COVID-19 Update, Thursday, September 3rd.

Sturgis, Steriods, Vaccine timeline, masks, Covax and Colleges.

1. A Minnesota man in his 60’s has died from COVID after attending Sturgis. At least 260 cases across 12 states have been traced back to the Rally. About half of those involve people from South Dakota and may explain the sharp increase in cases there.

2. A meta-analysis published in JAMA yesterday suggests that steroids are an effective treatment for critically ill patients.

3. The CDC has alerted governors that a vaccine may be available as soon as November.

4. A study published in BMJ Global Health found that face masks, when worn before the onset of symptoms, are 79% effective at blocking the transmission of COVID.

5. The US has announced it will not participate in Covax, the international effort designed to provide the vaccine to all nations equitably.

6. Iowa State has decided not to let fans in the stadium after all. In related news, colleges and universities are facing significant cases on campus. According to Inside Higher Ed, the University of Georgia has over 1,000 cases, the University of Kentucky has 760 cases, the University of Illinois has 400 cases, Gettysburg College is quarantining all students after 25 of the 348 tested were positive, Adrian College has 6% infected.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I am a firm believer in Freedom. I believe people need to be presented with facts and then allowed to make their own decisions, even when I don’t agree with or like those decisions. But that can leave you feeling exhausted. Not in the “fall asleep standing up in an elevator” kind-of-way, although that has certainly happened, but in the “I don’t want to get out of bed because my tank is empty” kind of way. So today I want to tell you thank you. Thank you for getting out of bed even on the days when doing so is tough. Thank you for all the times you have shown kindness and compassion to others even when you wanted to scream. Thank you for all the times you cried in secret due to sorrow, frustration, exhaustion, or being overwhelmed. Thank you for spreading truth and light when you really just wanted to lay down and give up. Thank you for showing up over and over again even when you had no motivation left and you felt like it was all for naught. Thank you for engaging and offering a helping hand even when you yourself were discouraged. Thank you for being the shoulder someone else leaned on even though you were bleeding and bruised. Thank you for being you, day in and day out carrying burdens, digging deep to show love to those who have hurt you, to those who have frustrated you, and to those whose decisions you don't agree with. Thank you for all the things you have done that no one even knows about. Not all heroes wear capes you know, some wear masks.

OH....and happy birthday to my big brother.