I've stopped trying to attribute infection rates to other statistics, especially individual ones. There seems to be very little rhyme or reason to the incidence

I've stopped trying to attribute infection rates to other statistics, especially individual ones. There seems to be very little rhyme or reason to the incidence. Sometimes there is a very clear mistake made, like in the Netherlands they opened up night clubs and bars and suddenly we had the fastest-growing wave so far and anyone outside of 15-25 years old wasn't even participating. But most of the time it's really not so clear what is causing or preventing infections without rigorous research. At a minimum, one should also be looking at test rates and incentives to not get tested (needing to go into quarantine iirc in many countries, having to pay €40 just for a single low-quality nose test as of Oct 1st in the Netherlands, those sorts of things), since merely the incidence does not tell the full story. Then there are weather changes (temperature, humidity, time spent meeting others indoors vs. outdoors), avoidance of close contact or travel, face mask requirements, adherence to rules and recommendations, etc.