Yes, I agree that his last update was an unimprovement. However, since he's reworked it a few times, perhaps the next round will once again be of the quality and sleekness of his previous versions.

Not anymore, the second wave death rate in Africa is above the global average.

Intrigued what our experts will have to say about this, Astra Zeneca vaccine was heavily tested in the UK, South Africa & Brazil, 3 countries where more virulent strains have been detected. I guess that the virus is just attempting to survive?

If it's the AZ vaccine you get roughly 60% protection from 1 jab or 65% from 2 jabs, so it's actually very sensible, as it will prevent stockpiling to give a second dose. In Malta they will only vaccinate half the no of people they CURRENTLY have vaccine for, reserving the second dose. I wonder which will save more lives.....

How do they test and approve seasonal flu vaccine? Not the same as completely new drugs, right?

What are your prediction for today's numbers for the weekend? I think there will be around 5xxxx cases and about 90 deaths.

I predict 4XXX cases and around 70 deaths.


Did you mean to predict 5xxxx or 5xxx cases?

I hope it was 5xxx because if it really is 5xxxx we’re in trouble.

Over the weekend I was enjoying a morning coffee and browsing through the various advertising pamphlets that come through the letterbox and came across an interesting article in a free newspaper advertising the Swiss consumer choice magazine Ktipp.

It had some interesting statistics regarding Covid for Switzerland in 2020 as well as some criticism for the media in the way in which the pandemic has been reported.

According to the article, 200 people die in Switzerland every day of which 75% are over 70 and 60% over 80. Virtually everyone that has died of Covid in Switzerland has been over 70 as this demographic has been growing in Switzerland more surprisingly it's reported according to the long-term statistics, most would have died in 2020 without a Covid 19 infection.

The article goes on to say that the death rate per 100,000 inhabitants rose significantly in 2015 due to a bad flu season in Switzerland and that the death rate for 2020 is the same as in 2003 when there was a flu epidemic with hospitals over capacity and a very hot summer.

Finally there are words of criticism for the media and the reporting. In spite of the experience that this pandemic is often over dramatized. It makes the point that in 19000 were hospitalised with Covid in 2020, yet pneumonia is the most common infection requiring hospitalisation in Switzerland with around 50000 having been hospitalised with it in 2018 and 2019.

I googled the story but unfortunately it's behind a paywall.

https://www.ktipp.ch/artikel/artikel...s-eine-gefahr/

I think this is not true. The death rate per 100,000 has not been rising steadily since 2015. And I really doubt that 2003 was anywhere near 2020 as the result of 2003 flu epidemic and hot summer. Please see below the death rates and the graphs of expected vs actual deaths for 2003 and 2020.

https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home...ses-death.html

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The results of a study https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/18/one-i...days-13920415/ by Leicester University and the Office for National Statistics has rather alarmingly shown that one in eight hospitalised patients are subsequently readmitted to hospital and die within 140 days due to organ damage.

In better news, although only anecdotal, my son received the Pfizer vaccine from his employer on Saturday (Unispital) and one of the Professors there remarked that research from Israel shows that the vaccine does seem to be stopping vaccinated people from contracting the virus and thereby infecting others.

Correct, I mistranslated the rise in 2015, rather the article pointed out the big rise in 2015 due to a bad flu season. 2003 did have the same death rate as 2020 though, and 2000 was even higher than 2020. I'll go back and correct it now!

And 1995 death rate was even higher than 2000, right? And 1990 was even higher than 1995. It goes down over the years for some time.

2000 was higher than 2020 when we're in the midst of a global pandemic. Don't remember too much (any) panic back then (I moved to Switzerland around this time). I do remember 2003, especially the sweltering summer (tip - vintage year for wine!). Interestingly, the UK also had the highest death rate in 2020 since 2003 too.

Took the tip from klostersgirl from just another car snow chains thread

I have not read before about a hotel not letting guests leave until being tested and a negative result. At least no in CH, anyway two hotels in St. Moritz are keeping guests on quarantine until all of them are tested. Of course the hotel is only following the instructions of cantonal health office. I guess they're trying to avoid repeating the embarrassment of Verbier. https://www.engadinerpost.ch/2021/01...sbreitung-des-

Death rates have generally been declining over the years due to a number of factors. Advances in medecine, healthy lifestyles, road safety etc have all contributed to the declining death rate.
There will always be little blips to buck the trend due to extraordinary circumstances, though. A particularly bad flu year, an intense heatwave or cold spell etc etc. The pandemic is it for 2020.