Priscilla Robinson
This will be a very brief update as I am travelling this week.
First to note is that the media-reported ‘surge in death rates’ is not really accurate, and the overall rate continues to fall. (For new readers, I have included the very first of these sheets as the last one in this set, if you need evidence!). So, although cases and numbers of deaths is experiencing a worldwide blip at present, the survival rate continues to improve.
Interesting patterns this week – much of Africa seems to be having a very quiet patch, with several countries reporting few cases and no fatalities. Not so in the Asia-Pacific – a couple of countries, notably Mongolia and Cambodia, have had very big increases (considering the populations) and massive rises in fatalities, rather putting PNG in the shade (for Northern hemisphere readers, PNG is getting a lot of local press at the moment, because they had very few cases until quite recently, mostly due to the mining activities and workers moving around, but not now). Most of the Western Pacific region remains quiet though. India has had a large upswing too, but nothing like the US at the height of their second wave.
Have a good week.
How good are vaccines? Not as good as press conferences but even so
About Dr Priscilla Robinson and The CODE Update
Dr Robinson is a public health epidemiologist with particular interests in international health and communicable diseases, and public health competencies. She has worked in health departments in England and Australia, has managed public health teaching programmes, and taught and researched many aspects of public health epidemiology and policy in many countries. She is an adjunct Associate Professor at LaTrobe University, and to stop herself being bored is an editor of PHAA’s journal ANZJPH, and holds board positions (almost all unpaid) on various NGOs, journals, and at her local hospital. Otherwise, 10 acres of untamed bushland on a hill in South Gippsland makes weight-bearing gym exercise and strength training a bit redundant.
The CODE Update is a new regular feature on the Intouch blog to keep readers informed of COVID-19 developments around the world.
The CODE update originally began at the start of the SARS CoV-2 pandemic as a way of explaining it to Priscilla’s friends and family who happen to live all over the world, and who were being bombarded with information and misinformation in their own countries. The CODE Update provides links to practical materials and papers written for people who are not versed in the language of outbreaks and epidemic curves. It is sent out every week, and includes a short commentary to provide context to the numbers included in the spreadsheets.
Note: Whilst every attempt is made to transcribe all data faithfully, every now and again mistakes are made and not noticed until the next update. Also, on occasion numbers are revised after posting at the source databases.
We hope you will find these updates to be a helpful tool, and the links to current information useful.