Jump to content

CR: COVID-19 --Political Talk


Mrs Whiggins

Recommended Posts

  On 3/19/2020 at 5:24 PM, 'stache said:

Last night a suburban city counselor posted a bunch of nonsense boasting pride in their vote to not issue a shutdown order for restaurants, etc. The mayor of Tulsa today called them out for it, including that people who get sick there will be using the resources at hospitals within the city. Bunch of fucking yokels. I seriously can't understand why they won't take this seriously.

Expand  

this is why i can't help but think this virus is necessary. i'm viewing it as the equivalent of a forest fire. completely devastating but a necessary and natural form of regeneration. perhaps the majority of those stricken with the virus will be the ignorant deplorables that are a cancer on our society? one can only hope.

Edited by DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt
  • Like 2
  • Fuck You 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dollar says they aren't going to wait for clearance to start using quinine derived and azythromycin. Just don't write it down or call it something else.

If they had a goddamn clue it would have been tested repeatedly and/or given a waiver. Start chucking bullets at it. And those have a long history, it's not a new drug. The risk seems minimal. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  On 3/19/2020 at 5:28 PM, henrygandorf said:
this is what happens when you starve the press and have only one voice coming from the administration - trump's.  they've gone over a year without a white house press briefing - something that has been a daily (or more) occurrence for decades.  now that they have something going on that the public actually needs constant updates on, of course they're fucking it up.  they don't know any other way to do it. 

  


They've had 3 years to practice. No more covering the nonsense live. It should be a story after the fact: the president have press conference in which he lied about availability of testing and race baited. Cover information about the disease from epidemiologists and local officials.

The press needs to stop its complicity in Trump's narcissistic misinformation campaign

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 3/19/2020 at 4:50 PM, Lagunamadre said:

Jesus, that ending was just so Trump. Have an Alex Jonesesque reporter in there to ask the dumbest question ever and then rant for 10 min about how you should only trust him and not the press. 

I hope he gets corona and dies a painful fucking death, very soon. What a piece of shit. 

Expand  

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 3/19/2020 at 2:34 PM, bolverk said:

These are interesting findings and yet another reason why we need more widespread testing. The more data, the better.

Blood Type and COVID-19

Today I participated in another radio call in show about COVID-19. I was stumped by a question regarding ABO blood type and susceptibility to COVID-19. Did having Type A blood make you more likely to get sick when infected with SARS-CoV-2?

1*sXlXexU7jORu_CNjrYutjQ.png

I was fully prepared to discuss the ibuprofen story, but this was news to me. Thanks to a long commercial break, I was able to look it up. A few days ago, Chinese researchers uploaded a pre-print to medrxiv. They looked at more than 2000 COVID-19 patients in hospitals in China, including some who had died. They found that patients with blood type A were associated with a higher risk of infection than those with blood type O. They also had a higher risk of death. Since there are more people in the general population with type O than with type A, this wasn’t simply a reflection of the population. (Types B and AB also had higher risk than O, but the difference wasn’t statistically significant.)

Does this mean that being Type A is bad? Not necessarily. First rule of epidemiology is correlation does not equal causation. Coincidence happens in science too.
SARS-CoV-2 infects the lungs, so why would blood type even matter?

Interestingly, a similar pattern was found for SARS-CoV, the virus that caused the SARS outbreak in 2003–2004. Having Type A blood means you have a molecule on the surface of your cells that Type O lacks. People with Type O blood have naturally occurring antibodies to Type A blood. This is why someone who has Type A blood can’t donate to someone with Type O. The Type O person’s immune system will recognize that A surface molecule as foreign and attack it with “Anti-A antibodies.” Researchers studying SARS-CoV hypothesized that these anti-A antibodies also recognized the spike (S) protein on the surface of the coronavirus, blocking infection, or at least providing some protection.

So that brings us back to the question, if you have Type A blood, do you need to worry? Maybe, but not necessarily. The difference (37.75% Type A vs 25.80% Type O) is statistically significant. But what this means isn’t really clear. It’s an interesting story and worthy of further research, but maybe not a determining factor in disease. There are other co-morbidities linked to higher risks.
This story does highlight the importance of understanding the scientific reports during an outbreak in context. medRxiv is an extremely useful resource for scientists. It’s a site developed by Yale and Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory for researchers to upload articles as soon as they write them, before peer-review. In a typical scientific journal, articles go through extensive review by multiple scientists who will point out weaknesses, inaccuracies, or just ask hard questions for clarity. In an outbreak situation, we need information fast, and we don’t have the months available to go through that process.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t trust the articles in medRxiv because they’re not peer reviewed. It means we need to understand that they are preliminary. Such research is often meant to pose more questions than it answers. This is what scientists do- we ask questions. Sometimes those questions lead to groundbreaking research. And sometimes, they don’t.

So if you have Type A blood (like me), don’t fret. Take all your usual precautions. Wash your hands. Be alert to symptoms. Practice appropriate social distancing. Review the science.

Expand  

Blood type is the domain of pseudoscience and quackery, so I'm naturally skeptical of any new "research" about it. That said, thanks for the report and I hope we get more data of better quality.

It's plausible that we have these receptors on the surface of our other cells besides RBCs (except its not usually relevant). They could be present in lung tissue as well.

I hope it's wrong. My whole family and I are type A.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 3/19/2020 at 5:05 PM, RomaVicta said:

I don't want this to get lost in the press conference discussion. 

Couldn't this be insider trading? 

I wonder if the whole Trump denial of the pandemic was to give the big money boys a head start on getting ready for the economic consequences. Who does the GOP serve if not the very rich? How valuable would inside information be on this coming disaster?

Wow, I found a way to hate these guys even worse. So what if a few hundred thousand people die because of lack of response. Our rich friends got their money right!

Expand  

That's crazy. If that were the case he would probably do something stupid like send out autographed printouts of the Dow closing ticker after successfully pumping up the market during one of his press conferences.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 3/19/2020 at 6:49 PM, Bookman said:

Doesn't "midnight tomorrow" mean midnight tonight?

Expand  

Technically, yeah, in that 23:59 is today and 00:00 is tomorrow. Is that what I think he meant?

No, but the traffic to the Governor's website has brought it to a halt, so good luck getting the original press release unless you're on their email distribution list.

https://gov.texas.gov/

Texas Tribune clarifies it:

During a news conference at the state Capitol, Abbott announced an executive order that will limit social gatherings to 10 people, prohibit eating and drinking at restaurants and bars while still allowing takeout, close gyms, ban people from visiting nursing homes except for critical care and temporarily close schools. The executive order is effective midnight Friday through midnight April 3, Abbott said.

https://www.texastribune.org/2020/03/19/texas-restaurants-bars-closed-greg-abbott/

Edited by bolverk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 3/19/2020 at 4:55 PM, tx 3 putt said:

That was a new low for trump. November election can’t get here soon enough 

Expand  

I am married to a man who is taking this whole thing super seriously. We are already under a shelter in place order with no end in sight as far as he's concerned and have been since Sunday.  I told him yesterday that I do not care what's going on and how dangerous it might be, but I will by god be going out to vote against that motherfucker come November. If I get Corona I get Corona, but that's not going to stop me from partying voting.  

And just like that, I'm suddenly feeling fucking old.

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 3/18/2020 at 6:07 PM, TwiceHorn said:

Two entirely different cases.

Labrador sued a diagnostics manufacturer under patents it bought from Theranos (LOL) for a machine unrelated to coronavirus.  The manufacturer has a coronavirus test pending, but it's unclear whether that machine is involved.

Judging by the complaint and the lawyers involved, the lawsuit was in the works for months before filing.

I don't see the "Italian" company identified anywhere, but that's a whole different deal.

Expand  

Also, the Italian story is bullshit.  https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/17/21184308/coronavirus-italy-medical-3d-print-valves-treatments

  Quote

But in an interview with The Verge, Romaioli denied they’d received threats. He said the company had simply refused to release design files, forcing them to reverse-engineer the valve. “I talked to an operator who told me he couldn’t give me the files, but after that we didn’t receive anything from the original company — so I can assure you we didn’t get any threat,” he said. “They said they couldn’t give us the file because it’s company property, but that’s all.” While earlier reporting said the original valve cost over $10,000, Fracassi also told Fast Company that this number was inaccurate.

Expand  

The company, Intersurgical, apparently declined to cough up design files, which is uncool to say the least.  But it doesn't appear that they talked to management.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the guy sitting in the front left seat may not have ever spent a minute in a sim, let alone an actual plane, but he's going to make sure you know that the engine that's on fire was made by pratt.  also, he's going to blame the people in seats A and F for telling you the ground is rushing at us at an alarming rate. 

Edited by elfenix
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 3/19/2020 at 7:18 PM, TwiceHorn said:

The company, Intersurgical, apparently declined to cough up design files, which is uncool to say the least.  But it doesn't appear that they talked to management.

Expand  

Even as a managing or principal engineer, I would never release design files without escalating to the C-suite to make the call.  I'd probably make every effort to persuade in favor of release, but there is no fucking way I'd take that risk on my own.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now it's back to normal.  What the hell was that?  

 

Anyway, is that photo of Trump's speech with China written over the word, is that real?  I mean I believe he'd do something like that, I've just always had a hard time deciphering what's been photo-shopped online and what hasn't.  Guess you could say that about all my girls /farva 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 3/19/2020 at 6:55 PM, bolverk said:

Technically, yeah, in that 23:59 is today and 00:00 is tomorrow. Is that what I think he meant?

No, but the traffic to the Governor's website has brought it to a halt, so good luck getting the original press release unless you're on their email distribution list.

https://gov.texas.gov/

Texas Tribune clarifies it:

During a news conference at the state Capitol, Abbott announced an executive order that will limit social gatherings to 10 people, prohibit eating and drinking at restaurants and bars while still allowing takeout, close gyms, ban people from visiting nursing homes except for critical care and temporarily close schools. The executive order is effective midnight Friday through midnight April 3, Abbott said.

https://www.texastribune.org/2020/03/19/texas-restaurants-bars-closed-greg-abbott/

Expand  

I'm totally baffled by the delay in enacting the order.

Hurry now! Your last chance to catch the virus and spread it to you family and friends! Don't miss out!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 3/19/2020 at 7:50 PM, Lobo said:

Now it's back to normal.  What the hell was that?  

 

Anyway, is that photo of Trump's speech with China written over the word, is that real?  I mean I believe he'd do something like that, I've just always had a hard time deciphering what's been photo-shopped online and what hasn't.  Guess you could say that about all my girls /farva 

Expand  

The Hill was running with the picture too.

The guy I cited originally is the photographer that took the picture. 

Jabin Botsford, a staff photographer at The Washington Post, tweeted out the photo of the president's notes, showing the phrase "Corona Virus" was edited to say "Chinese virus."

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/488502-photo-of-trumps-notes-shows-chinese-virus-written-over-coronavirus

Edited by cactusflinthead
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The index case (so-called "patient zero's) means very little. 

Super-Spreaders are more troublesome. The lawyer in New York, for instance, and the religious zealot in South Korea. 

If you want to contain a novel virus, you shut down the super-spreaders. 

Edited by washparkhorn
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 3/19/2020 at 8:14 PM, washparkhorn said:

The index case (so-called "patient zero's)) means very little. 

Super-Spreaders are more troublesome. The lawyer in New York, for instance, and the religious zealot in South Korea. 

If you want to contain a novel virus, you shut down the super-spreaders. 

Expand  

You forgot Jazz players.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 3/19/2020 at 7:43 PM, jimmyjazz said:

Even as a managing or principal engineer, I would never release design files without escalating to the C-suite to make the call.  I'd probably make every effort to persuade in favor of release, but there is no fucking way I'd take that risk on my own.

Expand  

Don't blame you.  You can't unring that bell, so you have to do it carefully.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 3/19/2020 at 8:23 PM, David Dennison said:

Not to nitpick, but The Atlantic is hardly progressive.

Expand  

It's not Jacobin.  But it's not Fox or National Review, either.

I use progressive in its Rooseveltian sense, not the latter-day neo-commie sense.

Whatever its political bent, it is extremely anti-Trump.

Edited by TwiceHorn
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 3/19/2020 at 7:04 PM, NameAlreadyInUse said:

I am married to a man who is taking this whole thing super seriously. We are already under a shelter in place order with no end in sight as far as he's concerned and have been since Sunday.  I told him yesterday that I do not care what's going on and how dangerous it might be, but I will by god be going out to vote against that motherfucker come November. If I get Corona I get Corona, but that's not going to stop me from partying voting.  

And just like that, I'm suddenly feeling fucking old.

Expand  

Stay safe !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 3/19/2020 at 8:52 PM, Biff Tannen said:

I don't know if that's true, but does it really matter at this point?  It's some reflection of reality, we all know that.

Expand  

Because it's just managing PR for him. He still doesn't realize what needs to be done. All he sees or thinks about is how he's presented in the news. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites



×
×
  • Create New...