Jay Weiland News Today

The summer surge of COVID-19 infections has begun earlier and at higher levels than in previous years. As the <em>Washington Post</em> notes, the entire public health apparatus has been dismantled, allowing the virus free rein to spread unhindered.

A data scientist who has accurately predicted COVID waves since the beginning of the pandemic warns that a surge is on the horizon.

The <em>World Socialist Web Site</em> recently spoke with health care expert and data analyst Greg Travis who has been maintaining the only COVID-19 excess death tracker for the US and documenting his findings through his social media.

Today's Water Cooler

After a two-month hiatus, <em>The Economist</em> resumed publishing their daily global excess deaths estimates, showing that more than 700,000 people have died than expected above pre-pandemic levels during the ongoing JN.1 wave.

The US is now mired in a horrific wave of mass infection with a virus that is still hospitalizing and killing masses of people globally and causing untold long-term damage to the health of the population.

COVID-related ER visits, hospitalizations, and deaths are also on the rise.

In an exclusive interview with Fortune, the WHO's COVID-19 lead said the organization is ready to assign a new Greek letter on a moment’s notice, but is holding out for a variant that's "truly different." Not all experts agree with the approach.

The rise of JN.1 to dominance in the US could soon cause the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases of any wave so far, excluding only the initial Omicron wave exactly two years ago.

This year's winter respiratory disease season was looking to be a bit of a respite from last year's—until JN.1 took off. Now, it's anyone's best guess.