Posts from Rice in thread „Corona virus“

Some challenges to think about before a vaccine is found and ready for distribution, per the New York Times today:

“Many things will have to work out to end the coronavirus pandemic. Drug companies will have to develop a safe and effective vaccine. Billions of people will have to consent to vaccination.

But there are more prosaic challenges, too. Among them: Companies may have to transport tiny glass vials thousands of miles while keeping them as cold as the South Pole in the depths of winter.

A number of the leading Covid-19 vaccinesunder development will need to be kept at temperatures as low as minus 80 degrees Celsius (minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit) from the moment they are bottled to the time they are ready to be injected into patients’ arms.

That will not be easy. Vaccines may be manufactured on one continent and shipped to another. They will go from logistics hub to logistics hub before ending up at the hospitals and other facilities that will administer them.“

Let’s hope!

I agree with that, daniel . We will certainly be looking for those answers - - if we live through this.

Quote from Splinter

The Chines virologist has had her Twitter account suspended:

Dr. Yan and her colleagues appear affiliated with the Rule of Law Society, a group founded by Steve Bannon, the former advisor to President Donald Trump.

https://www.newsweek.com/twitt…ronavirus-covid19-1532193

She has defected to the US, apparently.

The Newsweek article rather thoroughly refuted this woman’s claims. But of course the original Carlson interview will remain out there, spreading a debunked Rule of Law Society associate‘s claim.

One reason people continue to be confused about facts vs “fake news” is that tv personalities, in search of the sensational, give air time to people like Dr Yan without researching the source, as you just did, Splinter .

Quote from Mckenna

Nothing coming from or out of argentina is safe or trustworthy

Actually, @Mckenna , I’m thinking of vaccines going INTO Argentina. Which, if any, countries should be trusted?

Russia and China have already started vaccinating their people against the coronavirus, even though rigorous trials haven’t been done. Even in the US, strong pressure is being exerted on pharmaceutical companies to rush a vaccine before stage 3 trials are done.

Argentina possibly will be buying vaccine from one of these countries. When these vaccines become available, will you feel safe being vaccinated?

From Dictionary.com:

“We’re halfway into 2020, and the coronavirus pandemic continues to expand our vocabularies.

It feels like years (not months) ago that we learned our first COVID-19 terms, like social distancing and flatten the curve. We had to process so much, in so little time; we had to become experts about important differences: epidemic vs. pandemic, quarantine vs. isolation, and respirator vs. ventilators. The conversation continues with contagious vs. infectious and what antibodies do. Here we are, in the summer of our sequestration, and the new words and concepts keep coming.

“New vocabulary has, to be sure, helped us stay safe and informed during these scary times. But in times of challenge, we need relief, too. And what better way than some wordplay to bring some welcome humor, and humility, to cope with COVID-19 and quarantines.

“Here’s our ongoing roundup of some of the new slang terms born of this unique, unprecedented time in modern life—a time of upheaval that some more jokingly call the coronapocalypse(corona apocalypse) or coronageddon (corona armageddon).“

All of which brings us back to quarantinis, right?

🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸

This is unwelcome news, but it looks like some of the evolving science that could keep us safe: Two meters may not even approach the distance we should be keeping.

https://www.sciencenews.org/ar…be-enough-social-distance

And for pity’s sake, stay away from the opera. And choir practice. And people who shout.

How to write an email during a pandemic.

(Hint: lose the opener “I hope this finds you well.”)

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/0…17777ac551a264ffa642c8bd4

The video definitely has a slant, but it is probably largely true.

Today’s NYT reports this:

“Across the United States, at least 200,000 more people have died than usual since March, according to a New York Times analysis of estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is about 60,000 higher than the number of deaths that have been directly linked to the coronavirus.

As the pandemic has moved south and west from its epicenter in New York City, so have the unusual patterns in deaths from all causes. That suggests that the official death counts may be substantially underestimating the overall effects of the virus, as people die from the virus as well as by other causes linked to the pandemic.

When the coronavirus first took hold in the United States in March, the bulk of deaths above normal levels, or “excess deaths,” were in the Northeast, as New York and New Jersey saw huge surges.

The Northeast still makes up nearly half of all excess deaths in the country, though numbers in the region have drastically declined since the peak in April.

But as the number of hot spots expanded, so has the number of excess deaths across other parts of the country. Many of the recent coronavirus cases and deaths in the South and the West may have been driven largely by reopenings and relaxed social distancing restrictions.

Counting deaths takes time and many states are weeks or months behind in reporting. The estimates from the C.D.C. are adjusted based on how mortality data has lagged in previous years. Even with this adjustment, it’s possible there could be an underestimate of the complete death toll if increased mortality is causing states to lag more than they have in the past or if states have changed their reporting systems.

But comparing recent totals of deaths from all causes can provide a more complete picture of the pandemic’s impact than tracking only deaths of people with confirmed diagnoses.“

https://www.nytimes.com/intera…erringSource=articleShare

Whatever a person’s underlying conditions, no one would choose to catch this virus that pushes people over the line.

Without being slapped in the head with Covid, surely it is better to live with our pre-existing problems than to be hit with Covid-19 and die?

I understand your POV better now, UK Man . Thank you for sharing. I’m so sorry your Mom died so young, and I think I see why you feel the way you do.

Good point, daniel .

You are exactly on the money, GlasgowJohn . Because the coronavirus attacks the lungs, pneumonia often follows.

Lockdowns were instated because of the highly infectious nature of the coronavirus, rather than its mortality rate. But yes, these statistics will fuel the virus deniers’ arguments.

There can be better times ahead only - ONLY - if the people who continue to say the virus is a hoax will wake up and shout the truth to the skies.

daniel , I thought of your family gathering when I read about this man, formerly a virus denier. In his words, "I began prognosticating the alphabet soup about this 'scamdemic.' I believed the virus to be a hoax. I believed the mainstream media and the Democrats were using it to create panic, crash the economy and destroy Trump’s chances at re-election."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/w….com/news/amp/ncna1234980

I didn’t want to post this until I knew you’d decided to postpone your small family gathering, which is exactly what this family had, in their case, to celebrate a new baby.

I’m so glad, daniel . We all want you to stay well.

Progress! I’m so glad to hear that, daniel. Please stay well. What was the outcome of your family’s plans to get together for the memorial gathering?