5 ms·

The U.S. has recorded over 250k cases in a day for the first time

61 points by arkadiyt 6y ago

JimTheMan 6y ago
Is Christmas going to be cancelled or is the US just going to let everyone who would have been saved by a vaccine die? And all that will be left, are those who would have lived anyway, being vaccinated in April.
- blackrock 6y ago
  Some leaks indicated that the White House wanted people to get infected, so the nation can establish herd immunity. Draw your own conclusions on this one. I think this administration left us to fend for ourselves.
iJohnDoe 6y ago
Every single person will get COVID-19 at some point. It’s impossible to avoid. Regardless of how they say COVID-19 is transmitted, you will inevitably get it. The real shame about COVID-19 is how it can affect people so differently, and with varying degrees of consequences. The news of a new strain is very worrisome. We’re in this for the next few years. It’s going to get worse before it gets better, health wise and economically. If the virus doesn’t kill people then the financial impact will. The future across the US and other countries: https://cms-qz-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/jwmbnavtts-15367651691.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=3200&h=1802 https://cms-qz-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/cms.qz.com/wp-cont... https://cms-qz-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/lgppuhtdbb-1536598554.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1240&h=696&crop=1 https://cms-qz-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/cms.qz.com/wp-cont... https://cms-qz-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ipgpcwrxpb-15365977961.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1240&h=696&crop=1 https://cms-qz-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/cms.qz.com/wp-cont...
- mikosty 6y ago
  >Every single person will get COVID-19 at some point. It’s impossible to avoid. Regardless of how they say COVID-19 is transmitted, you will inevitably get it. Simply not true, especially now with vaccinations starting.
  - steve_adams_86 6y ago
    I agree. Cases are so rare where I live that even if the vaccine becomes available in a year or so, it seems exceedingly unlikely that I’d get it before then. Some places are not doing all that badly with this virus.
    - TuringNYC 6y ago
      Can you where where you live where the vaccine wouldn’t be available for another year? It seems from then news it will be a matter of months.
      - rdtwo 6y ago
        Usa for most people 350mil population 100mil doses a year 2 doses pp you do the math
        maxerickson 6y ago
        The initial US batches of Pfizer and Moderna total 150 million doses and it's not clear how much more they will be able to sell the US for delivery next year (perhaps 200 million additional doses...). And then there are other vaccines that will be available in much larger volumes if they are approved.
  - johbjo 6y ago
    A vaccine prepares the immune system for the virus. It does not completely prevent infection or exposure. The infection is just so inconsequential that it's unnoticeable.
patrick451 6y ago
Yawn. I stopped caring about "cases" a long time ago. A "case" has been completely redefined for covid, which means these statics wholly devoid of context.
- nolongerlowres 6y ago
  I’ve got over 300,000 dead countrymen and women who, were they still able, would disagree that the numbers are irrelevant. But go ahead and yawn while 3,000+ people die each day gasping for air.
  - _opc6 6y ago
    Yes. It's so bad. It's really disheartening to see the complete lack of decency from some people here.
betwixthewires 6y ago
That's good. An increase in recorded cases can be attributed to an increase in infection rate only when the increase is not accompanied by more testing. The US tests 1.75-2.0 million people a day. In September that number was 800,000. To look at infection rate, what you want to look at is percentage of tests given that came back positive, and while numbers will be skewed if you're only testing people with symptoms vs people who ask vs everybody, it is good to see a high test rate and a low positive rate. 250k positive from 1.75-2 million tests is ~15% positive rate. Also the death rate per positive test being low is a very good thing. That number, according to the CDC, is 0.6% and falling.
- MarkMc 6y ago
  > An increase in recorded cases can be attributed to an increase in infection rate only when the increase is not accompanied by more testing I'm not sure it's that simple. Doesn't the infection rate have an effect on the demand for tests? I live in Sydney near a testing center. It was empty 2 weeks ago when I drove past, but now that there is a covid outbreak the queue snakes around the block.
  - betwixthewires 6y ago
    Well, if the positive test rate is 15%, most people getting tested aren't getting tested because they have it. If the increase in testing was driven by the infection rate, the percentage of those tested coming back positive would also go up.
- ethanbond 6y ago
  15% test positivity rate is insanely high
- serbrech 6y ago
  15% was the positivity rate at the peak of the wave in France: https://www.meteo-covid.com/graphique-taux-de-positivite https://www.meteo-covid.com/graphique-taux-de-positivite
- maxerickson 6y ago
mhh__ 6y ago
Currently just a smidge over 3/4 of the total number of WW2 deaths.
_wldu 6y ago
If half the people who get covid-19 have no (or very minor) symptoms, does that mean the number infected is at least twice the reported number... 500K per day in the US (since these people won't need to go for a test)? It seems reasonable that it's even more than that due to testing limitations.
kaczordon 6y ago
These “cases” are inaccurate as SARS-COV-2 virus detection does not mean people have the disease COVID-19. From the NYT: “In three sets of testing data that include cycle thresholds, compiled by officials in Massachusetts, New York and Nevada, up to 90 percent of people testing positive carried barely any virus, a review by The Times found.” [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/29/health/coronavirus-testing.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/29/health/coronavirus-testin...

61 points by arkadiyt 6y ago

Is Christmas going to be cancelled or is the US just going to let everyone who would have been saved by a vaccine die? And all that will be left, are those who would have lived anyway, being vaccinated in April.

blackrock 6y ago
Some leaks indicated that the White House wanted people to get infected, so the nation can establish herd immunity. Draw your own conclusions on this one. I think this administration left us to fend for ourselves.

iJohnDoe 6y ago

Every single person will get COVID-19 at some point. It’s impossible to avoid. Regardless of how they say COVID-19 is transmitted, you will inevitably get it. The real shame about COVID-19 is how it can affect people so differently, and with varying degrees of consequences. The news of a new strain is very worrisome. We’re in this for the next few years. It’s going to get worse before it gets better, health wise and economically. If the virus doesn’t kill people then the financial impact will. The future across the US and other countries: https://cms-qz-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/jwmbnavtts-15367651691.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=3200&h=1802 https://cms-qz-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/cms.qz.com/wp-cont... https://cms-qz-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/lgppuhtdbb-1536598554.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1240&h=696&crop=1 https://cms-qz-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/cms.qz.com/wp-cont... https://cms-qz-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ipgpcwrxpb-15365977961.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1240&h=696&crop=1 https://cms-qz-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/cms.qz.com/wp-cont...

mikosty 6y ago
>Every single person will get COVID-19 at some point. It’s impossible to avoid. Regardless of how they say COVID-19 is transmitted, you will inevitably get it. Simply not true, especially now with vaccinations starting.
- steve_adams_86 6y ago
  I agree. Cases are so rare where I live that even if the vaccine becomes available in a year or so, it seems exceedingly unlikely that I’d get it before then. Some places are not doing all that badly with this virus.
  - TuringNYC 6y ago
    Can you where where you live where the vaccine wouldn’t be available for another year? It seems from then news it will be a matter of months.
    - rdtwo 6y ago
      Usa for most people 350mil population 100mil doses a year 2 doses pp you do the math
      - maxerickson 6y ago
        The initial US batches of Pfizer and Moderna total 150 million doses and it's not clear how much more they will be able to sell the US for delivery next year (perhaps 200 million additional doses...). And then there are other vaccines that will be available in much larger volumes if they are approved.
- johbjo 6y ago
  A vaccine prepares the immune system for the virus. It does not completely prevent infection or exposure. The infection is just so inconsequential that it's unnoticeable.

patrick451 6y ago

Yawn. I stopped caring about "cases" a long time ago. A "case" has been completely redefined for covid, which means these statics wholly devoid of context.

nolongerlowres 6y ago
I’ve got over 300,000 dead countrymen and women who, were they still able, would disagree that the numbers are irrelevant. But go ahead and yawn while 3,000+ people die each day gasping for air.
- _opc6 6y ago
  Yes. It's so bad. It's really disheartening to see the complete lack of decency from some people here.

betwixthewires 6y ago

That's good. An increase in recorded cases can be attributed to an increase in infection rate only when the increase is not accompanied by more testing. The US tests 1.75-2.0 million people a day. In September that number was 800,000. To look at infection rate, what you want to look at is percentage of tests given that came back positive, and while numbers will be skewed if you're only testing people with symptoms vs people who ask vs everybody, it is good to see a high test rate and a low positive rate. 250k positive from 1.75-2 million tests is ~15% positive rate. Also the death rate per positive test being low is a very good thing. That number, according to the CDC, is 0.6% and falling.

MarkMc 6y ago
> An increase in recorded cases can be attributed to an increase in infection rate only when the increase is not accompanied by more testing I'm not sure it's that simple. Doesn't the infection rate have an effect on the demand for tests? I live in Sydney near a testing center. It was empty 2 weeks ago when I drove past, but now that there is a covid outbreak the queue snakes around the block.
- betwixthewires 6y ago
  Well, if the positive test rate is 15%, most people getting tested aren't getting tested because they have it. If the increase in testing was driven by the infection rate, the percentage of those tested coming back positive would also go up.
ethanbond 6y ago
15% test positivity rate is insanely high
serbrech 6y ago
15% was the positivity rate at the peak of the wave in France: https://www.meteo-covid.com/graphique-taux-de-positivite https://www.meteo-covid.com/graphique-taux-de-positivite
maxerickson 6y ago

mhh__ 6y ago

Currently just a smidge over 3/4 of the total number of WW2 deaths.

_wldu 6y ago

If half the people who get covid-19 have no (or very minor) symptoms, does that mean the number infected is at least twice the reported number... 500K per day in the US (since these people won't need to go for a test)? It seems reasonable that it's even more than that due to testing limitations.

kaczordon 6y ago

These “cases” are inaccurate as SARS-COV-2 virus detection does not mean people have the disease COVID-19. From the NYT: “In three sets of testing data that include cycle thresholds, compiled by officials in Massachusetts, New York and Nevada, up to 90 percent of people testing positive carried barely any virus, a review by The Times found.” [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/29/health/coronavirus-testing.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/29/health/coronavirus-testin...