Coronavirus

[Swerd]

As far as I can tell, the source of this was Trump's comparison of COVID-19 to the flu back in February as a way to minimize COVID-19. For the believers he is infallible, so this position must be maintained.

Back in February, when Trump compared COVID-19 to the flu, I thought he had heard that bit of misinformation while watching Faux News.

Of course, I might have it backwards. The echo chamber between Faux News – Trump's Tweets has been going on for so long, that it's difficult to know where ideas misinformation originated.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Back in February, when Trump compared COVID-19 to the flu, I thought he had heard that bit of misinformation while watching Faux News.

Of course, I might have it backwards. The echo chamber between Faux News – Trump's Tweets has been going on for so long, that it's difficult to know where ideas misinformation originated.

I doubt that it is so difficult to know. Trump is not an original thinker on anything. Since he watches and talks to Faux nut jobs, that is where it originates.

 

[Mr._Clark]

Back in February, when Trump compared COVID-19 to the flu, I thought he had heard that bit of misinformation while watching Faux News.

Of course, I might have it backwards. The echo chamber between Faux News – Trump's Tweets has been going on for so long, that it's difficult to know where ideas misinformation originated.

I did find a report by the BBC quoting Trump:

>>>"A lot of people were saying think of it as the flu, but it's not the flu," he said. "It's vicious." . . . He spoke of checking in on a friend who was in the hospital with the virus - "a little older, and he's heavy, but he's tough person" - only to find out he was now in a coma. "I spoke to some of my friends, and they can't believe what they're seeing," he said.<<<

As pointed out by the BBC, this is directly contrary to statements Trump made about a week before. I guess even a blind nut finds a squirrel once in a while (or something like that).

Coronavirus: Trump changes tack on coronavirus crisis

The US president warns of a "very painful two weeks" ahead, as the seriousness of the crisis hits home.

www.bbc.com

 

[Irvrobinson]

CDC documents say states should prepare to distribute Covid-19 vaccines as soon as late October

States should be ready to distribute a Covid-19 vaccine as soon as late October, the CDC says in guidance sent to state and city officials.

www.cnn.com

Almost sounds too good to be true...

 

[Swerd]

CDC documents say states should prepare to distribute Covid-19 vaccines as soon as late October

States should be ready to distribute a Covid-19 vaccine as soon as late October, the CDC says in guidance sent to state and city officials.

www.cnn.com

Almost sounds too good to be true...

Late October… how cleverly timed.

One can only hope they don't plan on distributing the vaccine with the US Postal Service.

 

[TLS Guy]

CDC documents say states should prepare to distribute Covid-19 vaccines as soon as late October

States should be ready to distribute a Covid-19 vaccine as soon as late October, the CDC says in guidance sent to state and city officials.

www.cnn.com

Almost sounds too good to be true...

Yes, I first heard about this from Dr Joan Connell the ND field officer for the State Health department. They just got notified today to be prepared to be ready to vaccinate people November 1. This has thrown them into a tizzy. They have been told that they have to be prepared to receive vaccine and keep it at -80 C. This is probably not feasible in ND. Apparently they have to line up 100 subjects, as each batch has 100 doses, and then inject those hundred people promptly.

This is going to take much more planning than this. All this while the Republican Governor is going increasingly rogue. He has now fired three State Health officers in the last six months or so. Now he has appointed a lawyer as state health officer. They seem to enamored with that new lunatic neuro radiologist they have appointed to the White House task force, who is pushing for herd immunity as rapidly as possible. The governor is opening everything up and discouraging masks. Employers are denying sick time, and apparently people who are infected are not isolating. The cases are running wild, especially in Grand Forks since UND got back. Many hospitals are now full and on diversion. Bismark is almost out of beds. The doctors who spoke today sound at their wits end. I fear salvageable patients are soon to be sent home to die unattended. So we will see what a headlong rush to herd immunity looks like in ND pretty soon.

We now have 46 cases and one death linked to the Sturgis bike rally.

Meanwhile Health Partners here in the Twin Cities have been asked to enroll 1200 patients in a double blind study of the Oxford vaccine. They are particularly interested in subjects over 65 including with risk factors. So I filled in their form to volunteer. I passed the screening criteria, so I will wait and see if I get called.

My biggest fear is another mega Trump screw up with a roll out of a vaccine for political grandstanding. I fear really turbulent times ahead, and a huge number of unnecessary deaths in the next couple of months. If you are near or in a crazy state, be very, very careful.

All this while date gets more and more depressing, especially as regards, long term vascular damage and neurological injury. According to the infectious disease expert talking today, the Covid-19 virus can directly infect neuronal and glial cells in the brain with lasting injury. For some reason neurological injury has been a prominent feature of cases in ND. This trend continues. The more we know about this virus the more dangerous it seems.

My advice is to be very cautious and keep out of harms way, until you are vaccinated. You need to do everything you can to avoid catching this virus,

 

[Alex2507]

You need to do everything you can to avoid catching this virus,

To be clear, these are less than ideal conditions to be repeatedly pitching a threesome to your new, clearly hetero g/f?

I actually know somebody that needs to read this. This planet has no hope.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Yes, I first heard about this from Dr Joan Connell the ND field officer for the State Health department. They just got notified today to be prepared to be ready to vaccinate people November 1. This has thrown them into a tizzy. They have been told that they have to be prepared to receive vaccine and keep it at -80 C. This is probably not feasible in ND. Apparently they have to line up 100 subjects, as each batch has 100 doses, and then inject those hundred people promptly.

Why isn't this feasible? If FedEx can build freezer farms, why can't ND put a solution together? I do wonder, however, if a freezer supply issue is quickly developing.

Ultra Low Temperature Freezers | -40°C & -86°C

Ultra Low Temp Freezers, or ULT Freezers, help laboratory & medical facilities achieve stable cold storage temperatures of -40°C down to -86°C.

www.labrepco.com

This is going to take much more planning than this. All this while the Republican Governor is going increasingly rogue. He has now fired three State Health officers in the last six months or so. Now he has appointed a lawyer as state health officer. They seem to enamored with that new lunatic neuro radiologist they have appointed to the White House task force, who is pushing for herd immunity as rapidly as possible. The governor is opening everything up and discouraging masks. Employers are denying sick time, and apparently people who are infected are not isolating. The cases are running wild, especially in Grand Forks since UND got back. Many hospitals are now full and on diversion. Bismark is almost out of beds. The doctors who spoke today sound at their wits end. I fear salvageable patients are soon to be sent home to die unattended. So we will see what a headlong rush to herd immunity looks like in ND pretty soon.

We now have 46 cases and one death linked to the Sturgis bike rally.

There's a lot of dumbness going around now; no vaccine for that. Critical thinking takes years to develop. The Sturgis rally was so dumb it's unbelievable. As for government preparedness, I was just trying to think of even one instance of any complicated situation, medical or otherwise, where the federal or state governments were prepared. I couldn't.

Meanwhile Health Partners here in the Twin Cities have been asked to enroll 1200 patients in a double blind study of the Oxford vaccine. They are particularly interested in subjects over 65 including with risk factors. So I filled in their form to volunteer. I passed the screening criteria, so I will wait and see if I get called.

Very laudable.

My biggest fear is another mega Trump screw up with a roll out of a vaccine for political grandstanding. I fear really turbulent times ahead, and a huge number of unnecessary deaths in the next couple of months. If you are near or in a crazy state, be very, very careful.

All this while date gets more and more depressing, especially as regards, long term vascular damage and neurological injury. According to the infectious disease expert talking today, the Covid-19 virus can directly infect neuronal and glial cells in the brain with lasting injury. For some reason neurological injury has been a prominent feature of cases in ND. This trend continues. The more we know about this virus the more dangerous it seems.

My advice is to be very cautious and keep out of harms way, until you are vaccinated. You need to do everything you can to avoid catching this virus,

There are a lot of people in denial about how dangerous the virus is, no doubt. I witness it often in my neighborhood, where people are getting together regularly with friends and family in their homes. No masks. Personally, I think these social gatherings are the primary means in the US (everywhere?) that the virus is spreading.

I'm not changing my behavior even after being vaccinated, not until the new case rate falls to a rarity. I just view the initial vaccination as extra protection until then. No vaccine is perfect, and the virus is too horrible IMO to consider risky behavior.

 

[panteragstk]

I did find a report by the BBC quoting Trump:

>>>"A lot of people were saying think of it as the flu, but it's not the flu," he said. "It's vicious." . . . He spoke of checking in on a friend who was in the hospital with the virus - "a little older, and he's heavy, but he's tough person" - only to find out he was now in a coma. "I spoke to some of my friends, and they can't believe what they're seeing," he said.<<<

As pointed out by the BBC, this is directly contrary to statements Trump made about a week before. I guess even a blind nut finds a squirrel once in a while (or something like that).

Coronavirus: Trump changes tack on coronavirus crisis

The US president warns of a "very painful two weeks" ahead, as the seriousness of the crisis hits home.

www.bbc.com

That's the main issue with him. One day he sounds like a loony tune and the next he seems to get the message. Then he goes back again.

He sadly has no thoughts of his own. He only repeats things he's heard. Too many people are like that now. Just parroting things without thinking about whether or not they're true, or demanding sources.

I found that to be a pretty effective way of getting people to stop their BS. I just ask what they're source is. I never get one, but they at least shut up.

 

[Mr._Clark]

There are a lot of people in denial about how dangerous the virus is, no doubt. I witness it often in my neighborhood, where people are getting together regularly with friends and family in their homes. No masks. Personally, I think these social gatherings are the primary means in the US (everywhere?) that the virus is spreading.

This is anecdotal, but most of the COVID-19 cases I'm aware of involve gatherings of families and friends. Once one person in a household gets it, there's a high probability the others will as well (again this is anecdotal).

Speculating on the psychology of this, it seems to me that people tend to "trust" people they know in the sense that they don't view a friend or family member as being a potential source of infection. I've seen this happen even with people who are generally careful about taking precautions (with fatal results in one instance).

And of course there are the self-styled He Men who wear their denial as a badge of pride. A variation is the "everyone is going to get it eventually anyway" denier.The last one is not quite as crazy, but it involves gambling that a vaccine will not be developed in time to make a difference, which strikes me as a poor choice given the asymmetry of the risk.

 

[Irvrobinson]

To be clear, these are less than ideal conditions to be repeatedly pitching a threesome to your new, clearly hetero g/f?

I actually know somebody that needs to read this. This planet has no hope.

"You're so weird." (If I remember correctly from about 25 years ago, it's a quote of Simba talking to his uncle Scar in "The Lion King". Somehow it seems apropos here.)

 

[Alex2507]

This is anecdotal, but most of the COVID-19 cases I'm aware of involve gatherings of families and friends. Once one person in a household gets it, there's a high probability the others will as well (again this is anecdotal).

I know a lady who got it from work and did not infect her husband. They were careful and had a 2 story house with a finished basement in which to isolate from each other.

 

[Swerd]

Why isn't this feasible? If FedEx can build freezer farms, why can't ND put a solution together? I do wonder, however, if a freezer supply issue is quickly developing.

When TLS Guy said this:

Yes, I first heard about this from Dr Joan Connell the ND field officer for the State Health department. They just got notified today to be prepared to be ready to vaccinate people November 1. This has thrown them into a tizzy. They have been told that they have to be prepared to receive vaccine and keep it at -80 C. This is probably not feasible in ND. Apparently they have to line up 100 subjects, as each batch has 100 doses, and then inject those hundred people promptly.

I think he was referring to the fact that the each container has enough vaccine for 100 doses. Once thawed, the vaccine must be used that same day, or discarded. It will be very hard to line up enough people in such a short time frame, and not waste precious vaccine doses. @TLS Guy, is this what you meant?

Once frozen vaccine is thawed, if you refreeze and thaw it again at a later time, you end up with an inactive (dead) vaccine. If injected, it won't immunize the person. I don't know this for certain about the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, but I wouldn't be surprised. Loosing most or all biological activity after repeated freeze/thaw cycles is common with many cells, viruses, bacteria, and enzymes.

 

[Swerd]

To be clear, these are less than ideal conditions to be repeatedly pitching a threesome to your new, clearly hetero g/f?

I actually know somebody that needs to read this. This planet has no hope.

Maybe we now have reason to hope. There were too many people anyway. Didn't Bill Barr Burr say that once in a stand-up comedy routine? "Let's face it, 80% of you are going to have to go."

And we might be better off without all those republicans.

 

[Mr._Clark]

"You're so weird." (If I remember correctly from about 25 years ago, it's a quote of Simba talking to his uncle Scar in "The Lion King". Somehow it seems apropos here.)

Or, as Bill Murray would say "I think we're getting into a weird area here."

 

[Alex2507]

And we might be better off without all those republicans.

There's no shortage of dumb democrats to be hatin' on.
Granted, the other side has center stage at the moment.

 

[Swerd]

Didn't Bill Barr say that once in a stand-up comedy routine? "Let's face it, 80% of you are going to have to go.".

I meant Bill Burr, the stand up comedian, not Bill Barr, the shamefully partisan Attorney General.

 

[Alex2507]

I meant Bill Burr, the stand up comedian, not Bill Barr, the shamefully partisan Attorney General.

I knew who you meant. Good bit about the guy stopped at a light just far enough back to keep you from turning right? There's no reason for him to be here. LOL.

 

[TLS Guy]

When TLS Guy said this:
I think was referring to the fact that the each container of vaccine has enough for 100 doses. Once thawed, the vaccine must be used that same day. It will be very hard to line up enough people in such a short time frame, and not waste precious vaccine doses. @TLS Guy, is this what you meant?

Refreezing a thawed vaccine, and thawing it again at a later time leaves you with an inactive (dead) vaccine. If injected, it won't immunize the person. I don't know this for certain about those vaccines, but loosing most or all biological activity after repeated freeze/thaw cycles is common with many cells, viruses, bacteria, and enzymes.

Yes, that is exactly what I meant. ND is a very rural state with lots of small towns. I have heard ND described a medium sized city with very long streets. (350 miles).

So yes, a vaccine like those mRNA vaccines which look as if they will be rolled out first will present huge logistical problems. If you extrapolate that to a Canadian Province like Manitoba the problem is totally untenable. Manitoba has a population of 1 million roughly, with half living in Winnipeg. Yet the province is over 1000 miles long. Winnipeg to Port Churchill is exactly 1000 miles and that is only the south end of Hudson Bay. Paved roads go as far as Thompson which is only half way.

Many towns in these rural areas including Minnesota have less than 100 residents. Montana and Wyoming and SD will present very big challenges. Unlike ND they never had a medical school and medical services are sparse to non existent over huge tracts of those states.

 

[Swerd]

ND is a very rural state with lots of small towns. I have heard ND described a medium sized city with very long streets. (350 miles).

Maybe the North Dakota State Health Dept. can enlist motorcycle dudes from the Sturgis meet who own motorcycles with side cars. They could deliver frozen vaccine packed with dry ice, Pony Express style, all over the state.

Well… they could deliver the vaccine plus the live corona virus that they're infected with.

The State Health Dept. must also emphasize to the riders that they must not keep beer cans in the insulated boxes with the frozen vaccine and dry ice. That may slow down the deliveries, as the riders will have to make more frequent stops for beer.

OK, this idea needs some work. Were there any tea-totaling motorcyclists who were not infected at Sturgis?