ANNUAL BRUESSARD AWARD

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Page Outline:

  1. 2020 WINNER'S PODIUM: Journey to Planet Earth to Visit 4 Very Special COVID-19, Life-Saving Heroes
  2. 2020 and the Global COVID-19 Outbreak: A Year to Remember, Or Here Comes the Rainfall
  3. A Circle of Winners: Four COVID-19 Heroes
  4. 2020 Retrospective and Reflections: The Year of COVID-19
  5. The Next Pandemic Outbreak: Are Humans Prepared?
  6. Taking This Opportunity to Momentarily Move Beyond the Specific Challenge of COVID-19 By Taking A Closer Look at the General Challenge of Life on Earth and the Quest for Human Survival Extending Far into the Future
  7. Spinning Top Universe, Spinning Top Earth But Tribalism Humans: Destiny, or A Matter of Existence (Choosing Good over Evil, Choosing Life over Death, and Choosing Heaven on Earth over Hell on Earth)
  8. A Promising Rebound to Life on Earth After COVID: A Very Small Sampling of the Many Human Happenings Across Earth, Or Here Comes the Sunshine Again

01. 2020 WINNER'S PODIUM: Journey to Planet Earth to Visit 4 Very Special COVID-19, Life-Saving Heroes

02. 2020 and the Global COVID-19 Outbreak: A Year to Remember, Or Here Comes the Rainfall

No, it did not come from the deepest corners of outer space. No, there were no wicked space aliens plotting to stage an invasion and takeover of Earth. Yes, it originated right here on Earth. Its name is COVID-19 (for corona.virus.disease-2019). Throughout the year 2020, much like a stalking, prowling, and stealthy tiger in search of prey, the COVID-19 virus lurked and stood ready to pounce upon its human victims. Who could have predicted such a development? Calling all missing-in-action psychics: Where were you? How could you have missed this one?


meteor shower | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids
This illustration depicts Comet C/2019 Q4's trajectory. Deemed a possible interstellar object, it will approach no closer to Earth than about 190 million miles (300 million kilometers) | NASA/JPL-Caltech
This animation features actual satellite images of the far side of the moon, illuminated by the sun, as it crosses between the DSCOVR spacecraft's Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) and telescope, and the Earth - one million miles away | NASA/NOAA

Creative rendition of SARS-COV-2 virus particles. Note: not to scale. | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH


Yes, 2020 was a year to remember—or, some would prefer to say that it was a year to forget. Year 2020 was a year for the ages. Year 2020 was the year that the COVID-19 virus would leave its downpour of infectious rain all across Earth.

Few would dispute that, more than any of the other events to occur in 2020—and there were quite a few unnerving events (such as dust storms, wind storms, wildfires, hurricanes, typhoons, temperature extremes, law enforcement misconduct, civil unrest, looting, rioting, crime, shooting, murder, etc.)—none of them was as Earth-shaking or comparable to the detrimental and devastating impact on daily human life as was the COVID-19 virus outbreak.

Much like the collecting of dark, dreary, and ominous clouds overhead to signal the impending arrival of stormy weather, in December 2019, the dark, dreary, and ominous clouds of COVID-19 began gathering overhead all across Earth. And, in year 2020, it did storm. Downpour of the COVID-19 virus proceeded to inundate Earth.

Virtually no country on Earth was spared from COVID-19's downpour. Virtually no country on Earth was spared from COVID-19's wrath. The fallout from the COVID-19 virus outbreak produced both detrimental and sometimes fatal outcomes for humans both from physical and mental-health perspectives and also from economic and business perspectives. The COVID-19 virus outbreak resulted in drastic adjustments to day-to-day life on Earth. Face coverings practically were being worn by all in public spaces, and face coverings served as perhaps one of the most visible symbols of these drastic adjustments.

To wax poetic, in 2020, there was no sparkling Sun sweeping across the desert dawn. There was no cacophony of flowers wooing bees to nectar hour. There were no autumn leaves swaying to the summer breeze. There were no ocean waves lapping against the seashell's gaze. There were no fireflies' flights to greet the dazzling star-lit night. There were no skies of blue bouncing off the parrot's hue. There were no birds chirping or croaking frogs nor rooster crowing or barking dogs. Instead, humans were greeted with the frosty fright of COVID-19's icy bite. As illustrated by the next set of storm-related photos, in 2020, there were barrels full of distress and pain as planet Earth was inundated with COVID's rain.

Stormy Weather Images As A Metaphor for the Gathering COVID-19 Storm

A scenic vista at the Southwestern Native Aquatic Resources Recovery Center in Dexter, New Mexico | A.S. Harrison/USFWS
Approaching Thunder- Unlike many other parts of our Nation, where skyscape views are obstructed by trees, mountains, and higher-density land uses, in the the Northern Prairie one can see whole storm fronts advancing | Medicine Lake NWR Storm
Federal housing project on the outskirts of the town of Yauco, Puerto Rico. About an acre of land for gardens is provided with each house (The Library of Congress) | Jack Delano, photographer.
Dark clouds and rain move up the Green River Valley at Horseshoe Bend on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge | Tom Koerner/USFWS
Rain Storm at the Capitol May 2014 | Architect of the Capitol
Soldiers with the 1-178th Field Artillery Battalion, South Carolina Army National Guard (ACNG) help escort Horry County Fire Rescue paramedics through flooded roads to reach someone in need of medical attention in Conway, S.C., during Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 8, 2016 | U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Jorge Intriago

By way of comparison, due to the detrimental impact of malware and viruses on computer operating systems, the term "computer virus" was inspired by actual viruses in Mother Nature. Computer viruses represent the capacity of certain pieces of software code to inflict unimaginable damage on a computer's ability to operate normally. The modus operandi of the typical computer virus is to disrupt, damage, and even disable the ability of a computer to process data. Hence, the computer becomes ill or unable to function as normal. From the perspective of humans, the modus operandi of the COVID-19 virus is to damage and even to kill the human body. Of course, from the perspective of the COVID-19 virus, its modus operandi simply is to find a human host in which it could survive and thrive. By developing therapeutics and vaccines to defeat the COVID-19 virus, humans merely are saying to the virus, "You are going to have to go and find yourself a non-human living host if you wish to continue surviving and thriving."

The laptop is infected with six viruses: WannaCry, BlackEnergy, ILOVEYOU, MyDoom, SoBig and DarkTequila. 'The Persistence of Chaos,' as the work is known, was created by Chinese internet artist Guo O Dong and commissioned by Deep Instinct, a New York-based cybersecurity firm.
How Computer Viruses Work | Dave Mosher
Stay home and call for doctors icon represent a human in bed sick from a COVID-19 virus infection | commons.wikimedia.org / Правительство Москвы

In the final analysis, the COVID-19 virus infection causes the human body to generate error signals of distress…and here is where the COVID-19 heroes enter the picture.

03. A Circle of Winners: Four COVID-19 Heroes

It is with great pleasure and with much gratitude that I now announce the 2020 winners of the Annual Bruessard Award. For the year 2020, four winners were selected from a long list of well-deserving candidates. As 2020 has come to be known as the year of COVID-19, these 4 winners are being recognized for their unique contributions in the battle against the COVID-19 virus outbreak. They are responsible for saving the lives of millions—albeit, most unfortunately, over one million lives already have been lost to the virus as of 1-December-2020. The 4 winners of the 2020 Annual Bruessard Award are as follow:

  1. Dr. Zhong Nanshan
  2. Healthcare workers
  3. Zoom
  4. Pfizer / BioNTech

Logo of the Finnish TV channel Hero | commons.wikimedia.org / Sanoma

Author created Microsoft PowerPoint graphic depicting the 4 winners of the 2020 Annual Bruessard Award; Circle icons: trophy | commons.wikimedia.org / Elegant Themes

Winner 1 of 4: The Indefatigable Zhong Nanshan

Hero

Granted, the late Dr. Li Wenliang was the first prominently known doctor in China to publicly sound the alarm on a possible COVID-19 virus outbreak. Dr. Li Wenliang gets honorable mention here for courageously stepping forward and speaking out about the coronavirus situation as early as 30-December0-2019. However, it was China's most esteemed, prestigious, and revered medical expert, Dr. Zhong Nanshan, whose advice and counsel got the attention of China's political leadership. After hearing Dr. Zhong Nanshan's assessment of the COVID-19 virus's potential adverse impacts on the country, China's political leadership sprang into action. China's political leadership went to work with all deliberate speed to launch an aggressive, all-out assault against the COVID-19 virus.

In China, when Dr. Zhong Nanshan spoke, President Xi Jinping intently listened. President Xi Jinping wholeheartedly embraced Dr. Zhong Nanshan's message. President Xi Jinping took immediate steps to implement Dr. Zhong Nanshan's recommendations. On the contrary, and by way of comparison, when the USA's esteemed, prestigious, and revered medical expert (Dr. Anthony Fauci) spoke, President Donald Trump half-heartedly listened to Dr. Anthony Fauci and sometimes outright contradicted him.

When the final tally is completed and when mainland China's total number of COVID-19 cases and deaths are compared to the USA's total number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, I think the data will show that mainland China (with its population of 1.3 billion humans), relatively speaking, seems to have gotten it right (with a tally of 86,469 total COVID-19 infections and 4,634 total COVID-19 deaths as of 24-November-2020). The USA (with its population of 330 million humans), on the other hand, seems to have gotten it wrong (with a tally of 12,513,977 total COVID-19 infections and 258,083 total COVID-19 deaths as of 24-November-2020). See table below.

The thing that China got right about tackling the COVID-19 virus outbreak is simple: In the absence of a cure for the COVID-19 virus, in China, the populace was very much disciplined. In China, the populace was very much focused on the task at hand, which was to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The populace strictly complied with the various Non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) protocols as supplemented by a heavy hand of governmental enforcement. In the USA, on the other hand, amid outcries of an infringement on individual liberties, and amid outcries of a breach of individual freedoms, the populace loosely complied with or half-heartedly adhered to governmental COVID-19 NPI protocols. And, much like a software virus infecting a computer, the COVID-19 virus exploits human callousness. COVID-19 pounces on humans who lower their guards by ignoring the protocols for protecting themselves against COVID-19's march towards new infections. Hence, this difference in approach coupled with the USA's lukewarm, nonchalant, cavalier, or lackadaisical attitude toward compliance led to increased USA COVID-19 cases and increased USA COVID-19 deaths relative to China. China very handedly outperformed the USA during COVID-19's pre-vaccine days, that is, when comparing the success rate of the two countries in terms of the lowest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths given their population sizes.

In the matter of the USA's approach to COVID-19, probably the most applicable idiom would be the one that says, "You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink." In other words, despite all of the public health warnings, admonitions, and presentations of scientific evidence about how viruses work and despite all of the public service announcements about proactive and preventative measures to take to defeat the COVID-19 virus, far too many USA residents chose to ignore them. Instead, far too many USA residents felt that their freedom to do whatever they wish somehow overrode, took precedence over, or was more important than complying with those public health announcements, warnings, admonitions, and presentations of scientific evidence.

This difference in attitudes and approach between the USA and China towards battling the COVID-19 virus, coupled with the lack of a well-coordinated national USA response to combat the COVID-19 virus, was the primary culprit to explain the overall lackadaisical USA response to the COVID-19 virus outbreak and the concomitant comparative worse USA performance in terms of cases and deaths. Far too many USA residents, and the USA national government itself, adopted a nonchalant, non-serious attitude towards complying with the CDC's (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) anti-COVID-19 protocols. The end result, of course, was the USA's relatively high COVID-19 case count and its relatively high COVID-19 death count, say, compared to China. Given the USA's 50-state approach to tackling the COVID-19 outbreak rather than a more coordinated "united states" national approach, when it came to COVID-19, the United States suddenly became known as the Disunited States of America.

When probing deeper, perhaps a lot of this USA disunion could be explained by an even deeper societal schism within the USA. This deeper USA societal schism primarily could be attributable to a combination of things such as hyper-partisan politics, diametrically opposing mass (news) media voices, diametrically opposing social media viewpoints, and racial apprehensions. All of these factors combined to lead to an aura of bad karma hanging over the USA as it has become increasingly more difficult for the citizens to reach a common understanding.

Winner 2 of 4: The Courageous, Heroic, and Compassionate Healthcare Workers All Over the World

Thank You to EMS Agencies for Helping Arizona Respond to the COVID-19 Outbreak | Cara Christ

In much the same manner as was the case with the Ebola virus outbreak, once again, the healthcare workers sprang into action to do battle with the COVID-19 virus outbreak. In this COVID-19 instance, primarily, the first responders were the healthcare and hospital workers, namely, the hospital doctors, nurses, technicians, paramedics, and janitorial staff. Absent the availability of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, the first responders served as humankind's first line of defense against COVID-19's destructive, debilitating, and sometimes fatal effects.

While China was slow to alert the world about the virus's existence, at the outset of the outbreak, China made two very important contributions in helping to defeat the COVID-19 virus and save lives:

  1. On January 11, 2020, China provided the world with the virus's genetic sequences, which enabled the world's scientific researchers to begin developing treatments and cures for the virus.
  2. China led the way in demonstrating to the world how shelter-in-place, wearing facial masks, field hospitals, and testing and tracking should be done to combat the COVID-19 virus outbreak. Much of the world proceeded to emulate these Chinese-inspired examples.

Although, by and large, the world's healthcare workers were out of sight, their battle against the COVID-19 infection should not be understated. Their battle was akin to going to war. For them, everyday, the COVID-19 battle was red-alert and an all-hands-on-deck type of emergency. On a 24/7 basis, the world's healthcare workers very valiantly and commendably did battle with the COVID-19 virus.

Watch (ThankYouHeroes | Dubai Health Authority)

Watch (Italians clap on their balconies to thank medical staff amid coronavirus lockdown)

Watch (Madrid claps for healthcare workers amid coronavirus lockdown)

Watch (Navy Blue Angels, Air Force Thunderbirds Salute COVID-19 Responders With Flyover | NBC Nightly News)

Watch (120 drones lights up Dubai sky with messages honouring frontline heroes)

Watch ("My White Army" Rasha Kelej ,11 Singers,11 Countries to Support Coronavirus Medical Staff in Africa)

Watch (Experts who helped China fight Covid-19 receive top honours from President Xi Jinping)

Watch [Michael Jackson, Heal the World (2020)]

Winner 3 of 4: Zoom

Thank you word cloud | commons.wikimedia.org / Ashashyou

In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, sheltering in place or staying at home on a global scale was a new phenomenon for humans of the 21st century. The year 2020 COVID-19 virus outbreak did not stop business ingenuity from finding a way to adapt. Perhaps one of the most popular business adaptations was use of the web conferencing platform to facilitate communications and interactions while humans were domiciled in stay-at-home mode. Web conferencing platforms served as online, virtual replacements for previous face-to-face human endeavors. One of the most popularly adopted and embraced web conferencing platform was Zoom. As the next video amply illustrates, Zoom was used for a variety of tasks in multiple spheres of daily life. These tasks and spheres ran the gamut from online classes (as a substitute for schools), online business meetings (as a substitute for work), online church services (as a substitute for worship), online parties (as a substitute for play), and so forth.

Zoom facilitated a smooth transition from customary in-person, face-to-face human interactions to the new remote, online human interactions.

Watch (Together on Zoom)

Zoom emerged as one of the most high profile and the most popular go-to web conferencing platforms to use in adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic. But, as is typically the case on the World Wide Web, Zoom had its share of challenges such as counteracting threats posed by assorted nefarious actors. Zoom also had its fair share of competitors to contend with. Zoom prevailed and prospered. Zoom emerged as the web-conferencing victor during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Winner 4 of 4: Pfizer / BioNTech

Last of the 2020 Annual Bruessard Award winners to be honored but certainly not the least are the vaccine makers. In the fight against COVID-19, from a pharmaceutical perspective, there were two parallel tracks at play. The first track was to pursue medications to treat patients already infected with the COVID-19 virus. The ultimate medications and treatments are those which effectively neutralized the virus and prevented the virus from killing its host victims. Medical treatments typically are reactive in scope and are utilized to help humans recover after they have contracted the COVID-19 virus.

On Gratitude Street – The Golden Thread

The second track was to pursue vaccines to administer to the general public. Vaccines are proactive and preventative in scope. Vaccines are meant to disarm the COVID-19 virus before it can infect a human host. A safe and effective vaccine would prevent the COVID-19 virus from ever being transmitted to those humans who have not been infected by the virus. Due to their proactive and preventative natures, vaccines are the preferred choice for ending or arresting the COVID-19 pandemic.

In elementary school, children typically are taught idioms such as "slow and steady win the race," "haste makes waste," and "it is better to go slow and get it right rather than to go fast and get it wrong." When it came to a race for a COVID-19 vaccine, these idioms were discarded.

When it comes to vaccine development, generally speaking, there always has been a slow-and-steady approach. The slow-and-steady vaccine development approach evokes images of the famous "The Tortoise and the Hare" fable, which extols the virtue of going slow and steady and imparts a lesson that slow and stead, indeed, leads to a better outcome.

However, on May 15, 2020, President Donald Trump formally announced the launch of Operation Warp Speed. Operation Warp Speed was likened in importance to the Manhattan Project's operation to build the world's first nuclear bomb. With President Donald Trump's announcement, the global race for a COVID-19 vaccine was set in motion and began in honest. In this particular Operation Warp Speed instance, the COVID-19 vaccine racers or competitors could be likened to the hare instead of the tortoise. Guess what? Unlike the outcome in the "The Tortoise and the Hare" fable, this time the hare actually won the race. In these not-so-ordinary pandemic circumstances, it was the fast yet steady approach that won the race for a COVID-19 vaccine. Operation Warp Speed was a resounding success story.

Watch [(The Tortoise and The Hare ("Five Minute Fairy Tales")]

The next image from the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) shows the typical 5-year timeline to develop a new vaccine. It also shows how, by comparison, Operation Warp Speed compressed that virus development timeline from 5 years to 1.5 years.

Developing Covid-19 Vaccines at Pandemic Speed

The next image shows the normal 12-stage approach adhered to by the general scientific community when developing a new drug or vaccine.

Frequently Asked Questions about the FDA Drug Approval Process | FDA

As fate would have it, the Russian team of Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology working in partnership with Health Ministry of the Russian Federation was the first to declare victory in the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. If the rest of the scientific world was toiling at "warp speed" to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, then the Russian scientists must have been working at "quadruple warp speed." According to clinicaltrials.gov, the Russian team began Phase 1 testing of its Sputnik V vaccine on June 17, 2020. Less than 2 months later, on August 11, 2020, the Russian team was declaring victory. Accolades go to the Russian scientific researchers and financial sponsors for their valiant and noble COVID-19 vaccine development efforts. But, not so fast to declare victory.

A key tenet of scientific research is openness. Scientific researchers need to carefully examine one another's evidence to ascertain its validity. At the time of declaring victory, the problem with the Russian vaccine approach was that the Russian team never produced any scientific evidence to support the safety and effectiveness of their Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. To borrow from the words of that famous Wendy's TV commercial, when it came to proof of concept for the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, the world's scientific researchers were asking, "Where's the beef?," or as the idiom says, "the proof is in the pudding."

In other words, the Russians did not provide the world's scientific researchers with a taste of its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine pudding so that the world's scientific researchers could judge for themselves if that Sputnik V pudding tasted as good as the Russians claimed it tasted. The world's scientific researchers very badly wanted to get a sampling of that Sputnik V pudding. But, initially, the Russians refused to submit their COVID-19 vaccine findings to open and rigorous scientific review on a global scale. The Russians said, "Нет," to the world's scientific community. The Russian COVID-19 development process was closed to international scrutiny.

Instead of accelerating or compressing certain steps in the vaccine development process much like the rest of the world was doing, it appears that the Russians decided to skip over several steps in the vaccine development process to declare victory. The Russian COVID-19 development process was not open to scrutiny and substantiation by their scientific peers in the global scientific community in the same manner as newly developed drugs and vaccines normally undergo. As a result, due to this technicality, it can be stated that the Russian claims of victory were a bit premature as being the first nation to develop a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. The Russian premature declaration of victory, in no way, should detract from the devotion, toil, and countless hours of tedious work that the Russian researchers and scientists contributed to developing the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. Their vaccine development efforts were most commendable and appreciated.

To be sure, after careful scrutiny of the Sputnik V vaccine is completed and given a seal of approval by the global scientific community, it very well might turn out that Sputnik V is the real deal as originally reported by the news media on August 11, 2020. Based on some February 2, 2021 news reports, preliminary Phase III trial results indicate that Sputnik V is, as a matter of fact, the real deal. That is to say, the Sputnik V vaccine is proving to be a safe and effective vaccine that can be deployed worldwide in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. According to clinicaltrials.gov, Phase III trial of the Sputnik V vaccine began on September 7, 2020 and was set to be completed on May 1, 2021. The Phase III trial of the Sputnik V vaccine included some 33,758 participants.

For purposes of the Annual Bruessard Award, early indications suggest that the USA/Germany partnership of Pfizer and BioNTech appears to be on track to be the first team to develop a globally accepted safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. In the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine to prevent humans from contracting the virus, the competition has been stiff and ferocious yet benign and friendly. The Pfizer/BioNTech team has adhered to widely accepted drug and vaccine development protocols—albeit on a compressed or accelerated schedule as indicated by the above-referenced NEJM image. Pfizer and BioNTech stand poised and are on the precipice of being declared the pharmaceutical winners in the race to develop a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. [Note: On 23-August-2021, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was the first to receive formal approval from the USA Food and Drug Administration.]

In my humble opinion, because they were first to successfully develop a globally accepted safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, thus, saving untold millions of lives, and because the Pfizer/BioNTech team successfully developed a novel vaccine (that is, based on the new Messenger RNA or mRNA technology) at such record-setting speed (that is, in less than a year), the 2021 Nobel Prize for Medicine should be awarded to Pfizer and BioNTech. Development of a globally accepted safe, effective, and novel vaccine on such a very short order was quite an amazing feat and will go down in the annals of medical science as a most astonishing accomplishment relative the development of previous vaccines. It should be noted that not for one second do I, in any fashion, portrend to tell the Nobel committee how to vote; I merely am expressing a personal opinion about the Nobel Prize for Medicine.

Pfizer logo  BioNTech logo

Watch (Mace Rothenberg on Developing Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate)

Watch [(No Stone Left Unturned in the Fight Against COVID-19)]

The good news is this about an impending and inevitable 2021 global COVID-19 vaccination campaign: After a downpour of rain, sunshine and a rainbow usually follow to signal a return to normalcy. The arrival of a vaccine for COVID-19 is akin to finding the fabled pot of gold at the end of the rainbow after a downpour of rain.

House in the countryside with rainbow signifying a return to normalcy after a downpour of rain | house image courtesy of pixabay.com and rainbow image courtesy gallery.yopriceville.com

Now that safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines are available, the next challenge is for everyone to actually get vaccinated. Given the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, a return normalcy not only seems likely but also seems inevitable. The vaccine train has reached the station, so to speak. The time is now for Earth's 7 billion passengers to climb aboard the vaccine train. To paraphrase the words of that popular Medicare commercial featuring Broadway Joe Namath, the COVID-19 virus will not disappear automatically; humans have to do their part to end the pandemic by actually going to get vaccinated.

It is true that some who get the COVID-19 vaccination temporarily might experience certain short-term side effects. However, for those who are skeptical of getting vaccinated, initial test results indicate that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe. Most households have medicines that they routinely take, which are stored away in their bathroom medicine cabinets (for example, aspirins, antacids, cough syrups, vitamin supplements, and assorted doctor-prescribed medications). Many of these medicines also mention an array of possible side effects, but these potential adverse side effects most often never materialize. By the same token, in terms of safety, for most, getting the vaccine will not be too much different from taking one of those medicines stored away in the household medicine cabinet. If you do not fear taking one of your specific medicines stored away in your medicine cabinet, then there also is no reason for you to fear getting the COVID-19 vaccine. After all, the COVID-19 vaccine simply is another form of medicine.


Get vaccinated courtesy of vecteezy.com and commons.wikimedia.org / Rio Tuasikal (VOA)

Find the COVID vaccine in your state by FindYourVaccine.org


Some of the mRNA-type COVID-19 vaccine trial participants did experience temporary side effects such as a sore arm, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, fever, and chills. In an informative, fact-based article appearing on the creakyjoints.org website, Lauren Gelman outlines some of the known side effects that were experienced by some of the trial participants who were injected with the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. There also are caveats about getting vaccinated with the mRNA-type vaccine for children under the age of 16, pregnant women, breast-feeding women, anyone who experiences allergic reactions to vaccines, and anyone who is immunocompromised. These caveats apply to these classes of individuals because they were excluded from Phase 3 trials, namely, their reactions to the vaccine were not studied due to their extenuating circumstances. The Phase 3 trials focused on testing healthy adults.

It further should be emphasized that experiencing instances of short-term side effects by taking the life-saving COVID-19 vaccine are a preferred tradeoff to long-term hospitalization, intubation, and possibly death after contracting the COVID-19 virus by not having taken the vaccine. Which is better: The possibility of experiencing some temporary discomforts from getting the vaccine or the possibly of hospitalization, intubation, and even death from not getting the vaccine?

The decision to take or not to take the vaccine reminds me of a scene from the motion picture titled The Chronicles of Riddick. In one scene, after staging a prison escape, the character Riddick exclaimed to his captor, "You should've taken the money, Toombs." His captor, Toombs, replied, "I should've taken the money," as Toombs is abandoned in the prison to live among some ferocious, flesh-eating beasts. When it comes to choosing between getting vaccinated and not getting vaccinated, a la the motion picture titled The Chronicles of Riddick, one quite easily can substitute the phrase "should've taken the vaccine" in the place of the phrase "should've taken the money." In the case of the COVID-19 vaccine, it is the virus itself that is the ferocious, life-terminating beast. Choose wisely.

At the opposite—but no less important—end of the COVID-19 avoidance spectrum are the various medical treatments or pharmaceutical intervention strategies. Numerous clinical trials are underway to develop and test a large array of drugs as possible candidates to both cure a COVID-19 infection and vaccines to prevent a COVID-19 infection. While vaccines are critical in the global drive to prevent anyone from becoming infected with the virus, vaccines will do little to help the many millions already infected with and harmed by the COVID-19 virus. For those already infected with the COVID-19 virus, safe and effective treatments or therapeutics remain critical in assisting them to overcome the COVID-19 virus. The next three images are meant to illustrate the array of pharmaceutical and vaccine testing currently in progress in search of therapeutics and cures for the COVID-19 virus.

From the therapeutics perspective, both Eli Lilly and Company and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. deserve honorable mentions. Their monoclonal antibody treatments are showing promising results in treating patients already infected with the COVID-19 virus. Whereas COVID-19 vaccines are meant to impede the spread of virus by preventing new infections, these monoclonal antibody treatments are meant as cures for those already infected with the virus—including other medicinal therapeutics such as remdesivir and dexamethasone.


collage of four photos showing: vials of blood labelled coronavirus positive, vaccine or antiviral medication vial with syringe inserted, scientist preparing samples with pipettte in lab wearing full protective clothing, round white medicine tablets in blister pack | FDA


Chart describing treatment for non-hospitalized COVID-19 positive patients | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services


Chart describing treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 positive patients | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Special Song Tributes to the Above-Cited 4 Winners

The following four songs serve as special tributes to the 4 winners of the 2020 Annual Bruessard Award.

Watch (Jon Bon Jovi, Do What You Can)

Watch [Alicia Keys - Good Job (Robin Hood Relief Performance)]

Watch (Brian Culbertson, On My Mind)

Watch (Hiroshima, One Wish)

A Few Honorably Mentioned Unsung Heroes in the Battle against COVID-19

As mentioned earlier, there was a long list of deserving COVID-19-related candidates to win the 2020 Annual Bruessard Award. For, there was no shortage of heroes during the COVID-19 virus outbreak. In the USA alone where I reside, mayors, governors, captains of industry, charitable organizations, celebrities, and ordinary private citizens alike stepped up in big ways and made unique contributions in the fight against the COVID-19 virus outbreak. They stepped forward and made differences at a point in time during the COVID-19 outbreak when no reliable treatments existed to counteract a COVID-19 infection. Because I reside in the USA, I am a bit more intimately familiar with events and news occurring inside the USA. For this simple reason, the unsung heroes mentioned in the bullet points below primarily are domiciled in the USA.

Inside the USA, initially, first news of a potential virus outbreak received a lukewarm reception. But, much like a snowball effect, before long, the COVID-19 virus began to expand somewhat exponentially. Following is a brief chronology of initial USA reactions to the COVID-19 virus outbreak.

According to wikipedia.org, the first report of a COVID-19 case in the USA occurred on January 20, 2020. A man who resides in Snohomish County, Washington had returned home on January 15 after visiting his family in Wuhan. He sought medical attention on January 19, 2020. According to wikipedia.org, the second report of a COVID-19 case in the USA occurred on January 24, 2020. A woman in her 60's who resides in Chicago, Illinois had returned to her home on January 13 from a visit to Wuhan, China. One week later, she was hospitalized with pneumonia and tested positive for COVID-19. Within the USA, the January virus outbreaks generally were viewed as no-big-deal, 1-in-300-million types of outbreaks. They were not taken too seriously.

According to wikipedia.org, on February 6, 2020, the earliest confirmed USA death from COVID-19 occurred in Santa Clara County, California. A 57-year-old a manager for a semiconductor company appeared to have recovered from her flu-like symptoms before dying suddenly of what was first believed to be a heart attack. It is not clearly understood how the woman contracted the COVID-19 virus. Her February 5th death from a COVID-19 infection coupled with the widely reported February 7th death of popular Chinese doctor Li Wenliang also from a COVID-19 infection, shocked USA residents into attention. The eyes of many USA resident suddenly became wide open to the potential COVID-19 threat. And the rest (after February 7th), as they say, is history. With the USA having tallied its first COVID-19 case (on January 20th) and its first COVID-19 death (on February 6th), here is where the unsung COVID-19 heroes enter the picture.

As illustrated by the bullet points immediately below, by mid-February and early March 2020, the general public within the USA seriously began taking note of the coronavirus outbreak. At that particular juncture in time, it was widely reported in the news that 26 residents of the Life Care Center of Kirkland (Washington) had died and that 13 of those deceased residents subsequently had tested positive for exposure to the COVID-19 virus. At this February 19th juncture in time, the dominoes, so to speak, began falling. Public and private institutions sprang into action and began following the non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) protocols.

Strict adherence to NPI protocols is perhaps the most effective way to minimize the need for COVID-19-related hospitalizations, that is, absent a vaccine for prevent citizens from contracting the COVID-19 virus, absent widespread citizenry willingness to get the vaccine once it becomes available, and absent safe and effective therapeutics to treat those already infected with the COVID-19 virus. The next image is meant to illustrate some non-medical, non-drug, or non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) protocols to follow to safeguard against contracting the COVID-19 virus. These NPIs were crucial in the fight against COVID-19 during the initial outbreak when there was a scarcity of reliable medical treatments. These NPIs remain vital until universal worldwide vaccination and global herd immunity are achieved.


COVID-19 Prevention | Putra Specialist Hospital Kajang

Again, the following bullet points and chronology of COVID-19-related events capture some of the unsung USA heroes in the battle against the COVID-19 virus. They are heroes because they, too, sought to ease the pain or save the lives of millions who were adversely impacted by the COVID-19 virus outbreak. Most notably, if Pfizer and BioNTech deserve to win the Nobel Prize for Medicine for developing a safe and effective vaccine in record-setting time, then surely Jack Dorsey deserves to win some type of a philanthropic or humanitarian award for donating $1 billion of his personal wealth to aid in the battle against the COVID-19 virus outbreak—and for taking quick action to protect the employees of his businesses from getting infected with the virus. A billion dollars (USD) is a whole lot of money to give away.

Obviously, there are only so many personal material comforts that one person can purchase with a billion dollars, which makes the philanthropic sharing of wealth a viable option for disposing some of the wealth. Even if the billionaire spent, say, $100 million (USD) on the most luxurious material comforts in the world (such as a luxury home, car, yacht, private aircraft, works of art, furnishings, diamonds, pearls, clothes, shoes, etc.), there still would be $900 million leftover to spare. Perhaps one of the most popular ways that the super rich dispose of their wealth is by investing it in other business ventures, which makes it illiquid wealth as assets on the books.


Images from left to right: Andrew Cuomo, José Andrés, London Breed, Gavin Newsom, and Sean Penn
Andrew Cuomo photo courtesy of Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York via flickr.com Jose Andres photo courtesy of wck.org London Breed photo courtesy of mayorlondonbreed.org Gavin Newsom photo courtesy of facebook.com/GavinNewsom Sean Penn photo courtesy of coreresponse.org
 January 19, 2020 - A Snohomish County (state of Washington) resident is infected with the new coronavirus. It is the first confirmed case of the coronavirus on United States soil.
 February 7, 2020: Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang dies, causing an unprecedented outpouring of grief and anger on Chinese social media and widespread publicity about the seriousness of COVID-19 in the global news media.
 February 21, 2020 - Verizon pulled out of the RSA conference, along with AT&T and IBM.
 February 28, 2020 - The first death from coronavirus in the state of Washington was reported at the Evergreen Health Medical Center in Kirkland, Washington. The city of Kirkland was the first city in the country to suffer a cluster of cases of coronavirus infections.
 February 29, 2020 - The American Physical Society cancelled its annual March Meeting.
 March 1, 2020 - The state of New York announces its first COVID-19 case. New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, was perhaps the most prominent national example of government leadership in the face of the COVID-19 virus outbreak. He was instrumental in demonstrating to USA government officials how to harness, lasso, and rein in a pandemic.
 March 2, 2020 - Twitter was among the first technology businesses to encourage its employees to work from home. Twitter's CEO, Jack Dorsey, pledged to donate a whopping $1 billion worth of equity in Square to his limited liability company (LLC) named Start Small to fund COVID-19 relief around the world.
 March 4, 2020 - Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Google, and other technology firms urged all employees based in the Seattle and Bellevue, Washington areas to work from home to slow spread of the COVID-19 virus outbreak in that area of the country.
 March 6, 2020 - The state of Washington now has 70 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 11 COVID-19 deaths.
 March 6, 2020 - The annual South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas, was cancelled.
 March 10, 2020 - The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California was cancelled.
 March 10, 2020 - Facebook, Google, Slack, Apple, Airbnb, and other Silicon Valley technology firms in the state of California's greater San Francisco Bay Area begin instructing all of their employees to work from home to protect them against contracting and spreading the COVID-19 virus.
 March 11, 2020 - The NBA (National Basketball Association) abruptly suspended its season after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for COVID-19 moments before a game began in Oklahoma City. Other major sporting leagues followed the NBA's lead the next day by suspending their seasons, too, namely, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), National Lacrosse League, 2020 Masters Tournament, Kentucky Derby, and so on.
 March 12, 2020 - The NCAA canceled both the men's and women's college basketball tournaments, known as March Madness, after most conferences suspended their post-season tournaments.
 March 12, 2020 - California's colleges decided to cancel most in-person classes, campus gatherings, and travel due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
 March 12, 2020 - Chef Andrés, the founder of the World Central Kitchen charity, customarily has reached out to, and prepared countless free meals for, those in need during disasters all across the USA (and other parts of the world, too). On March 12, he embarked on a trip to Oakland, California to provide free meals to those remaining passengers and crew members quarantined aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship due to a COVID-19 virus outbreak aboard the ship.
 March 16, 2020 - San Francisco Mayor London Breed, as a preemptive step to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 virus among the citizens of San Francisco, issued the nation's first (citywide) shelter-in-place order effectively closing all "non-essential" places of business. The streets of San Francisco were desolate, and it felt like living in a ghost town. Other cities and counties in the greater San Francisco Bay Area soon followed Mayor London Breed's lead by announcing their own shelter-in-place orders.
 March 19, 2020 - California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the nation's first statewide shelter-in-place order.
 March 30, 2020 - Sean Penn, a co-founder of the non-profit organization CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort), initiated free, drive-through COVID-19 testing in the Los Angeles, California area.
 April 2, 2020 - After the dangers and challenge of COVID-19 had become apparent to the general public, numerous celebrities stepped up and made large-dollar donations of their personal wealth to assist in various ways to battle the COVID-19 virus outbreak. These celebrities included (but not limited to):
  1. Jack Dorsey, the CEO of both Twitter and the digital payments platform Square, who pledged to donate a whopping $1 billion worth of equity in Square to his Start Small LLC to fund COVID-19 relief around the world.
  2. Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos donated $100 million to the non-profit organization Feeding America to help replenish its national network of food banks and pantries, which are being depleted by COVID-19-related food shortages.
  3. Steve Ballmer, owner of the L.A. Clippers professional basketball team, pledged $25 million to help in the battle against COVID-19.
  4. TV host, actress, producer, media executive, and author Oprah Winfrey donated $10 million to various COVID-19-related relief efforts in communities across the country.
  5. Professional football quarterback, Drew Brees, pledged to donate $5 million to the state of Louisiana to assist in its battle with COVID-19.
  6. Actor, film producer, and entrepreneur Ryan Reynolds and his actress wife Blake Lively have donated in excess of $2 million to various COVID-19-related efforts.
  7. Numerous other celebrities have donated at least $1 million dollars (USD) in the battle to defeat COVID-19.
  8. Images from left to right: Jack Dorsey, Jeff Bezos, Steve Ballmer, Oprah Winfrey, Drew Brees, and Ryan Reynolds / Blake Lively
    Jack Dorsey's photo courtesy of britannica.com Jeff Bezos' photo courtesy of Seattle City Council via flickr.com Steve Ballmer's photo courtesy of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti via flickr.com Oprah Winfrey's photo courtesy of Vera Anderson / Wireimage at biography.com Drew Brees' photo courtesy of Senate Democrats via flickr.com Ryan Reynolds / Blake Lively's photo courtesy of Covenant House Toronto, Canada
Needless to say, in addition to the above large-dollar celebrity donations, numerous private corporations and philanthropic organizations have donated untold millions of dollars in the battle to defeat COVID-19 or in the battle to assist those adversely impacted by COVID-19. For instance, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation alone has pledged to spend almost $2 billion dollars (USD) in the fight against the COVID-19 virus.
Image: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with inset photos of Bill Gates and Melinda Gates
Front of foundation photo from Adbar at commons.wikimedia.org and inset photos from gatesfoundation.org

Meanwhile, by March 17, 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak had spread to all 50 USA states. In large measure, USA residents grudgingly abided the stay-at-home orders until May 25, 2020. It was on May 25, 2020 when George Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Given the fact that portions of the USA public were still simmering over the circumstances surrounding the Ahmaud Arbery killing on February 23, 2020 coupled with the police killing of Breonna Taylor on March 13, 2020, the police killing of George Floyd triggered a huge public outcry against these particular kinds of law enforcement-related killings. Citizens of all racial backgrounds across the USA—and across the world—began demonstrating and protesting in the streets under the banner of "Black Lives Matter" (BLM). With so many residents demonstrating in the streets against these kinds of law enforcement-related killings, it seemed that, gradually, strict adherence to the various stay-at-home orders began to loosen, erode, and evaporate. All bets were off when it came to USA citizens playing it safely by staying at home as a precaution to not contract the COVID-19 virus.

Whereas many USA residents already viewed mask wearing, social distancing, and stay-at-home orders as intrusions on their individual liberties, when the George Floyd killing occurred, the COVID-19 compliance dam had burst wide open, so to speak. Citizens no longer felt a duty to stay at home or social distance. Citizens felt a higher duty to take to the streets and vocally express their disapproval, displeasure, anger, and outrage with these law enforcement-related kinds of killings. The protests and demonstrations were tantamount to a giant release valve for a lot of the pent up frustration and disgust over these law enforcement-related kinds of killings.

In the process, instead of looking like a ghost town, one unintended effect of the protests and demonstrations was that the freeways and streets began to become congested with cars and pedestrians again (often for reasons not related to the protests and demonstrations). A general sentiment was, "If the protesters can leave home and disobey the stay-at-home orders and social distancing edicts, then we can, too. If the demonstrators are not staying inside their places of residences, then we are not obligated to stay inside either." Commerce began to pick up again. There was little enforcement of stay-at-home orders. More and more USA residents began leaving their places of residence each day as a matter of course. Once the toothpaste was out of the tube, so to speak, there was no putting it back. That is, once citizens began ignoring the stay-at-home orders, it became immensely difficult to get everyone to return to or abide by subsequent stay-at-home orders.

Meanwhile, during this end-of-May-2020 timeframe of the USA in turmoil, the COVID-19 virus continued in its unabated march across the country due east, west, north, and south. The COVID-19 virus continued to rage in its unrelenting attempts to infect as many USA residents as it possibly could infect despite the existence of the so-called COVID-19-fatigue phenomenon.

The COVID-19 virus does not respect, honor, pause, relax, take into consideration, or take a break from human fatigue, human impatience and human indifference to its presence. The COVID-19 virus does not give a care about individual liberties. Understandably, humans would like to resume a life of normalcy as hastily and as thoroughly as possible. The fact remains that, if humans do not diligently follow the NPI protocols and absent widely embraced safe and effective therapeutics and vaccines, then much like the Energizer bunny, the COVID-19 virus simply will keep growing and growing and growing… The COVID-19 virus is very patient and deliberate in its aim to infect as many humans as it possibly can infect. The COVID-19 virus loves it when humans drop their guards to its presence. The COVID-19 virus loves it when humans become complacent. To be complacent is akin to being complicit in spreading the virus.

The following song is meant to serve as a special nod to all of those unsung heroes who were honorably mentioned in the above bullet points. This tribute song seems to reflect the message that the honorably mentioned unsung heroes are sending out to the world.

Watch (The Jacksons, Show You the Way to Go)

Alert | commons.wikimedia.org / AzaToth

04. 2020 Retrospective and Reflections: The Year of COVID-19

Not only is the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines akin to finding the fabled pot of gold at the end of the rainbow after a downpour of rain but also the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines is akin to finally seeing a glow of light at the end of a very long, dark, and dreary tunnel. The arrival of COVID-19 vaccines implies that humans can finally begin to look forward to the day when the pandemic ceases to exist. In looking back at the COVID-19 virus outbreak, the following PBS/NOVA documentary provides a good encapsulation or overview of how the COVID-19 virus outbreak occurred and how the world responded to the outbreak. The following photos, graphics, statistics, and timeline are presented below to further recap year 2020's global COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 in Video: Looking Back and Reflecting

Watch (Decoding COVID-19 | NOVA | PBS)

COVID-19 in Pictures: Looking Back and Reflecting

  • Disinfectant being sprayed in Taiwan. Military News Agency Zhou Lihang
  • At metro stations and the Moscow Central Circle (MCC), red markings have begun to be applied to keep citizens at a distance of one and a half to two meters. mos.ru
  • A Fangcang hospital (makeshift hospital) in Wuhan, Hubei, China, which was converted from Tazihu Sports Center for treating mild COVID-19 patients. 汮汐
  • ANNAPOLIS, Md. (May 18, 2020) The United States Naval Academy holds the fourth swearing-in event for the Class of 2020. Stacy Godfrey
  • February 2020 Italian government task force to face coronavirus outbreak. Governo Italiano
  • Thai restaurant that only offers take-away due to COVID-19 pandemic. Per Meistrup
  • At the Alamodome to efficiently get food to more than 2,000 households, in San Antonio, TX, on April 17, 2020. Lance Cheung
  • U.S. Army 1st Lt. Nicholas Barnett, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Georgia National Guard, directs traffic at a COVID-19 mobile testing site in Albany, Georgia, May 19, 2020. Senior Master Sgt. Roger Parsons
  • U.S. Army Pfc. Stephanie Huertas, a motor transport operator with the Delaware Army National Guard's 1049th Transportation Company, carries a stack of cans at a drive-thru food pantry on the grounds of Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware, June 24, 2020. Capt. Brendan Mackie
  • PACIFIC- Andersen Elementary School - Guam. DoDEA
  • PACIFIC- Yokota Middle School- Yokota MS COVID-19 Coordination Team. DoDEA
  • The president of Argentina greeted fourth graders from all over the country by videoconference, from whom he took the promise to the Flag (June 20, 2020). Esteban Collazo
  • Baluag home quarantine pass is a privilege granted only to 1 household head of Barangay Poblacion, Baliuag, Bulacan, who may buy food or medicine during curfew or lockdown hours and or areas issued by Baliuag Philippine National Police branch or station's Chief under DILG. Judgefloro
  • The BGSU Ice Arena, closed due to COVID-19. Mbrickn
  • Bucuresti, Romania. Bulevardul Magheru, 19 Aprilie 2020. Interdictie CORONAVIRUS. Britchi Mirela
  • Tents positioned at hospital parking in order to test patients suspected of COVID-19 before entering the Međimurje county hospital. David Kundih
  • Cameroon Ministry of Health COVID-19 Press Briefing. Clement Ndongmo
  • Photograph of Moja Street in Vilafranca del Penedès, empty due to the coronavirus pandemic. Xaviaranda
  • CDC Cameroon Associate Director for Program and Science, Dr. Clement Ndongmo, observing COVID-19 testing procedures for arriving passengers at Nsimalen International Airport in Yaoundé. CDC Global
  • Thousands of aid packages donated by the People's Republic of China are unloaded at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on March 21, 2020. The donation includes assorted medical supplies, personal protective equipment, and testing kits for coronavirus. Toto Lozano
  • Columbus coronavirus protests at the Ohio Statehouse, 2020-04-18. Ɱ
  • Panic buying - (Almost empty departmental store in Tirupur), Tamil Nadu ahead of Corona virus lockdown. PJeganathan
  • Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) residents with the Amazonas State Department of Health conducting a field investigation for COVID-19 in San Juan de Atacuari on the Brazilian border. CDC Global
  • Coronavirus pandemic closure sign in Portland, Oregon - Zach's Shack. Tedder
  • Panic buying - (Almost empty departmental store in Tirupur), Tamil Nadu ahead of Corona virus lockdown. PJeganathan
  • COVID-related closure sign, Hartigan Beach Park, Chicago, Illinois. Paul R. Burley.
  • Thai epidemiologists conduct active case investigations for COVID-19 during the Ramadan fasting period, resulting in the identification of more than 300 cases in the villages of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat Provinces from 17-18 April 2020. Thailand Ministry of Public Health
  • COVID19 deceased in Hackensack NJ April 27. Lawrence Purce
  • COVID-19 highway sign in Toronto, March 2020. EelamStyleZ
  • A surgical nurse preparing a patient in the USNS Comfort's ICU whilst on a mission to support healthcare in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. US Navy Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sara Eshleman
  • Covid-19 recycling centre closure notice, Waikanae . Alan Tennyson
  • The doctor Annalisa Silvestri during covid-19 pandemic 2020 in Italy. Alberto Giuliani
  • An electronic sign announces school closure due to COVID-19 in Williamsport, PA, USA. Brinacor
  • Deputy Secretary of State Stephen E. Biegun participates in a COVID-19 and public health partnership event in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on October 15, 2020. Amena Islam
  • Workers disinfect Tehran subway wagons against coronavirus. Zoheir Seidanloo
  • Early Voting at Jefferson Parish Registrar of Voters, Minor Street, Kenner Louisiana, October 2020. Infrogmation of New Orleans
  • Early Voting at Jefferson Parish Registrar of Voters, Minor Street, Kenner Louisiana, October 2020.  Infrogmation of New Orleans
  • Dr. Endie Waziri, National Coordinator of the National Stop Transmission of Polio Program (NSTOP) at the African Field Epidemiology Network Office (AFENET) in Nigeria, attends the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Operations Center Meeting for COVID-19. Mr. Asafa
  • FETP resident conducting a COVID-19 test in Georgia. TEPHINET
  • Few people at check-in counters at Incheon International Airport, Terminal 1, during COVID-19 pandemic, March 6, 2020. Bonnielou2013
  • Healthcare workers wearing personal protective equipment while caring for patients with coronavirus infection in the Indian state of Kerala. Javed Anees
  • The House floor during votes today (15 May 2020) – strange times we’re living in. Josh Harder
  • Voters stood 1 meter apart, had temperatures checked, and used disinfectant and disposable gloves during the last day for 2020 South Korean legislative election pre-voting, polling place at Hyehwa-dong, Jongno, Seoul, April 11, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bonnielou2013
  • Lt. James Kelty monitors a critically-ill COVID-19 patient in the intensive care unit at Javits New York Medical Station, April 13, 2020.  Chief Mass Communication Specialist Barry Riley
  • A nasopharyngeal swab being used to test for SARS-CoV-2 virus and the associated COVID-19 illness. Raimond Spekking
  • Kenya Poster Distribution. USAID in Africa
  • Kite online class first bell in victers channel seen by lakhs of students. Fotokannan
  • Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many wineries took steps to keep customers from being at the bars. One is to place the stools in a different position than normal. Xaviaranda
  • People wearing masks at Monterrey Airport due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Davidmejoradas
  • Members of the New York National Guard, organize and prepare to distribute distribute COVID 19 swab test kits in The Bronx, N.Y., May 26, 2020. Senior Airman Sean Madden
  • Sgt. Thalia Santos from Yonkers, N.Y., a member of the New York Army National Guard, carries boxed meals to a waiting vehicle at a food distribution site in The Bronx, N.Y., August 5, 2020. Senior Airman Sean Madden
  • U.S. Army Spc. Reagan Long, a horizontal construction engineer assigned to the 827th Engineer Company, 204th Engineering Battalion, 53rd Troop Command, New York Army National Guard, alongside Pfc. Naomi Velez, a horizontal construction engineer assigned to the 152nd Engineer Support Company, 42nd Infantry Division, register people at a COVID-19 Mobile Testing Center in Glenn Island Park, New Rochelle, Mar. 14, 2020. Sgt. Amouris Coss
  • Ntuc super store, Singapore - Singaporean clear out the supermarket shelves due to the Coronavirus. cattan2011
  • Sign at Secret Recipe, Brem Mall, Kuala Lumpur during Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020. Renek78
  • Open Ohio Rally (20 April 2020). Becker1999
  • OPEN our OHIO (18 April 2020). Becker1999
  • Passengers prepare to board a plane at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport in mid-March, 2020. They are wearing masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mx. Granger
  • Military members begin adding lamps to the Patient Care Units (PCU) for Phase II at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, April 2, 2020. Major Patrick Cordova
  • Customers waiting to enter Shoppers Drug Mart in Toronto in April 2020. Sikander Iqbal
  • CBP Officers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, PED WEST facility, use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to and social distancing to protect themselves and the people they encounter from COVID-19. Mani Albrecht
  • President Donald J. Trump, joined by Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, listens as Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, addresses a briefing on the latest information about the Coronavirus Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020, in the Situation Room of the White House. Joyce N. Boghosian
  • A triage system set up at Siem Reap Provincial Hospital on March 2020 after identifying a case-contact who tested positive for COVID-19. CDC Global
  • A restaurant (Tai Hing) at Beijing Capital International Airport amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The tables are set up for a minimum distance of 1 meter between patrons. Mx. Granger
  • President Donald J. Trump listens as White House medical advisor Dr. Scott Atlas delivers his remarks during a press conference Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House. Tia Dufour
  • Shelves void of meat in a supermarket in Regina, Saskatchewan, March 2020. Aojfoisdifni89hub
  • Citizens wearing protective masks in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. nakashi
  • Senators convene for a special session on Monday (March 23, 2020), to tackle a bill authorizing President Rodrigo Duterte to exercise additional powers necessary to address the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) situation in the country. Senate PRIB
  • Hebrew Wikipedia's 17th Birthday celebration. Wikimedian meetups in Israel: tel Aviv, July 2020 - Zoom Meeting due to Covid-19. Deror avi
  • The 'eternal home' of those who have died from COVID-19 in Hamadan. Behzad Alipour
  • Everywhere you look today, the tide of protectionist sentiment is flowing. The surroundings of the chariot were sanitized and everyone was thermal screened and included in the sacred #Rath Yatra work. Government of Odisha
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue (blue/green gingham shirt and tan mask) and Senator John Cornyn (blue gingham shirt and blue bandana/mask) tour McLane Global. Lance Cheung
  • UPS Driver Wes Korczyncski delivers a food box from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Meals to You program that responded to the school closures due to COVID-19. Lance Cheung
  • USAID Helps Train Medical Students on COVID-19 Care and Treatment. USAID IMPACT-MED
  • Vladimir Putin examined a hospital in the Moscow village of Kommunarka for patients with suspected coronavirus infection. Пресс-служба Президента России
  • Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, addresses a briefing on the latest information about the Coronavirus Friday, Jan. 31, 2020, in the James S. Brady Briefing Room of the White House. Andrea Hanks
  • WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned against the idea that herd immunity might be a realistic strategy to stop the pandemic. WHO via AP
  • 2020-3-20 Huanggang bid farewell to the Shandong Aid Hubei Medical Team Huangmei Opera Grand Theater. Walter Grassroot
  • YALI Sensitization Campaign response to COVID-19 Pandemic targeting the Popda and Asker Amputee Camps, Robuya Village, and the Turn Table Market in Central Makeni. YALI/ RLC West Africa

COVID-19 in Graphics: Looking Back and Reflecting


How did COVID-19 events unfold in Hubei, China? | Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center


Source: Johns Hopkins University (USA)

Press the "Esc" key to exit full screen mode of the COVID-19 map/dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU)


See Also These COVID-19 Maps/Dashboards:


Author created Microsoft Excel Waffle Chart Depicting Cumulative Worldwide COVID-19 Infections as of 24-November-2020 with COVID-person icons courtesy of  	HitomiAkane on commons.wikimedia.org and COVID-19 background image courtesy of cdc.gov

COVID-19 in Numbers: Looking Back and Reflecting


COVID-19 Overview by Country-Region: Data Results in Table Below Are Cumulative And as of 24-November-2020

Records - of

ID

Country-Region

Population

Confirmed

Confirmed Per 1,000

Deaths

Recovered

Active

1 Afghanistan 36,643,815 45,280 1.24 1,712 36,122 7,446
2 Albania 3,074,579 34,300 11.16 735 16,666 16,899
3 Algeria 42,972,878 77,000 1.79 2,309 50,070 24,621
4 Andorra 85,635 6,351 74.16 76 5,503 772
5 Angola 32,522,339 14,742 0.45 338 7,444 6,960
6 Antigua and Barbuda 98,179 139 1.42 4 128 7
7 Argentina 45,479,118 1,381,795 30.38 37,432 1,210,634 133,729
8 Armenia 3,021,324 127,522 42.21 2,002 98,944 26,576
9 Australia 25,466,459 27,853 1.09 907 25,539 1,407
10 Austria 8,859,449 254,710 28.75 2,577 182,620 69,513
11 Azerbaijan 10,205,810 98,927 9.69 1,194 65,734 31,999
12 Bahamas 337,721 7,460 22.09 163 5,708 1,589
13 Bahrain 1,505,003 86,016 57.15 340 84,166 1,510
14 Bangladesh 162,650,853 451,990 2.78 6,448 366,877 78,665
15 Barbados 294,560 262 0.89 7 242 13
16 Belarus 9,477,918 126,953 13.39 1,112 105,835 20,006
17 Belgium 11,720,716 561,803 47.93 15,938 0 545,865
18 Belize 399,598 5,335 13.35 125 2,899 2,311
19 Benin 12,864,634 2,916 0.23 43 2,579 294
20 Bhutan 782,318 386 0.49 0 363 23
21 Bolivia 11,639,909 144,147 12.38 8,928 119,835 15,384
22 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3,835,586 81,739 21.31 2,394 47,525 31,820
23 Botswana 2,317,233 9,992 4.31 31 7,692 2,269
24 Brazil 211,715,973 6,118,708 28.90 170,115 5,509,645 438,948
25 Brunei 464,478 150 0.32 3 145 2
26 Bulgaria 6,966,899 129,348 18.57 3,226 40,102 86,020
27 Burkina Faso 20,835,401 2,757 0.13 68 2,557 132
28 Burma 56,590,071 82,236 1.45 1,784 60,965 19,487
29 Burundi 11,865,821 673 0.06 1 575 97
30 Cabo Verde 583,255 10,400 17.83 104 9,833 463
31 Cambodia 16,926,984 307 0.02 0 298 9
32 Cameroon 27,744,989 23,869 0.86 436 22,177 1,256
33 Canada 37,694,085 346,013 9.18 11,676 278,191 56,147
34 Central African Republic 5,990,855 4,911 0.82 63 1,924 2,924
35 Chad 16,877,357 1,649 0.10 101 1,493 55
36 Chile 18,186,770 543,087 29.86 15,131 518,834 9,123
37 China 1,394,015,977 86,469 0.06 4,634 81,527 308
38 China (Hong Kong) 7,249,907 5,781 0.80 108 5,274 399
39 China (Macau) 614,458 46 0.07 0 46 0
40 Colombia 49,084,841 1,262,494 25.72 35,677 1,167,857 58,960
41 Comoros 846,281 607 0.72 7 579 21
42 Congo (Brazzaville) 5,293,070 5,632 1.06 93 4,988 551
43 Congo (Kinshasa) 101,780,263 12,310 0.12 331 11,433 546
44 Costa Rica 5,097,988 133,190 26.13 1,662 81,973 49,555
45 Cote d'Ivoire 27,481,086 21,156 0.77 131 20,833 192
46 Croatia 4,227,746 108,014 25.55 1,445 87,408 19,161
47 Cuba 11,059,062 7,950 0.72 133 7,428 389
48 Cyprus 1,266,676 9,199 7.26 46 2,055 7,098
49 Czechia 10,702,498 502,534 46.95 7,499 416,832 78,203
50 Denmark 5,869,410 73,021 12.44 797 57,075 15,149
51 Denmark (Faroe Islands) 51,628 500 9.68 0 498 2
52 Denmark (Greenland) 57,616 18 0.31 0 18 0
53 Diamond Princess Cruise Ship   712   13 659 40
54 Djibouti 921,804 5,669 6.15 61 5,569 39
55 Dominica 74,243 77 1.04 0 63 14
56 Dominican Republic 10,499,707 139,111 13.25 2,313 113,134 23,664
57 Ecuador 16,904,867 186,436 11.03 13,264 164,009 9,163
58 Egypt 104,124,440 113,742 1.09 6,573 102,103 5,066
59 El Salvador 6,481,102 37,884 5.85 1,086 34,595 2,203
60 Equatorial Guinea 836,178 5,137 6.14 85 5,005 47
61 Eritrea 6,081,196 558 0.09 0 473 85
62 Estonia 1,228,624 10,159 8.27 94 6,014 4,051
63 Eswatini 1,104,479 6,247 5.66 120 5,878 249
64 Ethiopia 108,113,150 106,591 0.99 1,661 66,018 38,912
65 Fiji 935,974 38 0.04 2 33 3
66 Finland 5,571,665 22,289 4.00 384 15,300 6,605
67 France 67,848,156 2,154,097 31.75 49,902 132,720 1,970,680
68 France (French Guiana) 301,778 11,079 36.71 70 9,995 1,014
69 France (French Polynesia) 295,121 13,517 45.80 70 4,842 8,605
70 France (Guadeloupe) 400,124 8,344 20.85 149 2,242 5,953
71 France (Martinique) 374,970 5,413 14.44 37 98 5,278
72 France (Mayotte) 275,468 5,122 18.59 49 2,964 2,109
73 France (New Caledonia) 290,009 32 0.11 0 32 0
74 France (Reunion) 897,965 7,689 8.56 35 6,660 994
75 France (Saint Barthelemy) 7,122 127 17.83 0 94 33
76 France (Saint Pierre and Miquelon) 5,347 16 2.99 0 12 4
77 France (St Martin) 32,556 690 21.19 12 598 80
78 Gabon 2,230,908 9,150 4.10 59 8,999 92
79 Gambia 2,173,999 3,726 1.71 123 3,585 18
80 Georgia 4,930,030 111,818 22.68 1,051 92,215 18,552
81 Germany 80,159,662 963,192 12.02 14,832 649,070 299,290
82 Ghana 29,340,248 51,184 1.74 323 50,029 832
83 Greece 10,607,051 95,137 8.97 1,815 23,074 70,248
84 Grenada 113,094 41 0.36 0 30 11
85 Guatemala 17,153,288 119,349 6.96 4,099 108,338 6,912
86 Guinea 12,527,440 12,863 1.03 75 11,877 911
87 Guinea-Bissau 1,927,104 2,422 1.26 43 2,309 70
88 Guyana 750,204 5,189 6.92 147 4,204 838
89 Haiti 11,067,777 9,229 0.83 232 7,886 1,111
90 Holy See 801 27 33.71 0 15 12
91 Honduras 9,235,340 105,211 11.39 2,869 46,616 55,726
92 Hungary 9,771,827 181,881 18.61 4,008 44,020 133,853
93 Iceland 350,734 5,298 15.11 26 5,086 186
94 India 1,326,093,247 9,222,216 6.95 134,699 8,642,771 444,746
95 Indonesia 267,026,366 506,302 1.90 16,111 425,313 64,878
96 Iran 84,923,314 880,542 10.37 45,738 617,715 217,089
97 Iraq 38,872,655 539,749 13.89 12,031 469,784 57,934
98 Ireland 5,176,569 70,930 13.70 2,028 23,364 45,538
99 Israel 8,675,475 330,935 38.15 2,822 319,086 9,027
100 Italy 62,402,659 1,455,022 23.32 51,306 605,330 798,386
101 Jamaica 2,808,570 10,422 3.71 243 5,572 4,607
102 Japan 125,507,472 135,786 1.08 1,963 112,385 20,639
103 Jordan 10,820,644 192,996 17.84 2,380 125,433 65,183
104 Kazakhstan 19,091,949 127,580 6.68 1,945 114,347 11,288
105 Kenya 53,527,936 78,512 1.47 1,409 52,709 24,394
106 Korea, South 51,835,110 31,735 0.61 513 26,825 4,397
107 Kosovo 1,932,774 35,549 18.39 939 21,746 12,864
108 Kuwait 2,993,706 140,795 47.03 870 133,407 6,518
109 Kyrgyzstan 5,964,897 70,366 11.80 1,241 61,593 7,532
110 Laos 7,447,396 25 0.00 0 23 15
111 Latvia 1,881,232 13,693 7.28 175 1,651 11,867
112 Lebanon 5,469,612 118,705 21.70 934 70,555 47,216
113 Lesotho 1,969,334 2,092 1.06 44 1,277 771
114 Liberia 5,073,296 1,551 0.31 82 1,331 138
115 Libya 6,890,535 79,180 11.49 1,110 50,304 27,766
116 Liechtenstein 39,137 1,158 29.59 13 952 193
117 Lithuania 2,731,464 49,393 18.08 409 11,595 37,389
118 Luxembourg 628,381 31,484 50.10 283 22,189 9,012
119 Madagascar 26,955,737 17,341 0.64 251 16,657 433
120 Malawi 21,196,629 6,017 0.28 185 5,445 387
121 Malaysia 32,652,083 58,847 1.80 341 44,153 14,353
122 Maldives 391,904 12,810 32.69 46 11,660 1,104
123 Mali 19,553,397 4,417 0.23 148 3,054 1,215
124 Malta 457,267 9,137 19.98 117 6,938 2,082
125 Marshall Islands 77,917 4 0.05 0 1 3
126 Mauritania 4,005,475 8,193 2.05 169 7,636 388
127 Mauritius 1,379,365 494 0.36 10 433 51
128 Mexico 128,649,565 1,060,152 8.24 102,739 791,516 165,897
129 Moldova 3,364,496 99,633 29.61 2,188 82,335 15,110
130 Monaco 30,940 587 18.97 3 523 61
131 Mongolia 3,168,026 699 0.22 0 342 357
132 Montenegro 609,859 32,188 52.78 450 20,627 11,111
133 Morocco 35,561,654 331,527 9.32 5,469 279,276 46,782
134 Mozambique 30,098,197 15,231 0.51 127 13,408 1,696
135 MS Zaandam Cruise Ship   9   2 0 7
136 Namibia 2,630,073 13,938 5.30 145 13,272 521
137 Nepal 30,327,877 224,078 7.39 1,361 204,858 17,859
138 Netherlands 17,280,397 493,744 28.57 9,035 0 484,709
139 Netherlands (Aruba) 119,428 4,751 39.78 45 4,618 88
140 Netherlands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba) 25,987 161 6.20 3 155 3
141 Netherlands (Curacao) 151,345 1,827 12.07 3 1,043 781
142 Netherlands (Sint Maarten) 43,847 1,020 23.26 25 906 89
143 New Zealand 4,925,477 2,039 0.41 25 1,955 59
144 Nicaragua 6,203,441 5,784 0.93 160 4,225 1,399
145 Niger 22,772,361 1,406 0.06 70 1,169 167
146 Nigeria 214,028,302 66,607 0.31 1,169 62,311 3,127
147 North Macedonia 2,125,971 56,164 26.42 1,561 33,892 20,711
148 Norway 5,467,439 33,717 6.17 314 17,998 15,405
149 Oman 3,634,689 122,579 33.72 1,391 113,856 7,332
150 Pakistan 233,500,636 382,892 1.64 7,803 332,974 42,115
151 Panama 3,894,082 156,930 40.30 2,986 138,007 15,937
152 Papua New Guinea 7,259,456 630 0.09 7 588 35
153 Paraguay 7,191,685 77,891 10.83 1,677 55,531 20,683
154 Peru 31,914,989 950,557 29.78 35,641 882,600 32,316
155 Philippines 109,180,815 421,722 3.86 8,185 386,792 26,745
156 Poland 38,282,325 909,066 23.75 14,314 454,717 440,035
157 Portugal 10,302,674 268,721 26.08 4,056 184,233 80,432
158 Qatar 2,444,174 137,642 56.31 236 134,698 2,708
159 Romania 21,302,893 430,605 20.21 10,373 304,188 116,044
160 Russia 141,722,205 2,120,836 14.96 36,675 1,621,465 462,696
161 Rwanda 12,712,431 5,750 0.45 47 5,241 462
162 Saint Kitts and Nevis 53,821 22 0.41 0 19 3
163 Saint Lucia 166,487 226 1.36 2 109 115
164 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 110,940 84 0.76 0 78 6
165 San Marino 101,390 1,428 14.08 44 1,149 235
166 Sao Tome and Principe 211,122 981 4.65 17 926 38
167 Saudi Arabia 34,173,498 355,741 10.41 5,811 344,311 5,619
168 Senegal 15,736,368 15,908 1.01 331 15,527 50
169 Serbia 7,012,165 133,029 18.97 1,274 0 131,755
170 Seychelles 95,981 166 1.73 0 159 7
171 Sierra Leone 6,624,933 2,406 0.36 74 1,829 503
172 Singapore 6,209,660 58,183 9.37 28 58,079 76
173 Slovakia 5,440,602 97,493 17.92 709 50,738 46,046
174 Slovenia 2,102,678 67,080 31.90 1,156 45,587 20,337
175 Solomon Islands 685,097 17 0.02 0 5 12
176 Somalia 11,757,124 4,445 0.38 113 3,412 920
177 South Africa 56,463,617 772,252 13.68 21,083 716,444 34,725
178 South Sudan 10,561,244 3,047 0.29 60 1,290 70
179 Spain 50,015,792 1,594,844 31.89 43,668 150,376 1,400,800
180 Sri Lanka 22,889,201 20,967 0.92 94 14,962 5,911
181 Sudan 45,561,556 16,431 0.36 1,202 9,854 5,375
182 Suriname 609,569 5,300 8.69 117 5,177 6
183 Sweden 10,202,491 225,560 22.11 6,500 0 219,060
184 Switzerland 8,403,994 304,593 36.24 4,308 211,500 88,785
185 Syria 19,398,448 7,369 0.38 385 3,213 3,771
186 Taiwan 23,603,049 618 0.03 7 549 62
187 Tajikistan 8,873,669 11,971 1.35 86 11,355 530
188 Tanzania 58,552,845 509 0.01 21 183 305
189 Thailand 68,977,400 3,926 0.06 60 3,780 86
190 Timor-Leste 1,383,723 30 0.02 0 30 0
191 Togo 8,608,444 2,872 0.33 64 2,295 513
192 Trinidad and Tobago 1,208,789 6,488 5.37 115 5,639 734
193 Tunisia 11,721,177 90,213 7.70 2,935 65,303 21,975
194 Turkey 82,017,514 460,916 5.62 12,672 381,569 66,675
195 Uganda 43,252,966 18,406 0.43 186 8,764 9,456
196 Ukraine 43,922,939 665,968 15.16 11,619 312,564 341,785
197 United Arab Emirates 9,992,083 161,365 16.15 559 150,261 10,545
198 United Kingdom (Anguilla) 18,090 4 0.22 0 3 1
199 United Kingdom (Bermuda) 71,750 227 3.16 9 200 18
200 United Kingdom (British Virgin Islands) 30,231 71 2.35 1 70 0
201 United Kingdom (Cayman Islands) 61,944 266 4.29 2 249 15
202 United Kingdom (Channel Islands)   1,124   48 937 139
203 United Kingdom (England) 56,286,961 1,324,742 23.54 48,941 0 1,275,801
204 United Kingdom (Falkland Islands (Malvinas)) 3,480 16 4.60 0 13 3
205 United Kingdom (Gibraltar) 29,581 981 33.16 5 885 91
206 United Kingdom (Isle of Man) 85,033 369 4.34 25 336 8
207 United Kingdom (Montserrat) 5,373 13 2.42 1 12 0
208 United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) 1,893,700 50,143 26.48 947 0 49,196
209 United Kingdom (Scotland) 5,463,300 90,081 16.49 3,544 0 86,537
210 United Kingdom (Turks and Caicos Islands) 38,717 746 19.27 6 700 40
211 United Kingdom (Wales) 3,153,000 73,828 23.42 2,406 0 71,422
212 United States 332,639,102 12,513,977 37.62 258,083 4,696,664 7,559,215
213 United States (Diamond Princess Cruise Ship)   49   0 0 49
214 United States (District of Columbia) 705,749 20,409 28.92 673 0 19,736
215 United States (Grand Princess Cruise Ship)   103   3 0 100
216 United States (Guam) 168,485 6,452 38.29 103 0 6,349
217 United States (Northern Mariana Islands) 51,433 104 2.02 2 0 102
218 United States (Puerto Rico) 3,189,068 48,548 15.22 1,038 0 47,510
219 United States (Virgin Islands) 104,278 1,521 14.59 23 0 1,498
220 Uruguay 3,387,605 4,870 1.44 72 3,827 971
221 Uzbekistan 30,565,411 71,985 2.36 604 69,240 2,141
222 Vanuatu 298,333 1 0.00 0 0 1
223 Venezuela 28,644,603 100,498 3.51 876 95,344 4,278
224 Vietnam 98,721,275 1,316 0.01 35 1,153 128
225 West Bank and Gaza 4,818,255 75,007 15.57 656 60,009 14,342
226 Western Sahara 652,271 10 0.02 1 8 1
227 Yemen 29,884,405 2,114 0.07 609 1,467 38
228 Zambia 17,426,623 17,466 1.00 357 16,707 402
229 Zimbabwe 14,546,314 9,398 0.65 274 8,297 827
230 Earth (World) as of 11-24-2020 7,656,370,617 59,759,494 7.81 1,409,252 38,267,861 20,079,160
Entries Per Page
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Table Credits:
https://github.com/CSSEGISandData/COVID-19 [credit for COVID-19 data]
https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/idb/informationGateway.php [credit for population data]
https://worldpopulationreview.com/ [credit for population data]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page [credit for population data]
https://webscripts.softpedia.com/publisher/Michael-Leigeber-1869774465.html [credit for table display, sorting, filtering, paging, and search]



COVID-19 Timeline: Looking Back and Reflecting

2020: A (Leap) Year to Remember—or A (Leap) Year to Forget

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Julian Calendar Source: NASA LaRC Project Office

Again, I reside in the USA. I am intimately more familiar with events and news occurring inside the USA. For this simple reason, many of the events listed below represent COVID-19-related occurrences taking place inside the USA. Click each button or month below to reveal timeline information. Click the button again to trigger its open and close functionality.

    • January 1, 2020: World Health Organization (WHO) requested information on the reported cluster of atypical pneumonia cases in Wuhan from the Chinese authorities. WHO activated its Incident Management Support Team (IMST), as part of its emergency response framework, which ensures coordination of activities and response across the three levels of WHO (Headquarters, Regional, Country) for public health emergencies.
    • January 5, 2020: The WHO publishes its first disease outbreak bulletin on “pneumonia of unknown cause” to alert the scientific and public health community.
    • January 5, 2020: 77th Golden Globe Award broadcast live from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.
    • January 7, 2020: The December 31, 2019 pneumonia-like outbreak in Wuhan, China, formally, was identified as a new coronavirus.
    • January 7, 2020: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) establishes the Coronavirus Incident Management System.
    • January 8, 2020: The CDC issued its first public alert about the coronavirus.
    • January 10, 2020: Centers for Disease Control launches dedicated COVID-19 website
    • January 11, 2020: Chinese state media report the first known death due to the virus.
    • January 11, 2020: WHO tweeted that it had received the genetic sequences for the novel coronavirus from the People’s Republic of China and expected these to soon be made publicly available. This event provided the world's scientific researchers with a blueprint from which start development of potential cures for the virus.
    • January 13, 2020: The Ministry of Public Health in Thailand reported an imported case of lab-confirmed novel coronavirus from Wuhan, the first recorded case outside of the People’s Republic of China.
    • January 13, 2020: National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship (LSU Tigers vs. Clemson Tigers) played at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana
    • January 18, 2020: HHS Secretary Azar discussed the coronavirus outbreak with President Donald Trump, who, Azar said, criticized him as alarmist.
    • January 19, 2020: Pulmonologist Nanshan Zhong announces human-to-human spread of the novel coronavirus.
    • January 20, 2020: Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping and State Council premier Li Keqiang issued the first public warning about the coronavirus to Chinese citizens.
    • January 20, 2020: South Korea confirms its first case of COVID-19. The patient did not report visiting markets in Wuhan.
    • January 23, 2020: Wuhan placed under quarantine.
    • January 23, 2020: The CDC sought an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA enabling states to use its newly developed coronavirus test.
    • January 24, 2020: Nepal confirms the first case of COVID-19 in the country.
    • January 24, 2020: France informed WHO of three cases of novel coronavirus, all of whom had travelled from Wuhan. These were the first confirmed cases in the WHO European region (EURO).
    • January 24, 2020: The U.S. Senate was briefed on the coronavirus by key health officials.
    • January 24, 2020: USA President Donald Trump praised China for its coronavirus efforts in a tweet.
    • January 25, 2020: The COVID-19 virus reaches more countries. Australia confirms the first case of 2019-nCoV in the continent, with health authorities announcing three more cases later in the day.
    • January 27, 2020: Cambodia, Germany and Sri Lanka each confirm their first COVID-19 cases.
    • January 26, 2020 - 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California
    • January 29, 2020: USA President Donald Trump establishes a White House Coronavirus Task Force.
    • January 29, 2020: Wuhan, China, repatriation flight #1 arrives in Alaska and transits to March Air Reserve Base, Calif.
    • January 30, 2020: World Health Organization declares the novel coronavirus outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), WHO's highest level of alarm.
    • January 31, 2020: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declares a public health emergency for the United States to aid the nation's healthcare community in responding to the coronavirus.
    • January 31, 2020: USA President Donald Trump proclaims travel restriction on China for entering the United States.
    • January 31, 2020: USA President Donald Trump repeatedly claimed credit for acting early with the travel ban. However, the Washington Post reported that 300,000 people traveled to the U.S. from China during the month prior to the ban. [The travel ban was not a ban, but a 14-day waiting period.] Also, a month before January 31st, not even WHO believed COVID had human-to-human transmission and there were no known cases in the United States until January 21st. The New York Times reported that more than 40,000 persons traveled from China to the U.S. after the January 31 partial ban, and around 430,000 total between the December 31 disclosure of the outbreak by China and April 4th. The Washington Post reported that six other countries had restricted travel from China before January 30, six did so on January 31, and by the time U.S. travel restrictions became effective on February 2, 38 other countries had taken action before or at the same time as the U.S. restrictions. Flights from Europe were not banned until March 11, with hundreds of thousands crossing the Atlantic into the U.S., due to disputes about the impact on the U.S. economy among Trump Administration officials.
    • January 31, 2020: Gilead Sciences issued a statement from Merdad Parsey, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer, Gilead Sciences: "Gilead is working closely with global health authorities to respond to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak through the appropriate experimental use of our investigational compound remdesivir." Remdesivir is not yet licensed or approved anywhere globally and has not been demonstrated to be safe or effective for any use. Gilead is working with health authorities in China to establish a randomized, controlled trial to determine whether remdesivir can safely and effectively be used to treat 2019-nCoV. We are also expediting appropriate laboratory testing of remdesivir against 2019-nCoV samples.
    • February 2, 2020: The United States denies entry to foreign nationals (other than immediate family of U.S. citizens and permanent residents) who have traveled in China. Those entering face health screening and up to 14 days in self-quarantine.
    • February 2, 2020: First death outside China due to COVID-19 occurs in the Philippines. The patient was a 44-year-old Chinese male, and known companion of the 38-year-old woman who tested positive for 2019-nCoV on January 30th and the first case in the Philippines.
    • February 2, 2020: National Football League (NFL)'s Super Bowl LIV National Championship (Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers) played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida
    • February 3, 2020: CDC submitted an EUA package to expedite FDA-permitted use of the CDC diagnostic panel in the United States. FDA issued the EUA the next day, and CDC sent the test kits to state and local public health laboratories. The CDC test was soon found to be defective.
    • February 4, 2020: HHS and Regeneron Collaborate to Develop 2019-nCoV Treatment. BARDA and Regeneron now will leverage their partnership agreement to develop multiple monoclonal antibodies that, individually or in combination, could be used to treat this emerging coronavirus, also known as 2019-nCoV. These monoclonal antibodies are produced by a single clone of cells or a cell line with identical antibody molecules. The antibodies bind to certain proteins of a virus, reducing the ability of the virus to infect human cells. Medicines developed for 2019-nCoV through the expanded BARDA-Regeneron partnership will leverage Regeneron's monoclonal antibody discovery platform called VelocImmune, part of the company's VelociSuite technology.
    • February 5, 2020: More than 3,600 passengers are quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, as passengers test positive for novel coronavirus.
    • February 5, 2020: USA Senate acquits President Donald Trump on both impeachment charges following USA House of Representatives' having voted earlier to impeach President Trump on December 18, 2019
    • February 5, 2020: WHO's headquarters began holding daily media briefings on the novel coronavirus, the first time that WHO has held daily briefings by the Director-General or Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme.
    • February 6, 2020: First COVID-19 death in the United States. Patricia Dowd, a 57-year-old Silicon Valley auditor, dies abruptly, and tissue samples later confirm she had COVID-19
    • February 7, 2020: Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang dies, causing an unprecedented outpouring of grief and anger on Chinese social media. In an interview with The New York Times the week before, he said that patients in Wuhan already were treated under quarantine in December and that officials should have been more open. He hoped to recover in 15 days and "join medical workers in fighting the epidemic."
    • February 9, 2020: 92nd Academy Awards ceremony took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
    • February 11, 2020: The World Health Organization (WHO) formally rebrands the SARS-CoV2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) disease as COVID-19 (whereby CO means corona, VI means Virus, D means disease, and 19 means 2019 (with December 31, 2019 serving aa the date that dozens became ill in Wuhan, China with pneumonia-like symptoms).
    • February 14, 2020: France announces the first European death due to COVID-19.
    • February 15, 2020: the CDC announced it had grown the COVID-19 virus in cell culture, which is necessary for further studies, including for additional genetic characterization. The cell-grown virus was sent to NIH’s BEI Resources Repositoryexternal icon for use by the broad scientific community.
    • February 18, 2020: China's National Medical Products Administration has approved the marketing of Favilavir, formerly known as Fapilavir, an antiviral medication that has shown efficacy in treating the novel coronavirus COVID-19. Favilavir was developed by Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical, which is the 1st drug that has been approved for marketing in China. Fapilavir is reported to have demonstrated efficacy with minor side effects in an ongoing 70-patient clinical trial in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.
    • February 19, 2020: Iran reported two coronavirus cases. Hours later, officials confirmed that both patients died.
    • February 18, 2020: The New York Times reported that the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Homeland Security, Dr. Duane C. Caneva, continued hosting a series of coronavirus e-mail chains begun in January among a group of infectious disease experts from academia and government...On February 17, an e-mail from one participant indicated that the type of social gathering on the Diamond Princess cruise ship wasn't that different from a mall, school, or work environment. Another February 17 e-mail indicated that non-pharmaceutical interventions ("NPI") such as school and business closures would be difficult for local officials to direct without federal action to provide political cover. By the third week of February, the group had "effectively concluded that the United States had already lost the fight to contain the virus, and that it needed to switch to mitigation" such as NPI's. This was based on the "realization that many people in the country were likely infected and capable of spreading the disease, but not showing any symptoms". For instance, by the time of the European travel ban on March 11 (a containment strategy), the group considered such containment steps ineffective. Trump still had not directed NPI's as of March 11. As late as March 13, the CDC was still questioning the benefit of closing schools. Governors began to implement NPI's thereafter, "largely without federal leadership".
    • February 24, 2020: USA President Donald Trump tweeted, "The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA ... CDC and World Health [Organization] have been working hard and very smart."
    • February 24, 2020: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tours Chinatown businesses in San Francisco to prop slumping trade, telling crowds there, "We think it's very safe to be in Chinatown, and hope that others will come."
    • February 25, 2020: Algeria reports its first case of COVID-19 — an Italian adult, who arrived in the country on Feb. 17. This is the second confirmed case on the African continent. Switzerland, Croatia, and Austria report their first cases.
    • February 25, 2020: Latin America has first confirmed COVID-19 case, a Brazilian who traveled to Italy. Greece, Georgia, North Macedonia, Norway, Romania and Pakistan report their first cases of COVID-19.
    • February 26, 2020: At a news conference, President Trump said, "When you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down close to zero, that's a pretty good job we've done."
    • February 27, 2020: USA Vice President Mike Pence announces Ambassador Debbie Birx as White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator.
    • February 27, 2020: Innovation Pharmaceuticals announced the signing of a Material Transfer Agreement with one of the country’s 12 Regional Biocontainment Labs (RBL) to research it's lead defensin mimetic drug candidate, Brilacidin, as a potential novel coronavirus treatment. Mechanism of action studies of Brilacidin, along with assessing possible synergistic effects with other antivirals, are also planned. It is anticipated these tests might be completed within several weeks of the RBL’s receipt of Brilacidin.
    • February 28, 2020: USA President Donald Trump at a rally in Charleston, S.C., accuses Democrats of "politicizing the coronavirus" and calls attacks on his handling of the situation "their new hoax." Trump downplays the new virus compared with the flu, saying "so far we have lost nobody" and "we are totally prepared."
    • February 28, 2020: The CDC revised its faulty test for COVID-19.
    • February 29, 2020: USA President Donald Trump institutes travel restrictions to Iran.
    • February 29, 2020: The FDA rolls back restrictions for U.S. public and private laboratories to manufacture coronavirus test kits. Health officials across the United States struggle to get tests to those who need them.
    • February 29, 2020: Ecuador, Qatar, Monaco, and Luxembourg report first cases of COVID-19.
    • March 1, 2020: In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo announces the state's first reported case of COVID-19: a woman in her late 30s, who apparently contracted the virus while traveling in Iran and is self-isolating at home, in New York City.
    • March 1, 2020: Czech Republic, Iceland, and Armenia report their first cases of COVID-19. The Dominican Republic also reports the first confirmed case of COVID-19 — a 62-year-old Italian man who arrived in the country on Feb. 22. This is the first confirmed case in the Caribbean.
    • March 2, 2020: Indonesia, Senegal, Portugal, Andora, Latvia, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia report their first cases of COVID-19.
    • March 3, 2020: New York officials announce the state's second confirmed case: a man in his 50s in New Rochelle, Westchester County who had not recently traveled to any foreign countries affected by the outbreak.
    • March 5, 2020: South Africa confirms its first case of the coronavirus, a 38-year-old man who returned from Italy with his wife. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, and Palestine report their first cases of COVID-19.
    • March 6, 2020: USA President Donald Trump signs Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, passing $8.3 billion for crisis response for non-Department of Defense relief, an act of Congress enacted on March 6, 2020.
    • March 6, 2020: Slovakia, Bhutan, Peru, Costa Rica, Columbia, Cameroon, and Togo report first cases of COVID-19.
    • March 7, 2020: Malta, Moldova, Paraguay, and the Maldives report first cases of COVID-19.
    • March 8, 2020: Italy declares a country-wide lockdown.
    • March 9, 2020: It is reported that the Trump administration, without explanation, postponed the Director of National Intelligence's (DNI) annual US World Wide Threat Assessment which warns that the U.S. remains unprepared for a global pandemic. The office of the DNI was scheduled to deliver the Assessment to the House Intelligence Committee on February 12.
    • March 9, 2020: DOD begins housing American passengers of the Grand Princess cruise ship at installations in California, Texas and Georgia in support of the Department of Health and Human Services. The individuals will be tested for COVID-19 and quarantined 14 days.
    • March 9, 2020: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard announced the intent to provide seed-funding up to $125 million to speed-up the response to the COVID-19 disease epidemic by launching the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator.
    • March 9, 2020: New York Mayor Bill de Blasio downplays the coronavirus’s transmissibility, especially in crowds, and says the city didn’t plan on closing schools: "Is it anywhere near to where we are now? No."
    • March 10, 2020: "Testing has gone very well," Trump tells lawmakers on Capitol Hill. But records reveal that while more than 10,000 people per day are tested in South Korea, fewer than 15,000 tests in total have taken place in the United States.
    • March 11, 2020: Turkey, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Guyana, Honduras, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines confirm first cases of COVID-19.
    • March 11, 2020: With more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and nearly 4,300 deaths due to COVID-19, the WHO declares the COVID-19 disease a global health pandemic.
    • March 11, 2020: In the second prime-time Oval Office speech of his term, President Trump announces a 30-day ban on travel by foreign nationals from 26 nations in Europe, later expanded to include the United Kingdom and Ireland. The president’s misstatement of his order, "suspending all travel from Europe," prompts Americans overseas to rush airports needlessly and creates confusion in the cargo industry.
    • March 12, 2020: Trinidad and Tobago, Ghana, and Gabon confirm first cases of COVID-19.
    • March 13, 2020: Kazakhstan, Sudan, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Antigua and Barbuda, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Uruguay, Guatemala, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Mauritania confirm first cases of COVID-19.
    • March 13, 2020: The Director-General said that Europe had become the epicentre of the pandemic with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from the People’s Republic of China.
    • March 13, 2020: “The next eight weeks are critical,” says President Trump, formally declaring the COVID-19 outbreak a national emergency in a Rose Garden speech. The order opens access to $50 billion in aid to states, asks hospitals to activate emergency preparedness plans, and waives laws to allow telehealth and other critical healthcare responses. New restrictions limit flight arrivals of U.S. citizens to 13 U.S. airports.
    • March 14, 2020: USA President Donald Trump proclaims travel restrictions on the United Kingdom and Ireland.
    • March 16, 2020: A Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating an investigational vaccine designed to protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has begun at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) in Seattle. The vaccine is called mRNA-1273 and was developed by NIAID scientists and their collaborators at the biotechnology company Moderna, Inc., based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) supported the manufacturing of the vaccine candidate for the Phase 1 clinical trial.
    • March 16, 2020: White House announces "15 Days to Slow the Spread," a nationwide effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 through the implementation of social distancing at all levels of society.
    • March 16, 2020: DOD approves an Health and Human Services request to provide 5M N95 respirators. U.S. Air Force flies 500,000 swabs for COVID-19 testing kits from Italy to the United States.
    • March 17, 2020: Grand Princess repatriation flights 1 and 2 arrive at Travis AFB, Calif., and Lackland AFB, Texas.
    • March 17, 2020: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced scientists have now isolated hundreds of virus-neutralizing, fully-human antibodies from the company's VelocImmune® mice, which have been genetically-modified to have a human immune system. Regeneron has also isolated antibodies from humans who have recovered from COVID-19, in order to maximize the pool of potentially potent antibodies. From this large pool of candidates, Regeneron will select the top two antibodies for a 'cocktail' treatment based on potency and binding ability to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, as well as other desirable qualities.
    • March 17, 2020: DOD announces the Department will make available up to 5M respirator masks and other personal protective equipment from its strategic reserves to Department of Health and Human Services for distribution. DOD will make approximately 2,000 deployable ventilators available to Department of Health and Human Services. DOD has also made 14 certified testing labs available to test non-DOD personnel, and two labs would be added to that total.
    • March 17, 2020: Global biopharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. (based in New York City USA) announced the signing of a letter of intent with BioNTech SE (based in Mainz Germany) for the co-development and distribution of a coronavirus vaccine aimed at preventing COVID-19 infection.
    • March 18, 2020: WHO and partners launched the Solidarity trial, an international clinical trial that aims to generate robust data from around the world to find the most effective treatments for COVID-19.
    • March 18, 2020: USA President Donald Trump signs Families First Coronavirus Response Act, providing $3.5B emergency supplemental appropriations related to COVID-19, as well as waivers and modifications of Federal nutrition programs, employment-related protections and benefits, health programs and insurance coverage requirements, and related tax credits during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
    • March 18, 2020: DOD launches the "Hack-a-Vent" challenge, assembling a rapid response team of medical professionals and engineers that will harness innovation to address a projected shortfall of ventilators.
    • March 19, 2020: The U.S. State Department issues a Level 4 "do not travel" advisory, the highest it can issue, recommending that U.S. citizens avoid any global travel. The EU also moves to close its borders to travel from outsiders.
    • March 20, 2020: WHO Health Alert, which offers instant and accurate information about COVID-19, launched on WhatsApp. It is available in multiple languages with users around the world.
    • March 19, 2020: USA President Donald Trump invokes the Defense Production Act.
    • March 20, 2020: New York City declared US outbreak epicenter
    • March 20, 2020: White House announces an agreement with Mexico to restrict non-essential travel across shared border.
    • March 24, 2020: Japan postpones Olympics
    • March 25, 2020: The UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan was launched by the WHO Director-General, UN Secretary-General, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UNICEF Executive Director...a US$2 billion coordinated global humanitarian response plan to fight COVID-19 in some of the world's most vulnerable countries in a bid to protect millions of people and stop the virus from circling back around the globe.
    • March 26, 2020: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences announces more than 200 medical and graduate nursing students will forgo graduation ceremonies in order to join the ranks of their military counterparts faster.
    • March 27, 2020: President Donald Trump signs the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities) Act, a $2 trillion economic aid bill Congress passed the same day, sending money to small businesses, nonprofits, churches, and individuals: Title I – Keeping American Workers Paid and Employed Act; Title II – Assistance for American Workers, Families, and Businesses; Title III – Supporting America’s Health Care System in the Fight Against the Coronavirus; Title IV – Economic Stabilization and Assistance to Severely Distressed Sectors of the United States Economy; Title V – Coronavirus Relief Funds; Title VI – Miscellaneous Provisions. As additional economic stimulus, Title IV of the CARES Act authorizes the Treasury Secretary to make up to $500 billion worth of loans and loan guarantees to eligible businesses, states, and municipalities. Title IV is to be implemented by the Department of the Treasury in conjunction with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
    • March 27, 2020: USA President Donald Trump invokes the Defense Production Act, requiring GM to make ventilators.
    • March 31, 2020: FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical Co., Ltd. announced today the initiation of phase III clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of influenza antiviral drug “Avigan Tablet” (generic name: favipiravir) in Japan for patients of COVID-19 disease, a respiratory infection caused by the novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
    • March 31, 2020: WHO announced the launch of a chatbot with Rakuten Viber, a free messaging and calling app. Subscribers to the WHO Viber chatbot receive notifications with the latest news and information directly from WHO. It is available in multiple languages with users around the world.
    • April 3, 2020: The CDC recommends Americans wear masks in public.
    • April 6, 2020: RedHill Biopharma Ltd. announced that it has received authorization from the Italian National Institute for Infectious Diseases and Central Italian Ethics Committee for an expanded access program allowing immediate compassionate use of its investigational drug, opaganib (Yeliva®, ABC294640), in Italy, for patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection with life-threatening clinical manifestations. Approximately 160 patients are planned to be treated in three major hospitals in northern Italy, one of the current major epicenters of the pandemic.
    • April 6, 2020: USA President Donald Trump announces 3M has agreed to provide 166 million+ masks for front-line health care workers.
    • April 6, 2020: WHO issued updated guidance on masks, including a new section on advice to decision-makers on mask use by healthy people in communities.
    • April 8, 2020: Wuhan ends its lockdown after the city reports only three new cases in the past three weeks.
    • April 9, 2020: The U.S. Federal Reserve announces a multi-trillion-dollar expansion of its direct lending programs, the first since the 1930s, aimed at midsize businesses crippled by the economic shutdown
    • April 13, 2020: Defense Logistics Agency awards $415 million contract for 60 Battelle Memorial Institute Critical Care Decontamination Systems that can decontaminate up to 80,000 N95 used respirators per system per day, enabling mask reuse up to 20 times.
    • April 14, 2020: AP reported that "Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, said Tuesday that the U.S. does not yet have the critical testing and tracing procedures needed to begin reopening the nation's economy ... Fauci said that a May 1 target is 'a bit overly optimistic' for many areas of the country. Any easing off the strict social-distancing rules in place in much of the country would have to occur on a rolling basis, not all at once."
    • April 14, 2020: USA President Donald Trump announces he is cutting off the nation’s contributions to the World Health Organization, criticizing the agency for mismanaging the response. It is unclear whether he has the authority to do so.
    • April 16, 2020: USA President Donald Trump announces guidelines on the three phases of Opening Up America Again.
    • April 18, 2020: WHO and Global Citizen co-hosted the 'One World: Together At Home' concert, a global on-air special to celebrate and support front line healthcare workers. The concert raised a total of $127.9 million, providing $55.1 million to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and $72.8 million to local and regional responders.
    • April 19, 2020: USA President Donald Trump announces he will use the Defense Production Act to increase COVID-19 testing swab production in one U.S. facility by over 20 million additional swabs per month.
    • April 21, 2020: DOD announces details for $133 million Defense Production Act Title 3 COVID-19 project. Three companies awarded contracts to increase U.S. domestic N95 mask production by over 39M in the next 90 days: 3M ($76 million), O&M Halyward ($29 million), and Honeywell ($27.4 million).
    • April 22, 2020: USA President Donald Trump issues temporary suspension in new immigrant visas for the next 60 days.
    • April 23, 2020: Eli Lilly reported the company entered into an agreement with the NIAID to study baricitinib as an arm in NIAID's Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Phase 3 Trial. The company also announced that it will advance LY3127804, an investigational selective monoclonal antibody against Angiopoietin 2 (Ang2), to Phase 2 testing in pneumonia patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who are at a higher risk of progressing to acute respiratory distress syndrome. And, the company entered into an agreement with AbCellera to co-develop antibody products for the potential treatment and prevention of COVID-19.
    • April 24, 2020: In a virtual event co-hosted by WHO, President Emmanuel Macron of France, President Ursula Von der Leyen of the European Commission and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Director-General launched the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator. The ACT-Accelerator is organized into four pillars of work: diagnostics [led by FIND and Global Fund], treatment [led by Wellcome and Unitaid​.], vaccines [led by CEPI, GAVI and WHO​.] and health system strengthening [led by World Bank and Global Fund].
    • April 24, 2020: USA President Donald Trump signs into law the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, providing additional funding to support Americans impacted by the coronavirus.
    • April 27, 2020: CNN reported hospitals in New York are giving COVID-19 patients heartburn medicine. Preliminary results of the clinical trial of famotidine, the active ingredient in Pepcid, could come out in the next few weeks, said Dr. Kevin Tracey, president of Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health. So far, 187 patients have enrolled in the clinical trial, and Northwell eventually hopes to enroll 1,200, he said.
    • April 27, 2020: USA President Donald Trump announces blueprint for testing to help safely open up America again.
    • April 28, 2020: USA President Donald Trump signs Executive Order regarding using the Defense Production Act to ensure that Americans have a reliable supply of products like beef, pork, and poultry.
    • May 5, 2020: WHO launched the COVID-19 Supply Portal, a purpose-built tool to facilitate and consolidate submission of supply requests from national authorities and all implementing partners supporting COVID-19 National Action Plans. The Portal is accessed via the COVID-19 Partners Platform.
    • May 8, 2020: Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the U.S. jobless rate reached 14.7% in April, the highest level since the Great Depression. The White House noted that many of the job losses are due to temporary layoffs.
    • May 13, 2020: Designed to inform health care workers to help them care for COVID-19 patients and protect themselves, the WHO Academy App launched, together with the WHO Info app for the general public.
    • May 14, 2020: Abivax SA announced that ABX464 inhibits replication of SARS-CoV-2 in an in vitro reconstituted human respiratory epithelium model, as assessed by Transepithelial electrical resistance and RTqPCR. ABX464 has already been shown to be an effective drug candidate in severe inflammatory disease, ulcerative colitis.
    • May 15, 2020: USA President Donald Trump announces "Operation Warp Speed," the administration's national program to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 medical countermeasures. DOD will join key agencies in the public-private partnership to support in diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, production and distribution, and security and assistance.
    • May 15, 2020: Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. announced that its anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody, STI-1499, demonstrated 100% inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection in an in vitro virus infection experiment at a very low antibody concentration. As recently announced, Sorrento aims to generate an antibody cocktail product that would act as a "protective shield" against SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection and remain effective even if virus mutations render a single antibody therapy less effective over time.
    • May 20, 2020: For the first time since U.S. states implemented stay-at-home measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, all 50 states have begun to partially lift restrictions.
    • May 22, 2020: Cuba credits two drugs with slashing coronavirus death toll. One is itolizumab, a monoclonal antibody produced in Cuba and elsewhere. The other is a peptide that Cuba says its biotech industry discovered and has been testing for rheumatoid arthritis in Phase II clinical trials.
    • May 24, 2020: USA President Donald Trump suspends travel from Brazil, which has hit a record surge of COVID-19 cases, effective at 11:59 p.m on May 26.
    • May 29, 2020: Thirty countries and multiple international partners and institutions launched the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), an initiative to make vaccines, tests, treatments and other health technologies to fight COVID-19 accessible to all. Voluntary and based on social solidarity, C-TAP aims to provide a one-stop shop for equitably sharing scientific knowledge, data and intellectual property.
    • May 29, 2020: USA President Donald Trump says during a press conference the country is "terminating" its relationship with WHO and "redirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs." He says the move comes because WHO failed to make requested reforms.
    • June 1, 2020: Avifavir, a Favipiravir-based drug, has received a temporary registration certificate from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. Avifavir is Russia’s first COVID-19 drug and has shown high efficacy in treating patients diagnosed with COVID-19 disease during human clinical trials.
    • June 5, 2020: USA President Donald Trump signs into law the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act of 2020, modifying provisions for loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program.
    • June 16, 2020: WHO welcomed initial clinical trial results from the UK that showed dexamethasone, a corticosteroid, could be lifesaving for patients critically ill with COVID-19. This is the first drug shown to save the lives of people requiring oxygen or ventilator support. The news built off the Global Research and Innovation Forum, which took place in Geneva in mid-February, to accelerate health technologies for COVID-19. The Forum highlighted further research into the use of steroids as a priority.
    • June 22, 2020: USA President Donald Trump extends the temporary suspension on new immigrant visas that was implemented on April 22 through the end of the year.
    • July 4, 2020: USA President Donald Trump signs into law a bill that reauthorizes lending under the Paycheck Protection Program through August 8, 2020, and separates the authorized limits for commitments under the program from other Small Business Administration loan programs.
    • July 6, 2020: The U.S. submits its formal notification to withdraw from WHO. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is reviewing whether the U.S. has met the conditions to do so.
    • July 13, 2020: USA President Donald Trump signs into law the "Emergency Aid for Returning Americans Affected by Coronavirus Act," which increases from $1 million to $10 million the amount that the Department of Health and Human Services may spend for the provision of assistance to repatriated U.S. citizens in Fiscal Year 2020.
    • 15 July 2020: The COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility, a mechanism designed to guarantee rapid, fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines worldwide, secured engagement from more than 150 countries, representing over 60% of the world’s population and is a part of the broader Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator) consortium.
    • July 16, 2020: Novartis announced a new initiative to help patients in low-income and lower-middle-income countries access affordable medicines to treat the major symptoms of COVID-19. The Novartis COVID-19 portfolio includes 15 medicines from its Sandoz division for gastrointestinal illness, acute respiratory symptoms, pneumonia as well as septic shock. The medicines were chosen based on clinical relevance and availability to ensure demand can be met globally.
    • July 20, 2020: Synairgen plc, which originated from research at the University of Southampton, announce positive results from its clinical trial of SNG001, its wholly-owned inhaled formulation of interferon beta, in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The company stated patients who received SNG001 had a 79% lower risk of developing severe COVID-19 disease, compared to placebo. And, patients who received SNG001 were more than twice as likely to recover from COVID-19 as those on placebo.
    • 22 July 2020: WHO, the United Nations Development Programme, and Georgetown University launched the COVID-19 Law Lab, a database of laws implemented in over 190 countries in response to the pandemic. The initiative's goal is to ensure that laws protect health and wellbeing, while adhering to international human rights standards.
    • July 27, 2020: Moderna and Pfizer begin Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials. This step builds toward the Operation Warp Speed goal to begin delivering millions of doses of safe and effective vaccines to Americans by January 2021.
    • July 28, 2020: The CDC calls for reopening American schools, in a statement written by a White House working group that includes Redfield but has minimal representation from other CDC officials.
    • July 29, 2020: Google announces that its employees will continue working at home until July 2021.
    • August 4, 2020: ANA Therapeutics announced today that the U.S. FDA has cleared its investigational new drug application for ANA001 (niclosamide capsules) as a potential treatment for COVID-19 disease, making it the first U.S.-based company to conduct a human clinical trial to determine the efficacy of niclosamide to treat COVID-19. In pre-clinical research, niclosamide has been shown to stop the virus that causes COVID-19 from replicating and to be more potent than remdesivir in the same assay. Furthermore, niclosamide has documented anti-inflammatory properties.
    • August 4, 2020: A new antibody treatment study in the US National Institutes of Health’s Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) program launched. Patients admitted with COVID-19 disease at select hospitals in the USA may now volunteer to enroll in a clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of a potential new treatment for the disease.
    • August 6, 2020: USA President Donald Trump signs an Executive Order on ensuring essential medicines, medical countermeasures, and critical inputs are made in the United States.
    • August 7, 2020 - Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi (The Vaccine Alliance), announced new landmark collaboration between the Serum Institute of India (SII), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate manufacturing and delivery of up to 100 million doses of future safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries in 2021.
    • August 8, 2020: USA President Donald Trump signs a memorandum authorizing the Other Needs Assistance Program for major disaster declarations related to COVID-19.
    • August 23, 2020: The Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19.
    • August 25, 2020: USA President Donald Trump announces additional steps, including new testing requirements, to help protect nursing home residents from COVID-19.
    • August 27, 2020: The Trump Administration announces its purchase and production of 150 million rapid COVID-19 tests, to be distributed across the country.
    • September 9, 2020: Dr. Reddy's Laboratories announced the launch of Redyx, which is a potential treatment for COVID-19 pneumonia in India. The launch is part of the licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences, Inc. that grants Dr. Reddy’s rights to register, manufacture and sell Remdesivir, in 127 countries, including India. In the USA, Remdesivir is now known as Veklury.
    • September 14, 2020: The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists have isolated the smallest biological molecule to date that completely and specifically neutralizes the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is the cause of COVID-19. This antibody component, which is 10 times smaller than a full-sized antibody, has been used to construct a drug—known as Ab8—for potential use as a therapeutic and prophylactic against SARS-CoV-2.
    • September 1, 2020: The CDC is using its authority, derived from USA President Donald Trump's 8-August-2020 Executive Order on assisting renters/homeowners, to temporarily halt evictions through the end of 2020 to slow the spread of COVID-19.
    • September 16, 2020: The Department of Health and Human Services and DOD release two documents outlining the Administration's strategy to deliver safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine doses to Americans as quickly and reliably as possible. The documents provide a strategic distribution overview along with an interim playbook for jurisdiction operations.
    • September 28, 2020: DOD, in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services, signed a $20 million contract with On Demand Pharmaceuticals to develop domestic production of critical active pharmaceutical ingredients. This collaboration is expected to increase onshore production of ingredients that form the building blocks for medicines used to treat critically ill U.S. service members and COVID-19 patients.
    • September 29, 2020: A further collaboration among the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, Gavi and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will accelerate the manufacture and delivery of up to an additional 100 million doses of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) as part of the Gavi COVAX AMC, a mechanism within the COVAX Facility.
    • October 1, 2020: USA President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, senior presidential adviser Hope Hicks, and other White House staff test positive for COVID-19.
    • October 1, 2020: The FDA revised it's Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to reflect changes in the distribution and allocation of the antiviral drug Veklury (remdesivir).
    • October 2, 2020: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. confirmed that it provided a single 8-gram dose of REGN-COV2, a cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies, for use by President Trump, which was provided in response to an Individual Patient Investigational New Drug application submitted by the President's physicians.
    • October 2, 2020: USA President Donald J. Trump was administered a dose of the antiviral Veklury (Remdesivir) at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, located in Bethesda, Maryland.
    • October 2, 2020: Bill Stepien, USA President Donald Trump’s presidential re-election campaign manager, tests positive for COVID-19 as does Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. Other recent prominent White House visitors to test positive for COVID-19 include former advisor Kellyanne Conway, Senator Mike Lee, and Senator Thom Tillis.
    • October 3, 2020: Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who is one of USA President Trump’s closest outside advisers and who also helped the President to prepare for the second Presidential debate, tests positive for COVID-19.
    • October 5, 2020: USA President Donald Trump walked out of Walter Reed Military Medical Center shortly after 6:30 p.m. and returned to the White House following three days of treatment for a COVID-19 infection. Meanwhile, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany announced that she tested positive for the COVID-19 infection.
    • October 10, 2020: White House Dr. Sean Conley issued a statement declaring USA President Donald Trump no longer poses a risk of transmitting COVID-19 to others.
    • October 14, 2020: First Lady Melania Trump posted her experience with COVID-19 on the whitehouse.gov website and revealed that she subsequently tested negative for the COVID-19 infection.
    • October 24, 2020: Five of USA Vice President Mike Pence's aides, including his chief of staff and his senior political adviser, tested positive for COVID-19 marking the second time during the month of October 2020 that the White House became the focal point of a COVID-19 outbreak. USA Vice President Pence and Mrs. Pence both tested negative.
    • November 9, 2020: Pfizer and BioNTech announce vaccine candidate against COVID-19 achieved success in first interim analysis from Phase 3 study
    • November 9, 2020: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gives authorization to Eli Lilly and Company to release its COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment for emergency use.
    • November 9, 2020: In another COVID-19 outbreak at the White House, it was announced that White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary Ben Carson, USA President Trump's campaign strategist Nick Trainer, and David Bossie (who leads USA President Trump's election legal team) tested positive for contracting the COVID-19 virus including positive COVID-19 cases for four more unnamed White House staffers.
    • November 12, 2020: COVID-19 outbreaks continue to follow the trail of USA President Donald Trump. Corey Lewandowski, an adviser to President Donald Trump's campaign, is the latest White House visitor to test positive for the coronavirus.
    • November 13, 2020: In the wake of USA President Trump’s campaign travel, it was announced that more than 100 USA Secret Service officers are either infected with the COVID-19 virus or have been told to self-isolate after being exposed to someone who tested positive for contracting the virus.
    • November 19, 2020: In anticipation of the 31-December-2020 spending deadline, USA Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin wrote a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell requesting the return of roughly $445 billion in unused funds allocated to several programs under the CARES Act, which was a bill passed by the USA Congress to counter the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic and signed into law by USA President Donald Trump on March 27, 2020.
    • November 20, 2020: Andrew Giuliani, a White House aide and son of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, tested positive for COVID-19.
    • November 20, 2020: It was announced that USA President Donald J. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump, Jr., had contracted the COVID-19 virus.
    • November 21, 2020: The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. for use of its COVID-19 antibody drug cocktail to treat COVID-19 patients.
    • November 21, 2020: USA President Donald J. Trump attended the virtual Group of 20 (or G-20 comprising 19 countries and the European Union) summit’s opening session but opted to go golfing rather than listen to the group of world leaders discuss the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • The race continues across the globe in pursuit of a vaccine. Although drug makers Pfizer and BioNTech seem to have sprinted into an early and unofficial lead in the race to develop a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, no vaccine candidate had attained final FDA approval for its safety and effectiveness as of December 1, 2020 [that is, at the time this web page was launched]. Drug makers Pfizer and BioNTech stand poised to claim first place in the race to develop a vaccine. The two videos below depict high-level overviews of the race to develop a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine.

      Watch (COVAX: Ensuring Global Equitable Access to COVID-19 Vaccines)

      Watch (Rare Look at Operation Warp Speed's Unprecedented Effort to Produce, Distribute COVID-19 Vaccine)

      As of December 1, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic unrelentlessly continues to infect more and more humans and shown in the following COVID-19 tracker by Our World in Data.


      Our World in Data's COVID0-19 Tracker


      Tracker Credit: Max Roser, Hannah Ritchie, Esteban Ortiz-Ospina and Joe Hasell (2020) - "Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)". Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus' [Online Resource]

Timeline Credits (as extracted, amalgamated, mashed up or combined from the following sources):
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/29-06-2020-covidtimeline
https://www.defense.gov/Explore/Spotlight/Coronavirus/DOD-Response-Timeline/
https://www.coronavirustoday.com/covid-19-treatments
https://world.wng.org/2020/05/covid_19_an_interactive_timeline
https://www.devex.com/news/covid-19-a-timeline-of-the-coronavirus-outbreak-96396
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/timeline-coronavirus-started/story?id=69435165data-tools/demo/idb/informationGateway.php
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/coronavirus-timeline-tracking-critical-moments-covid-19-n1154341
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_States

As the world becomes better equipped to broadly test the population for the presence of a COVID-19 infection, the number of COVID-19 cases per person might increase in the short run. At the same time, as the world becomes more knowledgeable about the most effective treatments for COVID-19 and as these treatments become more widely available, the number of deaths per person from COVID-19 can be expected to decrease. There should be a corresponding increase in the number of COVID-19 patients released from hospitals with the emergence of more effective COVID-19 medical treatments. Even with the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, given the number of humans already infected—and untreated—with the virus, there is every reason to think that COVID-19 will remain a potent human threat for all of year 2021 but more so in some countries than others depending on the availability of care.


Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) | CDC

05. The Next Pandemic Outbreak: Are Humans Prepared?

To paraphrase, the Holy Bible's Old Testament (Deuteronomy 15:11) before Christ and its New Testament (Matthew 26:11) after Christ profess that "the poor will always be with you." On the one hand, it is my hope that, one day, these two Biblical professions prove to be false. On the other hand, I think it is reasonable to conclude the notion that, "pandemics—and natural disasters—will always be with you," represents an accurate reflection of the contemporary human condition.

Watch (A brief history of the pandemics over the last century | World Economic Forum)

Visualizing the History of Pandemics |author: Nicholas LePan | Visual Capitalist

How, then, do humans prepare for the next global pandemic if it is inevitable? The simple answer is this: Human can prepare by stockpiling emergency supplies and resources, planning, training, and rehearsing so as to be better equipped to respond to the next pandemic. A great deal of work and preparation might go into detailed documenting, stockpiling, planning, training, rehearsing, and simulating pandemic outbreaks. The preparatory process would not be too dissimilar to the disaster recovery programs that many large businesses devise and rehearse. In preparation for war, military generals normally devise extensive and detailed battle plans and scenarios to win the war. Similarly, in preparation for the next pandemic, policy makers have to devise various scenarios to arrest the pandemic.

In terms of contemporary efforts to better prepare for the next pandemic, honoroable mention goes to the legendary Bill Gates. He, perhaps, is the most popularly known spokesperson to sound the pandemic-alert alarm long before the COVID-19 virus reared its head and proceeded to engulf Earth. In a very public-facing way, when it comes to virus pandemics, Bill Gates has served as the proverbial canary in a coal mine. He has sought to warn USA political leaders of the perils of not preparing for the next virus pandemic by marshalling the required resources as illustrated by the next video.

Watch (The next outbreak? We’re not ready | Bill Gates)

Though not as popularly known or as familiar to the public as Bill Gates, long before Bill Gates emerged on the pandemic scene, there was the legendary and eminent John Barry. John Barry has devoted a lifetime of public service to studying and warning all who would listen about the urgent need to prepare for pandemic virus outbreaks. John Barry also played a role in devising the now-familiar NPIs.

Watch (PrepTalks: John M. Barry "The Next Pandemic: Lessons from History")

The following flipbook, which was prepared from a Prescription for Pandemic Flu document published by the American Public Health Association's (APHA), provides some insights into how humans can better plan and train for the next pandemic flu. The broader objective is to not drop below condition level 3 as depicted in the graphic at the end of this section.

Read (APHA's Prescription for Pandemic Flu)

Why do pandemics represent cause for concern and alarm? Why is preparing for the next pandemics so essential? The answer is because pandemics possess exponential growth properties. What does exponential growth mean (as contrasted with, say, incremental growth)? The following "A Penny a Day" video offers a lesson in exponential growth. If the next pandemic, in fact, were to spread exponentially in the same manner as illustrated in the "A Penny a Day" video (and assuming no treatments or cures existed and inadequate preventative measures existed), then one thing becomes vividly clear: The pandemic very quickly could spiral out of control and cause lots of casualties (injuries) and fatalities (deaths). If the next global pandemic grew exponentially and also happened to be as lethal as, say, the Ebola virus, then it would pose an existential threat to human existence given the non-existence of effective preventative measures or cures to combat the particular pandemic in question.

Watch (A Penny a Day)

Speaking of exponential growth, it further is worthy to note that, in recent human history (namely, the past 200 years), the human population growth rate has begun exhibiting exponential growth-like properties. Given the existence of limited resources (such as arable land, minerals, and fresh water) on Earth juxtaposed against a virtually unlimited human demand for products and a concomitant human demand for higher living standards, yet another essential challenge facing humans is the need for them to control their population growth rate. Heretofore, a primary mechanism for controlling an unlimited demand for products has been widespread adoption of a market-based system of demand, supply, and price with money serving as a medium of exchange between buyers and sellers or producers and consumers. Stated simply, those humans who lacked the monetary resources to pay the market prices for products would consume the least. This availability of money reality—or lack thereof—suggests a certain stability, discipline, and astuteness are required in the management of household income (primarily, through adopting long-term saving and investing strategies), that is, if one wishes to prosper in a material sense. A primary mechanism for controlling the population growth explosion has been concerted worldwide adoption of various family-planning strategies.

Watch (Human Population Through Time)

pandemic readiness condition | gfycat.com

12:00 a.m. | commons.wikimedia.org / Anakin101

06. Taking This Opportunity to Momentarily Move Beyond the Specific Challenge of COVID-19 By Taking A Closer Look at the General Challenge of Life on Earth and the Quest for Human Survival Extending Far into the Future

This page is about honoring the 4 above-mentioned COVID-19 heroes. At the same time, while not minimizing COVID-19's adverse impact on humankind during year 2020, I also want to emphasize that there are threats and challenges facing humankind far bigger and worse than COVID-19. So, it would be remiss of me not to take this opportunity of discussing the COVID-19 virus outbreak by placing the challenge of overcoming COVID-19 within the context of the bigger picture of life on Earth and the quest for human survival. On the one hand, it is a fact that humans have little to no control over the forces of Mother Nature such as the emergence of natural disasters or another deadly virus outbreak. On the other hand, humans possess full control over the outbreak of an extinction-inducing nuclear war. It remains entirely up to humans whether events such as the USA's 1945 nuclear strikes on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima will be first and last nuclear strikes against humans on Earth. Nuclear weapons and nuclear war are not compatible with the more urgent task of human survival. Human nature is a force that humans can control. All adverse forces in life do not necessarily emanate from Mother Nature. Some of these adverse forces are the direct result of deliberate and intentional harmful human actions—and some unintentional or unforeseen harmful human actions, too.

There is plenty of good in human beings. Yet, there is no escaping the fact that there also is a lot of evil in human beings. There is no escaping the fact that Earth has more than its fair share of hell-raisers. The optimistic news is this: When it comes to human nature, humans are in complete control. Human atrocities are perfectly controllable and avoidable such as gang violence and killings, human trafficking, slavery, holocausts, genocide, and war. While, on the one hand, humans possess an enormous capacity for courtesy, respect, and compassion, on the other hand, there is no escaping the fact that humans also possess an enormous capacity to inflict unimaginable cruelty, brutality, pain, injury, sorrow, torture, and murder upon their fellow humans for various reasons. Generally speaking, motivating reasons for these evil human behaviors most often are attributable to factors such as race, gender, religion, tribe, politics, nationalism, and inner moral depravity or a lack of civility.

Whereas the next pandemic virus most likely is not avoidable, another nuclear strike is completely avoidable. The next bloc of videos is meant to illustrate the capacity of humans to inflict cruelty, brutality, pain, injury, sorrow, torture, and murder upon one another. Unfortunately, at the dawn of the 21st century, these kinds of nefarious activities and this kind of atrocious human conduct, to one degree or another, continue unabated as seemingly never-ending, human-induced scourges. These kinds of reprehensible human activities urgently need to be forever banished from the face of Earth. Humans have got to find a way to peacefully and permanently rid Earth of these kinds of sordid activities.


Watch (Nazi Concentration and Prison Camps)

Watch (Pol Pot - The Khmer Rouge & the Killing Fields)

Watch (The Rwandan Genocide: 100 Days of Silence)

Watch (Cut the Tall Trees: The Killing Power of Words)

Watch (Words That Kill)

Watch (Reel America: "Not for Conquest" U.S. Army Nuclear Deterrence in 1965)

Watch (The World's Deadliest Biological Weapons)

Watch (The History Of Chemical Weapons)

Watch (The Bomb)

Watch (Hiroshima: Dropping The Bomb - Hiroshima - BBC)

The next graphic further illustrates some of the most extreme and wide-ranging techniques available to contemporary humans to be used to inflict extreme and widespread harm on one another. These techniques run the gamut from the terrifying to the absolutely horrific in terms of their scope, lethality, and fatality to life on Earth. All of these techniques pose as existential threats to human existence—albeit it is necessary for a nation to prepare to defend itself in the event of a worst-case scenario unfolding such as unprovoked aggression. Global demilitarization is another one of those great challenges facing humankind. To state it another way, an enduring state of world peace is another one of those challenges that continue to elude humankind.

Graphic depicting CBRNE threat spectrum | globalsecurity.org

Imagining overmatch: critical domains in the next war - a whiteboard - US Army War College War Room

The next graphic and video illustrate the newest, 21st century human threat, which resides in the cyber domain. Cyberspace generally is referred as the 5th human global fighting domain. As highlighted by the next video, the ultimate and greatest cyber threat is the threat of an outbreak of all-out cyber warfare between nations.

C3 Cyber | Deepak Kumar (D3)

Watch (The Future of Cyberwarfare | Origins: The Journey of Humankind)

Whether referencing acts of Mother Nature such as the COVID-19 virus outbreak or referencing human actions (such as nuclear warfare), it remains of utmost importance to remember that, when it comes to life on Earth, first and foremost, the cardinal rule should be that of the survival, preservation, prosperity, and flourishing of the human species. Most unfortunately, as of the year 2020, there is far too much prejudice, demagoguery, hatred, conflict, violence, and murder occurring within the human family. Enough already to the never-ending human rabble-rousing and saber-rattling about notions of white power, black power, yellow power, gang power, liberal power, conservative power, religious power, American might, Chinese might, Russian might, European might, nuclear might, and so forth. This type of human mindset represents ill-advised, short-sighted, outdated, ignorant, and foolish ways of thinking. It makes no sense. This human intoxication with wielding the most (political, economic, and military) power must end as must this human intoxication with clinging to power at all costs.

This war-mongering phenomenon in humans mainly appears to be a male thing—perhaps, in part, due to some sort of unfilled, missed, unmet, or warped Freudian-like childhood developmental complex. Another possibility to explain the male propensity for war mongering possibly could be explained by an over excretion of aggression hormones in some males. Undoubtedly, some of the over-the-top male aggressiveness can be explained by the competition among males to impress females of how physically tough they are.

Rather than unleashing a barrage of nuclear bombs and killing everyone on Earth due to some hot-headed, irrational national leader, alternate outlets exist for males to more constructively release a lot of pent-up frustration. Diplomacy is one such constructive medium. A court of law is another medium to constructively resolve disputes. Engaging in regulated contact sports is another medium to constructively release a lot of built up aggression. To explain this male propensity for war mongering, basically, it goes back to the age-old Nurture versus Nature argument.

These old geopolitical ways of anachronistic thinking (i.e., the prejudice, demagoguery, hatred, conflict, violence, murder, and so forth) are completely out of sync with future living. These old geopolitical ways of anachronistic thinking must come to an end. These kinds of atrocious and sordid behaviors and this lack of human decency and civility continue to defy humans' self-described designation as being the very wise species, that is, their homo sapiens sapiens designation.

It is time to relegate old 20th century modes of aggrandizement living to the dustbin of history. The time has come for humanity to move in a different, more positive, and more constructive direction. The only power that truly matters on Earth is human will power, that is, the will power of the peoples of the Earth to find a way to overcome their differences and building a better world. It remains within the capacity of the peoples of the Earth to find a way to elevate their conduct to this highest ethical plane and transform Earth into some semblance of Heaven as a matter of course for daily living. To do so, it would confirm the designation of humans as being the very wise species. Humans possess the knowledge and brain power to elevate life on Earth to a higher plane, but they seem to lack the will power to do so.

There are lots of worldly things to tempt, appeal to, or cause humans to choose to embrace their basest, cruelest, and most primitive instincts. These worldly things include lawlessness, constant bickering and fighting, bullying, cheating, corruption, debauchery, deception, destruction of property, prejudice, bigotry, discrimination, racism, hatred, violence, disrespect, substance abuse, extortion, fraud, gunplay, rioting, looting, torture, murder, and so forth. In contrast, humans perpetually must summon the will power to transcend or rise above these retrogressive kinds of behaviors or worldly forces by embracing progressive traits or values such as civility, courtesy, decorum, fairness, honesty, industriousness, scholarship, lawful conduct, ethical conduct, responsible conduct, peaceful demeanor, self-discipline, self-improvement, self-respect, self-sufficiency, tolerance, kindness, being respectful of others, being respectful of the property of others, being respectful of the sanctity of human life, being a seeker of knowledge and wisdom, and so forth. To state it another way, achieving Heaven on Earth for the living to enjoy each day is an ideal or concept that continues to elude the grasp of humankind. There is no need for humans to sit around waiting on God to arrive and transport them to Heaven in the Afterlife. My point merely is this: In the meantime, while waiting for God to arrive, there is nothing at all preventing humans from realizing Heaven right here on Earth in the here and now.

Keep in mind that nuclear annihilation is but one of many doomsday scenarios to predict the demise, death, annihilation, or ultimate extinction of the human species. At the dawn of the 21st century, there is increased awareness of the specter or prospect of some sort of environmental annihilation or irreversible ecological catastrophe occurring on Earth. To be sure, there are some who argue that if climate change is left unchecked or unmitigated from traveling along its current path without deliberate, coordinated, and sustained human intervention for the better, then, in the very long run, some envision Earth possibly transforming into a Mercury-like or Venus-like planet.

As a reminder of a prospective future that can become a reality on Earth, the next video vividly depicts the current state of Venus. Humans do not want to experience a life of Venus on Earth because it will not be a good outcome.

Watch (Venus 101 | National Geographic)

A general goal of all humans is to avoid a state of existence whereby they perpetually are teetering on the brink of global warfare, global instability, and global annihilation. As illustrated by the next graphic, to one degree or another, a general goal of all humans is to lawfully obtain the necessities of life (such as food, water, clothing, and shelter) and to live a fulfilled life in good physical and mental health. Having lots of money and abundant material possessions are not necessarily prerequisites or requirements for living a meaningful and fulfilled life. Stevie Wonder very eloquently makes this point about there being no harm in living simply and cleanly in his song titled Bird Of Beauty, as does Minnie Riperton in her song titled Simple Things and also the Supremes in their song titled My Favorite Things (a song originally performed by Julie Andrews on the 1965 RCA Victor soundtrack titled The Sound of Music).

I am grateful for… | commons.wikimedia.org / Godfried from Utrecht
Grateful for the Vaccine

The next bloc of videos is meant to reinforce the notion that humans do possess an enormous capacity to do good. Given the will power, leadership, guidance, and a unity of purpose, humans are perfectly capable of transforming Earth into some type of paradise for the living to enjoy each day.

Watch (Mariah Carey, Make It Happen)

Watch (Mariah Carey, Hero)

Watch (Earth, Wind & Fire, Shining Star)

Watch (Earth, Wind & Fire, Devotion)

Watch (Ledisi, In The Morning/Alright)

Watch (Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, In Time)

Watch (Minnie Riperton, The Edge Of A Dream)

Moral compass and finding the true north | Soulveda
Star and heart nevit | commons.wikimedia.org / Nevit Dilmen

07. Spinning Top Universe, Spinning Top Earth But Tribalism Humans: Destiny, or A Matter of Existence (Choosing Good over Evil, Choosing Life over Death, and Choosing Heaven on Earth over Hell on Earth)

When comes to the metaphysical, philosophical, religious, existential, or big picture topics of fate and destiny, sight should not be lost of the fact that Earth is but one tiny speck of sand stationed in the middle of nowhere and silently drifting afloat the Milky Way galaxy in a vast and wider ocean better known as the Universe. The beauty and miracle of it all is the fact that Earth sparkles with life. Now is the time for Earth's most prominent life form, human beings, to start preparing for future living. For, in the end, united humans shall stand—and prosper—long, long into the future. Divided they shall fall and perish as a species—and they possess the nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological weapons to do so.

Unity of purpose is the key of life. If humans are to one day unite and transform Earth into some semblance of Heaven, then humans need to look no farther than the ants for purposeful inspiration. The ants have amply demonstrated that, given a vision, an action plan, organization, coordination, direction, cooperation, and flawless execution, humans can accomplish a great deal by deploying a division and specialization of labor. One thing is certain about the ants, and it is this: In unison, they very diligently put in the necessary work to get the job done. Ants survive and thrive. Live and let live.

Watch (Ants: Nature's Secret Power)


I realize there are some who ascribe to a worldview of "survival of the fittest" or a worldview that says "only the strong survive while the weak fall by the wayside." I do not think that way. I ascribe to a worldview that all humans are equally human. All humans have a societal niche. Consequently, all human life should be valued despite the existence of class-based, race-based, and even gender-based societal stratifications across Earth both in thought and in practice.

The Universe and Earth are constantly evolving. The Universe and Earth are in perpetual motion. Sadly to say, for those who do not keep pace with the engine of progress, they will find themselves standing out as outliers on spaceship Earth as it hurls through space and time in sync with an expanding Universe. There is a great, big Universe out there to explore, and it is fully capable of accommodating the humans of the future if the humans of the present do not obliterate themselves into nuclear—or environmental—extinction given their geopolitical, socioeconomic, religious, racial, and nationalistic obsessions, inclinations, and preoccupations. Of course, in the overall cost-benefit calculus, it remains debatable to what extent progress bodes good or bad for life on Earth. In other words, does progress move the human species closer to or farther away from an ultimate fate or destiny of extinction?

As humans begin transitioning into 22nd century living mode, perhaps the Book of Proverbs said it best about future prospects for elevating the human condition to a higher plane:

     5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not;
neither decline from the words of my mouth.
     6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee:
love her, and she shall keep thee.
     7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get
wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
     8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she
shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace
her.
     9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of
grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

Excerpted from the Holy Bible (King James Version), Proverbs: Chapter 4: Verses 5-9


     29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done
to me: I will render to the man according to
his work.
     30 I went by the field of the slothful, and by the
vineyard of the man void of understanding;
     31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns,
and needles had covered the face thereof, and the
stone wall thereof was broken down.
     32 Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked
upon it, and received instruction.
     33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding
of the hands to sleep:
     34 So shall thy poverty come as one that
travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

Excerpted from the Holy Bible (King James Version), Proverbs: Chapter 24: Verses 29-34


Watch [Future Visions, Scifi Art Spacesynth (featuring Anosphere, Expanding Cosmic Awareness)]

This diagram shows our cosmic address at a glance. We see our planetary system around the Sun, our stellar neighborhood in our galaxy, our galaxy in the local group of galaxies, and our group in the entire universe | A daily dose of science from the AMNH. Central Park West at 79th St., NYC amnh.org

Watch (BT featuring Kirsty Hawkshaw, A Million Stars)

a massive group of galaxies in a cluster named RXC J0032.1+1808 | ESA/Hubble & NASA, RELICS

Watch [Star Size Comparison 2 (featuring Vangelis, Alpha)]

Blue Skies | Montana's Glacier National Park | National Park Service

Watch [UppruniTegundanna, Beauty of the Beasts (featuring Xploding Plastix, Kissed By A Kisser)]

Icon A5 Light Sport Aircraft | iconaircraft.com


A material originally developed for spacesuits can be seen all over the world in stadiums, arenas, airports, pavilions, malls and museums. Stunning white architectural tensile fabrics, developed by BirdAir Inc., are made from a fiberglass and Teflon composite that once protected Apollo astronauts as they roamed the lunar surface. | Government of Brazi

Northern Power wind turbines pepper the landscape in Bisaccia, Italy | NASA Spinoff

In the 1990s, scientists at Ames Research Center devised a software algorithm to shorten the routes airlines fly between take-off and landing. That technology is now commercially available from Boeing. | NASA Spinoff


Agriculture in Vietnam with farmers | commons.wikimedia.org / Dennis Jarvis

Watch [Stunning New Universe Fly-Through Really Puts Things Into Perspective (featuring Monolake, Inwards (VLSI Version))]

The next bloc of music videos is meant to emphasize the little picture. Within this gargantuan space of Existence better known as the Universe, when it comes to that little kernel of sand known as Earth, it is worth cherishing the fact that life goes on and love goes on. This time around, with this particular bloc of music videos, there is a happy ending to this adventure in romantic love, which began as buddies and ecstasy, hit a rough spot, but overcame the turbulence.

Watch (Musiq Soulchild, Buddy)

Watch (Princess, Say I'm Your Number One)

Watch (Stevie Wonder, Golden Lady)

Watch (Stevie Wonder, Love Light In Flight)

Watch (Phyllisia Ross, So Beautiful)

Watch (Michael Jackson, I Can't Help It)

Watch (Michael Jackson, Butterflies)

Watch (Sade, The Sweetest Taboo)

Watch (Earth, Wind & Fire, I'll Write A Song For You)

Watch (Stevie Wonder, Moon Blue)

Watch (Kem, I Can't Stop Loving You)

Watch (Keyshia Cole, Take Me Away)

Watch (Mary J. Blige, Stay Down)

Watch [Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper, Shallow (from A Star Is Born)]

Watch (Princess, After The Love Has Gone)

Watch (Dwele, Find A Way)

It remains a sad commentary on the human condition such that the availability of money never seems to be too much of a problem when it comes to humans preparing for war to kill one another, such as their annual financing of global military buildups and their continual preparations for military conflict. But, when it comes to improving human life, money always seems to be in short supply such as the need to continually and adequately finance things such as global healthcare, literacy, education, and anti-poverty initiatives. Humans are supposed to be a very wise species. With their extraordinary brain, and given the will power, humans possess the capacity to design their fate for better or worse notwithstanding the adverse forces of Mother Nature.

Earth spinning within a celestial sphere, depicting stars, the ecliptic, and lines of right ascension and declination | commons.wikimedia.org / Tfr000

08. A Promising Rebound to Life on Earth After COVID: A Very Small Sampling of the Many Human Happenings Across Earth, Or Here Comes the Sunshine Again

To conclude this 2020 honors page, and as the COVID-19 virus continues to exact a very heavy human toll all across Earth as of 01-December-2020, it remains critical for humans not to lose sight of a simple truth. The simple truth is this: Life is short. The average human life span is roughly 75 years. A miracle of Existence is life, and a paradox of life is death. Other than the possibility of an Afterlife, there is no escaping the fact that all living things on Earth have a termination date. Try as hard as humans might to beat or escape death, they only succeed in delaying death. Inevitably, death will catch up to them one day (if for no other reason than "natural" causes).

Relative to the age of the Universe, the human life span is equivalent to the blink of an eye. The question becomes this: Will you make a conscientious effort to make the most of your short life span on Earth by perpetually striving to become a better, ever more responsible, positive, productive, self-disciplined, law-abiding, self-supporting, tolerant, and respectful member of contemporary civil society? To do so not only would lead to constructive self-improvement but also it would foster the development of a more civilized human species.

Okay, now it is time to shift gears. Attention now will shift away from the bleak and towards the joyous. To close this page on a more positive, optimistic, and upbeat note, undoubtedly, blue skies, thrills, chills, laughter, good times, festivities, and a brighter tomorrow—hence, the enjoyment and celebration of life—await humankind just over the horizon in COVID-19's aftermath (as accentuated by the following final bloc of videos). As the curtains close on this year's award and as the year 2020 comes to a close, the USA's Jackson State University (J.S.U.) is given the distinction here of livening things up a bit by "marching in" to conclude this 2020 edition of the Annual Bruessard Award. The USA's North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C.A.T.)—namely, its Blue and Gold Marching Machine (BGMM)—is given the distinction of finishing things up with good vibrations. So, good-bye until this time next year when the 2021 winner of the Annual Bruessard Award will be revealed (on 01-December-2021). Thank you for visiting this page.

Okay, J.S.U., now it's your turn. Let it rip. Sonic boom it away!

Watch (Jackson State University Marching In at Mississippi Valley State - 2019)

Watch (Extremely Low Landing at St Maarten Princess Juliana Airport - American Airlines A319)

Watch (She fell on ground!! Way too funny!! Bushman Prank!)

Watch (SCARY PRANK: Dead girl out of tv new 'Rings' movie Promotion Reaction)

Watch (Griffon - Busch Gardens Williamsburg)

Watch (Whirlpool Jet Boat Tour - Niagara Falls)

Watch (Lift eFoil, Miami)

Watch (Surf City Epic Big Board Ride 6/20/15)

Watch [CN Tower EdgeWalk - 1,168ft (FULL EXPERIENCE) Toronto, Canada]

Watch (Top 5 World's Most Dangerous Hiking Trails In Urdu/Hindi)

Watch (Teem Originals: The Official 164-Way Vertical World Record)

Watch [Jet Engines Strapped to Feet Going 103.4 MPH! In 8K! (On Time, MALAKAI featuring Mann & Allen Paris)]

Watch (Kentucky State Marching Band - Circle Classic Parade 2019)

Watch (Super Bowl LIV Team Introductions)

Watch (NEXT 100 || NFL Super Bowl LIV Commercial)

Watch (Ohio State University Marching Band Ramp Entry, Script Ohio & Pre-game OSU vs IU. 11 5 2011)

Watch (FAMU Rattler Run / Field Exit - 2018 Bandfest)

Watch [(Shakira and Jennifer Lopez featuring Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Emme Muñiz's FULL Pepsi Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show (at the National Football League's championship game for the 2019 season played on February 2, 2020 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida)]

Watch (Relive Ultra Australia 2019 with the Official Aftermovie in 4K!)

Watch (EPIC SKYDIVING, WINGSUIT AND BASE JUMP COMPILATION)

Watch (Jetman Dubai Takeoff - 4K)

Watch (KleinVision Flying Car takes maiden flight)

Watch (KLM Cockpit Tales: Part 3 - Big Plane, Short Runway)

Watch (Symphony of the Seas Cruise Ship Tour and Review: Updated)

Watch (Johnny Nash, I Can See Clearly Now)

Watch (Calvin Harris & Disciples featuring Ina Wroldsen, How Deep Is Your Love)

Watch (NCAT Marching Into Stands 2019)

Peace, Love, and Books Clipart | Scholastic Book Fairs




OrbTrack - online satellite tracker

The International Space Station (ISS) is an artificial satellite in low orbit around Earth. It is a a multinational, collaborative project involving five space programs [namely, NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada)]. Sixteen countries are involved in its construction (namely, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States).

The above ISS tracker comes courtesy of astroviewer.net. Due to the Station's orbit, it appears to travel from west to east over Earth. Due to Earth's own rotation, the Space Station's moves 2,200 kilometers (or 1,367 miles) to the west on each orbit.

The International Space Station is traveling around Earth at a speed of 28,000 kilometers per hour (or about 17,400 miles per hour). Given Earth's circumference of 40,075 kilometers (or 24,901 miles), and given a speed of 28,000 kilometers per hour, all other things being equal, it should take the International Space Station roughly 1.43125 hours (or almost 90 minutes) to travel a complete circle around Earth. The ISS's travel time is computed as follows: t = d / r where d = 40,075 kilometers / r = 28,000 kilometers per hour. The International Space Station is flying some 410 kilometers (or roughly 255 miles) above Earth. Within the span of a 24-hour day, the International Space Station makes 16 trips or orbits around Earth because 24 hours/1.43125 orbits per hour = 16.77 orbits.
International Space Station | commons.wikimedia.org / NASA


Watch [Hubert Laws (Gabriel Faure), Pavane]


The COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective, and free! It does not get any better—or easier—than that. The COVID-19 vaccines save lives! You cannot ask for anything more than that. Get vaccinated! For, in the word of Jimmie "J.J." Walker, this bit of good COVID-19 news has got to be "Dyn-o-mite!" I have been vaccinated and boosted. I feel swell, and I am grateful. Despite all of the COVID-19 sadness, there is nothing better than an available vaccine happy ending. Rejoice! The peoples of the Earth survived the coronavirus 2020 outbreak.

Please Help Stop COVID-19 | Get Vaccinated
COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective and free!
A HUGE thank you to all the key workers from the team at EURO WEEKLY NEWS! | euroweeklynews.com
We Survived Corona Virus 2020 Outbreak

See Also: COVID-19 Watch



Note: Please visit the "Credits" page of this website for additional resources used to create this 2020 Winner page.


Intellectual Property Disclosures: All videos and songs (as well as many of the images) referenced or spotlighted throughout this website are the legal and intellectual properties of others. All content and opinions on this website () are those of the author (Edward Bruessard) exclusively and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the contributors, creators, owners, and distributors of these referenced videos, songs, and images. The author holds no legal interest or financial stake in any of these referenced videos, songs, and images. The contributors, creators, owners, and distributors of these referenced videos, songs, and images played no role at all regarding the appearance of said videos, songs, and images throughout this website; they had no clue that this website would be spotlighting their works.