Tag Archives: COVID-19

Covid XBB.1.5 (the Kraken Wakes*)

Posted on February 16, 2023 by colinmathers

A new and highly transmissible subvariant of the Omicron Covid18 variant, XBB.1.5, also nicknamed the Kraken, was first identified in the USA in late October 2022. At the beginning of December, Omicron sub variant XBB.1.5 made up just 1.3 per … Continue reading →

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Is the Covid-19 bivalent booster worthwhile?

Posted on February 3, 2023 by colinmathers

Omicron and subvariants have become the dominant form of Covid-19 circulating in most parts of the world. So-called bivalent mRNA vaccines became available from both Pfizer and Moderna in August or September 2022. Intended for booster vaccination, they contain mRNA … Continue reading →

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Widening life expectancy gap between Republican and Democrat states of the USA

Posted on December 31, 2022 by colinmathers

In my previous post, I highlighted the 3-year drop in US life expectancy from 2019 to 2021. It contrasts with European and other high-income countries where the availability of vaccines and continued implementation of other public health measures resulted in … Continue reading →

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Huge drop in US life expectancy in 2020 and 2021

Posted on December 6, 2022 by colinmathers

US life expectancy dropped nearly 3 years during the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. The CDC has recently released US life expectancy estimates for 2021, finding a significant drop for the second year in a row. That decline … Continue reading →

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Australia now has one of the highest Covid new case rates in the world

Posted on December 31, 2021 by colinmathers

In the last two weeks, Australia has gone from having one of the lowest rates of new Covid cases per million population in the world to one of the highest. Most of these new cases are in NSW and according … Continue reading →

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Update on Swiss Covid-19 situation

Posted on December 18, 2021 by colinmathers

Switzerland now has the third highest daily new confirmed cases per million (averaged over last 7 days) at 1,045 per million. This is exceeded only by Denmark (1,417) and Slovakia (1,130).  The UK is not far behind Switzerland at 990. … Continue reading →

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Covid-19 booster shots and the Delta variant

Posted on November 21, 2021 by colinmathers

Switzerland is now offering a Covid-19 booster shot to to the 65+ and at-risk who has had their two Covid-19 vaccinations at least six months ago. It may soon be extended to all adults. I had my third shot last … Continue reading →

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A fourth Covid-19 wave hits Europe and Switzerland has a second referendum to end vaccine certificate requirements

Posted on November 14, 2021 by colinmathers

Covid-19 cases rose by 7% and deaths by 10% over the last week in Europe, as it enters a fourth (or fifth) wave and currently accounts for about two-thirds of infections reported globally. Belgium and the Netherlands, which have fully … Continue reading →

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The current COVID Delta wave

Posted on August 20, 2021 by colinmathers

The graph below summarizes the COVID-19 situation as of yesterday (19 August 2021) for a selection of countries of interest to me. Confirmed case numbers have been rising in all these countries except the Netherlands (where case numbers have dropped … Continue reading →

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Vaccination and the COVID Delta variant

Posted on June 30, 2021 by colinmathers

The COVID Delta variant (B.1.617.2), which started spreading widely in India last October, is highly transmissible and might cause more severe illness and hence death. It has spread to many countries and is now the dominant strain in the UK. … Continue reading →

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