By

Otello Stampacchia

15
Dec
2021

The Long War

I think I have seen enough. We cannot fight an exponential rise with linear thinking and processes. And yet, this is what we keep doing. On that optimistic note, some background for those of you who are new to my cranky musings. As many of you know, I wrote here on Nov. 26 about the emergence of Omicron as an...
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19
Jul
2021

From Delta…to Omega?

I hope you are all enjoying your summer break with (finally) being able to see friends and family (and fine food NOT from a delivery service). You are? Great! Now let me spoil some of that for you. This pandemic is not over I understand the inclination to consider the pandemic behind us. In large parts of the US /...
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1
Feb
2021

2021: The Rise of the Variants

This column will have a “glass half full / glass half empty” feeling for many readers, I fear. Before diving deep into the troubling emergence of highly transmissible and virulent SARS-CoV-2 variants, a couple of brief reminders: Immunology is very complicated: for the uninitiated, please read this (always impeccably well written) piece by Ed Yong in The Atlantic. We still...
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31
Aug
2020

The Data Are Telling Us to Prepare for a Difficult Fall

I could not resist using the above, peerless comic strip from Stephan Pastis. Indeed, the two “plagues” are not just co-existing, but they are mutually reinforcing each other and making things worse. We should take the “great wise ass on the hill” seriously and invest in science and (investigative, high quality) journalism. About two months ago, I wrote here about...
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26
May
2020

Miscommunications, Misapplied Policy & Misunderstood Liberty: Why the US Pandemic Response is in Trouble

On April 17 — seemingly a long time ago — I wrote about what steps would have to be taken in order to (cautiously) “reopen” US states from their various lock-downs and stay-at-home advisories. The piece tried to focus on the “how”, versus the “when”. By the early days of May, most states had begun re-opening, and now all 50...
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17
Apr
2020

The Real Question is How to Restart

When?? When can we finally go back to something resembling a “normal” life, go back to work and restart our economies, embrace again long-lost family, friends, co-workers? And, in too many cases, when can we get together to properly mourn those we have lost? I cannot tell you “when.” Everyone wants the answer to that question. I do, too. But...
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23
Mar
2020

Let it Rip or Shelter at Home? Choosing Between Two Bad Options on Coronavirus

Like most of you, I have been obsessively following “the virus.” It is having a devastating impact on human life, hospital systems, governments and economies. The worst is still to come, based on what we know about this new coronavirus and its ability to spread with exponential force. Here are some thoughts on the difficult choices laying ahead. Before I...
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18
Mar
2020

8 Days Later: Italy vs. US

The following is an update to my article on March 10, also published on Timmerman Report. The initial article is available (free to read here). Before I begin, I would like to sincerely thank everybody who has reached out with comments / feedback after my first article. Thank you also for the outpouring of well wishes for my family in...
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