CR: COVID-19 --Political Talk

[elfenix 34230]

aerosols are solids or droplets suspended in the air but epidemiologically speaking there's been an arbitrary cutoff used historically between the two that may or may not result in consistent use of the two terms as separate or not separate things. 

 

yay

 

[Captainant 27654]

3 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

Go find a server to reboot bro. 

Respiratory droplets and aerosols can be generated by various expiratory activities. Advances in aerosol measurement techniques, such as aerodynamic and scanning mobility particle sizing, have shown that the majority of exhaled aerosols are smaller than 5 μm, and a large fraction are <1 μm for most respiratory activities, including those produced during breathing, talking, and coughing. Exhaled aerosols occur in multiple size modes that are associated with different generation sites and production mechanisms in the respiratory tract. Although 5 μm has been used historically to distinguish aerosols from droplets, the size distinction between aerosols and droplets should be 100 μm, which represents the largest particle size that can remain suspended in still air for more than 5 s from a height of 1.5 m, typically reach a distance of 1 to 2 m from the emitter (depending on the velocity of airflow carrying the aerosols), and can be inhaled. Aerosols produced by an infected individual may contain infectious viruses, and studies have shown that viruses are enriched in small aerosols (<5 μm). The transport of virus-laden aerosols is affected by the physicochemical properties of aerosols themselves and environmental factors, including temperature, relative humidity, ultraviolet radiation, airflow, and ventilation. Once inhaled, virus-laden aerosols can deposit in different parts of the respiratory tract. Larger aerosols tend to be deposited in the upper airway; however, smaller aerosols, although they can also be deposited there, can penetrate deep into the alveolar region of the lungs. The strong effect of ventilation on transmission, the distinct difference between indoor and outdoor transmission, well-documented long-range transmission, the observed transmission of SARS-CoV-2 despite the use of masks and eye protection, the high frequency of indoor superspreading events of SARS-CoV-2, animal experiments, and airflow simulations provide strong and unequivocal evidence for airborne transmission. Fomite transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has been found to be far less efficient, and droplets are only dominant when individuals are within 0.2 m of each other when talking. Although both aerosols and droplets can be produced by infected individuals during expiratory activities, droplets fall quickly to the ground or surfaces within seconds, leaving an enrichment of aerosols over droplets. The airborne pathway likely contributes to the spread of other respiratory viruses whose transmission was previously characterized as droplet driven. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have officially acknowledged the inhalation of virus-laden aerosols as a main transmission mode in spreading COVID-19 at both short and long ranges in 2021.

So what size aerosol is carrying COVID? In the linked study that you haven't read, they measured aerosolized droplets ranging in diameter from .1 μm to 1000 μm, with an average size of 5 μm with their calibrated equipment. So given the empirical data collected, I'm comfortable saying that cloth facemasks work. But sure, something something bothsides, something something intellectually dishonest derail

[Anastasis 23469]

2 minutes ago, Captainant said:

So given the empirical data collected, I'm comfortable saying that cloth facemasks work.

I'd go N95. Droplet coverage is not sufficient in high risk transmission scenarios (large indoor events in setting of delta with high proportion of unvaccinated). 

Droplets are still not aerosols.  No more than ants are uncles.  

[MonkeyDoughnut 10232]

30 minutes ago, Captainant said:

...you do know that aerosols are just droplets suspended in air, right?

But you're right, a single layer cloth mask isn't all that great, but from data in the linked study that literally measured the size and quantity of exhaled droplets/aerosols, a 3 layer cloth mask is within margin of error of being as effective as a surgical mask. 

Turns out the bigger factor than material is how well it seals and conforms to your face.

Seriously, give that study a read to see their methodology and results. It's good science. 

Agreed, just saying the study it is a test on using a basically new mask in lab type conditions, one time.  In schools we got a bunch of kids wearing the same single layer cloth mask all week, not being washed in high temperature water when its cleaned, setting it down multiple times a day for recess, lunch, etc.  The effect on learning for either cloth or medical mask is very clear, is the benefit of cloth masks on transmission prevention in these settings enough to overcome it or should the bar be raised above these type cloth masks now that aerosol transmission is known?

[Celery Man 20934]

Some ants are uncles

[Captainant 27654]

Just now, Anastasis said:

I'd go N95. Droplet coverage is not sufficient in high risk transmission scenarios (large indoor events in setting of delta with high proportion of unvaccinated). 

Droplets are still not aerosols.  No more than ants are uncles.  

Nice dodge to not answer and concede the point.

 

Just now, MonkeyDoughnut said:

Agreed, just saying the study it is a test on using a basically new mask in lab type conditions, one time.  In schools we got a bunch of kids wearing the same single layer cloth mask all week, not being washed in high temperature water when its cleaned, setting it down multiple times a day for recess, lunch, etc.  The effect on learning for either cloth or medical mask is very clear, is the benefit of cloth masks on transmission prevention in these settings enough to overcome it or should the bar be raised above these type cloth masks now that aerosol transmission is known?

Again, aerosol transmission is considering droplets sized 1-5 μm in diameter -thanks annie to your always helpful contribution. The study I linked demonstrated cloth mask efficacy roughly 90-95% as good as n95 during speech. You don't need the fancy stuff, but it's definitely better

[Anastasis 23469]

2 minutes ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

Agreed, just saying the study it is a test on using a basically new mask in lab type conditions, one time.  In schools we got a bunch of kids wearing the same single layer cloth mask all week, not being washed in high temperature water when its cleaned, setting it down multiple times a day for recess, lunch, etc.  The effect on learning for either cloth or medical mask is very clear, is the benefit of cloth masks on transmission prevention in these settings enough to overcome it or should the bar be raised above these type cloth masks now that aerosol transmission is known?

What is actually necessary is schools is not broadly tenable (compartmentalized HEPA filtration). The solution is to bring community transmission under control via vaccination.  

[Anastasis 23469]

Just now, Captainant said:

Nice dodge to not answer and concede the point.

What point are you asking me to concede.  Droplets are not aerosols. 

[Bookman 4639]

6 hours ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

Well, it is winning temporarily.  Ultimately, the virus will take out the stupid, and that will be better for all of us.

Silver lining and all that shit.

I'm pretty sure that people are still having sex and having stupid babies.

[Anastasis 23469]

3 minutes ago, Captainant said:

Again, aerosol transmission is considering droplets sized 1-5 μm in diameter

word salad. 

[MonkeyDoughnut 10232]

15 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

Definitely... we started with being told don't wear them to now be shown we should wear them.

I'm just trying to get some discussion on should we be more clear on "what" we should be wearing.

 

I'll save someone the trouble of a quick witted reply:

[Captainant 27654]

Just now, Anastasis said:

What point are you asking me to concede.  Droplets are not aerosols. 

That you're being contrarian and making a distinction without difference. You helpfully shared that aerosols carrying COVID are 1-5 μm in diameter to discount the study I shared on droplets. The droplets they measured were mostly 1-5 μm in diameter. 

 

[MonkeyDoughnut 10232]

5 minutes ago, Captainant said:

 The study I linked demonstrated cloth mask efficacy roughly 90-95% as good as n95 during speech.

[Anastasis 23469]

2 minutes ago, Captainant said:

That you're being contrarian and making a distinction without difference. You helpfully shared that aerosols carrying COVID are 1-5 μm in diameter to discount the study I shared on droplets. The droplets they measured were mostly 1-5 μm in diameter. 

 

Where did I discount anything other than your understanding of the difference between aerosols and droplets?

[Bookman 4639]

Some days one just has to sit back, think about the Americans who don't believe in vaccinations yet are taking horse paste, and realize these are the same Americans who voted for a failed-businessman to become President of the United States. Yet these are the first to proclaim "American Exceptionalism."

[Captainant 27654]

4 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

Where did I discount anything other than your understanding of the difference between aerosols and droplets?

> Post study showing cloth facemasks are effective in stopping small droplets

> AKSHUALLY COVID is an aerosol, not droplets, so cloth facemasks don't work

> Data collected was for droplets that your definition considers aerosols

You saying that you're not spreading disinformation on the efficacy of facemasks by arguing that cloth facemasks are useless?

Edited August 26, 2021 by Captainant
A word

[Anastasis 23469]

1 minute ago, Captainant said:

> Post study showing cloth facemasks are effective in stopping small droplets

> AKSHUALLY COVID is an aerosol, not droplets, so cloth facemasks don't work

> Data collected was for droplets that your definition considers aerosols

You saying that you're not spreading disinformation on the efficacy of facemasks by arguing that cloth facemasks are useless?

[Captainant 27654]

Just now, Anastasis said:

[Anastasis 23469]

I responded to the text I quoted. I know that you happily live in CR delusion land, and it is hard.  But ants are not uncles. And droplets are not aerosols. 

Edited August 26, 2021 by Anastasis

[ultimaton 2972]

45 minutes ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

 

Surprised we’ve only had two, to be honest. According to the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum, COVID was — by far — the number one killer of police officers in 2020, accounting for 145 of the 264 officers killed in the line of duty. Just for comparison, there was 135 officers killed in total for 2019. Guess the GQP really doesn’t think all blue lives matter that much after all. 

[Chooky 13307]

21 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

Some ants are uncles

[Anastasis 23469]

[cactusflinthead 27598]

26 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

large indoor events in setting of delta with high proportion of unvaccinated). 

Well, there's your problem.

I don't know about you, but I have been trying to avoid large indoor gatherings of unvaccinated idiots. 

[4th&Five 41525]

 

[formermav43 4606]

20 minutes ago, Captainant said:

> Post study showing cloth facemasks are effective in stopping small droplets

> AKSHUALLY COVID is an aerosol, not droplets, so cloth facemasks don't work

> Data collected was for droplets that your definition considers aerosols

You saying that you're not spreading disinformation on the efficacy of facemasks by arguing that cloth facemasks are useless?

He never said that. You’re the one spreading disinformation in this exchange. Anastasis is only guilty of pedantry, but that’s just typical surly.

Edited August 27, 2021 by formermav43

[heso 2791]

4 hours ago, 4th&amp;Five said:

Just give Biden a Sharpie. Problem solved. 

This will forever be my favorite moment of the trump presidency.

A man so insecure and incapable of admitting that he was simply speaking on outdated data (because he was more concerned with golfing), that he thought he’d fool everyone by getting a big printout of the outdated projection to show that he could have been right if he said what he had 4 days earlier but then that wasn’t clear enough that he wasn’t wrong so he drew an extra line in the map with a fucking sharpie. 

[Pods 7552]

JFC, cloth mask is better than no mask. N95's are better than cloth. I wear a valved N95 with a surgical mask over it and have recommended it repeatedly on here.

A lot of lives would have been saved if Trump had used the Defense Production Act to produce N95 masks for everyone and distributed them. Biden should have done the same thing. 

That said, primarily aerosol spread doesn't mean it doesn't spread via droplets as well.

That's Texags level logic. 

Wear the best mask you have access to. 

[Captainant 27654]

9 minutes ago, formermav43 said:

He never said that. You’re the one spreading disinformation in this exchange. Anastasis is only guilty of pedantry, but that’s just typical surly.

So when he's posting in support of monkey, who is arguing that since COVID is spread by aerosols that cloth facemasks don't work, is he not also supporting the argument that cloth facemasks don't work? Annie rarely takes a position outside of 'bortion and the profiteering of the care of sick people, so when he's arguing one side of an issue and not #bothsides as is his signature, I'm gonna assume his stance until he clearly states otherwise.

[Bookman 4639]

4 minutes ago, Pods said:

Wear the best mask you have access to. 

And it's still okay to wear two.

[formermav43 4606]

Just now, Captainant said:

So when he's posting in support of monkey…

That’s not what he did. That’s the point.

[NAVY 6740]

Is this a lot? It seems like a lot 
 

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article253766203.html

[Pods 7552]

1 minute ago, Bookman said:

And it's still okay to wear two.

I wear two every time. The N95 protects me, while the surgical mask filters and breaks up the valve outflow to protect others. It still vents really well and is much more comfortable to wear, while keeping the N95 underneath "clean" for the next use. 

[Beantown Express 2.0 6559]

9 minutes ago, Pods said:

JFC, cloth mask is better than no mask. N95's are better than cloth. I wear a valved N95 with a surgical mask over it and have recommended it repeatedly on here.

A lot of lives would have been saved if Trump had used the Defense Production Act to produce N95 masks for everyone and distributed them. Biden should have done the same thing. 

That said, primarily aerosol spread doesn't mean it doesn't spread via droplets as well.

That's Texags level logic. 

Wear the best mask you have access to. 

In Biden’s defense for not sending out masks, I am guessing he came in and figured, “Thank god.  We finally have a vaccine.  Half this country can’t be dumb enough to not want a vaccine that works”.  Unfortunately, he would have been wrong on that assumption.

[jimmyjazz 45899]

Christ, just look at the Duke study of NC K-12 schools and their infection rates with a mask mandate.  No mask type was specified.  It's pretty easy to assume that the vast majority of kids were wearing the typical cloth mask, MAYBE two-layer with a 5-layer filter insert, as I do.

The results speak for themselves.  Those masks cut transmission by a significant amount.

Perfect is the enemy of good.

[pantone159 719]

16 minutes ago, Pods said:

A lot of lives would have been saved if Trump had used the Defense Production Act to produce N95 masks for everyone and distributed them. Biden should still do have done the same thing. 

Wear the best mask you have access to. 

This, with one correction.

[Anastasis 23469]

2 minutes ago, Pods said:

A lot of lives would have been saved if Trump had used the Defense Production Act to produce N95 masks for everyone and distributed them.  

This very simple, very basic thing, for a supposed germaphobe and he would have won in a landslide election last November. So hangs the balance of the republic, I suppose. 

 

9 minutes ago, Pods said:

JFC, cloth mask is better than no mask. N95's are better than cloth. I wear a valved N95 with a surgical mask over it and have recommended it repeatedly on here.

What is kind of surprising to me at this point is that we don't have any real strong real world US-based evidence in the setting of COVID. The bench work is great and informative, but doesn't really get to the real world effectiveness of cloth vs. N95 vs. no mask vs. filtration etc. in terms of impact on transmission in settings such as schools.  The study designs are relatively well established (cluster randomization, for example) and have been used historically in other settings such as influenza, but we just haven't generated robust data during the pandemic. I am wearing N95s these days in indoor public settings such as HEB and Specs. Cloth if I am running a quick in and out or walking through the patio to a table for dinner. In most outdoor settings such as soccer games or picking up some BBQ from the food truck, no mask. At this point, sliding scale based on risk works for me.  

[Francisco 2.0 32389]

Twitter thread for those who are into that sort of thing.  Whoever had on their Covid Bingo card mixing horse dewormer with jam to spread on toast (and make it more palatable) wins the day.

 

 

 

 

[Francisco 2.0 32389]

Aaaaand a followup NBC News article from the same person:

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/ivermectin-demand-drives-trump-telemedicine-website-rcna1791

 

Quote

When users visit the telemedicine website SpeakWithAnMD.com, they are immediately hit with a warning: “Due to overwhelming demand, we are experiencing longer than usual wait times.”

The demand is for ivermectin, a drug primarily used to deworm animals that has become the latest false cure for Covid-19. And the website, in partnership with the organization America’s Frontline Doctors, whose founder stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, has become well-known in the Facebook groups and Reddit communities where anti-vaccination sentiment thrives. 

 

Quote

In those groups, people trade dosing directions and purchasing advice for ivermectin. 

“Please consider that even if you can get an Rx for IVM, the pharmacy may not fill it for 1-3 days claiming they don’t have it in stock, which is pure bulls---,” a Reddit user wrote in the ivermectin community this month. “HAVE SOME HORSE PASTE ON HAND,” the user added, referring to the tube form that ivermectin meant for horses comes in.

 

Spoiler

Originally introduced as a veterinary drug for livestock animals in the late-1970s, ivermectin quickly proved useful in combating certain human diseases caused by parasites, a discovery that won the Nobel Prize for medicine in 2015. It comes in pills and pastes, in versions meant for humans and for animals. 

Ivermectin has been called a “wonder drug” because of its use in treating parasitic diseases, but it has not shown the same results in studies against viruses. 

The drug was the subject of research into possible use as a Covid-19 treatment — including a promising non-peer-reviewed study that was later determined to be “flawed” and taken down by the website Research Square, which hosts preprints of research papers that have not yet been published in academic journals.

The groups highlight the challenge public health officials and tech companies face in cracking down on Covid-19 misinformation — and the lengths some people will go to embrace fringe and misleading Covid advice. NBC News obtained access to several groups that are dedicated to ivermectin or have recently embraced the drug. Some groups have tens of thousands of members and can easily be found through Facebook’s search feature.

More than a year and a half into the coronavirus pandemic, various drugs have had their moments in anti-vaccination communities and among some conservatives in the U.S. — and ivermectin is not particularly different. But it comes at a time when parts of the country are in another Covid wave, this one fueled by the delta variant of the virus and with a safe and effective option available: the vaccines. 

 

“It’s hard to understand why people would turn down an FDA-approved Covid preventative in favor of a treatment that’s not only unapproved but has a large body of evidence showing it doesn’t work,” said Dr. Nathan Boonstra, a pediatrician at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa, and co-host of the podcast “Voices for Vaccines.” “But antivax groups will eat up any opportunity to make it seem like a vaccine isn’t needed. This has been true about anti-vaccine groups long before the pandemic.

“There is a lot of shared space between pro-ivermectin and anti-vaccine groups,” he added.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory Thursday warning of a rapid increase in ivermectin prescriptions and reports of severe illness by people using ivermectin products. Data from the National Prescription Audit showed a dramatic spike in ivermectin prescriptions in recent weeks — more than nine times pre-pandemic levels.

Facebook spokesperson Aaron Simpson said in an emailed statement that the company removes any content that "attempts to buy, sell, donate or ask for Ivermectin."

"We also enforce against any account or group that violates our COVID-19 and vaccine policies, including claims that Ivermectin is a guaranteed cure or guaranteed prevention, and we don’t allow ads promoting Ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19," he wrote. "Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have removed 20 million pieces of COVID misinformation, labeled more than 190 million pieces of COVID content rated by our fact-checking partners, and connected over 2 billion people with authoritative information through tools like our COVID information center.” 

Reddit is reviewing the ivermectin communities, spokesperson Cameron Njaa said in an emailed statement that underscored its commitment to providing accurate information, resources and support to its users. 

The groups suggest ways to buy ivermectin and plenty of encouragement to do so. Some commenters push users to online cattle supply companies or pet stores. Others recommend SpeakWithAnMD.com. 

The website advertises consultations for $90 and fills prescriptions through Ravkoo Pharmacy, an online pharmacy that America’s Frontline Doctors advertises as “partners,” who provide “the option to have that prescription delivered right to your door, the same day.” On a SpeakWithAnMD.com intake form viewed by NBC News, prospective patients are asked, “What medication do you prefer?” The user is then presented with three options: “Ivermectin,” “Hydroxychloroquine” or “Not sure.”

A user visiting for other reasons may not have much luck. The website makes it clear: “Controlled substances (such as narcotics) will never be prescribed.”

Reached by phone, Ravkoo Pharmacy CEO Alpesh Patel declined to comment about the relationship with America’s Frontline Doctors and hung up. America’s Frontline Doctors and SpeakWithAnMD did not respond to requests for comment.

Much as the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine became an unproven remedy for Covid deniers after former President Donald Trump embraced it, ivermectin has emerged in recent weeks as a favorite treatment of some conservatives and anti-vaccination activists.

Ivermectin first drew some attention late last year as a possible Covid treatment, with interest remaining reasonably low until July, according to Google search data.

In recent weeks, a variety of conservative figures and anti-vaccination activists have embraced the drug. Fox News hosts Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson have mentioned it.

Phil Valentine, the conservative radio host who died from Covid-19 this week, also turned to ivermectin after his diagnosis and urged his listeners to do the same. (He later encouraged listeners to get vaccinated.)

“Have a doctor on speed dial who will write you a prescription for ivermectin,” he wrote on Facebook. 

Public health officials have scrambled to respond.

While ivermectin is generally safe in low doses, high doses can be toxic in humans. The Food and Drug Administration warned that ivermectin in large doses can cause side effects including “skin rash, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, facial or limb swelling, neurologic adverse events, sudden drop in blood pressure, severe skin rash potentially requiring hospitalization and liver injury.”

The State Health Department in Mississippi, where at least two people had been hospitalized for ivermectin toxicity, warned residents against taking the medicine this week.  

And in perhaps a prime example of the exhaustion with which some public health professionals have confronted ivermectin, the FDA recently tweeted: “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.”

The warnings have done little to stunt enthusiasm for ivermectin in some Facebook groups and Reddit communities. After self-medicating, some community members report back to the group with side effects, like gastrointestinal upset or dizziness, or wonder whether they have overdosed.

“I started the preventative regimen of ivermectin... and I literally s--- myself at the grocery store today???? Is this normal?????” a person asked in a Facebook group.

“We should all be taking it,” another user replied. “Detox detox detox.”

The link to the SpeakWithAnMD website has been shared in dozens of public Facebook groups, including Unmask Our Kids, Nevada! It has also been shared by prominent anti-vaccination influencers, including Dr. Christiane Northrup, who posted the link to her 550,000 followers on Facebook with the caption: “To get the right treatment or prevention. No need for fear. Many of us have known this all along.”

America’s Frontline Doctors is not SpeakWithAnMD’s only link to the far right. Conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi also provides his audience with a vanity link to the website, which was created in March 2020 and offers no information about its ownership. 

SpeakWithAnMD is closely tied with America’s Frontline Doctors, a group that went viral last year when its makeshift news conference in Washington got millions of views after one of the physicians, Dr. Stella Immanuel, falsely called hydroxychloroquine a “cure” for Covid-19. Trump retweeted a video of the news conference pushed on social media by the conservative media site Breitbart.

The website for America’s Frontline Doctors directs people to SpeakWithAnMd through a button that reads “Contact A Physician,” and the America’s Frontline Doctors logo is prominent on the SpeakWithAnMD homepage.

Simone Gold, founder of America’s Frontline Doctors, was arrested and charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct after she entered the Capitol during the riot on Jan. 6. She pleaded not guilty to all charges. Gold, who is awaiting trial, spoke at an anti-vaccination protest in Santa Monica, California, last weekend. 

Gold has spent the last year barnstorming churches, schools and event spaces throughout the U.S. on “The Uncensored Truth Tour,” in which she gives a presentation sowing doubt about Covid vaccines.

Gold did not respond to requests for comment.

The popularity of the site has sent some Facebook users back to the feed store. Losing patience with SpeakWithAnMD’s wait times, users on Facebook’s ivermectin groups sometimes share anecdotes about other telemedicine apps on which doctors have prescribed the drug prophylactically, or they try to persuade one another to buy it over the counter at pet stores.

The Facebook groups, which have names like Ivermectin MD Team, lead some users to believe they are talking to medical experts and doctors, but any one of the 25,000 members can post advice or suggestions about taking the deworming drug.

The communities are filled with advice for off-label drug cocktails featuring the dewormer. The pages frequently feature ways to make the paste more palatable, such as mixing it with jellies or eating it as a sandwich. The flavor frequently has users wondering how to hide its pungent taste.

“I take it by hiding it in a banana or bread,” a Reddit user wrote. “The flavor sort of bothers me.”

Some users sell what they claim to be ivermectin in the comments sections. Desperate for what they believe is a miracle drug, commenters frequently oblige, often leaving their WhatsApp addresses or phone numbers in replies to complete transactions.

Worried about crackdowns due to increasingly bad publicity, moderators of the Facebook groups are also creating backup channels on smaller social media channels, like MeWe and Telegram, in case they are banned from Facebook. Users have also cut back on the use of the words “vaccine” and “ivermectin,” calling them “v” and “ivm,” respectively. 

Some users have begun to call ivermectin more colloquial names, like Moo Juice, because many have been ingesting the gel version. Others ask users how much their “horse” weighs when they dole out advice for dosages.

“I identify as a horse and can report no ill effects from the directed dosage as recommended by professionals, taken on a weekly basis,” a Reddit user wrote. “I like mine with a side of strawberry jam.”

 

Edited August 27, 2021 by Francisco 2.0

[Born to Run 6569]

...you do know that aerosols are just droplets suspended in air, right?
But you're right, a single layer cloth mask isn't all that great, but from data in the linked study that literally measured the size and quantity of exhaled droplets/aerosols, a 3 layer cloth mask is within margin of error of being as effective as a surgical mask. 
Turns out the bigger factor than material is how well it seals and conforms to your face.
Seriously, give that study a read to see their methodology and results. It's good science. 

And everyone I know uses multi layer cloth mask with filters. You can't see the filter but home boy assumes it's one layer.

Nah, it's all "can't we all agree mask don't really work".

18 months later.


The bar is mask must work 100% or why bother. Never mind our hospital situation, never mind maybe they help reduce RSV cases or flu, or colds, because we cannot afford more sick people right now.

Even if mask only reduce infection by 10% we take it. I'd argue it's much much higher.

it's so fucking stupid.

[jimmyjazz 45899]

I'm not sure how well-known this FLCCC group is, but apparently they've set themselves up as a go-to resource for covid treatment protocol.  Unfortunately, they seem to register fairly high on the quackery scale.

They are all in on ivermectin:

FLCCC and ivermectin

 

Looking over the CV info for the members and founders, it seems pretty sketchy.  Not without some known institutions, but not many that leap out at you.  I'll reserve final judgment to the docs and other med field folks, though.

[Born to Run 6569]

I'm pretty sure that people are still having sex and having stupid babies.

Yeah old buddy out in San Angelo had 4 kids. Idiocracy at work

[cactusflinthead 27598]

Jay Nix, leader of the Molecular Biology Consortium based at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS), used beamlines at the ALS and beamlines at SLAC’s Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource to perform X-ray crystallography on samples of survivor-derived antibodies during an early phase of the study. His work, alongside other crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy findings, helped generate detailed structural maps of how these antibodies bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, allowing the wider team to select the most promising contenders and advance them to cell culture- and animal-based studies. Following exciting lab results, the developers designed sotrovimab based on the structure of S309, and evaluated it in clinical trials.

---

Understanding that new mutations could arise and that a novel pathogenic coronavirus could emerge from an animal-human crossover event, the scientists began a follow-up study to deeply explore what factors make antibodies resistant to viral escape and how certain antibodies are also broadly reactive against diverse, related viruses. Using biochemical and structural analysis, deep mutational scanning, and binding experiments, they identified one antibody with unparalleled universal potency.

“This antibody, which binds to a previously unknown site on the coronavirus spike protein, appears to neutralize all known sarbecoviruses – the genus of coronaviruses that cause respiratory infections in mammals,” said Nix, who is an affiliate in Berkeley Lab’s Biosciences Area. “And, due to the unique binding site on mutation-resistant part of the virus, it may well be more difficult for a new strain to escape.”

https://scitechdaily.com/inescapable-covid-19-antibody-discovery-neutralizes-all-known-sars-cov-2-strains/

 

[Francisco 2.0 32389]

4 minutes ago, cactusflinthead said:

Jay Nix, leader of the Molecular Biology Consortium based at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS), used beamlines at the ALS and beamlines at SLAC’s Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource to perform X-ray crystallography on samples of survivor-derived antibodies during an early phase of the study. His work, alongside other crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy findings, helped generate detailed structural maps of how these antibodies bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, allowing the wider team to select the most promising contenders and advance them to cell culture- and animal-based studies. Following exciting lab results, the developers designed sotrovimab based on the structure of S309, and evaluated it in clinical trials.

---

Understanding that new mutations could arise and that a novel pathogenic coronavirus could emerge from an animal-human crossover event, the scientists began a follow-up study to deeply explore what factors make antibodies resistant to viral escape and how certain antibodies are also broadly reactive against diverse, related viruses. Using biochemical and structural analysis, deep mutational scanning, and binding experiments, they identified one antibody with unparalleled universal potency.

“This antibody, which binds to a previously unknown site on the coronavirus spike protein, appears to neutralize all known sarbecoviruses – the genus of coronaviruses that cause respiratory infections in mammals,” said Nix, who is an affiliate in Berkeley Lab’s Biosciences Area. “And, due to the unique binding site on mutation-resistant part of the virus, it may well be more difficult for a new strain to escape.”

https://scitechdaily.com/inescapable-covid-19-antibody-discovery-neutralizes-all-known-sars-cov-2-strains/

 

 

Pfft.  That's a bunch of fucking nerdy talk.

Give me a tube of apple flavor dewormer and stand back.

 

 

[Biff Tannen 45673]

We all agree that monkey just doesn’t want to wear a mask right?

[fattyflattie 4639]

40 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I'm not sure how well-known this FLCCC group is, but apparently they've set themselves up as a go-to resource for covid treatment protocol.  Unfortunately, they seem to register fairly high on the quackery scale.

They are all in on ivermectin:

FLCCC and ivermectin

 

Looking over the CV info for the members and founders, it seems pretty sketchy.  Not without some known institutions, but not many that leap out at you.  I'll reserve final judgment to the docs and other med field folks, though.

So one of the wife’s friends from college is…stupid af.   Antivax, anti-structured education, covid non-believer (her and her tshirt OU husband have both had it and were both hospitalized) and I’m pretty sure are part of a religious mini-cult in Virginia. Anyhow, wife has been nudging her to take this serious, and that is the link she sent for where she does her “research”. I was poking around the site this AM and in the comments, there is one guy who basically follows up each of their bullshit posts with legit links/facts, and calls them on their shit.  Just a bizarro world. 

[DDD Dad 14332]

I'd go N95.  

That’s all I wear these days.

[Hefeweizen 5311]

2 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

 

That’s all I wear these days.

 

Honestly I go KN-95 cause I'm cheap.  It's a little more restrictive and cheap feeling than N-95 (because it's chinese made) but it works well.  I've been exposed multiple times to chuckleheads who later tested positive and so far so good.

 

My kids are wearing the KN-95 too in school.  I got rid of the lightweight ones except for dumb situations where a mask was required but really unnecessary, like outside on certain college campuses that wanted us to wear them for visits.

[Pods 7552]

26 minutes ago, cactusflinthead said:

SLAC’s Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource to perform X-ray crystallography

I got called up there a number of years ago when they were scanning the Archaeopteryx feather. 

https://www-ssrl.slac.stanford.edu/content/sites/default/files/documents/science-highlights/pdf/archaeopteryx-201005.pdf

 It felt like I was in some Bond villain's underground lab the whole time. 

It's a huge loop of stuff that looks like this the entire way around it. Crazy ass machinery and electronics everywhere. 

 

[DaysOff 7947]

fucking selfish bastard. what kind of shitty father would put his bullshit ideology over the needs of his family. he's going to leave his family with a shitton of medical bills and his kids fatherless. 
beyond fucking stupid.

6 figs?

[Pods 7552]

I rock that with a paper surgical over it.