Hapless Bills Fan Posted March 22, 2020 Author Posted March 22, 2020 15 minutes ago, T&C said: Rand Paul has tested positive for the Coronavirus... https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/rand-paul-1st-senator-report-positive-test-virus-69737811 The senator was on Capitol Hill this past week, including at a luncheon Friday among GOP senators. He spoke on the Senate floor on Wednesday afternoon, addressing the cornonavirus and an amendment he sponsored that would pay for virus relief efforts by withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan. A spokesman for Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said Moran briefly saw Paul at the Senate gym Sunday morning and that he shared that information with GOP colleagues at a policy meeting. Moran “followed CDC guidelines and kept a safe distance between him and Sen. Paul,'' spokesman Tom Brandt said. Moran has spoken with the attending physician at the Capitol and has been told he does not need to self-quarantine, Brandt said. South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the second-ranking Republican senator, said on the Senate floor that lawmakers will consult with the attending physician about all senators who have been in contact with Paul. Apparently he was using the pool in the gym this morning. 1
T&C Posted March 22, 2020 Posted March 22, 2020 8 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/rand-paul-1st-senator-report-positive-test-virus-69737811 The senator was on Capitol Hill this past week, including at a luncheon Friday among GOP senators. He spoke on the Senate floor on Wednesday afternoon, addressing the cornonavirus and an amendment he sponsored that would pay for virus relief efforts by withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan. A spokesman for Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said Moran briefly saw Paul at the Senate gym Sunday morning and that he shared that information with GOP colleagues at a policy meeting. Moran “followed CDC guidelines and kept a safe distance between him and Sen. Paul,'' spokesman Tom Brandt said. Moran has spoken with the attending physician at the Capitol and has been told he does not need to self-quarantine, Brandt said. South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the second-ranking Republican senator, said on the Senate floor that lawmakers will consult with the attending physician about all senators who have been in contact with Paul. Apparently he was using the pool in the gym this morning. Thanks Hap... saw it breaking on my phone but couldn't get the link to go, it was a different one though. Same story however.
Augie Posted March 22, 2020 Posted March 22, 2020 (edited) So....now we know that NBA players and senators can get tested. Using a pool at a gym sounds like very bad social distancing to me, but what do I know? Would that not be the FIRST gym you shut down? Classic case of do as I say, not as I do..... . Edited March 22, 2020 by Augie 2 1 1
Hapless Bills Fan Posted March 22, 2020 Author Posted March 22, 2020 19 minutes ago, Augie said: So....now we know that NBA players and senators can get tested. Yeah, and without having "driven to a hospital and licked a covid-19 patient", too, or even having severe symptoms. 19 minutes ago, Augie said: Using a pool at a gym sounds like very bad social distancing to me, but what do I know? Would that not be the FIRST gym you shut down? Extremely poor social distancing.
Augie Posted March 22, 2020 Posted March 22, 2020 28 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said: Yeah, and without having "driven to a hospital and licked a covid-19 patient", too, or even having severe symptoms. Extremely poor social distancing. I knew it! I was never very good at “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader”, but I was pretty sure about this! Now....if only..... ? Seriously, how was that gym not the first one in the country to close?
John in Jax Posted March 22, 2020 Posted March 22, 2020 1 minute ago, Augie said: Seriously, how was that gym not the first one in the country to close? The story is as old as time for those in power: "Do as I say, not as I do!" 1
Sundancer Posted March 23, 2020 Posted March 23, 2020 (edited) I see Italy had fewer deaths today than yesterday. Before I take comfort in that, I wonder if they changed their counting to resemble Germany and others and now are starting to disregard deaths of people with Co-morbidities (those who were already dying from something else should not be listed as dead from Covid-19). [Edit: Thanks for the source challenge Hapless...some part of me thought this was a bigger story but you are right taht it's not.] How Italy counts Quote "The way in which we code deaths in our country is very generous in the sense that all the people who die in hospitals with the coronavirus are deemed to be dying of the coronavirus... “On re-evaluation by the National Institute of Health, only 12 per cent of death certificates have shown a direct causality from coronavirus, while 88 per cent of patients who have died have at least one pre-morbidity - many had two or three,” he says. Then there's Germany's way. Quote "On the other hand, Germany could also be failing to identify some deaths caused by the coronavirus. This is because German hospitals typically don’t perform postmortem tests, like Italy now does. Some people who died of the disease after being hospitalized for a different condition, such as cancer, may not appear in German statistics." It's subtle but real. I found another article criticizing Italy about this but now can't find it. In any event, there is some sourcing on how they count deaths. Edited March 23, 2020 by Sundancer
Steptide Posted March 23, 2020 Posted March 23, 2020 28 minutes ago, Sundancer said: I see Italy had fewer deaths today than yesterday. Before I take comfort in that, I wonder if they changed their counting to resemble Germany and others and now are starting to disregard deaths of people with Co-morbidities (those who were already dying from something else should not be listed as dead from Covid-19). Didn't they have like 650 deaths today? That's less than yesterday? Sorry I can't even keep it all straight
Augie Posted March 23, 2020 Posted March 23, 2020 (edited) Well, we have the first confirmed case in our extended family. A young guy (turns 30 today, actually) in Tampa. Otherwise healthy, but with a fever. Still not sure how he even got tested. Said he’s got a fever, but feels fine and is staying confined. Our 6 year old grandson in Nashville had a 102.5 fever and cough recently. Never got tested, but thank God he’s doing fine now. Could have been “normal stuff”, and we’ll probably never know. Soon I think we’ll all know people who have fought this battle. . Edited March 23, 2020 by Augie 2
Wacka Posted March 23, 2020 Posted March 23, 2020 21 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said: They lost her husband's sample and claimed he'd never been tested, then that it was no longer viable and he needed to be retested (they're testing for viral RNA, viral viability may not matter - though I lack info on that point for coronavirus. @Wacka? @BillsFanNC?). I don't know. I do know that RNA is a lot more fragile than DNA. RNAses are everywhere. I did maybe 1 or 2 Northern blots (RNA for the layman) in my life and you had to be very meticulous in handling them. info for layman: Southern (named after the scientist that developed it) blots are DNA run in a gel to sort by size, blotted onto a membrane and then probed with a radioactive fragment. Northerns are the same with RNA and Westerns are with proteins.
BillsFan4 Posted March 23, 2020 Posted March 23, 2020 Been waiting to start hearing stories like this. I fear we will hear many more. I wonder if he flew home?
Hapless Bills Fan Posted March 23, 2020 Author Posted March 23, 2020 1 hour ago, Sundancer said: I see Italy had fewer deaths today than yesterday. Before I take comfort in that, I wonder if they changed their counting to resemble Germany and others and now are starting to disregard deaths of people with Co-morbidities (those who were already dying from something else should not be listed as dead from Covid-19). Can you kindly source the statement about Germany disregarding covid-19 deaths with comorbidities? Otherwise it should be deleted as unsubstantiated. I did a quick Duckduckgo and a quick Google search and could not find info on this point. Thanks. 4 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: Been waiting to start hearing stories like this. I fear we will hear many more. I wonder if he flew home? Yes. Yes we will. 1
BillsFan4 Posted March 23, 2020 Posted March 23, 2020 (edited) 47 minutes ago, Steptide said: Didn't they have like 650 deaths today? That's less than yesterday? Sorry I can't even keep it all straight They’ve been around 750 a day for the last few days iirc. It was at 350 a day like a week ago or less, then quickly started doubling. You're right though its tough to keep it all straight. Things are changing so quickly every day. New York State is now up to over 15,000 confirmed cases. We were at 7,000 2-3 days ago and like 400 a week ago Edited March 23, 2020 by BillsFan4
Hapless Bills Fan Posted March 23, 2020 Author Posted March 23, 2020 This is arguably facts and information, but I feel folks may want to discuss: https://www.businessinsider.com/countries-tracking-citizens-phones-coronavirus-2020-3 2 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: They’ve been around 750 a day for the last few days iirc. It was at 350 a day like a week ago or less, then quickly started doubling. You're right though its tough to keep it all straight. Things are changing so quickly every day. New York State is now up to over 15,000 confirmed cases. We were at 7,000 2-3 days ago and like 400 a week ago The modeled doubling time for the virus with the reproduction rate calculated from other countries is about 5 days (4-6). We are seeing a faster pace right now that is likely due to increased testing vs. increased infections (eg the infections are already out there, we're just finding more of them by testing) 1
K-9 Posted March 23, 2020 Posted March 23, 2020 17 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: Been waiting to start hearing stories like this. I fear we will hear many more. I wonder if he flew home? Mindless, stupid, selfish idiots. I say stupid because it’s not as if they didn’t know better. Willful ignorance at best. 1
Cripple Creek Posted March 23, 2020 Posted March 23, 2020 Ohio Pharmacy board restricts restricts prescriptions due to run on chloroquine & hydroxychloroquine. https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200321/ohio-pharmacy-board-restricts-prescriptions-for-experimental-coronavirus-treatment-drugs
Augie Posted March 23, 2020 Posted March 23, 2020 31 minutes ago, K-9 said: Mindless, stupid, selfish idiots. I say stupid because it’s not as if they didn’t know better. Willful ignorance at best. I hope and pray I would have made a better decision back in my day. I’m pretty sure my parents would not have allowed me to be so stupid. We’ll never know, so I’ll try not to judge, but everyone will have to live with the consequences of what happened there. Florida conveniently waited until after the spring break money was collected by bars, hotels (and the state in taxes) before closing the beaches. There’s a LOT of blame to be spread around here. 2
Hapless Bills Fan Posted March 23, 2020 Author Posted March 23, 2020 1 hour ago, Cripple Creek said: Ohio Pharmacy board restricts restricts prescriptions due to run on chloroquine & hydroxychloroquine. https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200321/ohio-pharmacy-board-restricts-prescriptions-for-experimental-coronavirus-treatment-drugs https://www.propublica.org/article/lupus-patients-cant-get-crucial-medication-after-president-trump-pushes-unproven-coronavirus-treatment "Trump’s unproven claim that hydroxychloroquine could be used to treat COVID-19 has led to hoarding, putting Lupus patients and others at even greater risk." The drug Plaquenil keeps Anna Valdez’s lupus in check. Late last week, as she sheltered in place at her home outside Santa Rosa, California, Valdez called her local pharmacy and ordered a refill to treat her autoimmune disorder, thinking a 90-day supply would help her ride out the coronavirus outbreak. But the pharmacy told her it had only 10 pills left. Valdez called other pharmacies. They, too, had run out. Valdez and lupus patients around the country have learned in recent days that an extraordinary force has upended the supply chain they all rely on: President Donald Trump. These days, Plaquenil is better known by its generic name, hydroxychloroquine. It is the medication Trump has been hyping as a potential treatment for the novel coronavirus, even though it is not approved for this use and there is scant medical evidence so far that it works to treat the virus. Lupus afflicts about 1.5 million Americans, and women and African Americans are disproportionately affected. The immune system of a lupus patient attacks its own tissues, causing inflammation and tissue damage in an array of organs, from the joints to the kidneys and lungs. Many lupus patients use Plaquenil to combat these effects. -------------------------------- To recap from the other thread -chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine (the form available in US) are widely-used antimalarials -anti-viral activity IN THE LAB has been observed against several viruses, including HIV, MERS, SARS, and covid-19 -when tested in clinical trials for those viruses, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have NOT proven to be effective clinical therapies -there are all sorts of reasons why a drug that works in virus-infected cells in the lab might not work for virus-infected patients -China has reported success in a clinical trial but have not released the data, so it is not yet known how rigorous or large it was -chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have a very narrow range between a high enough dose to cure, but a low enough dose to avoid toxicity - like heart arrhythmias (you drop dead) and other side effects (eye and kidney problems). -It is not a good drug to gobble on your own just for grins, without careful medical supervision by a Doctor! If you know someone who is hording hydroxychloroquine, please ask them to stop. They are literally putting Lupus patients lives at risk. 2
Bad Things Posted March 23, 2020 Posted March 23, 2020 The NZ Prime Minister came on the air earlier and announced that we will be going into "Stage 4" (lockdown) in 48 hours. She said Stage 4 will last at least 4 weeks. Yikes! So, what sort of productive endeavors should I pursue for the next month?
Recommended Posts