Editing 2409: Steepen the Curve

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This comic is another in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}.  
 
This comic is another in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}.  
  
In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly became the main public concern. The virus spread at an exponential rate before initial lockdowns started to reduce the trajectory for a time. The graphic drawn in black depicts exponential growth in the measure of deaths — though it is not clear (without proper units or values on either axis) if this is because it is a cumulative count of deaths or the rate of deaths per day.  Such graphs were common in the spring of 2020, enough that Randall has previously parodied them in [[2294: Coronavirus Charts]]. These graphs often showed future projections that compared continued exponential growth vs. curves that did not grow as fast, or even flattened out. Governments around the world realized that if the trend was to continue healthcare services would become overwhelmed, thus all kinds of political, civic and personal efforts were put towards doing things that would cause the 'curve' to flatten and not rise as rapidly as it would do unchecked. "Flatten the curve" thus became the rallying cry for all measures taken to reduce the spread of the virus.  
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In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly became the main public concern. The virus spread at an exponential rate before initial lockdowns started to reduce the trajectory for a time. The graphic drawn in black depicts exponential growth in the measure of deaths — though it is not clear (without proper units or values on either axis) if this is because it is a cumulative count of deaths or the rate of deaths per day.  Such graphs were common in the spring of 2020. Common enough that Randall has previously parodied them in [[2294: Coronavirus Charts]]. They often showed future projections that compared continued exponential growth vs. curves that did not grow as fast, or even flattened out. All kinds of political, civic and personal efforts were put towards doing things that would cause the 'curve' to flatten and not rise as rapidly as it would do unchecked. "Flatten the curve" became the rallying cry for all measures taken to reduce the spread of the virus.  
  
In 2021, the pandemic is ongoing (with second or even third 'waves' of resurgence affecting some populations that had temporarily flattened the curve) but now we have a handful of vaccines available. In [[2278: Scientific Briefing]], [[White Hat]] remarked that many scientific briefings use similar or identical charts, but in this briefing, a chart from the beginning of the pandemic is reprinted verbatim and then crudely updated with red ink.  The red overlay intends to update the 'original' graphic to portray the number of vaccines provided (again, it could easily be either cumulative or rate-wise). With the change to what is represented, the line remains the same but the hoped-for outcome is changed accordingly. Making the curve steeper represents getting more people vaccinated faster.
+
In 2021, the pandemic continues (with second or even third 'waves' of resurgence affecting some populations that had temporarily flattened the curve) but now we have a handful of vaccines available. In [[2278: Scientific Briefing]], [[White Hat]] remarked that many scientific briefings use similar or identical charts, but in this briefing, a chart from the beginning of the pandemic is reprinted verbatim and then crudely updated with red ink.  The red overlay intends to update the 'original' graphic to portray the number of vaccines provided (again, it could easily be either cumulative or rate-wise). With the change to what is represented, the line remains the same but the hoped-for outcome is changed accordingly. Making the curve steeper represents getting more people vaccinated faster.
  
 
In both cases, there would be an upper limit on the cumulative value, but the ceiling must be well beyond the upper limits (x and y axes) of this graph. If this is a rate-graph, it would show a peak and subsequent decline at the same point in time where a cumulative graph would show an inflection in its gradient, but neither are visible here.
 
In both cases, there would be an upper limit on the cumulative value, but the ceiling must be well beyond the upper limits (x and y axes) of this graph. If this is a rate-graph, it would show a peak and subsequent decline at the same point in time where a cumulative graph would show an inflection in its gradient, but neither are visible here.

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