46 minutes ago, LTuser said:So why then are we seeing MORE folk seeming to catch it, the past 2 + months, than in the preecding 6??
As discussed, I'm a bone fide expert on everything (as I'm on the internet).
We've got multiple things going on. First, the global north has moved on into winter and 'holiday season'. This means that people are spending more time in doors (as it is cold & dark outside), and want to visit their loved ones (because TRADITION! and in some parts not having been able to see them for a good chunk of the year). This also means we're in prime respiratory illness season, so the usual gamut of colds/flus are circulating. This can help COVID spread, as even with the public health campaigns some people will still dismiss symptoms as 'just' being a cold, not self-isolate, and thereby potentially spread the virus further.
Second, depending on where you live, schools have reopened for in-person teaching across the board. This means that you've got children and teenagers moving to and from those places, meeting with large numbers of their schoolmates, and then going home again each day. Add in the winter factor as well, and even with precautions being taken this will ramp up the spread.
Third, depending on where you live, government job protection schemes or stimulus efforts have been scaled back or removed/blocked; this means that those most vulnerable to economic disruption are effectively forced 'back' into potentially unsafe work environments or run the risk of destitution. Oddly enough, there's a strong correlation between being economically vulnerable and having life-limiting medical conditions of the kind which often are co-morbid with COVID (being poor = poor lifestyle & diet = poor health outcomes).
Fourth (and finallyish), you've got political 'leaders' actively pushing back against measures to try and limit the spread, and their supporters who refuse to take even the simplest of steps to mitigate the risks. If anything, this slice of the population has become even more stubborn as the year has progressed, even as the death toll has climbed.