Covid-19 discussion and humor thread [Was: CDC says don't touch your face to avoid Covid19...Vets to the rescue!

[Logic]

17 minutes ago, row_33 said:

that’s not a doomsday panic scenario at all....

 

 

 

It’s the epidemiology best guess by the AHA. Not a doomsday scenario, as you say, but a reasonable analysis and projection by experts.

 

If you want to tell yourself everything’s fine and ignore the warnings of experts and trained professionals, knock yourself out. People react differently to fear. Your reaction appears to be denial. That’s your prerogative. For others, heeding the warnings of experts seems a more reasonable course of action.

 

 

[K-9]

So, today the WHO officially declared the CoVID-19 spread as “pandemic.” Is that an “overblown” reaction? Is the media creating fear by reporting that? Is that their goal? Really? Nonsense. 
 

Our biggest vulnerability to this outbreak is the shear amount of cynicism towards those in charge of mitigating its damage and the media responsible for informing us of those efforts. 

[CountDorkula]

6 minutes ago, K-9 said:

So, today the WHO officially declared the CoVID-19 spread as “pandemic.” Is that an “overblown” reaction? Is the media creating fear by reporting that? Is that their goal? Really? Nonsense. 
 

Our biggest vulnerability to this outbreak is the shear amount of cynicism towards those in charge of mitigating its damage and the media responsible for informing us of those efforts. 

 

To be fair people have been skeptical of the media for years. This is no different. No one to blame for themselves for it.

 

unfortunately you cant find an unbiased report on TV depending on what station you watch. 

 

but you are 100% correct vulnerability is those saying this is dumb ill do whatever i want, this is all overblown. and believe that the WHO are only declaring to get larger paychecks, Yes that is the new thing i have heard.

 

I wont overreact, but Im not going to pretend like this isn't a serious situation.

 

 

 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

The water/TP stuff is ridiculous. There's no reason for it. I ESPECIALLY don't understand the bottled water thing. Like...do people think the municipal water systems are going to be shut off for some reason? The toilet paper buy-up is also absurd. 

Hand sanitizer is a great thing to have, but people shouldn't panic and buy 10 cases of the stuff. Over-buying of things like hand sanitizer and surgical masks causes a shortage of those products, such that those that actually NEED them -- like healthcare workers -- can't get them. In short, unnecessary over-buying makes the problem worse.

I won't even pretend to know enough about finance to comment on how the market should or shouldn't react.

For me, it's simple: a global pandemic being a fairly serious thing and the news media being fear-mongerers are not mutually exclusive. COVID-19 IS a serious issue. The American news media generally DO generate their best viewership/clicks numbers by pedaling fear. Just because the news media behaves this way, though, doesn't mean that the problem being reported on isn't serious. As stated above, half a million Americans could die by this. That's serious. What upsets me, though, are the people who completely disregard the seriousness of the virus altogether, just because they dislike the media's coverage of it. In my opinion, it's a defense mechanism for people who are scared but don't want to admit it. It's much easier to get angry at a "media perpetrated hoax" than it is to confront the idea that you or a loved one might contract a serious virus, or that half a million Americans could die.

There's a healthy medium (not a great choice of words in this instance): Take the virus seriously, follow basic and rational suggestions like ample hand washing, social distancing, self-quarantining when sick, avoiding large crowds, and regularly checking for CDC and WHO updates. That doesn't mean one should panic, buy a year's supply of toilet paper and bottled water, and board up their windows and doors and refuse to come out for a year. Me, personally? I went out and bought a good amount of non perishable food items, basic medicines (Advil, cold medicine, etc), and a couple of bottles or hand sanitizer. I did this because I can foresee a possibility of city-wide lockdown where I live, as reported case numbers grow exponentially and those within the city panic. I can also foresee possible infection in my household, because I work at an enormous hotel and regularly come into contact with people from all over the world, with their luggage, and with huge conferences/conventions, so stocking up in anticipation of potential self-quarantine seemed wise. My wife and I continue to evaluate daily the best courses of action to take or not take going forward.

Be smart, be safe, be realistic, but don't panic. And for the love of god, don't pretend that this is just a "made up media hoax". It's not. 

Part of my lack of fear over this comes from the fact that I'm a compulsive handwasher. Have been my whole life. What all these people are now doing out of fear, I've always done. This is my normal. I have no illusions that most people live like filthy savages. :Lol:

[Hapless Bills Fan]

7 hours ago, row_33 said:

instead say, this is what one person says

 

(and it may be inflammatory on purpose)

 

And that we don’t KNOW and cannot predict the future

 

No.

 

I am a scientist.  When I am presenting an article based on science - with facts about what has actually occurred in other countries and the results of virologist and epidemiologist work, ***** no am I gonna say it's what "one person says" as though everybody's opinions are equal.

 

Believe it or don't - I can't control that - but it's the JOB of epidemiologists to predict the future where disease is concerned, and they're very good at it.

 

Read this thread or don't - you control that - but I started it because 

1) I like to laugh at the humorous stuff

2) there's a startling dearth of actual factual information out there - my 87 year old mother who watches News incessantly just told me they really don't know what causes it or what's going on.

 

This thread is not gonna go down a rabbit hole into media bashing or science denying while I'm watching.

 

Science - It Works, ***** as the t-shirt says.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

OK folks, if we want to opine about media and panic situations that's chill.  There's a thread in PPP for that.  Imma snippin'.  You have been advised.

 

This thread for

-Factual information and good analysis based on factual information (as vetted by me, scientist, or any other scientists)

-Reasoned science- based critiques of same - there are some

-Funny stuff

-Questions you may have that I will answer or get answers to the best of my ability

 

You wanna be a science skeptic or denier or dismiss actual epidemiology (used to predict future based on specific well-known time-tested equations which we now have data to apply) or dismiss because the media is undeniably FOS these days, be my guest - but this is probably not yer thread, Sorry

 

[aristocrat]

54k active cases with about 48k mild cases and about 6k serious.  67k have recovered and 4600 deaths.  

[Seasons1992]

39 minutes ago, Joe in Winslow said:

Part of my lack of fear over this comes from the fact that I'm a compulsive handwasher. Have been my whole life. What all these people are now doing out of fear, I've always done. This is my normal. I have no illusions that most people live like filthy savages. :Lol:

 

YES, all of this. I'm exactly the same.

[Jauronimo]

3 minutes ago, Seasons1992 said:

 

YES, all of this. I'm exactly the same.

The handwashers have nothing to worry about.  100% of COVID cases have been linked to people who routinely do not wash their hands.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

50 minutes ago, K-9 said:

So, today the WHO officially declared the CoVID-19 spread as “pandemic.” Is that an “overblown” reaction? Is the media creating fear by reporting that? Is that their goal? Really? Nonsense. 
 

Our biggest vulnerability to this outbreak is the shear amount of cynicism towards those in charge of mitigating its damage and the media responsible for informing us of those efforts. 

 

The Italian health system is overwhelmed in some parts of the country.  Doctors are literally choosing who has a chance to live and who will die because they have run short of ventilators and other needed equipment for most serious cases who need them.

 

The Italian government did not just shut down the entire country because they're over-reacting fear mongers.  They did it because they're desperate to keep their health care system from being overwhelmed and collapsing.

 

The difference between the Wuhan death rate of ~5% and the S Korean death rate of 0.5% is the difference between an overwhelmed health care system and a country taking proactive measures to avert an uncontained outbreak and maintain health care system capacity for those who need it.

[K-9]

1 minute ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

The Italian health system is overwhelmed in some parts of the country.  Doctors are literally choosing who has a chance to live and who will die because they have run short of ventilators and other needed equipment for most serious cases who need them.

 

The Italian government did not just shut down the entire country because they're over-reacting fear mongers.  They did it because they're desperate to keep their health care system from being overwhelmed and collapsing.

 

The difference between the Wuhan death rate of ~5% and the S Korean death rate of 0.5% is the difference between an overwhelmed health care system and a country taking proactive measures to avert an uncontained outbreak and maintain health care system capacity for those who need it.

Our health care system has the potential to be just as overwhelmed if we don’t start adhering to stringent policies as well. We’ve been playing catch up since this thing started it seems; reactive vs. proactive. 
 

Say a prayer for the care givers. 

[row_33]

Just now, K-9 said:

Our health care system has the potential to be just as overwhelmed if we don’t start adhering to stringent policies as well. We’ve been playing catch up since this thing started it seems; reactive vs. proactive. 
 

Say a prayer for the care givers. 

for sure, they severely have to deliver  when on the front line of a serious situation

 

 

[K-9]

6 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

The handwashers have nothing to worry about.  100% of COVID cases have been linked to people who routinely do not wash their hands.

Didn’t Jesus say something about the hand washers in his sermon on the mount? 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

19 hours ago, Joe in Winslow said:

Part of my lack of fear over this comes from the fact that I'm a compulsive handwasher. Have been my whole life. What all these people are now doing out of fear, I've always done. This is my normal. I have no illusions that most people live like filthy savages. :Lol:

 

19 hours ago, Seasons1992 said:

YES, all of this. I'm exactly the same.

 

Hand washing and avoiding touching the face are important - do not want to minimize that.  But being within 2 meters (~6 feet) of someone who is ill and shedding viral particulates (and may not know they are ill because, untested mild disease)  may still get you sick even if you're scrubbing your hands to the point where you could do aseptic ungloved surgery. [SEE UPDATE BELOW}

 

I wish we had better data about how close, how long contact is needed.  There are reports of 40 people in Seattle who attended a party for a few hours, and about half became infected with Covid19 (they were tested by Fred Hutch Institute's experimental project, but DOH confirmed tests when done).  Standing cheek-to-jowl for hours with someone infected (at a parade or jamming into a packed pub as visitors to Dublin do on St Paddy's Day) may well do it.  Standing next to someone for a few minutes in a check-out line may not.  This is an area where data are lacking at this point

 

We do know it's not a virus that will travel long distances and stay airborne for long times as Measles will.

We do know it's not a virus that resists alcohol-based products like Norovirus.

 

[the above italicized came from Missouri Department of Health advice with regard to school closures.  But just-published research says it's bunk: there is now evidence that Covid19 aerosols can linger in the air for hours and live on various surfaces for up to a day.  You don't have to be in close proximity to someone who is present and actively shedding particulates for hours, they may leave an hours-long trail of virus behind them like cheap perfume.

 

Still killed by alcohol and standard disinfectants.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.09.20033217v1.full.pdf?fbclid=IwAR13hLFn38qUlbDRiNK5QnuMz-V8hzlNmzJz_kTO0O0Z82T5rDLBJUAu4FU

 

[Jauronimo]

Just now, K-9 said:

Didn’t Jesus say something about the hand washers in his sermon on the mount? 

Blessed are the hand washers for they shall inherit the post-Covid19 earth.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

6 hours ago, Halloween Land said:

It seems that this virus isn't affecting really young kids ages 0-9? Why is that? 

 

This is a fantastic question - really good question.  The bottom line is we don't know, and figuring out that reason may be very important to treatment and prevention.

 

Here's what we do know: in countries where widespread testing of all contacts has been adopted, it appears that kids age 0-9 are being infected at a similar rate to adults.  They weren't showing up as infected when testing only people with symptoms of fever/difficulty breathing or just fever, because kids simply weren't developing the symptoms. (kids may not be spreading the disease, or spreading it as efficiently, either - data less clear on that)

 

This is radically different than Influenza, which has a "U-shaped" death curve where young kids and the elderly have disproportionate death rates and young adults do best.  This has also been seen before with other nasty coronaviri (SARS and MERS).  One speculation is that lung damage that accumulates as we age may make us more susceptible.  Frank Esper, pediatric infectious disease specialist, Cleveland Children's Clinic speculated “Something about the receptors in children’s bodies or their lungs is interfering with the virus’ ability to attach itself.”

 

I think parents and grandparents should count blessings on this one, but scientists would love to know why because it might give valuable clues as to how this virus attacks us and how to best interfere/prevent.

Article about this from WaPo:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/03/10/coronavirus-is-mysteriously-sparing-kids-killing-elderly-understanding-why-may-help-defeat-virus/

 

 

 

 

[CountDorkula]

@Hapless Bills Fan Thank you for all of your work and trying to keep everyone informed!

 

It is much appreciated!

[Hapless Bills Fan]

4 minutes ago, CountDorkula said:

@Hapless Bills Fan Thank you for all of your work and trying to keep everyone informed!

 

It is much appreciated!

 

You are welcome. 

 

It's a bit self-serving because there was a thread on Covid19 that the OP decided to delete a bit ago; after it got deleted I was getting a bit of a flurry of PMs asking questions.  So it's easier for me to try to provide info in bulk than respond to a lot of individual PMs (a few no problem)

[aristocrat]

china had over 80k cases and are down to 16k active cases.  we currently have about 1063 active cases with 10 being serious. 

[DrDawkinstein]

2 minutes ago, aristocrat said:

china had over 80k cases and are down to 16k active cases.  we currently have about 1063 active cases with 10 being serious. 

 

How many people have been tested tho?