We are in a (so far) small summer surge in the US. #COVID19 in wastewater has roughly tripled, but to put this into perspective, here is the chart of US sewersheds over the past 12 months. Our surge remains so mild you can barely see it relative to levels this past year.

I have a new weekly update on #COVID19 in the US. COVID levels are rising, but they remain well below the levels we've seen the past four years. However, risks are quite diverse. The NWSS indicates COVID viral activity is Moderate in Texas, while 5 of the 7 sewersheds with the highest COVID levels on WastewaterSCAN's database are in Florida.

https://medium.com/@augieray_66704/covid-rising-in-portions-of-the-us-but-remains-very-low-in-most-of-the-nation-update-for-july-17-4864e36f5932

Air quality is no better today in the Midwest. Air is unhealthy in New York, very unhealthy in Cleveland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington, and hazardous in Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, and Milwaukee.

The guidance for levels that are hazardous (above 300 AQI) is to avoid all outdoor activities and exertion, turn on indoor air purifiers with HEPA filters and run your air conditioning on the “recirculation” setting, and wear a well-fitted N95 mask to filter out the fine particulate matter.

Does anyone here use #eBay to sell items and find it a successful and pleasant experience? I made my first listing in decades, and thus far, it's been a disaster.

My first listing was taken down because sBay said I was trying to sell the item off the platform. I wasn't, and eBay ignored my appeal. So, I listed it a second time, and within one hour I have ZERO bids and TWO scam attempts.

eBay seems like an absolute disaster—a platform run by people who don't care for scammers. Am I wrong?

STUDY provides evidence that kids' birthday parties are a #COVID19 risk for grandparents. Not really a surprise, but interesting conclusions:

"Grandparents had 9.9% higher hazard of SARS-CoV-2 infection during birthday risk windows. The risk was greater for birthdays of preschool-aged grandchildren (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.15) than during birthdays of school-aged grandchildren (AHR, 1.07)."

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2851590

“I will choose to remember the time before Trump. Because I believe in an America after Trump.”

- Hunter Biden

We forget just how many lives #COVID19 took from us. I was just watching a video about the movie “That Thing You Do” (a favorite of mine), and the guy who wrote the famous song died of COVID complications in April 2020. Adam Schlesinger not only wrote That Thing You Do, but he was also a founding member of several bands (including Fountains of Wayne).

Every time I hear someone say we “overreacted,” I wonder how short their memory was of how many we lost, particularly in 2020 to 2023.

I have decided to end my project of maintaining a spreadsheet of #COVID19 studies. After thousands of hours of effort, I think the time has come to move on. The flow of studies has been slowing over the past year.

This spreadsheet will remain online for those interested. And, you can check for newer studies on http://scholar.google.com.

I will continue to track COVID levels and risks in the US.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12VbMkvqUF9eSggJsdsFEjKs5x0ABxQJi5tvfzJIDd3U/edit?usp=sharing

A year ago, a mother went on a podcast produced by Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization, and claimed vaccines killed her twins.

She was just indicted on two counts of murder for allegedly suffocating her twins.

https://people.com/mom-claimed-toddler-twins-died-vaccines-charged-murder-12011327

https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/crime/mother-accused-in-death-twin-toddlers-arraigned-in-payette/277-0a015bcc-6dee-4b07-8b5c-94749c1cfbd8

Happy Independence Day to all Americans except the ones who attacked the Capitol on January 6th, the people who supported and encouraged it, those who excused it, and everyone who elected them.

No new wastewater data from the CDC today due to the holiday. #COVID19 is rising in the US for the first time since December, based on WastewaterSCAN's incomplete data. The positive rate is also gently rising.

Thus far, the rise is modest and not accelerating. Even with the recent rise, levels are still more than 75% lower than the LOWEST levels we saw from mid-2022 to mid-2025. If this develops into a true summer surge (and I think it may), it is likely to be the lowest surge since 2020.

Someone's going to give me crap for this, but...

If Donald Trump Jr. planned a giant wedding at Madison Square Garden for Independence Day weekend, involving dozens of environment-destroying semis, flying 1,000 guests around, and closing off blocks in midtown on one of NYC's busiest holiday weekends, we'd all be bitching about the privilege and waste of wealth.

But, it's Taylor Swift, so it's all okay, I guess.