Coronavirus in the United States - news and thoughts

No. But gloves are not a perfect barrier and may be slightly damaged during surgery. That's why you often see surgeons meticulously scrubbing their hands/arms/finger nails prior to donning gloves.

 

New studies show people who get COVID-19 less likely to get reinfected | Fox News
Two new medical studies suggest that people who are infected once with COVID-19 are very unlikely to test positive again for up to six months and possibly longer.

Researchers found that people with antibodies from natural infections were "at much lower risk ... on the order of the same kind of protection you'd get from an effective vaccine," of getting the virus again, said Dr. Ned Sharpless, director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute, which conducted one of the studies.

"It's very, very rare" to get reinfected, he said.

Both studies used two types of tests. One is a blood test for antibodies, which attach to a virus and help to eliminate it; antibodies can linger for many months after infection. The other type of test uses nasal or other samples to detect the virus or bits of it, suggesting current or recent infection.

One study, published Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine, involved more than 12,500 health workers at Oxford University Hospitals in the United Kingdom. Among the 1,265 who had coronavirus antibodies at the outset, only two had positive results on tests to detect active infection in the following six months and neither developed symptoms.

That contrasts with the 11,364 workers who initially did not have antibodies; 223 of them tested positive for infection in the roughly six months that followed.

Still, antibodies themselves may not be the protection, they might just be a sign that other parts of the immune system are able to fight off any new exposures to the virus, Wolf said

If this is true then herd immunity would work with most, others would still need to take extra precaution's

 

Herd immunity without vaccine would result in excess of 2 million dead in US
Unacceptable for this gator

 

You don't know that, just a poor guess

 

It's an extrapolation based on the 330,000 dead already and estimates that 15% of the population has been infected. It's more than just a random guess.

Need more proof, just look at current daily totals. More COVID deaths this past week than average deaths from cancer and heart disease, which are usually #1 and #2 COD in the US.

Maybe 2 million is a little high. But it's 1.5 million any more acceptable? 1.25 million? And let's not forget the long term effects a significant portion of survivors face.

 

Those numbers are false

 

Study: Suicidal behavior in youths higher during COVID-19 closures than in 2019

More info on the damage of locking kids down and keeping them from socializing with other kids.


"Results showed recent suicidal ideation was 1.60 and 1.45 times higher in March and July 2020, respectively, than in March and July 2019. Odds of recent suicide attempt were 1.58, 2.34, 1.75 and 1.77 times higher in February, March, April and July 2020 than the same months in 2019, respectively."

 

And every hospital, and every medical professional, in all 50 states are in on the lie? It's the medical deep state?

Just like the flu, right? That's why Arizona hospitals are at over 90% capacity as a whole, with some local hospitals over 100%, as they transfer ICU beds into COVID beds. The flu never hits Arizona this hard, especially in a mild winter year like this one has been to date.

 

What was the Arizona hospital system at this time last year as a data point? Because saying hospitals are over 90% capacity doesn't mean much if they are usually at 90% during the year.

 

No. Arizona hospitals are never at 90% capacity this time in a normal year. Especially in a year that has been this dry and mild, even by Arizona standards. I know it's anecdotal, but I've lived in Arizona 27 out of the past 30 years, and hospital capacity has never once been as issue before.

 

And yet, more overall data has been released at a statewide level, which has not shown an increase (in fact, this time, it shows a decrease). This time, it is from Maryland. So now we have New Mexico, Maryland, Oregon, Washington, and Massachusetts data, none of which have showed an increase. In fact, in the periods after the pandemic started (they had two such periods in this study: March 5-May 7 and May 8-July 7), there has been a significant decrease overall statewide.

Racial Differences in Statewide Suicide Mortality Trends in Maryland During the COVID-19 Pandemic

 

A quick google search shows differently.

Flu is widespread in Arizona, crowding hospital emergency rooms

Medical providers overwhelmed as flu hits Coconino County hard

Hospitals Overwhelmed by Flu Patients Are Treating Them in Tents

It's why it's important to know the facts. Without knowing what Arizona's usual hospital capacity is during this time it's hard to say how significant it is.

 

Good news, peoples.

Santa is still safe to fly around this evening, despite the lockdowns.

Why, I hear you ask? ...



(Yes, this is how my fellow Lancastrians sound...)

 

Article #3 doesn't mention Arizona at all. Article #2 is from the Flagstaff Newspaper, which is a small college town with no medical school and limited hospital capacity. What Flagstaff is also at 7000 feet above sea level and gets much colder than Phoenix, which is at sea level. What happens when Coconino County hospitals get overrun? They ship patients down the mountain to Phoenix, where there is plenty of capacity.

Article #1 mentions just under 8,000 confirmed flu cases for the SEASON to date back in 2018. Arizona has been averaging nearly 7,000 cases of COVID A DAY in the last few weeks. If 8,000 flu cases in a few weeks can cause a mild strain on Arizona hospitals, you can imagine what 7,000 daily COVID cases is doing to the system! Overwhelming just doesn't cover it.

Your links, with context, don't say what you think they do. Hospitals in a rural, mountain area being overrun during one flu season doesn't mean the state as a whole has 90% of ICU beds being used, especially when the majority of said beds reside in the Phoenix and Tucson valley's.

 

They show hospitals having wait times to go to the ER. I've offered proof of this happening before. Funny you bring up context. You don't have any to offer. If you had the last 3 years hospital data overlapped with 2020 then you can make an argument. But the only data comparison you use is "I know it's anecdotal, but I've lived in Arizona 27 out of the past 30 years, and hospital capacity has never once been as issue before." Sorry but i'll wait for a better comparison than that.

 

Nothing will ever change your mind. Even after I added context, like Coconino County having less than 150,000 residents, and when they run out of hospital beds, they simply transfer a few dozen patients to Phoenix.

But if there is more evidence more opened minded people are looking for, here is an article from today, 12/24. From the link:

A team of University of Arizona researchers wrote in a memo to the state Health Department that a statewide shelter-in-place order in December could help avert a "catastrophe" in Arizona hospitals. The modelers said without additional public health interventions, Arizona "risks a catastrophe on a scale of the worst natural disaster the state has ever experienced. It would be akin to facing a major forest fire without evacuation orders."​

Dr. Marjorie Bessel, chief clinical officer for Phoenix-based Banner Health, said that the state's largest health care system already is having two patients share rooms in several of its ICUs, and could reach 150% of its licensed bed capacity in January. ​

Is this enough evidence for you, 95? Or do you also know more than U of Arizona medical professionals and Arizona hospital administration?

 

Actually, you could bring the spread down to a barely noticeable level. However that would require about half of the world's population to stop acting like morons.....

 

That's how I'm describing the other half acting now

 

Way to hang on to that Trumpness....just hope you are able to access 18 doctors and 3 leading edge treatments when you get infected too.

 

So what I take from that is there isn’t an issue currently and the “modelers” say there “could be a catastrophe”. So there isn’t one now. Got it. Thanks for coming around on your position to my side.