Local (and not-so-local) COVID-19 updates
Nov. 9th, 2020 05:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
edschweppeMore new functionality in the extract software: the page 2 "key metrics", including the date of the lowest observed value, which the state has chosen not to actually display.
As of 5PM today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is reporting 13 newly reported confirmed deaths (7 less than yesterday - down 35.0%) for a total of 9,936 and 1,184 newly reported confirmed cases (625 less than yesterday - down 34.5%) for a total of 167,929. The seven day average positivity rate is 2.35%, compared to 2.33% yesterday, while the number of estimated active cases was 22,815 (792 more than yesterday - up 3.6%). The state also reported 1 newly reported probable death (1 more than yesterday) for a total of 227 and 144 newly reported confirmed cases (130 more than yesterday - up 928.6%) for a total of 4,798. Combining the confirmed and probable numbers gives 14 new deaths for a total of 10,163 and 1,328 new cases for a total of 172,727. There were 588 COVID-19 patients in hospital (20 more than yesterday - up 3.5%), 143 COVID-19 patients in ICUs (1 less than yesterday - down 0.7%) and 66 COVID-19 patients on ventilators (intubated) (4 more than yesterday - up 6.5%).
Of the Commonwealth's four "key metrics" listed on page 2 of the report, the 7-day average of newly confirmed cases is 1,377, 777% above the lowest observed value of 157 on July 4. The 7-day weighted average of positive molecular test rate is 2.3%, 203% above the lowest observed value of 0.8% on September 21. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 patients in hospital is 527, 239% above the lowest observed value of 155 on August 26. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 deaths is 18, 70% above the lowest observed value of 11 on September 9.
Big drops in day-to-day cases and deaths, which is great; but we're coming off the weekend, which typically has less reporting, so take those numbers with a grain or several of salt. The continued increases in hospitalization and intubation counts are both scary (although yay for a net drop in folks in the ICU!), and the state's seven-day "key metric" averages are all still way, way the hell higher than the summertime lows.
Good news: President-elect Joe Biden clearly knows that his first big challenge is going to be dealing with the pandemic; he showed this today by announcing his coronavirus task force:
Good for Biden getting a jump on this. On the other hand, he won't actually get to take the federal reins for another two months, and there's no guarantee at all that the Republicans won't do everything in their power (legitimate or not) to block anything and everything Biden does.
Other good news: Pfizer and BioNTech announced today that their COVID-19 candidate vaccine has shown itself to be better than 90% effective in early returns from their Phase 3 study:
Also worth remembering: this is all based on a press release, not a peer-reviewed study. So it's good news, but the next few months will still suck.
The town of Acton has yet to post an update today. As of the most recent report at 8:30PM on November 4, the town of Acton reported 240 cumulative cases of COVID-19 in town with 16 individuals in isolation, 203 recovered and 21 fatalities.
As of 5PM today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is reporting 13 newly reported confirmed deaths (7 less than yesterday - down 35.0%) for a total of 9,936 and 1,184 newly reported confirmed cases (625 less than yesterday - down 34.5%) for a total of 167,929. The seven day average positivity rate is 2.35%, compared to 2.33% yesterday, while the number of estimated active cases was 22,815 (792 more than yesterday - up 3.6%). The state also reported 1 newly reported probable death (1 more than yesterday) for a total of 227 and 144 newly reported confirmed cases (130 more than yesterday - up 928.6%) for a total of 4,798. Combining the confirmed and probable numbers gives 14 new deaths for a total of 10,163 and 1,328 new cases for a total of 172,727. There were 588 COVID-19 patients in hospital (20 more than yesterday - up 3.5%), 143 COVID-19 patients in ICUs (1 less than yesterday - down 0.7%) and 66 COVID-19 patients on ventilators (intubated) (4 more than yesterday - up 6.5%).
Of the Commonwealth's four "key metrics" listed on page 2 of the report, the 7-day average of newly confirmed cases is 1,377, 777% above the lowest observed value of 157 on July 4. The 7-day weighted average of positive molecular test rate is 2.3%, 203% above the lowest observed value of 0.8% on September 21. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 patients in hospital is 527, 239% above the lowest observed value of 155 on August 26. The 7-day average number of COVID-19 deaths is 18, 70% above the lowest observed value of 11 on September 9.
Big drops in day-to-day cases and deaths, which is great; but we're coming off the weekend, which typically has less reporting, so take those numbers with a grain or several of salt. The continued increases in hospitalization and intubation counts are both scary (although yay for a net drop in folks in the ICU!), and the state's seven-day "key metric" averages are all still way, way the hell higher than the summertime lows.
Good news: President-elect Joe Biden clearly knows that his first big challenge is going to be dealing with the pandemic; he showed this today by announcing his coronavirus task force:
President-elect Joe Biden on Monday announced the members of his coronavirus task force, a group made up entirely of doctors and health experts, signaling his intent to seek a science-based approach to bring the raging pandemic under control.
Biden's task force will have three co-chairs: Vivek H. Murthy, surgeon general during the Obama administration; David Kessler, Food and Drug Administration commissioner under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton; and Marcella Nunez-Smith, associate dean for health equity research at the Yale School of Medicine. Murthy and Kessler have briefed Biden for months on the pandemic.
"I will spare no effort to turn this pandemic around once we're sworn in on January 20," Biden said Monday after receiving a briefing from his advisers.
[ ... ]
Task force members will work with state and local officials to craft public health and economic policies to address the virus and racial and ethnic disparities, while also working to reopen schools and businesses, the transition team said in a news release.
Public health experts said Biden should use the transition to provide leadership as the pandemic continues through a deadly stretch and begin communicating a strong national message.
Good for Biden getting a jump on this. On the other hand, he won't actually get to take the federal reins for another two months, and there's no guarantee at all that the Republicans won't do everything in their power (legitimate or not) to block anything and everything Biden does.
Other good news: Pfizer and BioNTech announced today that their COVID-19 candidate vaccine has shown itself to be better than 90% effective in early returns from their Phase 3 study:
Pfizer and partner BioNTech said Monday that their vaccine against Covid-19 was strongly effective, exceeding expectations with results that are likely to be met with cautious excitement — and relief — in the face of the global pandemic.
The vaccine is the first to be tested in the United States to generate late-stage data. The companies said an early analysis of the results showed that individuals who received two injections of the vaccine three weeks apart experienced more than 90% fewer cases of symptomatic Covid-19 than those who received a placebo. For months, researchers have cautioned that a vaccine that might only be 60% or 70% effective.
The Phase 3 study is ongoing and additional data could affect results.
In keeping with guidance from the Food and Drug Administration, the companies will not file for an emergency use authorization to distribute the vaccine until they reach another milestone: when half of the patients in their study have been observed for any safety issues for at least two months following their second dose. Pfizer expects to cross that threshold in the third week of November.
[ ... ]
Although it is a bright spot in the battle against the pandemic and a triumph for Pfizer and BioNTech, a German company, key information about the vaccine is not yet available. There is no information yet on whether the vaccine prevents severe cases, the type that can cause hospitalization and death.
Nor is there any information yet on whether it prevents people from carrying the virus that causes Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, without symptoms.
[ ... ]
Because the vaccine has been studied for only a matter of months, it is impossible to say how long it will protect against infection with the virus. The vaccine does cause side effects, including aches and fevers, according to previously published data. Gruber said that he believed the side effect profile was comparable to standard adult vaccines, but probably worse than Pfizer’s pneumonia vaccine, Prevnar, or a flu shot.
The results have not been peer-reviewed by outside scientists or published in a medical journal, and even Pfizer and BioNTech have been given no other details about how the vaccine performed by the independent monitors overseeing the study.
Also worth remembering: this is all based on a press release, not a peer-reviewed study. So it's good news, but the next few months will still suck.
The town of Acton has yet to post an update today. As of the most recent report at 8:30PM on November 4, the town of Acton reported 240 cumulative cases of COVID-19 in town with 16 individuals in isolation, 203 recovered and 21 fatalities.