wuhan - coronavirus

[Jean in Newcastle]

12 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

No idea.

https://www.abundance.org/coronavirus-faqs-by-dr-megan-murray-harvard-infectious-disease-specialist/

“Coronavirus FAQ’s by Dr. Megan Murray (Harvard Infectious Disease specialist)

...

Can anything be done in the meantime in terms of vaccination?

Some vaccines have been shown in previous studies to have non-specific effects, meaning that they lower the risk of infection or disease due to infectious agents that are not specifically targeted by the vaccine. One of these is BCG, a live attenuated vaccine specific for tuberculosis. This vaccine is given at birth and is the most widely distributed vaccine in the world with almost all countries mandating its use with the exceptions of the Netherlands and the US, where TB rates are extremely low. We and others have shown that the efficacy of neonatal BCG against tuberculosis wanes with age (which may be a proxy for time since vaccination) (1,2).

Remarkably, in addition to its effect on TB, BCG has been shown to reduce the occurrence and severity of a range of other unrelated infectious diseases. Both observational studies and randomized controlled trials suggest that BCG vaccination can halve the risk of childhood death in countries with high rates of under-5 mortality (3,4). Notably, the mortality from TB in children in these areas was not high enough for a decline in TB incidence to explain this result; common causes of early childhood mortality in these settings were diarrheal and acute respiratory infections.   Other studies found that BCG-vaccinated individuals experience lower rates of acute lower respiratory tract infections among many types of other infections (5,6). Interestingly, a decline in respiratory infection was observed in several randomized clinical trials in adults, including one conducted in individuals 60-75 years of age (7,8). These non-specific effects of BCG have also been shown in animal challenge models for a range of different pathogens (reviewed in 9-11) as well as in human challenge studies for malaria (12) and an attenuated yellow fever virus (13).

Revaccination with BCG has shown to be safe and immunogenic. In a recent clinical trial of re-vaccination of adolescents in South Africa, the BCG re-vaccinated group experienced a reduction in the rate of TB infection compared to people vaccinated only once as well as a three-fold reduction in upper respiratory infections compared to those who received either a placebo.    Given that BCG vaccine is widely available, and that vaccination/revaccination is safe, cheap, and immunogenic, we feel that it will be important to explore its possible efficacy in this epidemic. The safety of the BCG in the setting of Covid-19 disease could be rapidly explored through infection in an animal model and unlike other more specific vaccines which will require phase one and two testing, a phase three clinical trial of vaccination/revaccination with BCG could begin promptly.  We currently believe this should involve a first BCG vaccination in health care workers who are likely to be exposed to Covid-19 in the US and revaccination of similarly exposed health care workers in countries where BCG is used at birth.”

 

I know that I sound argumentative and I would love if this actually helped, but isn’t BCG vaccination common in China?  But yet it didn’t seem to stop the virus there...

[ElizabethB]

2 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

RE: everyone who has been unusually sick this winter and thinks they must have had Covid-19 already but have no test results to verify it.

In Oregon, it's not easy to get a Covid-19 test. It's getting easier, but you're not getting a test for having mild symptoms. And yet, testing only people who are really sick, we have had 316 positive tests out of 7269 total tests. That's only 4.3%. I know that number is higher in other places, but still, chances are it's some other respiratory virus that made you sick. There's no way you can know or guess that you have already had it (without testing) just because you had something that fit all the symptoms. And remember, we've had a bad, double-peaking flu season before this virus really got going here.

 

We had a friend who travels to China for business that was sure he had Covid-19, his symptoms matched exactly, his flu test was negative. He was one of the 90+ percent (it varies, but is around that number) in our state who was negative for the test.  You can only get tested if you have symptoms and are negative for the flu.  Whatever he had, it was pretty bad.

[Arcadia]

@mathnerd@deerforest@Chrysalis Academy

https://abc7news.com/health/dmv-closing-all-field-offices-from-tomorrow-due-to-coronavirus/6054551/
“California's Department of Motor Vehicles has announced it is temporarily closing all its field offices across the state starting March 27 in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

All in-office appointments are being canceled for now, and customers are asked to check the DMV's website for future appointment availability.

The DMV says its field offices will shift their operations online and reopen virtually on April 2.

Customers will be able to complete vehicle title transfers and renew vehicle registration renewals by visiting their virtual field offices from April 2. They will have more options as the DMV expands its online functions.

The deadline for REAL ID compliance has already been pushed back to Oct. 1, 2021, due to the coronavirus outbreak. The original deadline was set for October 2020.”

[Arcadia]

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/business/retailers-shift-production-to-make-masks-gowns-for-health-workers/2262343/

“Retailers Shift Production to Make Masks, Gowns for Health Workers

Eddie Bauer’s headquarters are located in Bellevue, Washington, just east of Seattle and in the heart of the original U.S. epicenter for COVID-19 cases. The outdoor product retailer is shifting its typical production to make high-in-demand N95 masks as well as surgical masks. The inventory will be donated to Washington state through the state’s Department of Enterprise Services as early as next week. The company has a goal of 5,000 N95 masks in the first shipment, with 15,000 more by early April.

...

While Eddie Bauer’s efforts are a start, N95 masks are needed beyond Washington state.

Some hospitals in the U.S. are only accepting medical-grade equipment. But for those who are now taking nonmedical-grade personal protective gear, retailers are answering the call.  

HanesBrands is part of a consortium of apparel manufacturers that have a contract with the U.S. federal government to produce cotton masks. HanesBrands aims to produce 1.5 million of these masks weekly, with the entire consortium to produce 5 million to 6 million each week, using HanesBrands’ design and patterns as the guide.

...

HanesBrands isn’t the only one working with others to get the job done. High-end department store Neiman Marcus and craft and sewing retailer Joann are partnering to make masks, gowns and scrubs for frontline health-care workers. While these items will be nonmedical-grade, the designs follow medical guidelines provided by the Providence Hospital System in Washington.

Joann is providing the material to Neiman Marcus alterations facilities, where alterations specialists are working to create these items. The first shipment is expected to go out later this week, though the production quantities are still unknown.

"The fabric masks we are making with Neiman Marcus can be used to go over the N95 masks," said Chris DiTullio, Joann’s chief customer officer. "It’s important to protect and extend the life of the low supply of N95 right now."

He added that "hospitals are also going to give them to patients to help stem the virus spread."

San Francisco-based Gap has a twofold plan to help get critical materials to the health-care system in the fight against COVID-19. The parent company of Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Athleta and others has built a small team with members from its different brands and functions, in conjunction with California hospitals, to use Gap’s connections in the global supply chain to get protective masks and gowns.

Gap is also working on solutions to use any excess garment production capacity to produce additional fabric masks and protective gear. The company told CNBC it is still "ironing out the details," but California Gov. Gavin Newsom named the retailer as one company working on solutions in a press conference Saturday.

Ralph Lauren is ramping up production of 250,000 masks and 25,000 isolation gowns with its U.S. manufacturing. Like the HanesBrands masks, those produced by Ralph Lauren meet FDA standards.

Luxury outerwear maker Canada Goose, best known for its $1,000 parkas, will begin to manufacture scrubs and gowns that will be donated to medical professionals. The production will start at two of its previously closed Canadian manufacturing facilities next week, with 50 workers at each location. The scrubs and gowns will be donated to local health-care workers.

"Our employees are ready, willing and able to help, and that’s what we’re doing. It’s the Canadian thing to do," said Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss. Reiss is directing his salary for three months to a fund for employees affected by its store and manufacturing closures.

108-year-old retailer L.L. Bean has been through the Great Depression, World War II and the financial crisis and is ready to help the medical community fight COVID-19. L.L. Beanis using material usually meant for its dog-bed liners to make masks currently being tested by Massachusetts Institute of Technology.“

[ElizabethB]

25 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

I know that I sound argumentative and I would love if this actually helped, but isn’t BCG vaccination common in China?  But yet it didn’t seem to stop the virus there...

Maybe it only ramps up your system right after the vaccination?  So, if you got it as a child, it wouldn't help but if you get it during an infection, it will.  (Help against other things, not just against TB.)

[Arcadia]

33 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

I know that I sound argumentative and I would love if this actually helped, but isn’t BCG vaccination common in China?  But yet it didn’t seem to stop the virus there...

China stop making the booster jab compulsory. I needed a booster jab in primary 6. 

[Ausmumof3]

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/barossa-valley-wedding-attendees-told-to-self-isolate-after-us-tourists-test-positive-to-coronavirus-c-766857.amp?__twitter_impression=true
 

this is around 20 minutes from me.  Most people that do the wineries will do multiple stops in the area.

[Ausmumof3]

Watching 7 news which is a bit sensationalist sometimes but apparently Kingston in the South East of my state are planning to install road blocks and only let essential workers and residents in.  Yet another ... didn’t think it would happen here... moment.

and apparently the man who died in Perth yesterday from the cruise ship showed no symptoms until he collapsed. 

[Ausmumof3]

Outbreak in Melb hospital 😞 

Victoria’s first two coronavirus deaths were cancer patients at The Alfred hospital, and a further five cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed among patients and staff.

But the source of the outbreak at the Melbourne hospital is as yet unknown, with a full investigation underway.

Two of the confirmed cases are patients still in hospital, while the remaining three are staff members in the haematology and oncology ward.

[Ausmumof3]

CNN: A Chinese government regulatory group has launched an investigation into a coronavirus test kit maker that sent supplies to Spain. Yesterday, the Spanish government said it was recalling 9,000 kits after finding the results to be “unreliable.”
 

One other report said they were only 30pc accurate

[Twolittleboys]

9 hours ago, square_25 said:

Well, they are certainly not testing EVERYONE. Are they randomizing? 

 

As far as testing in Germany is concerned, I am pretty sure they are not randomizing, Quite the opposite. I think they mainly test contacts of known cases or people with possible travel/contacts. However, they are testing quite a bit (I read something about 500k per week though I am not sure if that is correct) and I think it is not too difficult to get a test if you have a reasonable suspicion. A boy in my son's school had been to Italy over vacation and he got tested quickly (he maybe had a bit of a cold but definitely wasn't really sick as he returned to school after the negative results). Test took about 24 hours I think. The plan seems to be to seriously ramp up testing though.

As far as the lower death rate is concerned: a) a lot of initial cases were in younger people as most got infected while skiing in Italy/Austria b) due to quite a bit of testing cases show up earlier in their cycle than in places where only seriously sick patients are tested (i.e. there is a delay before a new case turns serious/deadly) c) I think more testing/tracing makes it easier to stop some clusters (not really relevant to death rate unless this also means less high-risk people get infected)

So I don't think German numbers are better than many other countries' due to better sampling etc. However, given the relationship of cases to deaths it seems less likely that there are huge numbers of unidentified cases (maybe x2 but seriously doubt x10 or similar)

[Ausmumof3]

Was the reagent that was in short supply manufactured in Germany?  So I guess they had the ability to run more tests?

Either way this virus is either more contagious or more fatal.  Doesn’t change the outcome in terms of number of people needing hospitalisation at the end of the day.

[Carrie12345]

10 hours ago, kdsuomi said:

Except, not everywhere sees heavy ventilator use. We now have over 50 confirmed cases (many more who have it since we don't have a ton of testing) and only one person has needed to be in the ICU. That's why that argument, at least for my area, doesn't hold water.

There are definitely going to be differences here and there, especially in relatively small sample sizes. My county has 67 identified cases and already 2 deaths (men in their 40s and 50s.) While their treatment details have been kept private,, I’d guess they probably needed/tried ventilators.  I don’t know how many others are in ICU or similar.I wouldn’t use either of our local stats to assume overall need.

[Ausmumof3]

https://apple.news/Avq2Qbe9QS6m3Ijeq2beA9g
 

rice shortages in Australia likely to be longer term

local supply is low due to drought and imports from Vietnam’s now stopped

[Pawz4me]

Boris Johnson has tested positive --

 

[SKL]

10 hours ago, square_25 said:

That's just what's happened in every place that had measurable amounts so far -- lots of acute respiratory distress syndrome. If that wasn't happening, there probably wasn't a ton of coronavirus going around. 

I guess I understood "perceptible cases" to mean something different from what you meant.

[EmilyGF]

2 minutes ago, square_25 said:

I've heard all sorts of people claim they've probably had it already. It makes them feel like they aren't vulnerable, including people with lung issues (sigh.) 

I've noticed a pattern of "It isn't real" -> "I've already had it." It seems (in the people I know) like a more acceptable form of denial at this point.

[JennyD]

Update from Israel: 3035 infected, 11 deaths.  

We have been heavily restricted for the last 10 days but two days ago everyone was prohibited from going more than 100 meters from home except for very limited reasons.  Previously outdoor exercise was allowed in very small groups but no more.  The food stores are well stocked and someone takes your temperature before going inside. The store manager near me, at least, is doing his best to enforce social distancing inside but it is difficult in such narrow spaces.  Restaurants and the few remaining stores still permitted to be open  -- other than pharmacies -- are delivery-only.  The police are out enforcing the rules and IDF soldiers are supposed to start helping them on Sunday.  Unemployment is at 21%.

84 cases in the West Bank, 1 death.  9 cases in Gaza.

Good news:  The Health Ministry has said that we *may* be on track to loosen slightly after Passover (ends April 16).  They are very very worried about travel during Passover and, later in April, Ramadan.  Polls of both Israelis and Palestinians show significant support for the Israeli government and the PA cooperating about the virus.  And there may, at long last, be a government!  Perhaps.

 

 

 

[mommyoffive]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/where-coronavirus-outbreak-started-in-washington-state-officials-see-hope-as-cases-appear-to-be-leveling-off/ar-BB11Ls27?ocid=spartanntp

Some good news out of Washington state. 

[SKL]

23 minutes ago, square_25 said:

 

What's your interpretation? 

I took it to mean noticeable symptoms, which in most cases would not justify a run to the ER.

[Acadie]

We saw in China, and more importantly with those repatriated from cruise ships, that people can test negative multiple times before testing positive.

And given how hard it is to get tested in most parts of the US, I'm guessing most who test negative here are not getting retested multiple times unless they need hospitalization. So when areas with community spread in the US report a relatively low percentage of positive cases out of the pool they've tested, I'm not reassured.

We don't know where any given region is on the curve, if we're not doing enough testing. Taking one negative test result at face value doesn't make sense given how many false negatives (or early negatives) have been documented all over the world. 

Adding this to the long list of problems with testing in the US.

[bluemongoose]

13 minutes ago, Acadie said:

We saw in China, and more importantly with those repatriated from cruise ships, that people can test negative multiple times before testing positive.

And given how hard it is to get tested in most parts of the US, I'm guessing most who test negative here are not getting retested multiple times unless they need hospitalization. So when areas with community spread in the US report a relatively low percentage of positive cases out of the pool they've tested, I'm not reassured.

We don't know where any given region is on the curve, if we're not doing enough testing. Taking one negative test result at face value doesn't make sense given how many false negatives (or early negatives) have been documented all over the world. 

Adding this to the long list of problems with testing in the US.

Add to that...the people getting off cruise ships in US are not required to test. They are then released after 14 days after being quarantined together.

[Pen]

 

11 hours ago, Arcadia said:

"But social distancing cannot be successful when it’s only an individual, it needs to be the whole community."

 

Yes.  I wish they would use term “physical distancing “

It is the physical part that’s important as far as transmitting the virus goes. 

11 hours ago, Arcadia said:

"We cannot allow the actions of a few, who knowingly and selfishly take matters into their own hands, place the rest of population at an unacceptable level of risk," USFK said in a letter this week.

 

I agree. 

11 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

RE: everyone who has been unusually sick this winter and thinks they must have had Covid-19 already but have no test results to verify it.

In Oregon, it's not easy to get a Covid-19 test. It's getting easier, but you're not getting a test for having mild symptoms. And yet, testing only people who are really sick, we have had 316 positive tests out of 7269 total tests. That's only 4.3%. I know that number is higher in other places, but still, chances are it's some other respiratory virus that made you sick. There's no way you can know or guess that you have already had it (without testing) just because you had something that fit all the symptoms. And remember, we've had a bad, double-peaking flu season before this virus really got going here.

 

 

 

Yes.  And some other bad virus neither CV19 nor Influenza also. 

The reverse also seems true. There are people who have no idea they have it yet do. 

Apparently the woman who died of heart attack in Lane County was one who did not know.  ??? The news is sketchy.  

But certainly the UK business man superspreader was an example of this not thinking one is sick at all—yet being infected with CV19 and infectious. 

 

10 hours ago, kdsuomi said:

Nope, not the case here.

 

Where are you?

10 hours ago, kdsuomi said:

I don't know why it's such a dirty word to say that outcomes aren't the same everywhere.

 

I’m not sure why you think it’s a dirty word.  The virus itself may be somewhat different in various mutation strains (current thought is Similar regardless, but not definitive)

However, host community health, environmental factors, and above all host community behavior change the R0 and CFR significantly.

The R0 in particular is hugely affected by things like Physical Distancing strategies. 

CFR in a community can depend hugely on whether the virus gets into a high risk subpopulation if any.  And also apparently on viral load. 

 

 

10 hours ago, kand said:

It’s not practical to think we’re going to be able to test every person, but the more testing we can do, the more we can isolate those who are infected before they spread it around more. That’s what most of the countries that have been successful containing this better have done. 

 

Absolutely!!!!   Yes!!! That’s main reason why it is so important!

 

Second biggest importance is that people who have truly had it and recover are very likely then immune. 

 

9 hours ago, square_25 said:

OK, I'm listening to Dr. Birx and she's making no sense. She's saying that because no countries right now with more than 1 in 100 people infected, we must either have tons of asymptomatic carriers

 

We probably do have many asymptomatic carriers.  People under 20 who have contracted it, for example. 

 

3 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

There are definitely going to be differences here and there, especially in relatively small sample sizes. My county has 67 identified cases and already 2 deaths (men in their 40s and 50s.) While their treatment details have been kept private,, I’d guess they probably needed/tried ventilators.  I don’t know how many others are in ICU or similar.I wouldn’t use either of our local stats to assume overall need.

 

Agree.  

[kbutton]

3 minutes ago, Pen said:

Yes.  And some other bad virus neither CV19 nor Influenza also. 

Potentially other strains of coronavirus, but not the novel COVID-19. 

[Pen]

 

9 hours ago, Arcadia said:

Other studies found that BCG-vaccinated individuals experience lower rates of acute lower respiratory tract infections among many types of other infections (5,6). Interestingly, a decline in respiratory infection was observed in several randomized clinical trials in adults, including one conducted in individuals 60-75 years of age (7,8). These non-specific effects of BCG have also been shown in animal challenge models for a range of different pathogens (reviewed in 9-11) as well as in human challenge studies for malaria (12) and an attenuated yellow fever virus (13).

 

When I was in school still planning to go into a science related field, my Lab internship project and Senior paper were on BCG particularly related to cancer, but also some research had related to virus .

At least in mouse models there were some impressive results using BCG as treatment, but exact timing of administration may have been important. 

Preliminary trials in humans seemed less promising than in the mice iirc. 

 

I think it certainly deserves to be one possible approach studied.  There may be immune activation effects that could possibly be negative at certain points related to cytokine storm issues or for other reasons.

In cancer model, iirc,  stimulating autophagy (self destroying) of cancerous cells seemed to be an aspect of action (in the mice (or test tube perhaps)— it wasn’t humans in vivo study) — it is possible that stimulating autophagy In virus infected cells could be useful (but that also raises a flag of concern in my mind with regard to autoimmunity issues). 

For awhile after that I was very pro BCG, but then my enthusiasm for it waned. 

[Pen]

 

Vitamin D3 reminder.

For people who have forgotten or just recently joined.

 

 

[TCB]

Plum that video is so devastating, so sad! That is what I'm fearful of facing!

[Guest]

LSU is running tests in their vet school lab. We follow the PI for this lab on Twitter https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/coronavirus/article_f24e3944-6fb3-11ea-84db-5fd8c3e55db7.html

 

Hopefully, other labs will get the approval to follow suit. 

[SKL]

So back on the topic of testing ....

From what I'm reading, even with testing limited mostly to people thought to have the virus (symptomatic and failed flu and strep tests), the % of positives is pretty low.  What does this mean?  Does it mean the virus actually doesn't spread as fast as we thought?

[Garga]

This website shows the number of tests performed in the US and the number of positive and negative outcomes.

I think people need to be very careful if they’re going to say that they “had a weird flu like illness in January and I think it was probably covid 19!”  There are a lot of people who are being tested because they think they have this sickness and they don’t.  

However, there are also a lot of false negatives, and the same person gets tested, what 2 or 3 times, before the results are in.  

I just think it’s cavalier to say, “I’m sure I already had it.  I’m immune,” when you absolutely don’t know.  Per the website, almost half a million tests came out as negative.

https://covidtracking.com/data/

Edited March 27, 2020 by Garga

[73349]

[details]

Edited October 2, 2020 by Carolina Wren

[Jean in Newcastle]

5 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

Boris Johnson has tested positive --

 

I don't want anyone (in any country or any profession) to die from this but I do hope that he doesn't have a totally easy time of it.  I say that simply because I think it would be helpful if he really understood what his citizens are/will be going through. 

[Pen]

1 hour ago, square_25 said:

Oh, this is awful.

This is why I don’t feel like second-guessing Cuomo’s estimate. Say we don’t really NEED 30,000 vents. So what? They’ll need them elsewhere. And maybe we do need them, or even more.

 

I also thought Cuomo’s idea of being able to move them along to other places if NY didn’t need them or if it was being hit early and would have waning need as other places had increasing need made some sense.  

[Arcadia]

The shoplifter is now in Santa Rita jail. Shoplifted at Walmart.

“An Oakland man allegedly tried to avoid being arrested on suspicion of shoplifting by saying he was infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus, San Leandro police said Thursday.
http://nbcbay.com/pB2RKtg”

[Pen]

55 minutes ago, square_25 said:

It means it hasn't spread all that far yet in some places. Sometimes, a super-spreader is how it really grabs hold. 

Places HAVE largely been doing social distancing, which decreases spread. That doesn't mean that it wouldn't spread if allowed. 

In NY, the number of tests coming back positive is like a quarter to a third. It has spread very quickly here due to the density. But I wouldn't assume that it couldn't spread quickly elsewhere if the restrictions were relaxed. 

 

Probably.

Unfortunatel, It could also mean test can’t pick up positive cases at all stages. 

We know on some studies that people have not consistently tested positive and can go back and forth.  

[Pen]

Did someone above post that 20,000 people in their state are listed as recovered?

[Arcadia]

🇬🇧 
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/26/tech/dyson-ventilators-coronavirus/index.html
“London (CNN Business) — Dyson has received an order from the UK government for 10,000 ventilators to support efforts by the country's National Health Service to treat coronavirus patients. 

James Dyson, the company's billionaire founder, confirmed the order in a letter to employees shared with CNN on Wednesday.

"A ventilator supports a patient who is no longer able to maintain their own airways, but sadly there is currently a significant shortage, both in the UK and other countries around the world," Dyson wrote.

Dyson said the company had designed and built an entirely new ventilator, called the "CoVent," since he received a call 10 days ago from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

"This new device can be manufactured quickly, efficiently and at volume," Dyson added, saying that the new ventilator has been designed to "address the specific needs" of coronavirus patients.

A spokesperson for the company, which is best known for its vacuum cleaners and hand dryers, said the ventilators would be ready by early April. Dyson, who has wealth worth $10 billion according to Bloomberg, wrote in his letter that he would also donate 5,000 units to the international effort to tackle the pandemic.”

[DoraBora]

1 hour ago, square_25 said:

@DoraBora -- Cuomo said in his briefing that his "ICU" numbers are vent numbers. He could be misstating, of course, but that's what he says. 

They are up to 1500, by the way. So only a factor of 20 off from the projected need. 

The Times says most of them are on ventilators, without offering specific numbers.  

As of Friday morning, nearly 1,600 Covid-19 patients in New York State were in intensive care units, most of them on ventilators, a 22 percent increase from Thursday morning. The state has projected that the growth of coronavirus cases will continue to accelerate for several more weeks.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/nyregion/coronavirus-new-york-update.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

The president is expressing, in his colorful way, his frustration with GM, and says there will be an announcement today about additional ventilators the feds have purchased.  

I'm spending time today calling and emailing the WH and my representatives.

[Arcadia]

New Jersey https://abc7news.com/health/family-makes-urgent-appeal-for-plasma-from-recovered-covid-19-patient/6055835/

“CHERRY HILL, New Jersey -- A Cherry Hill, New Jersey family is making an urgent appeal for blood from someone who has recovered from COVID-19.

That person's plasma may help save the life of a devoted husband and father of two.

Fifty-year-old Brett Breslow is in very critical condition in the ICU at Cooper University Health Care in Camden.

He's on a ventilator and dialysis.

His wife Amy said Brett's condition went downhill Friday in just hours after she took him to the hospital.

"He texted me that they took him back to a room, and that I should go home, and that he loved me. And that's the last time I communicated with him," Amy said.

Doctors hope antibodies in the plasma, the liquid portion of the blood that doesn't contain blood cells, from a recovered patient will help Breslow's body beat the virus. It's a technique that saved lives in the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Donors have to have tested positive for coronavirus, and be symptom-free for 14 days.

They should say the donation is to be directed to Cooper University Hospital in Camden.

There are designated donor centers collecting the blood:

Vitalant Donor Centers 

NY Blood Centers 

On Tuesday, the FDA approved the use of "convalescent plasma" on a case-by-case basis as a last resort to treat COVID-19 patients.

It's considered an emergency Investigational New Drug (IND).”

[Pen]

27 minutes ago, Seasider too said:

 

Yes but if a place like Louisiana needs them at the same time (which appears to be likely), it’s not fair to ship the entire national reserve to NY first. 

I don’t have the energy to debate fairness issues. Cuomo is doing a good job advocating for his constituents. But the writing on the wall saddens me.  

 

I agree. 

Seattle area also though it wasn’t out yet afaik was already getting stressed. 

[Pen]

13 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

New Jersey https://abc7news.com/health/family-makes-urgent-appeal-for-plasma-from-recovered-covid-19-patient/6055835/

“CHERRY HILL, New Jersey -- A Cherry Hill, New Jersey family is making an urgent appeal for blood from someone who has recovered from COVID-19.

That person's plasma may help save the life of a devoted husband and father of two.

Fifty-year-old Brett Breslow is in very critical condition in the ICU at Cooper University Health Care in Camden.

He's on a ventilator and dialysis.

His wife Amy said Brett's condition went downhill Friday in just hours after she took him to the hospital.

"He texted me that they took him back to a room, and that I should go home, and that he loved me. And that's the last time I communicated with him," Amy said.

Doctors hope antibodies in the plasma, the liquid portion of the blood that doesn't contain blood cells, from a recovered patient will help Breslow's body beat the virus. It's a technique that saved lives in the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Donors have to have tested positive for coronavirus, and be symptom-free for 14 days.

They should say the donation is to be directed to Cooper University Hospital in Camden.

There are designated donor centers collecting the blood:

Vitalant Donor Centers 

NY Blood Centers 

On Tuesday, the FDA approved the use of "convalescent plasma" on a case-by-case basis as a last resort to treat COVID-19 patients.

It's considered an emergency Investigational New Drug (IND).”

 

I hope someone will come forward and that it will work.  That seems like another promising path. 

Maybe the very first Seattle case is clearly recovered now? 

 

Edited March 27, 2020 by Pen

[Arcadia]

14 minutes ago, Pen said:

I hope someone will come forward and that it will work.  That seems like another promising path. 

Maybe the very first Seattle case is clearly recovered now? 

Diamond Princess patients might also meet the criteria. 

[pitterpatter]

How far off is the United States from such a reality? Sixty-five seems so young! Not that any age is truly acceptable. I agree with the doctor; it does smack of genocide. I often wonder how much differently leaders would act were the virus taking our children instead of our elders.

3 hours ago, Plum said:

OMG this is so sad. If you are already on edge with anxiety or depression, don’t watch.

 [I deleted the link to the video since it is so large.]

[Pen]

Spain / Madrid had lots of younger  adults going to professional sports games and packing into stadiums, going on marches mobbed together etc. — ignoring threat , ignoring pandemic

 

Are the over 65 people being taken off ventilators for younger medical workers and other essential personnel who get sick? 

Or for anyone younger regardless of what they have done to promote spread or to alleviate it.  

 

Edited March 27, 2020 by Pen

[Pen]

4 minutes ago, square_25 said:

Deaths. Deaths are always the number that’s hard to hide.

But of course, we may not be testing enough to even classify the dead.

 

Some deaths may indeed hide.  

1) Due to not testing. As you say.

2) And also perhaps because death rate depends a great deal on chance in a population— whether the virus spread early on in s nursing home versus whether it is spreading early on in school kids for example.

and on medical care in area

3) even on whether people are avoiding medical care and testing at all, for example due to deportation fears  or cost fears or quarantine fears 

[pitterpatter]

The thing with the ventilators too is that once a COVID patient is on one, he/she is on it for 2 to 3 or more weeks. Not a lot of ventilators going to be opening up for new patients. I'm wondering how advance directives are being handled. Since no family members can be with COVID patients, there's no way to tell whether advance directives are being followed. Typically, patients who can't get off ventilators are sent to long-term care facilities, which are just the type of places the virus would run rampant in. What will happen to patients who need longer to recover but time is up on the hospitals' ventilators?

[ElizabethB]

28 minutes ago, square_25 said:

It’s all extremely disorganized :-(.

You have so many different organizations, it's bound to be disorganized.

I was in the Air Force, and even there with a clear chain of command, when there were big operations, there were things that were disorganized.  I worked with a variety of US and international bureaucracies, there are going to be problems, especially early on, when you're working with a ton of different organizations.  Some countries were easier than others to work with, too.  Israel was great, Western Europe was great, Eastern Europe was hit or miss and sometimes came up with crazy, unsafe solutions to things.  Macedonia was a mess but we had an Army presence there for a while before us helping working things out.  The more organizations you're working with, the worse things get, and there are a lot of different organizations and levels of bureaucracy and coordination going on for the Coronavirus response and tracking.

Do you have a link to somewhere with daily NY numbers of infections and deaths?  I can find totals but not a daily graph.  

[PrincessMommy]

Has anyone shared this here yet:?

https://covidtracking.com/data/ 

It tracks each state and territory in the US.  It gives you a historical list of case counts too (which I was looking for).  It also tells you how many negative /positive tests.  Unfortunately, my state (Maryland) is no longer reporting negative tests.   It may be because they're concerned about too many false negatives, but I think it would be helpful to have that information flaws and all.

 

 

Edited March 27, 2020 by PrincessMommy

[PrincessMommy]

12 minutes ago, ElizabethB said:

You have so many different organizations, it's bound to be disorganized.

I was in the Air Force, and even there with a clear chain of command, when there were big operations, there were things that were disorganized.  I worked with a variety of US and international bureaucracies, there are going to be problems, especially early on, when you're working with a ton of different organizations.  Some countries were easier than others to work with, too.  Israel was great, Western Europe was great, Eastern Europe was hit or miss and sometimes came up with crazy, unsafe solutions to things.  Macedonia was a mess but we had an Army presence there for a while before us helping working things out.  The more organizations you're working with, the worse things get, and there are a lot of different organizations and levels of bureaucracy and coordination going on for the Coronavirus response and tracking.

Do you have a link to somewhere with daily NY numbers of infections and deaths?  I can find totals but not a daily graph.  

Is this helpful?

 

https://covidtracking.com/data/state/new-york/

 

[Arcadia]

12 minutes ago, ElizabethB said:

 

Do you have a link to somewhere with daily NY numbers of infections and deaths?  I can find totals but not a daily graph.  

https://covidtracking.com/data/state/new-york/

copy paste into any spreadsheet program to make a graph