Waiting in lines will continue at the bank and grocery stores, but not for COVID-19 tests in the near future.

Would you believe that supply has exceeded demand for COVID-19 testing? Towards the end of January, over a quarter of a million coronavirus tests were administered in Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Today, testing is provided at nearly 200 government-supported locations. These locations are seeing one-third the demand compared to a month ago.

Testing Glut

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/covid-tests-surplus-demand/2021/02/27/id/1011758/ Media has been telling us to expect a Twindemic of seasonal influenza and coronavirus this winter. Seasonal influenza has virtually disappeared. Why? Not for this article. Headlines forecast huge increases as winter arrived since the virus loves cold and wet climates. The numbers of new cases do not support this!

Coronavirus New Cases Worldwide

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ Worldwide, the number of new cases is hovering around 350,000 a day and declining. Six weeks ago, the daily average was almost twice what it is today. The rate of decay of new COVID-19 cases is the steepest in the past year. New COVID-19 cases today are equal to mid-October 2020.

Coronavirus Daily Deaths – United States

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/ Daily deaths are decreasing weekly like worldwide deaths from COVID-19. The daily death rate is hovering around 2,000 per day with a steep decline. Six weeks ago, the daily deaths were nearly double today’s totals.

Coronavirus Testing United States

https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus-testing The United States is the only major country in the world that has administered more coronavirus tests than its population – 360 million tests for 330 million people. However, many people have been tested multiple times. It is estimated that only 7.2% of the U. S. population has been tested.

Coronavirus Vaccine Status

https://shorturl.at/dgvKX Over 14% of the people living in the United States have had one vaccination with around 7.5% of all having both doses. Overall, roughly ten percent of Americans have contracted the disease. Add that to the 13% vaccinated, and the United States has achieved over one-quarter protection from COVID-19 for its citizens.

As more vaccines become available to the public, the coronavirus’s protection level should exceed 50% within weeks. As people are protected from the disease through becoming infected and vaccinations, the demand for testing decreases.

Conclusion

Within 90 days, America should have the capability of testing over one billion people a month. During this time, another 150 million vaccines will be distributed increasing the overall protection from the virus to something approaching herd immunity.

Some people are concerned about the new variants of the virus, such as those seen in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and other countries. Yes, mutations occur. Over one thousand mutations of COVID-19 have been recorded to date. Some mutations are more virulent in the spread of the disease or symptoms. Most mutations are not.

Vaccines have been focused on attacking the coronavirus’s spike to prevent it from attaching to human cells. The spike contains nearly 1,500 proteins arranged in a specific sequence. Most mutations occurring in the spike have been limited to a couple of dozen changes. Vaccine scientists do not think that this minor rearrangement of proteins in the spike will defeat their vaccine target parameters.

Some states have asked parents to be tested for COVID-19 every two weeks to quickly determine the spread of coronavirus among school children as schools reopen. Advanced warnings of infections and more real-time tracking of contacts are a benefit of regular testing.

I have been an advocate for cheap home test kits that can provide results in minutes, not days. This type of testing could reopen businesses, schools, and churches.

Live Longer & Enjoy Life! – Red O’Laughin – RedOLaughlin.com

 

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