COVID-19 Thread [V2.0]

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Whenever I see somebody in public without a mask, I do not assume they are just rebelling or not believing in masks. I've come across enough people with medical reasons that I don't assume. HOWEVER. When somebody without a mask complains about people who wear masks, that's usually when I give the stare.

 

This. Right now those who can physically wear a mask without issue, but instead are openly defying the mandate, are the ones who are making this situation extremely difficult for those who truly cannot wear one. COVID has already put people on edge. Why add to that angst by openly defying a mandate in the name of your "freedoms", "rights" or whatever? All it accomplishes is making you look selfish.

[tmwiese55]

I know I've mentioned it here a few times. Saw this article yesterday, seems making this the priority would make sense to me:

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/08/09/covid-tests-cheap-home-tests-stop-pandemic-harvard-doc-says/3325446001/

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Mask wearing is important, and I wear one regularly as required, but mask shaming has got to stop. There are plenty of legitimate medical reasons for people not to wear one. I have a friend with two autistic children, for example (one older), and taking them out in public is already challenging -- (not to mention her children are still trying to adapt to a masked society), without worrying about comments or dirty looks in public.

 

If you see someone without a mask on and you're not responsible for that business or venue, mind your business, keep your distance if it makes you feel better, and move along with your day.

 

Not even just the shaming, but the implication that wearing a mask is a foolproof blockade also needs to stop. There is a growing sentiment that everyone who gets this gets it because someone else was irresponsible. Masks work, we should wear the masks. You can also still get someone sick if wearing a mask.

 

Semi-related and something that has been surprisingly underreported: While FL has been a giant mess for several months now, the re-opening of the theme parks has been essentially a non-issue. Universal and Sea World have been open two months, Disney for one month. One of the researchers closely watching the parks went as far as saying this:

 

“So there are people in our community that want to have an outbreak in the parks, and we are looking for an outbreak in the parks, and we have not seen it,” Pino said. “It doesn’t mean it has not happened, we haven’t been able to triangulate that data.”

 

They have had cases at parks, but there's been no sign to this point of an outbreak at a park.

 

There have been a lot of reports that the protocols at these places are some of the best followed in the country. The attendance has also been lower than even the parks estimated, and most of the things are outdoors. I wish it were being reported a bit more as it seems like it could be a fairly decent indicator that there are ways to have some nice things safely.

[Machu Peach]

It's really interesting to me how differently each of the groups that I interact with (circles of friends, family, scientists/coworkers) talk about COVID. Different topics, different conclusions, different risk levels, different solutions... The only consistency between groups is a certainty that everyone else "doesn't get it."

[MrTPlush]

Neck fleece masks were studied and they came to the conclusion they increased transmission 110%...so they are actually worse than no mask. I believe these are the “masks” MLB players wear and other people trying to be cool and not look like they are trying to wear an unstylish mask. Bandana were also a poor mask choice, but still better than no mask.

[PeaveyFury]

Neck fleece masks were studied and they came to the conclusion they increased transmission 110%...so they are actually worse than no mask. I believe these are the “masks” MLB players wear and other people trying to be cool and not look like they are trying to wear an unstylish mask. Bandana were also a poor mask choice, but still better than no mask.

 

Sounds like an interesting study- do you have a link?

[CheezWizHed]

I have no link, but heard the same on the news last night. The reasoning was that they are too "breathable" and break down larger water drops into smaller droplets that are easier to transmit.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I have no link, but heard the same on the news last night. The reasoning was that they are too "breathable" and break down larger water drops into smaller droplets that are easier to transmit.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/neck-gaiters-may-actually-increase-covid-19-transmission-study-finds-183034882.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=2_06

 

I think the gaiter mask they tested in this case was a very thin spandex-type material. I've seen gaitor-style masks available in many different materials.

[ReverendBrewmeister]

Neck fleece masks were studied and they came to the conclusion they increased transmission 110%...so they are actually worse than no mask. I believe these are the “masks” MLB players wear and other people trying to be cool and not look like they are trying to wear an unstylish mask. Bandana were also a poor mask choice, but still better than no mask.

 

Sounds like an interesting study- do you have a link?

 

Here's a link to a media story about the study:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/neck-gaiters-may-actually-increase-covid-19-transmission-study-finds-183034882.html

 

Here's a link to the study itself:

https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/08/07/sciadv.abd3083

[JosephC]

Still wondering why, since the very beginning, the government/media keeps taking the seemingly worse number and runs wild with it?

 

How serious is the situation in Wisconsin, really?

 

On April 9th, when Wisconsin was having about 150 positive tests per day-

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/data.htm

There were a total of 446 people in the state that were in the hospital because of the virus-

https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2020/07/19/wi-daily-45-day-covid-19-hospitalization-high-but-only-one-death/

 

Lately the number of positive tests per day has ballooned to about 1000, and yet the number of people hospitalized in this state on August 9 has dropped to 355.

https://wkow.com/2020/08/09/sunday-covid-statistics-2/

 

So the number of positive results has increased approximately 6.67 fold, yet the number of those who are seriously ill is slightly less than 80% of what it was in April.

 

The population of the state is over 5,822,000 people. 355 in the hospital. Are these types of facts being stressed to the general public? If so, then I am completely missing them as every headline I read talks about a 1000 new positive tests and the percent of positive test is approximately 8%.

[PeaveyFury]

Neck fleece masks were studied and they came to the conclusion they increased transmission 110%...so they are actually worse than no mask. I believe these are the “masks” MLB players wear and other people trying to be cool and not look like they are trying to wear an unstylish mask. Bandana were also a poor mask choice, but still better than no mask.

 

Sounds like an interesting study- do you have a link?

 

Here's a link to a media story about the study:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/neck-gaiters-may-actually-increase-covid-19-transmission-study-finds-183034882.html

 

Here's a link to the study itself:

https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/08/07/sciadv.abd3083

 

Thanks! It is interesting that the neck fleece was the significant outlier here, and bandanas provided a negligible effect, while all others reduced transmission by some degree. Obviously, the N95 non-valved seems to be the continued gold-standard, but there won't be widespread availability of those anytime soon...

[homer]

Still wondering why, since the very beginning, the government/media keeps taking the seemingly worse number and runs wild with it?

 

How serious is the situation in Wisconsin, really?

 

On April 9th, when Wisconsin was having about 150 positive tests per day-

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/data.htm

There were a total of 446 people in the state that were in the hospital because of the virus-

https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2020/07/19/wi-daily-45-day-covid-19-hospitalization-high-but-only-one-death/

 

Lately the number of positive tests per day has ballooned to about 1000, and yet the number of people hospitalized in this state on August 9 has dropped to 355.

https://wkow.com/2020/08/09/sunday-covid-statistics-2/

 

So the number of positive results has increased approximately 6.67 fold, yet the number of those who are seriously ill is slightly less than 80% of what it was in April.

 

The population of the state is over 5,822,000 people. 355 in the hospital. Are these types of facts being stressed to the general public? If so, then I am completely missing them as every headline I read talks about a 1000 new positive tests and the percent of positive test is approximately 8%.

 

Hospitalization trend has been going up. It bottomed out towards the end of June and has been creeping up since then. The graph is towards the bottom of the screen.

 

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/hosp-data.htm

 

I wish they had a single trendline for the state.

[tmwiese55]

And it's about exponential growth. If you let the high case amounts just keep going, then they give to more, who give to more, etc. You have to get in front of it. The goal of good leadership is to get ahead of a problem before it spirals out of control, not wait until it smacks you in the face because its too late.

 

And the more people who have it but aren't hospitalized or in serious jeopardy and continue to pass it, the more likely someone in the danger group eventually gets it. If you just let it go because 'hey young people don't die' then basically the old people are at risk unless they're just shut in isolated.

 

That said, I agree WI has done a good job keeping things in relative check the whole time. So yes, we don't have to live in like constant fear/caution. This should be applauded, not having the leaders of the state and two big cities be called tyrants and dictators.

[MrTPlush]

I have no link, but heard the same on the news last night. The reasoning was that they are too "breathable" and break down larger water drops into smaller droplets that are easier to transmit.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/neck-gaiters-may-actually-increase-covid-19-transmission-study-finds-183034882.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=2_06

 

I think the gaiter mask they tested in this case was a very thin spandex-type material. I've seen gaitor-style masks available in many different materials.

 

You are probably right, but the thin spandex material one is easily the most common. That’s what the MLB players wear, police officers seem to wear them a lot, and many other people are using those thin ones. They seem to be, by far, the fashionable selection for many.

 

It should be noted the study was purely for how those masks stopped transmission to others...not how they protect you. The N95 valved is middle of the pack for that reason, but is no worse than a non valved when it comes to protecting you.

[Samurai Bucky]

This is sort of the same thing with bike helmets. There was a growing philosophy for a long time that the helmets weren't all that useful because it gave bikers and drivers false security. If you get in a crash, the helmet is better, but wearing the helmet was said to increase the risk of an accident to begin with. It can't really be proven one way or the other, because the counterargument is that in many accidents the cyclist is taking a risk others wouldn't. I suspect it's the same with a mask, where if you wear a mask but do other sloppy things, you were probably more risky to begin with, with or without the mask.

 

I rode a bike (a.k.a. motorcycle ) when a car pulled out in front of me. I flew over the hood and ended up with a sprained ankle. However the scratches on my helmet told me, whether right or wrong, that it kept me from additional injury.

 

That is something very tangible and understandable to a lot of people. COVID still has a lot of unknown factors. Virology sucks... LOL

[LouisEly]

Still wondering why, since the very beginning, the government/media keeps taking the seemingly worse number and runs wild with it?

 

How serious is the situation in Wisconsin, really?

 

On April 9th, when Wisconsin was having about 150 positive tests per day-

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/data.htm

There were a total of 446 people in the state that were in the hospital because of the virus-

https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2020/07/19/wi-daily-45-day-covid-19-hospitalization-high-but-only-one-death/

 

Lately the number of positive tests per day has ballooned to about 1000, and yet the number of people hospitalized in this state on August 9 has dropped to 355.

https://wkow.com/2020/08/09/sunday-covid-statistics-2/

 

So the number of positive results has increased approximately 6.67 fold, yet the number of those who are seriously ill is slightly less than 80% of what it was in April.

 

The population of the state is over 5,822,000 people. 355 in the hospital. Are these types of facts being stressed to the general public? If so, then I am completely missing them as every headline I read talks about a 1000 new positive tests and the percent of positive test is approximately 8%.

This is primarily the result of increased testing capacity. They're simply testing a lot more people now than they were able to back in April. Back in April they didn't have much testing ability/supplies, and people were essentially told not to come in unless they were very sick. Those asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic were not included in the positive case count in April.

 

Now testing is more widespread and people who are asymptomatic (but exposed to those who tested positive) or mildly symptomatic are able to get testing and are being included in the positive results. If you look at the number of tests being conducted daily, it is probably a lot more than 6.67 fold than were conducted in April.

 

On a lesser scale, they have figured out better ways to treat people - oxygen is usually better than a ventilator, remdesivir is more available, so those who are seriously ill are recovering faster.

[homer]

This is good news:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29667299/fda-allowing-saliva-based-test-funded-nba

 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency authorization on Saturday allowing public use of a saliva-based test for the coronavirus developed at Yale University and funded by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association.

 

The test, known as SalivaDirect, is designed for widespread public screening. The cost per sample could be as low as about $4, though the cost to consumers will likely be higher than that -- perhaps around $15 or $20 in some cases, according to expert sources.

[adambr2]

This is good news:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29667299/fda-allowing-saliva-based-test-funded-nba

 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency authorization on Saturday allowing public use of a saliva-based test for the coronavirus developed at Yale University and funded by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association.

 

The test, known as SalivaDirect, is designed for widespread public screening. The cost per sample could be as low as about $4, though the cost to consumers will likely be higher than that -- perhaps around $15 or $20 in some cases, according to expert sources.

 

Good news for sure. Says it's faster than the nasal test, but how fast? 15 minutes? A day?

[homer]

This is good news:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29667299/fda-allowing-saliva-based-test-funded-nba

 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency authorization on Saturday allowing public use of a saliva-based test for the coronavirus developed at Yale University and funded by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association.

 

The test, known as SalivaDirect, is designed for widespread public screening. The cost per sample could be as low as about $4, though the cost to consumers will likely be higher than that -- perhaps around $15 or $20 in some cases, according to expert sources.

 

Good news for sure. Says it's faster than the nasal test, but how fast? 15 minutes? A day?

 

"Results are available in as little as three hours after completing the test"

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/coronavirus-spit-test-used-by-nba-nearing-fda-approval

[tmwiese55]

I think I read these test still have to go to a lab. If so it would seem some of the logistical things slowing down results now could be a problem. But it could be for certain situation where you have a lab ready to handle a group. Say, the first week everyone comes back to a college campus to have everyone test a couple times. Or sports teams. And of course they could figure out a way to streamline it

[homer]

I think I read these test still have to go to a lab. If so it would seem some of the logistical things slowing down results now could be a problem. But it could be for certain situation where you have a lab ready to handle a group. Say, the first week everyone comes back to a college campus to have everyone test a couple times. Or sports teams. And of course they could figure out a way to streamline it

 

Right but I think the goal is to make the testing process so easy and flexible that the lab could be almost anywhere so the number of places to process the samples would increase by several fold.

[LouisEly]

https://www.fiercepharma.com/manufacturing/roche-regeneron-join-forces-to-more-than-triple-manufacturing-covid-19-antibody

Regeneron has started manufacturing it's two-antibody COVID cocktail ahead of FDA approval. Partnering with Roche allows for the manufacture of 650K to 2 million treatment doses, or 4 million to 8 million preventative doses, per year.

 

If the FDA grants an emergency authorization for either use, the government would make doses available at no cost and handle distribution. The article suggests the government's deal is for 1.6M doses, but didn't state who would be able to get the no-cost doses.

 

Important to note that this is not a vaccine, and prior articles have stated that antibody treatments as a preventative measure would first be used for essential workers (healthcare workers, etc.) and the high-risk populations. Antibody treatments will be a lot more expensive than a vaccine, as the government's $450M deal with Regeneron covers 1.6M doses, or $281/dose. The vaccine contracts with the government have been between $10 and $30 per dose. How many doses will be needed for a vaccine or preventative use is yet to be determined.

[jerichoholicninja]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mom-6-kicked-flight-children-after-2-year-old-would-n1237471

 

A New York City mother traveling with her six children was kicked off of a JetBlue flight Wednesday after her 2-year-old daughter would not wear a mask as the airline requires.

 

This is clearly not a case of someone refusing to wear a mask. She and her 5 other children were all wearing masks. If you watch the video the 2 year old would take the mask off every time she tried to put it on. I mean what exactly are you supposed to do? Even the passengers were supporting the mom. To expect a 2 year old to wear a mask is ridiculous. Back in spring we tried to get our 4 year old to wear a mask when we went somewhere. My wife made a big deal about cool he would look and he was really excited until we got to where we were going and he freaked out as soon as the mask was on him so we didn't make him wear it.

[stoutdude04]

Yep. Saw that video. That's absurd.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Why do airplanes always do this "It's too late" routine when there's any kind of issue and insist people get off the plane even when they're willing to adhere to the rules? It's always so annoying to watch.