S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
On a day when this pandemic is expected to claim nearly 2,000 american lives, Trump tweets this. He is bragging about his ratings (as president in a press briefing in a national crisis), and trashing the wall street journal when they suggest that he either make his daily press briefings useful instead of turning them into campaign rallies or just stop doing them. The wall street journal, hardly a bastion of liberal agitprop, and a paper that has carried water for Trump for way too long. The sheer level of stupidity, vanity, spitefulness, and tone-deaf obliviousness of this tweet is just gob-smacking.
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
Unstable as in mutating?
Yes, as in mutating. Most viruses are known to have little or no error correction for their genome replication apparatus, creating rapidly occurring mutations.

I'm not sure SARS-CoV-2 can be called an unstable or rapidly mutating virus. Others have said corona-type viruses do have some rudimentary replication error correction abilities not possessed by other viruses. Therefore, it is hoped that SARS-CoV-2 might have slower antigenic drift, and as a result, might be neutralized by a vaccine that requires fewer revisions over time.

A problem I've seen with many news reports is that many reporters do not clearly understand the medicine or science involved in the story. It is the rare newspaper or agency that has editors who understand this. Each story can make mistakes, false conclusions, or simply make no sense to me.

This link to a Daily Mail news article seemed to do better at describing what was found in Iceland.
  • Thousands of people in Iceland gave swabs to test for COVID-19
  • Researchers sequenced the genome of the virus to look for mutations
  • They found 40 which could be traced to three different countries - Austria, Italy and England. Seven people went to a football match in England
  • Genetic sequencing allows scientists to trace where the virus has traveled
 
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panteragstk

panteragstk

Audioholic Warlord
Thats sad. The US death rate has surpassed the "known" Canadian infection rate as of today. Our medical leaders suggests that by the time the pandemic wave has passed, we will see up to 20K plus deaths as well.

Has anyone heard about are Mexican friends?
Got worse today.

Screenshot_20200409-211405.png
 
GO-NAD!

GO-NAD!

Audioholic Spartan
I understand that governments are in a difficult position when it comes to deciding which measures to implement and when, but it has become quite apparent that most western countries have been far too slow to take the appropriate actions. There's been far too much stock placed in the WHO's recommendations, when there should have been a stronger "trust, but verify" attitude.

When the WHO said border controls and travel bans don't work, my gut feeling was to ask, "Well, why don't they?". But, like many of us, I convinced myself that they must know what they're talking about. What did we get a few weeks later? Border controls and travel bans.

Then, it was the possibility of asymptomatic transmission and face masks practice - both downplayed at first, now recommended. Everything seemed to be a couple of weeks, or more, behind the curve.

 
D

Danzilla31

Audioholic Spartan
I understand that governments are in a difficult position when it comes to deciding which measures to implement and when, but it has become quite apparent that most western countries have been far too slow to take the appropriate actions. There's been far too much stock placed in the WHO's recommendations, when there should have been a stronger "trust, but verify" attitude.

When the WHO said border controls and travel bans don't work, my gut feeling was to ask, "Well, why don't they?". But, like many of us, I convinced myself that they must know what they're talking about. What did we get a few weeks later? Border controls and travel bans.

Then, it was the possibility of asymptomatic transmission and face masks practice - both downplayed at first, now recommended. Everything seemed to be a couple of weeks, or more, behind the curve.

One of those situations where maybe ironically overreacting would be better then underreacting in that specific situation or as the saying goes Id rather be safe then sorry.
 
killbill13

killbill13

Full Audioholic
Whats the conclusion about wearing a surgical mask for us the citizents?
is it good or not? Because many say dont wear at all.
 
Verdinut

Verdinut

Audioholic Spartan
Whats the conclusion about wearing a surgical mask for us the citizents?
is it good or not? Because many say dont wear at all.
Most any mask even home made is good, not to protect you, but to protect others in case you were asymptomatic and still carried the virus.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
Whats the conclusion about wearing a surgical mask for us the citizents?
is it good or not? Because many say dont wear at all.
My understanding is that the virus can be carried in a droplet or in an aerosol form.
The droplet is a short term threat because it will fall to the ground fairly quickly. The aerosol format is what can hang in the air for hours.
Generally any reasonably fine weave fabric will catch the droplet (say someone sneezes next to you), but the dry aerosol format is likely to be inhaled through a simple surgical mask.
Anything is better than nothing, but a surgical mask would be a poor choice for walking into a Covid-19 treatment center!
 
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highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
Because we are too squeamish to butcher our own food. We want it preprocessed and pre-packaged.

That said: your grocery store doesn't have a tank for live lobsters?

Perhaps their market is just more comprehensive than ours.
I don't think they would sell as many lobsters or shrimp if more people knew they're closely related to insects. The shellfish are closely related, not the people. Well, not most people.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
It was public knowledge by December, when Tiwan began its response.

This (a pandemic, particularly a respiratory one based on influenza or corona) was also cited by the Obama transition team as one of their biggest fears.
If the Obama admin feared that, they should have replenished the stockpiles but I guess he left it for the next guy.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Can't find the link right now, but I had seen 13' as a potential airborne travel distance for the virus.

Most discussion about the DIY face mask recommend Cotton T-shirt type material... anything looser and you aren't helping anybody, much less yourself. (That's the "Guidance," at any rate.)

Coutesy of MythBusters... Sneeze/Cough into your Elbow or Shoulder as this is much more effective at stopping any spray that other options. :)
(I think this is the right episode:)
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
If the Obama admin feared that, they should have replenished the stockpiles but I guess he left it for the next guy.
That's a very disingenuous comment.
Forgive, I'm not wanting to play political arguments, but the truth is a bit different.
Yes, masks did not get adequately restocked... after H1N1 in 2009. However, Congress controls the budget, and the Republican led effort in Congress CUT FUNDING to the stockpile!
Also, those masks have a 5-year shelf life. Proper Rotation and Restocking has to happen Yearly for an effective supply chain.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
That's a very disingenuous comment.
Forgive, I'm not wanting to play political arguments, but the truth is a bit different.
Yes, masks did not get adequately restocked... after H1N1 in 2009. However, Congress controls the budget, and the Republican led effort in Congress CUT FUNDING to the stockpile!
Also, those masks have a 5-year shelf life. Proper Rotation and Restocking has to happen Yearly for an effective supply chain.
I don't give a rat's butt what Trump said, there's more to it than his comments-

 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
I don't give a rat's butt what Trump said, there's more to it than his comments-

;)
Some of that was covered in the link I posted too.
It seems that all congressional republicans from 2010 on, and the current administration, share an equal percentage of the problem.
I am not saying blame does not also apply to the previous administration... but it is not solely their responsibility.
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
;)
Some of that was covered in the link I posted too.
It seems that all congressional republicans from 2010 on, and the current administration, share an equal percentage of the problem.
I am not saying blame does not also apply to the previous administration... but it is not solely their responsibility.
Right. And the current admin had 3 years to get their act together and still trying.
 
killbill13

killbill13

Full Audioholic
Most any mask even home made is good, not to protect you, but to protect others in case you were asymptomatic and still carried the virus.
My understanding is that the virus can be carried in a droplet or in an aerosol form.
The droplet is a short term threat because it will fall to the ground fairly quickly. The aerosol format is what can hang in the air for hours.
Generally any reasonably fine weave fabric will catch the droplet (say someone sneezes next to you), but the dry aerosol format is likely to be inhaled through a simple surgical mask.
Anything is better than nothing, but a surgical mask would be a poor choice for walking into a Covid-19 treatment center!
I cant breath with this thing , the surgical mask. It looks like i am in danger more with this thing, cause of luck of oxygen.
 
JerryLove

JerryLove

Audioholic Samurai
I don't think they would sell as many lobsters or shrimp if more people knew they're closely related to insects. The shellfish are closely related, not the people. Well, not most people.
There's an interesting history there. People didn't used to eat them for exactly that reason (they were compared to insects). Lobster was used to fertilize fields.

Then, during the civil war, one of the staple foods the government managed to create in large quantities was canned lobster. After the war it became popular and, eventually, a delicacy.

Some other foods that were wildly unpopular until some combination of advertising campaigns or cooking methods to take advantage of the available cheap meat include: Chicken wings, bacon, and most BBQ including brisket.

If the Obama admin feared that, they should have replenished the stockpiles but I guess he left it for the next guy.
They tried

After using up the swine flu emergency funds, the Obama administration tried to replenish the stockpile in 2011 by asking Congress to provide $655 million, up from the previous year’s budget of less than $600 million. Responding to swine flu, which the CDC estimated killed more than 12,000 people in the United States over the course of a year, had required the largest deployment in the stockpile’s history, including nearly 20 million pieces of personal protective equipment and more than 85 million N95 masks, according to a 2016 report published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

Congressional Republicans, led by Mitch McConnell in the Senate and House Speaker John Boehner, leveraged the debt ceiling — a limit on the government’s borrowing ability that had to be raised — to insist that the Obama administration accept federal spending curbs.

Without a full committee markup, Rehberg introduced a bill that provided $522.5 million to the stockpile, about 12% less than the previous year and $132 million less than the administration wanted. “Nobody got everything they wanted,” Rehberg said.

The sequestration and strict budget caps ended in 2018 (when there was a Republican in the Whitehorse... strange how the budget stopped being an issue)

During the Trump administration, the White House has consistently proposed cutting the CDC and the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, which took over stockpile management from the CDC. Congress approved more stockpile funding than Trump’s budget requested in every year of his administration, for a combined $1.93 billion instead of $1.77 billion, according to budget documents.

The White House budget request for 2021, delivered in February as officials were already warning about the dangerous new coronavirus, proposed holding the stockpile’s funding flat at $705 million and cutting resources for the office that oversees it.
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
There's an interesting history there. People didn't used to eat them for exactly that reason (they were compared to insects). Lobster was used to fertilize fields.

Then, during the civil war, one of the staple foods the government managed to create in large quantities was canned lobster. After the war it became popular and, eventually, a delicacy.

Some other foods that were wildly unpopular until some combination of advertising campaigns or cooking methods to take advantage of the available cheap meat include: Chicken wings, bacon, and most BBQ including brisket.


They tried

After using up the swine flu emergency funds, the Obama administration tried to replenish the stockpile in 2011 by asking Congress to provide $655 million, up from the previous year’s budget of less than $600 million. Responding to swine flu, which the CDC estimated killed more than 12,000 people in the United States over the course of a year, had required the largest deployment in the stockpile’s history, including nearly 20 million pieces of personal protective equipment and more than 85 million N95 masks, according to a 2016 report published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

Congressional Republicans, led by Mitch McConnell in the Senate and House Speaker John Boehner, leveraged the debt ceiling — a limit on the government’s borrowing ability that had to be raised — to insist that the Obama administration accept federal spending curbs.

Without a full committee markup, Rehberg introduced a bill that provided $522.5 million to the stockpile, about 12% less than the previous year and $132 million less than the administration wanted. “Nobody got everything they wanted,” Rehberg said.

The sequestration and strict budget caps ended in 2018 (when there was a Republican in the Whitehorse... strange how the budget stopped being an issue)

During the Trump administration, the White House has consistently proposed cutting the CDC and the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, which took over stockpile management from the CDC. Congress approved more stockpile funding than Trump’s budget requested in every year of his administration, for a combined $1.93 billion instead of $1.77 billion, according to budget documents.

The White House budget request for 2021, delivered in February as officials were already warning about the dangerous new coronavirus, proposed holding the stockpile’s funding flat at $705 million and cutting resources for the office that oversees it.
Will this finally register with some? Doubt it. :eek:
 

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