Day 34: "The work continues." - a podcast by Matt Kiser

from 2021-02-22T16:47

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1/ The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus topped 500,000 with more than 28,000,000 confirmed cases. More Americans have died from Covid-19 than in World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War combined – and public health officials have said the actual death toll is likely significantly higher. Dr. Anthony Fauci called the death toll a “stunning,” “terrible,” “really horrible,” and “historic” figure, adding that the U.S. had “done worse than most any other country” despite being a “highly developed, rich country.” On February 23, 2020, Trump suggested that the coronavirus is “going to go away,” because “we’ve had no deaths” and “we have it very much under control in this country.” The coronavirus has killed more than 2,462,000 people worldwide. (NBC News / New York Times / ABC News / Politico / Washington Post / CNN / The Guardian / Wall Street Journal)




  • ? Dept. of “We Have It Totally Under Control.”




  • Global: Total confirmed cases: ~111,643,000; deaths: ~2,472,000




  • U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~28,175,000; deaths: ~500,000; vaccinated: ~13.3% of total population




  • Source: Johns Hopkins University / Washington Post




  • First doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines have reduced Covid-19 hospital admissions among the elderly in the U.K. by up to 85% and 94%, respectively. (Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg)




2/ Biden altered the Paycheck Protection Program to direct more funding toward very small businesses and those owned by minorities or located in underserved communities. Starting March 9, businesses with more than 20 employees will be shut out of the PPP for two weeks. Biden criticized the PPP’s early rollout for privileging larger businesses with existing banking connections while smaller businesses struggled to obtain relief. The administration, however, has not said whether it will seek to extend the program after the current funding expires March 31. (NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / WTF Just Happened Today

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