Today was relatively bad day, but not as bad as the day that the American donut truck sold out of donuts at our local market. From donuts, burgers, to the WWE and Hollywood, and elections, US culture and events intrigue the World.
The 2020 election was of particular interest given that was in the middle of a global pandemic. To make matters worse, cases in the US were surging with almost 100, 000 cases reported on October 30, 2020. Record cases are ongoing during and after the election with 92,599 on election day (November 3), and peaking at 132,797 on November 6, 2020. This is despite the recent White House on October 27 from the Office of Science and Technology indicate that a highlight of the current administration was: “Ending the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Indeed, the views on the COVID-19 pandemic between the two candidates could not be more different. The POTUS has a very relaxed approach to handling the pandemic and an interesting take on science. A day before the election, at a rally in Opa-Locka (Miami), there was a suggestion that Dr Fauci (probably the top infectious disease expert and cultural icon), would be fired after the election. This is contrast to the Democratic leader who had made it clear that dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic would be at the top of the list if he was to be elected.
The way the election panned out, it was clear that the coronavirus was not the most important issue for the majority of the population; exit polls indicated that the most pressing concern was the economy with one in six people citing the COVID-19 as a concern. This in-line with the closeness of the election with both candidates amassing record number of votes for their respective parties; Joe Biden with a popular vote of almost 75 million has the most ever cast for a presidential candidate. Other winners of this election have to be the swing states of Arizona (especially Maricopa County that incorporates Phoenix), Nevada, Georgia, and predominantly Pennsylvania, which have received extraordinary attention over the past few days!
In the spirit of 2020, the Presidential election was filled with drama, which like the pandemic, is still ongoing. In some light drama, in Iowa a ballot scanner was clogged due to hand sanitiser weakening the ballot paper jamming the machine; that happens in a pandemic election!
After nail-biting twists and turns, and a record-breaking turnout, Joe Biden has emerged as the new President-elect but the result is still not official, and the transition-phase is pending. In the meantime, COVID-19 is surging and give the focus on the elections, is not receiving the attention required. Thankfully, due to improved management, the rate of mortality in hospitalized patients has significantly decreased (by ~20%), compared to the previous waves of disease!
In more good news, the President-elect has already announced his COVID-19 taskforce, and Pfizer has announced first results from a Phase III trial indicating 90% effectiveness! We’ll revisit these topics in upcoming issues!
Until next time … Tranquilo Polymaths.