Are you personally worried about getting the Coronavirus?

[tksirius]

In case you don't know, Dr. Offit is very pro pharmaceutical industry, very pro vaccine. He's done nothing but promote fear over viral diseases. If he's downplaying COVID 19, people should take notice.

 

[Adam]

Here is a long but good take on the situation from Bill Ackman, a hedge fund manager. Shut everything down for 30 days, rip the band-aid off and get through it. As opposed to 18 months of dragging it out.

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/03/...stor-bill-ackman-on-coronavirus-outbreak.html

This is kinda my idea as well. I think it needs to be 60 days but same basic principle. The government needs to figure out a way to freeze the economy. Suspend all debts and payments on essentials. Then their bailout can be focused on recuperating operating costs for service providers. Power, water, sanitation and even telecoms.

I heard an economist say that he ballpark's each week of this style of shutdown will cost the Government around 50 billion. So that could mean the Government could limit it's printing press overtime hours. A 60 day freeze and lockdown could maybe be accomplished for 400 to 500 billion as opposed to the trillion + they are trying to pass.

 

[thedukeofearl]

There's a video of a Brit who caught it on that Princess cruise liner who said it was just a tickle and minor cough at first.

People are always going to complain about the government when there is a crisis, like this pandemic. But Western society simply isn't ready for something like this. I have a shitload of masks at home. 99.9 anti viral things. My old lady buys them in Japan. How many American houses have masks? Way under 1%. Of course the media says "masks don't help." Yeah right. You look at the infection rates in Korea and Japan versus rest of the world. That ain't from testing, it's because those people have lived through SARS and other pandemics and the populace is loaded up on masks. A mask keeps the viral load close to the infected person and keeps people from touching their nose and mouth. Anyway, that is a long way of saying that lady who was coughing showed less courtesy for her common man than the average Japanese person getting on a train or going to the grocery store. No one is out without a mask if there is a pandemic. To walk through a hospital ward without one in a situation like this (no matter what your role) is borderline criminally negligent.

Of course, the masks will help to prevent one getting the virus

They are just attempting to prevent widespread panic with misinformation

Doesn't take a bonafide genius to figure that one out

Just yesterday an older man coughed at the meat counter in Hy-Vee in a crowd without even thinking about covering his mouth

I always close my mouth when rarely out, and breath thru my nose

Yoga principle

 

[EstronHawkKing]

Of course, the masks will help to prevent one getting the virus

They are just attempting to prevent widespread panic with misinformation

Doesn't take a bonafide genius to figure that one out

Just yesterday an older man coughed at the meat counter in Hy-Vee in a crowd without even thinking about coverint his mouth

I always close my mouth when rarely out, and breath thru my mouth

Yoga principle

I was at Brugger's Bagels in Coralville the other day. The gal employee was working on my take out order when this guy walks in wearing a mask on his face. He had really dark circles under his eyes, he didn't look so good. As he stood behind me about five more people walked in and were in line behind the guy with the mask. Suddenly, the guy starts coughing pretty hard, the Brugger's employee looks up at him with this look of fear on her face and two people that were standing behind him walked out of the place. It kind of spooked me and I did not turn around to look at him, just took my food and bolted for the front door.

 

[Northside Hawk]

Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot holding a presser at 5pm. Widespread speculation that a citywide quarantine is imminent.

 

[HawksMN]

I'm not worried about the dammed beer flu....I'm worried about how all these people boarded in their houses are killing our economy, jobs, businesses, and retirement plans. Nice job....thanks for all that.

 

[thedukeofearl]

I was at Brugger's Bagels in Coralville the other day. The gal employee was working on my take out order when this guy walks in wearing a mask on his face. He had really dark circles under his eyes, he didn't look so good. As he stood behind me about five more people walked in and were in line behind the guy with the mask. Suddenly, the guy starts coughing pretty hard, the Brugger's employee looks up at him with this look of fear on her face and two people that were standing behind him walked out of the place. It kind of spooked me and I did not turn around to look at him, just took my food and bolted for the front door.

Don't know it is is simply ignorance, or demented people deliberately wanting to spread the disease because they have it and are pissed at everyone who is healthy

At any rate, it is incredibly selfish and almost criminal

 

[EstronHawkKing]

Don't know it is is simply ignorance, or demented people deliberately wanting to spread the disease because they have it and are pissed at everyone who is healthy

At any rate, it is incredibly selfish and almost criminal

A local radio station where I live, the morning on air guy yesterday sounded like he wasn't well. He then began talking about how his doctor switched hospitals and that he was having a hard time tracking his doctor down so he can get checked out. So the guy isn't feeling well and goes into work not knowing if he has the virus and could be spreading it to his co-workers??!?! What an ass! and I can't believe that station management would let him be there and go on air.

 

[clownkilla]

I got shampoo in my eyes this morning. Stung like the dickens!

 

[HuckFinn]

I just do not think

Don't know it is is simply ignorance, or demented people deliberately wanting to spread the disease because they have it and are pissed at everyone who is healthy

At any rate, it is incredibly selfish and almost criminal

I recall that during the early years of HIV, there were some arrests of people who were infected then purposely spread the disease by having unprotected sex with a victim.

 

[uihawk82]

really? Is that documented? serious question, not trying to argue. Does the flu shot not help against the flu? I get one every year fairly regularly and have for 20 years and hardly have ever had it. In fact, I have gotten it in years I have forgot, but haven't in years that I do. I am not saying you're wrong, it would just seem like a really weird thing if true and I have never heard that before.

Did you read the CDC link that Rob Howe posted? The vaccine helps millions of people.

I am really thinking that TKSirius is trolling in this whole thread on the virus as I just don't think he is that stupid. But maybe he is just ignorant on this topic.

 

[tksirius]

Did you read the CDC link that Rob Howe posted? The vaccine helps millions of people.

I am really thinking that TKSirius is trolling in this whole thread on the virus as I just don't think he is that stupid. But maybe he is just ignorant on this topic.

I'm the only person posting peer-reviewed science.

 

[uihawk82]

Thx...much appreciated...

Best of outcomes to you and your family.

 

[uihawk82]

I want to know what percentage of people who fall into the low risk category actually end up in critical condition. Is that number enough to overflow hospitals? If the answer is no, everyone wins by quarantining the high risk only and letting this virus run its course. Large groups of people could be encouraged instead of cancelled. The new phrase of "our grandparents were asked to go to war. You are asked to stay home" can change to "our grandparents were asked to go to war. We now ask you to contract a virus". There is no doubt that some of the low risk would die. But no matter what we do, some will die.

Latest news today from CDC and international health experts that a much higher percentage of people under 60 are being hospitalized with lung and respiratory problems. This can overload the system as well as be bad for a much larger universe of people.

 

[tksirius]

I posted this in the other thread, but we are hearing some strong rumors that Colorado Governor Jared Polis is going to issue an order as soon as tomorrow shutting down all businesses. The people are saying this will include grocery stores, but I hope to God that isn't true. More people will die from this than any virus could kill. Sad times.

 

[PCHawk]

Latest news today from CDC and international health experts that a much higher percentage of people under 60 are being hospitalized with lung and respiratory problems. This can overload the system as well as be bad for a much larger universe of people.

I saw that too. Hopefully the virus isn't mutating and getting more serious.

 

[PCHawk]

I posted this in the other thread, but we are hearing some strong rumors that Colorado Governor Jared Polis is going to issue an order as soon as tomorrow shutting down all businesses. The people are saying this will include grocery stores, but I hope to God that isn't true. More people will die from this than any virus could kill. Sad times.

If they shut down grocery stores than life as we know it is officially over. I need a gun.

 

[CP87]

I'm the only person posting peer-reviewed science.

One of the things you quickly learn when delving into any area of science is that there are tons of published articles coming down on either side of an issue. This was pretty shocking to me as I was completing my PhD, I went in with the naive idea that science was cut and dry. It is not. You learn that you need to consume as much as possible, critically evaluate everything, and then weigh the balance of the evidence.

That is what organizations like CDC or HHS do. They have scientific comittees dedicated to hunting up every bit of published research. They read it all. And based upon that, they decide which policies are in the best interest of public health. Neither you or I have the time available to aggregate and consume all of that information, which is why we need to rely upon these organizations.

They don't always get it right, and sometimes their recommendations change time over as research/evidence changes. These committees are especially slow to backtrack if new evidence contradicts their prior recommendations. There are also political influences. But the process overall is sound, if not nimble.

If you want to read some contrary evidence to what you have posted, here is a peer-reviewed article estimating that influenza vaccinations in the US prevented 40,000 deaths from the '05/'06 flu season through '13/'14. Almost 90% of those prevented deaths were in individuals 65+ years of age. Here is another article estimating similar vaccine effectiveness in younger and older adults (for both groups, effectivness values ranged from around 10%-60%, depending on the viral strain).

On a side note, there is cool work being done towards a universal influenza vaccination that could prevent all varities of influenza, as well as novel anti-viral therapies in the treatment of flu. Hopefully progress will be made in those areas.

 

[HawkGold]

If they shut down grocery stores than life as we know it is officially over. I need a gun.

What are you going to do with a gun besides get hurt?

 

[CP87]

Some on here have drawn a comparison between COVID-19 and H1N1, in particular noting that H1N1 killed 12,000 in the US (compared to the current COVID-19 death toll of 100) but didn't cause us to take the same drastic measures. However, if you compare the time-course of deaths between the 2 pandemics, you will see some important differences (from Washington Post):

You can see that 20 days after the 60th case was confirmed in the US for the H1N1 pandemic, total deaths was about 5.

At the same time-point after the 60th case for COVID-19, deaths were around 65.

Also of interest, from the latest WHO situation report: it took over 3 months to accrue the first 100,000 cases, it has taken 12 days for the second 100,000.