The Unending Toll

No matter how bad the pandemic gets, it is critical that we maintain a sense of proportion in the context of other health crises. For example, as of Friday, October 9, 121 people had died of Covid-19 in the city of San Francisco so far this year. 

Meanwhile, according to the medical examiner, over 450 people had died of drug overdoses during the same period.

Of course the long-term effects of Covid among the 11,611 in the city who have been infected are currently unknown, and may be severe, but it is instructive that drug abuse is killing almost four times as many people as is the virus.

My point is not to downplay the pandemic, but to remind us all of the enormity of the drug addiction crisis. As some sort of vaccine or more effective treatment for Covid becomes more likely, the silent scourge of drug abuse will no doubt continue unabated.

Because we do not have a vaccine or a cure for that.

Today is World Mental Health Day.

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* Trump appeared before a small crowd of primarily black and Latino young people paid to go to a rally at the White House, endangering their health. He did not wear a mask. (CNN)

* Accused leader of plot to kidnap Mich. governor was struggling financially, living in basement storage space (WashPo)

* Las Vegas Strip Empty Without Conventions -- Nevada’s public-health restrictions and a weakened travel industry have kept conventions and meetings from returning to Las Vegas, a continuing setback for the city’s battered casino industry and the state’s overall economy. (WSJ)

* Biden is favored to win the election -- We simulate the election 40,000 times to see who wins most often. The sample of 100 outcomes below gives you a good idea of the range of scenarios our model thinks is possible. Biden 85%, Trump 14%. (538)

* Survey: 43% of Economists Don’t See U.S. Gaining Back Lost Jobs Until 2023 (WSJ )

* A North Bay retreat center on the site of California's oldest resort was devoured by flames in the Glass Fire, with only three of the original 20 buildings remaining, according to multiple news reports. At the White Sulphur Springs Resort outside St. Helena, an inn and a carriage house are still standing but many other cottages and structures were chewed up in the blaze. (SFGate)

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Reasons to quit
They have no rhyme or reason when you're high
And the reasons to quit
Don't outnumber all the reasons why

-- Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson