I am so sorry that you guys are dealing with such extreme AQI levels. I feel like a jerk for complaining.
Our air cleared up yesterday, rained over night, and clear again today. Hustled through some outdoor work yesterday and will finish it today. Because who knows what the next day will bring.
Anyway, I hope you all get a much needed break from this. It really is horrible whether or not you're allergic to it. But speaking of fires, I haven't heard or read anything about the Global Super Tankers being used. Takes a million thousand dollars to deploy them but why have them if we don't use them? We've got one right here in town...think I'll check on that.
LIGHT HAS A NAME
We only get stronger when we are lifting something that is heavier than what we are used to. ~ KF
I'm not disappointed. Feeling optimistic. Still and all, I'm once again masking up on account of the Delta Variant. It seems like the smart thing to do for a variety of reasons and the governor also did not disappoint when he listed all the reasons that I was already operating on.
Here's what I've got as of today.
State Pop: 5.759 M
1st shot: 3,558,864 M
2nd shot: 2,995,006 M
We're getting there. We might be crawling on our hands and knees, but we're getting there.
LIGHT HAS A NAME
We only get stronger when we are lifting something that is heavier than what we are used to. ~ KF
We did get a 2-day reprieve so there's that. We usually do get the haze from fires out West. It's not anything new. I wish we could do more for those states than just send out mutual aid. Like get the Supertanker's up again.
LIGHT HAS A NAME
We only get stronger when we are lifting something that is heavier than what we are used to. ~ KF
We did get a 2-day reprieve so there's that. We usually do get the haze from fires out West. It's not anything new. I wish we could do more for those states than just send out mutual aid. Like get the Supertanker's up again.
Yuk. I was wondering where it was going if Huck was getting a reprieve. Guess I know.
he/him we all just have to live through it,
holding each other’s hands.
We did get a 2-day reprieve so there's that. We usually do get the haze from fires out West. It's not anything new. I wish we could do more for those states than just send out mutual aid. Like get the Supertanker's up again.
Yuk. I was wondering where it was going if Huck was getting a reprieve. Guess I know.
LIGHT HAS A NAME
We only get stronger when we are lifting something that is heavier than what we are used to. ~ KF
New research shows that smoke from last year’s unprecedented wildfire season in the western United States may have contributed to more than 19,000 Covid-19 cases and 700 deaths. The study, which is the first to quantify the link between small particulate matter from wildlife smoke and excess Covid-19 cases and deaths, was published Friday in Science Advances.
“The year 2020 brought unimaginable challenges in public health, with the convergence of the Covid-19 pandemic and wildfires across the western United States,” says study author Francesca Dominici to the Harvard Gazette’s Karen Feldscher.
Wildfire smoke contains tiny particulates called PM2.5, which are around one-fiftieth of the width of a human hair—small enough to get deep into lung tissue and cause widespread inflammation of the cells lining the airway and lungs. In addition to mouth, nose, and lung irritation, serious and prolonged exposure to PM2.5 can worsen asthma and heart disease, and make people more susceptible to viruses. The small particles can also trigger an immune response, reports Sarah Gibbens for National Geographic. In an effort to battle PM2.5, the immune system can’t put as much energy toward fighting Covid-19.
“The wildfires exacerbated the pandemic substantially,” says the study’s author Francesca Dominici to National Geographic, and inhaling the particulate in wildfire smoke is “compromising our ability to fight the virus.”
To assess the link between small particulate matter and Covid-19 cases, the Harvard University team of researchers gathered data from 92 counties in Washington, Oregon, and California between March and December 2020. They compared satellite data and EPA air quality assessments with publicly available health data to reveal that wildfire smoke was associated with an average increase of 11 percent more Covid-19 cases and 8 percent more deaths. In some counties in Washington and California, as many as 20 percent of Covid-19 cases were linked to PM2.5 exposure. According to their analysis, the particulate matter from the 2020 wildfire season contributed to a total of 19,742 Covid-19 cases and 748 deaths across the three states.
