Coronavirus in the United States - news and thoughts

And I’m not sure why even measurable things like testing ability have to turn partisan.
Things are clearly better than they were a while back, but not where they need to be. Just about every expert in the country agrees on that.
If folks want to fall on the grenade over it have at it I guess, but it’s a silly debate.

 

You have several posts on that page. Can you tell which specific post says that since I went back and looked and i'm not seeing it

 

Hell of a video, everyone should take a watch.

 

You just conceded two (Maine and Kansas) and just blamed local officials. Do you want me to provide you more? Define "need" because that is an amorphous concept. Vax might feel like he needs a test, but you don't. So how would you define "need?" Is it a function of risk? Symptoms? Also, can you explain to me the use of getting a test if it can't be processed due to shortages in the labs?

 

she an anti vaxxer who has tied all kinds of illnesses to it without scientific evidence, faked a study at one point that had to be retracted, got fired for keeping a cell line that wasn’t hers, and was arrested for data manipulation.
Other than that, yeah, she seems like a peach.

 

Take these numbers for what they're worth and note that it's only one anecdotal data comparison. I compared the Seattle area (King County) with Vancover (Vancouver Coastal District)

District..........Population.....Cases.....Deaths.....Cases/100k.....deaths/100k
King Co...........2,253,000.......6,653.......467..........295.3................20.7
VCD................1,250,000.......849...........75............67.9..................6.0

The numbers per 100k in King Co are actually much higher than posted here. I adjusted for the population data I was able to find. Again, purely anecdotal, but Vancouver is just up the road from Seattle and they appear to be much better off.

 

I literally linked you to the post. It is the very top post on the page iirc.

 

Sorry, was confused because that post basically says that testing isn't a problem any more. Then further down in post 9928 you said that everyone that WANTS to get tested can get tested. I assume there was a reason you highlighted "WANTS" rather than your caps lock being accidentally on. Further down the page on post 9936 you ask where you cant get tested implying again that everyone can get tested. I then tell you that its not the case on Maryland. You need a prescription. You then seem to acknowledge that perhaps the doctor is the one that decides who should get tested. I then ask for clarification of your position since you seem to waffle about testing.

Did I summarize this correctly?

 

Seattle was also a hot spot before quarantine started (in fact the only one in NA at the time) while Vancouver wasn’t, so not sure it’s a fair comparison.
It’s hard to do apples to apples anywhere, because it’s all dependent on when a city was infected, whether there was a super spreader that turbo charged things, when they chose to lock down, when they chose to open back up, how seriously their populations took the orders etc.

 

You do understand that if folks go back to work in high contact or medium contact jobs they are going to NEED regular testing even without symptoms because this spreads via asymptomatic carriers.

If we are going to have a lot of folks go back to work there is a NEED for far more testing than is currently available. Every reputable source I’ve seen discuss this topic agrees there has to me a huge uptick in testing, tracing and isolation in order to minimize the spread with a significant return to work.

 

Yep. It is absolutely improving and it is absolutely short of the need for a significant return to work. I don’t understand how there is debate in either direction b

 

Jared Kushner's shadow coronavirus task force used a spreadsheet called 'VIP Update' to procure PPE from inexperienced Trump allies over legitimate vendors

 

i understand why people see a 5.8% death rate and are alarmed, but remember, as the total number of new cases goes down, it will take time to go down as long as the death rate is stable.58000 out of 1million is 5.8%,when there are, like now lower daily new cases, the number of deaths will look bad until they start to drop in proportion to the number of new cases.

 

Huh? None of this makes sense.

 

I have clarified the word "needs" many times. No one that needs testing is being denied...with the noted anecdotes of a nursing home or a plant. But those are state issues.

These conversations overlap on here. I get that. But the "wants" comment was in a conversation that dealt with certain personal instances and regions. I acknowledged that may not be the case in Hotspots and elsewhere.

I was speaking to the broken leg analogy, assuming that people without broken legs would not be going to the ER for broken legs, when I said "want" I was referring to symptomatic (broken leg) people would not want to get an Xray. So I should have clarified that my analogy was in response to the broken leg metaphor. I was specifically responding that people with broken legs that need testing and want an Xray can get it because everone does not want one. Same with Covid-19. Symptomatic people that want a test can get one. The MD would come into play in both analogies as well.

So I see the confusion and I will try and clarify.

Where I live, anyone can get a test easily if they want. Just claim a headache basically.
I had a member of my staff two weeks ago get a test same day and results in 48 hours.

What I am saying on a bigger scale is anyone who needs a test can get one.
That was not always the case early on in this cluster. I understand that an MD may in some cases be the one who decides need. (and I am ok with that.)

It is also my position that most places are not short on tests. If you look at the several recent links in this thread you will see the shortages were either, falsely perceived or they were only short against capacity, but not short vs need. Capacity vs need is a huge difference. My hospital may have the capacity to test 50 people for Volsheimers per day, but may only NEED to test 25. That is not a shortage in tests.

I also concede that a lot of semantics can be played by both sides in this.

All I am saying is that 6 weeks ago we were hearing horror stories of sick people missing testing. That is no longer an issue.

We still could use more test of the asymptomatic people for sure, to help gauge our metrics. We need more antibody testing as well....and that is ramping up quickly.

But people who NEED tested can now get tested, with many places having some surplus for others. Just like the Vegas article proved upthread.

 

Which is not universally true in all areas of the country, as pointed out by the "anecdotes" of shortages that you want to dismiss as state issues.

 

i guess what i am trying to say is that, say 58000 out of 1 million is 5.8%. if it was 58000 out of 2 million, it would be 2.9%, lower death rate but twice as many cases. 58000 out of 500000 would be 11.6%, higher death rate but far fewer cases,it will take time for the death rate to fall as there are fewer new cases, when, and i hate to sound morbid, those who will eventually die do so, there will be less deaths to divide into total cases, thus the death rate will eventually lower.

 

I did not say that there may not be a shortage. I am just saying right now there is not a shortage for those who need one. Now tomorrow or next week? I have no idea.

 

Sorry if this was already posted, but I thought this was particularly interesting (addendum to the flu vs. coronavirus comparisons)...bold added:

Comparing COVID-19 Deaths to Flu Deaths Is like Comparing Apples to Oranges

I think most people would prefer the straight up juice rather than statistics inflated for the purpose of incentive.

Go GATORS!
,WESGATORS

 

There is a shortage right now as well. The Ohio department of health said two days ago they don’t have enough testing for folks with mild symptoms. There are lots of examples of areas that need more and lots of examples of people with a need able to get a test. It isn’t universally available to all need right now unless government officials of all stripes are fibbing.