Corona-zona

  The Arizona Department of Health Services (AzDHS) plans to change the frequency with which it reports COVID-19 statistics. Their statement about the changes is here . The statement says, in part: Starting in March, the frequency of reporting reflected on the ADHS COVID-19 Data Dashboard will shift to weekly. As a result, data on the dashboard will update each Wednesday starting March 2. Saturday, Feb. 26, will have the last daily update. On one level it makes some sense to go to less frequent reporting. One thing I have  complained about  before is media taking a high daily number of infections and sensationalizing it, when they know or should know that cases can get backed up in the system causing outlier numbers.  Going to a weekly report would address that. But then, so would a daily report of the seven-day trailing average. They say they are making the change because infection rates are dropping, all the cool kids (34 other states, they claim) are doing it, and...

 I have become aware of a couple of websites that are cataloging anti-vaxxers who are victims of COVID-19. Some of the people are sick, others have died. The first site is sorryantivaxxer.com , a blog. It describes itself and its purpose thus:  The purpose of this site is educational,  everyone listed on this site was/is an anti-vaxxer activist who helped spread COVID-19 misinformation on social media. Share to stop others from making the same mistake. GET VACCINATED!  As of this writing, it lists 171 cases. For each one, the author provides a picture of the person in question, summarizes their anti-vaxxer bona fides , and provides a link to a story where that information was obtained.  The blog posts allow comments. Some of these provide additional information and quotes from the victim and leave it at that.  Others are sometimes snarky, as we should expect. The second site is a subreddit called HermanCainAward .  Herman Cain, you may remember, was a ...

While researching a post from yesterday, I had the great misfortune of calling the ADHS COVID-19 "Hotline" at 844-542-8201. I was trying to ask if there is a residency requirement in Arizona for getting the vaccine.  The experience left my head spinning and my blood pressure elevated.  I would like to think this system was not designed to frustrate callers to the point of giving up, but it sure seems that way. Whether it was or not, the overall message it sends it is: Hang up and go away! What Happens When you call you are treated to many announcements about how there are no appointments available, what to do if you're 75 or older and having trouble getting vaccinated, links where you can go on the web to find out this or that.  All this information is repeated.   Next comes a bunch of announcements about what information you cannot get on this line, which is substantial.  No information about test results or appointments or information about availa...