about shared air between upstairs and downstairs in older condominiums/apartments/ shared air in spaces between two different parties? I have been told by my HVAC guy who just installed a mini-split system in my rental unit downstairs, that UVC light system kills virus particles and other small germs that circulate through the ductwork in a shared air in take that was installed in the carriage house to begin with. So, even though the downstairs has it’s own system, my upstairs system is ducted as a two-zone system that has an intake downstairs. he said I should not block it off as it will put strain on the heat pump whole house system. In retro, I should have installed a mini-split for downstairs and one for upstairs and not had any shared ductwork but did not consider. The reason I am thinking about all of this is that, when I called a high-end rental company that handles real estate rentals for movie production folks coming in to shoot a movie, they need to have a certificate of no-shared ductwork for the production company because they are spending so much on movie production, they don’t want to risk a shutdown cause of an infection. When I asked my HVAC guy about it, her told me the product he installed in hotels in the beginning of the pandemic, was UV and that’s what they used to insure clean shared air….where does the research stand now? Thanks.
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