[JuanP]

"Hog breeders head for more profits"
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1209385.shtml

"A golden era of high profits for Chinese hog farmers will last one year or more despite climbing pork production as the country gradually emerges from the influence of African swine fever (ASF), farmers and experts told the Global Times.

Soaring domestic pork prices since mid-2018, primarily as a result of the impact of ASF, have pushed profitability higher for hog breeders."

It seems the African Swine Fever problem is essentially over.

[Tanada]

Great news Everybody! If you follow this CDC link to the raw data in excel format you can see the Flu news for yourself!

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/weeklyar ... Data50.csv

The first 15 weeks of 2020 the USA averaged a little over 500 deaths from Influenza every week.
Then in a nearly miraculous fashion when the Federal government agreed to reimburse hospitals for Covid-19 patients the number of fatal cases of Influenza started dropping like a rock!
Week 16, 264
Week 17, 144
Week 18, 065
Week 19, 048
Week 20, 021
Week 21, 024
Week 22 through Week 44, 018 or less, often in the single digits!
If point of fact since Week 19 the highest week for Influenza fatalities the remainder of the year has been just 27.
Week 45, 021
Week 46, 018
Week 47, 027
Week 48, 017
Week 49, 014
Week 50, 002

Truely it is an Influenze MIRACLE!

[Outcast_Searcher]

Great news Everybody! If you follow this CDC link to the raw data in excel format you can see the Flu news for yourself!

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/weeklyar ... Data50.csv

The first 15 weeks of 2020 the USA averaged a little over 500 deaths from Influenza every week.
Then in a nearly miraculous fashion when the Federal government agreed to reimburse hospitals for Covid-19 patients the number of fatal cases of Influenza started dropping like a rock!
Week 16, 264
Week 17, 144
Week 18, 065
Week 19, 048
Week 20, 021
Week 21, 024
Week 22 through Week 44, 018 or less, often in the single digits!
If point of fact since Week 19 the highest week for Influenza fatalities the remainder of the year has been just 27.
Week 45, 021
Week 46, 018
Week 47, 027
Week 48, 017
Week 49, 014
Week 50, 002

Truely it is an Influenze MIRACLE!

Or (without resorting to conspiracy theories), behavior like masking and social distancing is helpful, perhaps very helpful, for colds and flu.

I'm hoping one side effect of the changes in mandated behavior (despite the anti-mask crowd) is MUCH less in terms of cold and flu this winter than usual. We'll see as the season ramps up.

Obviously, with all the variance from year to year, how many people still think or act like Covid-19 is "fake" or that wearing masks is too difficult, etc, that's not at all assured -- but it could be one positive outcome, especially re flu related deaths.

[JuanP]

Wow! Maybe the COVID-19 virus provides immunity to the flu for all the people that catch COVID-19, and their friends, acquaintances, coworkers, and families, too! The COVID-19 virus doesn't cease to amaze me! LOL!

[Subjectivist]

Great news Everybody! If you follow this CDC link to the raw data in excel format you can see the Flu news for yourself!

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/weeklyar ... Data50.csv

The first 15 weeks of 2020 the USA averaged a little over 500 deaths from Influenza every week.
Then in a nearly miraculous fashion when the Federal government agreed to reimburse hospitals for Covid-19 patients the number of fatal cases of Influenza started dropping like a rock!
Week 16, 264
Week 17, 144
Week 18, 065
Week 19, 048
Week 20, 021
Week 21, 024
Week 22 through Week 44, 018 or less, often in the single digits!
If point of fact since Week 19 the highest week for Influenza fatalities the remainder of the year has been just 27.
Week 45, 021
Week 46, 018
Week 47, 027
Week 48, 017
Week 49, 014
Week 50, 002

Truely it is an Influenze MIRACLE!

Or (without resorting to conspiracy theories), behavior like masking and social distancing is helpful, perhaps very helpful, for colds and flu.

I'm hoping one side effect of the changes in mandated behavior (despite the anti-mask crowd) is MUCH less in terms of cold and flu this winter than usual. We'll see as the season ramps up.

Obviously, with all the variance from year to year, how many people still think or act like Covid-19 is "fake" or that wearing masks is too difficult, etc, that's not at all assured -- but it could be one positive outcome, especially re flu related deaths.

Kind of weird to claim openly published government data and policies are now wild eyed conspiracies, but hey there are lots of folks around here with odd ideas and ic it makes you happy more power to you. As for me and my household, we try and stick with actual facts.

[Outcast_Searcher]

Kind of weird to claim openly published government data and policies are now wild eyed conspiracies, but hey there are lots of folks around here with odd ideas and ic it makes you happy more power to you. As for me and my household, we try and stick with actual facts.

+1

Sub, it's interesting how the conspiracy theories various people believe in vary so widely. So people might be very rational and fact driven re science for most things, but convinced that wild conspiracy X MUST be the truth because "reasons" or "mad at situation X", etc.

I'll sign up for having believed exactly ONE conspiracy theory in my life, when I hadn't yet thought through that whole paradigm (decades before the internet, and because a friend of mine waved his arms a lot and constantly read a LOT of books on it, claiming he was an expert.) That was the Kennedy shooting conspiracy re the grassy knoll, etc.

Only much later did I realize that he basically by default, believes in nearly EVERY conspiracy theory, and a hell of a lot of pseudo-science. OOPS.

The thing that really pushed me over the edge on that was the "magic bullet" idea -- I just couldn't accept the idea that such a bullet having shattered bones, etc. would still be pristine, found lying in the stretcher.

But after watching the "Mythbusters" episode (excellent, as usual) on that, and seeing how that rifle and that bullet type, fired lengthwise into a 4 foot hard wood 6x6 beam and dug out looked undamaged, at least to the naked eye. So I said "Never Mind" and looked at ALL conspiracies with a critical eye and referring to facts, science, math, and experts from then on.

My college education emphasizing math and computer science probably helped me in that regard.