Coronavirus in the United States - news and thoughts

A lot of people are doing a better job washing their hands. At the gym, I’m seeing people clean equipment before they get on it.
I’m hitting the hand sanitizer dispensers pretty often there, too.

 

I definitely understand the concern. It is true that many come to work when they shouldn't. I hope you can do what you need to keep your wife safe.

In a lot of places, people don't get any cover for being sick. It may not be true in your situation, but folks need cover if they have to work and can't get a diagnosis or tested.

1. Because they absolutely can't get tested - it is not available (the situation for a vast majority in this country right now - despite lies being told by out top gov officials)
2. Because the general population doesn't yet believe this is widespread (although it is highly probable that it is)
3. Because the tests and/or treatment are expensive and they don't have adequate medical coverage
4. Because they fear lack of test availability (cleanly clearing them) makes them subject to unwarranted quarantine an/or social ostracization

And probably a whole lot of other things that I didn't think of.

Yeah, they should suck it up for the good of society. It would be great if we, as a society, could cover them - at least in this instance.

 

Didn't see anyone attempt to cough into their armpits today. Just coughing away like normal - expelling their germs out into everyone else's air. Geeeez.....

 

More communication awesomeness from the other day.
Pence has a press Conference saying that insurance will cover the costs of the test. A reporter asks whether those who are uninsured can get tested, and Pence literally walks off stage without answering it. The guy keeps asking as he walks away, and one of Pence’s people scolds him for shouting the question even though it directly affects tens of millions of Americans, and with answering it either. Pretty much defines this administration.

some additional data on some of the deaths. Good news for most, that almost all of the cases they looked at were older and/or had underlying conditions.


We analyzed more than 150 coronavirus deaths. Here's what we found.

 

These are NOT my words, but are from someone that works in medicine. I found his thoughts interesting:

Coronavirus is not a new virus. There are several strains in circulation every year. This is a new strain. Like other cold viruses, it mutates, so nobody ever has full immunity. Thats why flu vaccines have low effectiveness. Thats why people get the flu and colds repeatedly through their lifetimes.

People seem to have little understanding of how our immune system works. Most of us don't need antibodies to fight off a cold or flu virus. Our innate immune system is the first line of defense and for most people sufficient to defeat the virus. Antibodies take up to 2 weeks to be produced in sufficient quantities after infection. While antibodies can help minimize symptoms after reinfection, if the new virus is sufficiently different, something called the original antigenic sin comes into play and can actually cause worse symptoms.

In older people, which are more severely affected by covid-19, an over reaction by the complement system of the innate system is responsible. Due to chronic inflammation due to aging the elderly have more active complement molecules than younger people. When antibodies are produced after a couple of weeks this actually amplifies the complement response and symptoms worsen, followed by death in some cases. Younger people who have no more humoral immunity than older people are not severely affected as they have less inflammation and complement molecules. Indeed young children's immune systems respond differently than adults as their innate immune system works to minimize inflammation.

Now, people like to recite the CFR. Unfortunately, the mortality rate must be calculated by deaths divided by total infections. Confirmed cases are not total infections. Total infections are an order of magnitude higher because mild cases afe not tested and confirmed. The flu mortality figures reported by cdc are not based on testing and confirmed cases, its based on models. If they reported data based on actual testing. There would be far fewer deaths and mortality rate would be higher.

Measles is a good example. In 1963 before vaccines, 400 deaths and 400,000 reported cases. A fatality rate of 1000. However, doctors know that every child got measles during childhood, although most were mild and not reported. So measles infections had to be 4 million a year. This brings the mortality rate to 1/10,000. Big difference.

Outside of hubei, italy and iran, mortality rate based on confirmed cased is under 1%. For those under 50 its less than 0.2%. The actual mortality rate is likely 10 times lower.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...virus-no-fewer-than-14-times-less-than-month/

 

Dr. Radio in Sirius 121 is a great listen. These dr.'s have been tough on the media, the democrats, the republicans and other countries governments. They are really good a breaking down the respiratory virus and comparing it to other viruses.

 

My wife told me that 11 days ago Italy had 600 cases, now they have 10,000 cases and nearly the whole country is on lock down....

The US now has 600 cases ... and appears to be doing very little to stop the spread or even test people.

 

BTW, I think the lock down is stupid. People can’t go anywhere for 2 weeeks, and let’s say it works perfectly and their cases drop to zero... then what? If people are released and allow to travel again, it’s just to spread back to Italy again...

 

Did this really happen?!?? This is AWFUL leadership. A tough question and pence...., runs away?

Trump followers can’t you see how bad this admin is??

 

this is the end of the press conference, this picks up after Pence had said that the would be covered by insurance (which was also inaccurate see the second link below).

Katie Miller Scolds Brian Karem Over Coronavirus Question


Pence Leaves Out Key Details About Health Coverage Of Coronavirus Testing

 

River Gator should open a thread just for the untrue things the Trump admin has said about coronavirus ... there has to be like 2 or 3 additions per day.

 

UF recommending to professors that they move to online classes.

University of Florida

 

Tucson festival of Books was canceled. 7 cases in Arizona, including first confirmed case in the Greater Tucson area.

 

If we look at what's happening in China, it actually points to a virus that doesn't have much stamina - at all. China, an overcrowded nation of 1,000,000,000+ only added 19 new cases today. But there's more... Of the 80,754 cases figure we keep hearing from China, only 17,706 of those are actually still active cases. 59,912 have been discharged and recovered. Covid-19 will be an afterthought in China within a month. Which is incredible when you think about how densely populated they are and that this is where it started.

And before anyone starts talking about their draconian quarantine measures, they have been re-opening factories in China for a couple of weeks now. People are going back to work and life is getting back to normal there. The virus is simply not that potent.

 

Trump's new CoS Mark Meadows under 14 day quarantine.

 

The assumption should be they have it. They have been working the worst hit area so far.
But this goes to show the lies. Where are the mass produced tests? They should have been ready weeks ago. How are less developed healthcare systems pumping out 1000's per day?

Seattle-area nursing home unable to test 65 workers with COVID-19 symptoms

The staff in question, representing more than a third of the Life Care Center’s 180 employees, are out sick with symptoms consistent with coronavirus, and a federal strike team of nurses and doctors is helping to care for 53 patients remaining in the center.

With the facility in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland accounting for more than half of the known U.S. coronavirus deaths, and all its patients tested, it was unclear why Life Care lacked diagnostic kits for staff, even as the University of Washington offered to process test samples for them.

“We would like more kits to test employees,” Life Care Center spokesman Tim Killian told reporters, adding he did not know why they had not been forthcoming.

“We’ve been asking the various government agencies that have been supplying us with test kits.”

 

I would think you would probably only find that with people that are double jointed.

 

Too polite: Pathetic. Pitiful. Disastrous. Dangerous. Inept. Incompetent. And so on.

 

I'm not sure if this was posted already, but..

An interesting summary of what "big pharma" is working on re coronavirus.

Money is a great incentive for innovation.. Hopefully one of these companies hit a home run.

Coronavirus outbreak: Top coronavirus drugs and vaccines in development