Vitamin D being further studied – https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/trials-seek-to-answer-if-vitamin-d-could-help-in-covid-19-67817?

““We know that vitamin D is good for bones and muscles,” says Martineau. “Therefore, it makes sense to take a bit, and it might just help against COVID, too.””

Mass antibody testing in UK find 6% of the population had covid-19 – 13% in London – https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-13/mass-antibody-study-finds-3-4-million-in-england-had-covid-19

“In London, 13% of people had antibodies while in the South West of England it was less than 3%, according to the research, released by the Department of Health and Imperial College London. People from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups, care workers, and people living in larger households were among the most likely to have been infected.”

“Among the most likely to have been infected were care home workers (16%) and health care staff (12%).

In the wider population, 17% of people from Black backgrounds and 12% of people from Asian groups were infected.

People in the most deprived areas of England had higher antibody levels than those in the wealthiest areas.

The study suggested one in three people with antibodies showed no symptoms, a feature that increased among the over-65s.”

Not the best of news again – https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/scientists-revise-covid-19-incubation-period-to-7-7-days

“The researchers found that the median incubation period (the middle value) was 7.76 days, while the mean incubation period (the statistical average) was 8.29 days. However, in some cases, the incubation period was much longer.

For 10% of people, the incubation period was longer than 2 weeks (14.28 days), and in 1% of cases, the estimated incubation period was more than 20 days.

The youngest person included in the study was a 6-month-old baby, while the oldest person was 86 years old. However, the authors found no evidence that the incubation period for COVID-19 depends on age.”

Brazil the leaderboard in death at 1262 – US still above 1K

Texas is leading in deaths at 244 and confirmations

Harris county leads the country at 34 deaths

Confirmation trending down for the Big 4 – but the death chart for Harris county is not looking too good but there is a very weird dip to 0 which needs to accounted for.

Harris county death data is so bad…there is no reason for the deaths to trend to zero back in early august – and now deaths rising above previous peaks with available beds. Fatality rates also highest ever. Something is not adding up.

New Zealand confirmation bump is causing a lot of questions for them.

Interestingly August is one of the coldest months for them. It has been in the low 40’s for some hours. Perhaps the huddle up in their homes too long….