Conoravirus ...

[Benno von Humpback]

Phooey. I was wrong. It was our congressman's office calling her back. They were of no help.

[kimbottles]

Phooey. I was wrong. It was our congressman's office calling her back. They were of no help.

RATS!

[Tim Ford]

Phooey. I was wrong. It was our congressman's office calling her back. They were of no help.

Ugh...I thought people from the Federal Gov't were here to help us....

[Benno von Humpback]

Phooey. I was wrong. It was our congressman's office calling her back. They were of no help.

Ugh...I thought people from the Federal Gov't were here to help us....

This was outside their sphere of influence.

I've actually gotten them to fix two things, but they were federal things: Unreliable mail delivery and my daughter's too slow FBI investigation for a foreign visa. Executive agencies, mine at least, go nuts over congressional inquiries. If you want to give your boss's boss's boss instant diarrhea, just say you got a call from a congressperson.

[Slick470]

or the GAO...

it's also fun to hear someone answer a telemarketer call.. state the agency name, and then ask how can she help them...

[Benno von Humpback]

or the GAO...

it's also fun to hear someone answer a telemarketer call.. state the agency name, and then ask how can she help them...

I don't answer my office phone at all since they started spoofing internal agency numbers.

[Tim Ford]

Just ordered the Fauci and Birx bobbleheads. I pity the fool who doesn't take advantage of this one-time opportunity to own a piece of bobblehead history (plus think of what they'll be worth on eBay in 20 years...maybe 26 dollars?)

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing ... obbleheads

[Ajax]

Some bar in DC got in a shipment of these plastic wine pouches. Essentially Capri-Sun for adults.
The bar slapped labels on them with Fauci's likeness and sells them as "Fauchi Pouchis."

The guy should sue for royalties because I know the gov't isn't paying him enough.

[Benno von Humpback]

Some bar in DC got in a shipment of these plastic wine pouches. Essentially Capri-Sun for adults.
The bar slapped labels on them with Fauci's likeness and sells them as "Fauchi Pouchis."

The guy should sue for royalties because I know the gov't isn't paying him enough.

He retired from the PHS at O-8 and makes 350 Gs as an institute director. Still not enough for the abuse he's taking or what he'd make as the dean of a medical school with all the commercial money that comes with that, but not bad for a fed.

[kimbottles]

Some bar in DC got in a shipment of these plastic wine pouches. Essentially Capri-Sun for adults.
The bar slapped labels on them with Fauci's likeness and sells them as "Fauchi Pouchis."

The guy should sue for royalties because I know the gov't isn't paying him enough.

He retired from the PHS at O-8 and makes 350 Gs as an institute director. Still not enough for the abuse he's taking, but not bad for a fed.

He is worth more.

[Benno von Humpback]

Some bar in DC got in a shipment of these plastic wine pouches. Essentially Capri-Sun for adults.
The bar slapped labels on them with Fauci's likeness and sells them as "Fauchi Pouchis."

The guy should sue for royalties because I know the gov't isn't paying him enough.

He retired from the PHS at O-8 and makes 350 Gs as an institute director. Still not enough for the abuse he's taking, but not bad for a fed.

He is worth more.

I'd agree with that.

[Jamie]

I don't know much about other government departments, but I've had a lot of interactions with the state dept, attaches, Fed staff, FDA and such over the years Sure there were the odd jobsworth, but for the most part I found most of them more far more valuable than the pay they pulled.

[JoeP]

Furloughed today until the money starts trickling back in or we get to October 31st. I'll get paid Medical until I go back and can collect unemployment plus the Covid bonus bucks. Suzanne said: "Oh I'm so sorry", and immediately after: "Now you'll have more time to clean out the garage." Since I am so close to retirement it doesn't feel like a big deal. Almost like paid (less) vacation.

[Jamie]

Sorry to hear about everyone's issues. That sucks. I don't think anyone will escape scott free.

[Olaf Hart]

It’s weird the way things pan out, it’s like Sweet Hart and I have been preparing for this thing for most of our lives...

There are more pluses than minuses for us at the moment, the only problems are access to the boat in Queensland and knowing when it will be OK to fly back to Denver.

If Armageddon comes, Tassie is the place to be...

[Charlie]

From the little I’ve read, I think I’d like Tasmania. I’d like to know more about it, and to visit someday.

[BeauV]

I can't watch CNN or Fox or any of the cable channel propaganda organs. Why cable and broadcast networks think it's important to politicize so much of this and sew more division and distrust during this time is beyond my comprehension.

The only thing I can stomach is C-SPAN, which is pretty neutral. Watching an hour on South Dakota's response now. Fascinating! (and very attractive Governor, too)

An old sailing friend who worked for Fox told me that the breakthrough occurred when it dawned on them that the highest viewed sports analysis shows were a blond woman mediating between two red-face screaming guys on opposite sides.

We should do ALL THE NEWS THIS WAY.

They did and made billions. Now, every broadcast is shaped by the simple observation that if there isn’t a fight, argument, and genuine looking hatred.... then they can do better.

It is all unlimited cage fighting as news. Or as housewives of Orange County. Or as Chopped. Even cooking shows are cast as something between a cage fight and a bitch session.

It says a lot about us, the viewers.

[Olaf Hart]

Sir Frank Packer, a media baron in Oz from the fifties to the eighties was quoted explaining his apparent success

“ no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the Australian Public”

This isn’t a new phenomenon, and it comes as no surprise that Murdoch is behind it..

[BeauV]

Finally, there is a credible test for antibodies to COVID-19 of a population in the US.

Stanford tested over 3,000 people from Santa Clara County for antibodies to this coronavirus. They determined that between 2.5% and 4.2% of the population has had COVID-19 as of early April. Source HERE

Santa Clara County has 1,870 "confirmed cases", meaning these are people who have been tested and turned up positive. Source HERE

That is 0.01% of the population. While this means that there are vastly more cases in the population than are shown as "confirmed cases". It also means that with under 4% of the population showing any immunity at all, we are a Long LONG LONG way from achieving any sort of herd immunity.

Until we have drugs that can help or a vaccine, we remain in the mode of using 18th-century medicine and staying locked down.

[LarryHoward]

Finally, there is a credible test for antibodies to COVID-19 of a population in the US.

Stanford tested over 3,000 people from Santa Clara County for antibodies to this coronavirus. They determined that between 2.5% and 4.2% of the population has had COVID-19 as of early April. Source HERE

Santa Clara County has 1,870 "confirmed cases", meaning these are people who have been tested and turned up positive. Source HERE

That is 0.01% of the population. While this means that there are vastly more cases in the population than are shown as "confirmed cases". It also means that with under 4% of the population showing any immunity at all, we are a Long LONG LONG way from achieving any sort of herd immunity.

Until we have drugs that can help or a vaccine, we remain in the mode of using 18th-century medicine and staying locked down.

This would also indicate that the mortality rate of COVID 19 is dramatically lower than currently estimated. Very roughly 1 per 1000 infected. (73 of 81,000 in SC County). That would potentially raise the US annual death rate from all causes from 8.6/1000 (CDC 2017) to 9.6. Not to trivialize that 300k + across a totally infected US population.

Interesting that these data show an order of magnitude greater infected (positive antibody) population than the Iceland data from a couple of weeks ago.

[Chris Chesley]

There is so much that we still don't know. Overall, I think that the Santa Clara study is encouraging as Larry points out that it lowers the mortality rate overall. I think that some questions lurking in my mind are: How sensitive are these tests? How discriminating are they? i.e. could they be actually picking up a similar, but different coronavirus such as a common cold virus or other flu virus? Inquiring minds want to know.

Ultimately, inadequate, incomplete, or erroneous data will have a massive impact on our responses and may cause us to over or under respond with potentially significant impacts on life, economy or both. My gut is that it may not be as major as our current response has indicated. I do understand erring on the side of caution to some degree. It's the unknown/uncertainty aspect that has created the biggest challenge.

[Ajax]

Of those 3,000 how many were asymptomatic? We're slowing herd immunity by socially distancing (not that I'm saying we should abandon that to speed up herd immunity.)

As Benno says, Redemsivir is showing promise in real studies (not White House press briefings). If we have a means of blunting the symptoms of the virus so that it's not so deadly, it means we can reduce the worst of the movement restrictions. The studies indicate that Redemsivir gets people out of the hospital faster, turning coronavirus into a "volume business" like Jiffy Lube...I hope.

[kimbottles]

It’s weird the way things pan out, it’s like Sweet Hart and I have been preparing for this thing for most of our lives...

There are more pluses than minuses for us at the moment, the only problems are access to the boat in Queensland and knowing when it will be OK to fly back to Denver.

If Armageddon comes, Tassie is the place to be...

Please save us a place.

[Chris Chesley]

Of those 3,000 how many were asymptomatic? We're slowing herd immunity by socially distancing (not that I'm saying we should abandon that to speed up herd immunity.)

As Benno says, Redemsivir is showing promise in real studies (not White House press briefings). If we have a means of blunting the symptoms of the virus so that it's not so deadly, it means we can reduce the worst of the movement restrictions. The studies indicate that Redemsivir gets people out of the hospital faster, turning coronavirus into a "volume business" like Jiffy Lube...I hope.

Another question from my enquiring mind: (we may not yet know the answer, but) How does Remdesivir compare to the HydroxyChloroquine/Azithromycin solution. Both speed up the recovery rate and the HC/A works better when administered early. One only costs $20 though.... (yes, some can't take it, but there will be those for whom Remdesivir won't be the best solution. That's a given)

[Benno von Humpback]

Of those 3,000 how many were asymptomatic? We're slowing herd immunity by socially distancing (not that I'm saying we should abandon that to speed up herd immunity.)

As Benno says, Redemsivir is showing promise in real studies (not White House press briefings). If we have a means of blunting the symptoms of the virus so that it's not so deadly, it means we can reduce the worst of the movement restrictions. The studies indicate that Redemsivir gets people out of the hospital faster, turning coronavirus into a "volume business" like Jiffy Lube...I hope.

Another question from my enquiring mind: (we may not yet know the answer, but) How does Remdesivir compare to the HydroxyChloroquine/Azithromycin solution. Both speed up the recovery rate and the HC/A works better when administered early. One only costs $20 though.... (yes, some can't take it, but there will be those for whom Remdesivir won't be the best solution. That's a given)

One would have to run a study comparing them head to head and comparative efficacy is terribly hard to prove statistically, which is why it’s seldom attempted. No one is going to try it here. The evidence is better for remdesivir and it’s certainly safer, but the signal is not very strong at this point. No one in the reputable scientific community is very excited about hydroxychloroquine, mainly because the theory behind it is weak. That said, it’s under study and could work.

[BeauV]

There is a rundown of the early results from doctors using hydroxychloroquine treatment HERE (sorry if it's behind a paywall)

The short summary agrees with Eric's comments - there's no evidence of anything other than a possible placebo effect.

This is probably the reason that doctors have just moved on to other treatments while avoiding all the political backlash they'd have to deal with if they actually said that this does not really freaking work.

[BeauV]

In other news, Japan started to re-start too soon:

Hokkaido declares new state of emergency amid 'second wave' of coronavirus infections

[Tigger]

In other news, Japan started to re-start too soon:

Hokkaido declares new state of emergency amid 'second wave' of coronavirus infections

Slow and steady will win this race.

[BeauV]

Then there is this bad news, which is hopefully an error (Fingers crossed). I keep pointing out to people that we don't really know how strong the immune response is or how durable the immunity is.

In South Korea, A Growing Number Of COVID-19 Patients Test Positive After Recovery

[Benno von Humpback]

There is a rundown of the early results from doctors using hydroxychloroquine treatment HERE (sorry if it's behind a paywall)

The short summary agrees with Eric's comments - there's no evidence of anything other than a possible placebo effect.

This is probably the reason that doctors have just moved on to other treatments while avoiding all the political backlash they'd have to deal with if they actually said that this does not really freaking work.

Insanely, whether you like remdesivir or hydroxychloroquine has become some kind of ridiculous political litmus test.