Coronavirus in the United States - news and thoughts

Second one isn't any better.

(always glad to cheer you up )

 

Mask wearing should become a normal daily occurrence for anyone that has a sickness from here on out.
Be it a cold, the flu or anything else.
If you are sick and plan to venture out in public, it would be the considerate thing to do.

 

chicken pox. Shingles develop from the dormant virus.

 

Which is exactly why Americans will never do this.

 

Yeah, me too. I got my first one last month along with my flu shot. Didn't have any headaches but I had arm pain for several days.

Made my fatigue from my ongoing treatment worse for a few days too.

 

I had a mild case of shingles about a decade ago. Stress brought it on. it ran from front of my hairline to the back. I wanted to rip my scalp off.

I was prescribed Valtrex for it. Valtrex is known as a genital herpes med. Handed the script to the pharmacist and he looked at me and I said its was for shingles. I got one of those "SURE BUDDY" nods as he went to fill it.

 

My half sister had a bout this summer. She was in excruciating pain at first, then itchiness like she has never experienced. Truly awful stuff.

 

My pharmacist would not give me both together

 

1615 reported today. Highest number since a one time spike 7/30(1835). Highest since 5/15(1646)

 

My pharmacist goaded me into it. She was like stop being such a wimp

Okay, she didn't. But we did talk about it for a bit. I'm usually pretty risk averse.

 

Worth considering.



How We Can Stop the Spread of COVID-19 By Christmas
By Michael Mina

November 17, 2020 3:56 PM EST

Mina, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Immunology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics and Associate Medical Director of Microbiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School

We are at war with a virus that is currently winning by taking two 9/11’s worth of victims every week—by Christmas it could be three. There is no question that if 1,000 Americans were dying each day in a war, we would act swiftly and decisively. Yet, we are not. This should not be about politics—it is about human beings—and we should be acting like it.

So far, the U.S. government has put most of our eggs in the vaccine basket, and despite the vaccine always being “one more month away,” we have a long road ahead before a vaccine is safe, effective and, most crucially, widely available. To win the war on COVID-19, we need a multi-pronged public health strategy that includes a national testing plan that utilizes widespread frequent rapid antigen tests to stop the spread of the virus. We need to think strategically and creatively, be bold, and most importantly, not allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good.

Widespread and frequent rapid antigen testing (public health screening to suppress outbreaks) is the best possible tool we have at our disposal today—and we are not using it.
It would significantly reduce the spread of the virus without having to shut down the country again—and if we act today, could allow us to see our loved ones, go back to school and work, and travel—all before Christmas.

 

Fda just approved first home test. this is the type of tool we need. saliva tests for under $5 are also being manufactured but must be done by healthcare professional. cheap, fast home tests will be the real ticket

FDA approves first COVID-19 test kit for home use

(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it had approved the first COVID-19 self-testing kit for home use that provides results within 30 minutes.

The single-use test, made by Lucira Health, has been given emergency use authorization for home use with self-collected nasal swab samples in individuals aged 14 and older who are suspected of COVID-19 by their health care provider, the FDA said.

 

Some of us have been screaming about this for months now.

We must go on the offense with testing. It's too late for reactionary whack a mole testing. 2 million tests a day isn't enough by orders of magnitude.

 

Danish Study Questions Use of Masks to Protect Wearers

Danish study finally posted. Masks didn't help much at all in their study.

 

Masks. Aren't. For. The. Wear. Er.

 

What? If masks don't help you from getting Covid, what makes you think a mask will help you not spread it? That doesn't make sense.

 

When the virus arrives at someone's face, it is very small. The cloth masks people are wearing to protect the people around them are insufficient to stop the virus from entering.

When the virus leaves someone's face, it is much larger because it is attached to a water droplet. The cloth masks people are wearing to protect the people around them are sufficient to stop a large portion of the water droplets leaving their mouth and nose.