COVID-19 updates

[John Camp]

What about people who need to eat? Where are they getting money from to eat and pay their rent? 

We have these plastic things called "credit cards." They're widely accepted.

[Alan Klein]

It depends. He may have to sell his Leica.

He's a skier.  Does ski patrol in his spare time and teaches dentistry at Columbia University to the dental students there.  But he did tell me he might consider retiring.  I think a lot of people are going to retire now as they realize diminishing returns from staying open and threats to their own health by staying around.  A lot of these doctors are older and more susceptible to death just like other elderly people. 

[Alan Klein]

There's a specific law that forbids members of congress from trading on information they learn through confidential government sources. It's called the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. Burr was one of the three or four senators to vote against it.

It will be hard to prove since the information about the virus was public knowledge.  Of course, the optics are terrible.

[Alan Goldhammer]

Disappointing paper in the New England Journal of Medicine. It was a small study, but it suggests that at least two of the current crop of anti-viral agents are of little use against this particular virus.

Jeremy

I have all of the ongoing clinical trials by compound on a spread sheet and am collating the results as they come in.  It's still unclear what the best target is for this virus.  The HIV drugs were always going to be a long shot though there is an Australian researcher who claims to have had success with the same treatment that failed in China.  That was just a newspaper clipping.  There are several other anti-virals  in trials as well as some biologicals that mediate cytokine storm which appears to cause a number of the fatalities.  A joint academic effort here in the US has used some AI approaches with molecular screening and have identified 50 compounds that are now being screened in vitro.  Results from that should be available shortly.  I have no clue whether hydroxychlorquine or remesdivir will work but there are enough trials going on to quickly come up with an answer.  The small molecule approach was always going to be a shot in the dark particularly when drug targets have only recently been identified.  this virus appears to interact with over 400 different cellular proteins.  It's only my opinion but the one short term project that could really help would be a monoclonal antibody against the virus assuming you can get it to the targeted tissue and the vaccine.

[Alan Klein]

Based on this I have to decide how to handle the Amazon packages. I sprayed them a little, opened them then sprayed the inside boxes, got rid of outside boxes, wash hands, ...
Maybe I should just open them and leave them somewhere inside the house where nobody will touch them for 3 days or so.

I got a note from Fedex that they won't require signatures any more.  I just called my pizza place that has gone to take out service only.  You order on the phone and pay with your credit card in advance.  You give them your car ID and they look out for you when you pass and deliver curb service to the car's window.  Of course, you then have to spray the box.  I wonder if the virus is on the crust of the slices?  Is the virus dangerous if you eat it? 

[JoeKitchen]

You have far more faith in justice than I. My prediction is that they'll be mumbling about this in the Senate ethics committee for a few weeks, by which time people will be dropping like flies, and nobody will pay attention to the stock purchases made in the distant past.

Disappointing, but likely. 

[Alan Klein]

We have these plastic things called "credit cards." They're widely accepted.

Except when they reach a limit.  Then what?  More debt?  Will the government force credit cards companies to extend credit and payments?  You watch how things are going to break down if we don;t get back to work and take our chances.  Who's going to pay my Social Security and Medicare if no one is working?  More government printing?  remember, currency is a store of real value based on production of society.  If the society isn't producing because no one is working, and you print money to make up the difference, that's inflation.  You have all those dollars chasing fewer goods  because things are not being produced.  That raises prices of everything with more dollars chasing less goods. 

[Alan Klein]

I have all of the ongoing clinical trials by compound on a spread sheet and am collating the results as they come in.  It's still unclear what the best target is for this virus.  The HIV drugs were always going to be a long shot though there is an Australian researcher who claims to have had success with the same treatment that failed in China.  That was just a newspaper clipping.  There are several other anti-virals  in trials as well as some biologicals that mediate cytokine storm which appears to cause a number of the fatalities.  A joint academic effort here in the US has used some AI approaches with molecular screening and have identified 50 compounds that are now being screened in vitro.  Results from that should be available shortly.  I have no clue whether hydroxychlorquine or remesdivir will work but there are enough trials going on to quickly come up with an answer.  The small molecule approach was always going to be a shot in the dark particularly when drug targets have only recently been identified.  this virus appears to interact with over 400 different cellular proteins.  It's only my opinion but the one short term project that could really help would be a monoclonal antibody against the virus assuming you can get it to the targeted tissue and the vaccine.

Maybe the Chinese have figured out what it is and won't tell us.  After all, they seem to have stopped in in their country.

[JoeKitchen]

I'm pretty good with isolating but my wife is getting testy.  It won't last.  Unless the death rates go up significantly, people are going to go out. 

Exactly my point.  Things will break regardless of what the government says we can or can not do. 

Over time people are going to start weighing out the risks of getting Corona Virus vs. the risks of not have a job nor an income, and eventually the risks of the latter will become greater then the former.  When that happens, regardless of what the nay sayers here think, it is going to boil over.  Full stop. 

[armand]

I have all of the ongoing clinical trials by compound on a spread sheet and am collating the results as they come in.  It's still unclear what the best target is for this virus.  The HIV drugs were always going to be a long shot though there is an Australian researcher who claims to have had success with the same treatment that failed in China.  That was just a newspaper clipping.  There are several other anti-virals  in trials as well as some biologicals that mediate cytokine storm which appears to cause a number of the fatalities.  A joint academic effort here in the US has used some AI approaches with molecular screening and have identified 50 compounds that are now being screened in vitro.  Results from that should be available shortly.  I have no clue whether hydroxychlorquine or remesdivir will work but there are enough trials going on to quickly come up with an answer.  The small molecule approach was always going to be a shot in the dark particularly when drug targets have only recently been identified.  this virus appears to interact with over 400 different cellular proteins.  It's only my opinion but the one short term project that could really help would be a monoclonal antibody against the virus assuming you can get it to the targeted tissue and the vaccine.

Keep us updated.
I suspect it will be many months before we have something in enough quantities.

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

I'm taking the perspective if it truly is racist, then the Media are a lot more to blame for branding it this way then Trump.  How many weeks were they using "Chinese" or "Wuhan" when describing it.  If they feel this is a problem, let me know when they apologize for using it themselves. 

Second, I see no issue with using a term in the name that notes the origin country or region, as is the case with MERS or West Nile Virus.

I do see an issue, besides the xenophobic card being played (an outside enemy is more convenient than admitting that one's own initial response was substandard).

The initially named "novel coronavirus" was officially labeled on February 11th, 2020, by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as "COVID-19". The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) decided to call it "SARS-CoV-2", which is more descriptive for insiders.

There is no valid reason to call it anything else than by its official name, from that moment on.

[JoeKitchen]

I do see an issue, besides the xenophobic card being played (an outside enemy is more convenient than admitting that one's own initial response was substandard).

The initially named "novel coronavirus" was officially labeled on February 11th, 2020, by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as "COVID-19". The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) decided to call it "SARS-CoV-2", which is more descriptive for insiders.

There is no valid reason to call it anything else than by its official name, from that moment on.

Okay, okay, from now on we must make sure "Chinese" is not used so as not to cast undo blame on the Chinese government. 

China's relationship with WHO chief in wake of coronavirus outbreak under the microscope

Yep, nothing to see here folks, please move on, we all know China did an amazing job handling this. 

The fact is that China is responsible for this pandemic.  Instead of being concerned about their people and the world, they were more concerned about the reputation of their single party government and flat out lied about this.  Now they are trying to skirt blame more by creating a propaganda campaign against saying any of it was China's fault using racism as the excuse knowing full well the left's stance on up holding multi-culturism, no matter how illogical in this specific case, would catch them hook, line and sinker. 

China's communist party is responsible, and they need to be held accountable. 

[LesPalenik]

Italy reported 627 new deaths today. Spain 213, and China only 3.

[rabanito]

China's communist party is responsible, and they need to be held accountable.

You might be right or not.
But if your president believes that, he should be saying
"In the name of my country, I held you, Chinese, reponsible and accountable for what is happening.
FOR THIS, THIS AND THIS VERY REASONS. "
Klartext, as the Germans say.

But he's not doing that, he's just suggesting. Being "smart". Sowing doubt instead of giving confidence-
Fine leader...

[James Clark]

Okay, okay, from now on we must make sure "Chinese" is not used so as not to cast undo blame on the Chinese government. 

China's relationship with WHO chief in wake of coronavirus outbreak under the microscope

Yep, nothing to see here folks, please move on, we all know China did an amazing job handling this. 

The fact is that China is responsible for this pandemic.  Instead of being concerned about their people and the world, they were more concerned about the reputation of their single party government and flat out lied about this.  Now they are trying to skirt blame more by creating a propaganda campaign against saying any of it was China's fault using racism as the excuse knowing full well the left's stance on up holding multi-culturism, no matter how illogical in this specific case, would catch them hook, line and sinker. 

China's communist party is responsible, and they need to be held accountable.

Check the picture here. Maybe you might "feel" some sympathy and understand why people aren't being unknowing tools of the Chinese government when they complain about this, but rather are concerned about the impact racial fear has on actual people.

Describing the attack, Mr Mok said the man who kicked him "was really angry".

"He shouted 'I don't want your coronavirus in my country'," Mr Mok told the BBC.

A second male threw a punch, causing Mr Mok's nose to bleed badly.

Mr Mok told the BBC he may need an operation on a broken bone near his right eye.

Damn, dude.  Come on.

[JoeKitchen]

Check the picture here. Maybe you might "feel" some sympathy and understand why people aren't being unknowing tools of the Chinese government when they complain about this, but rather are concerned about the impact racial fear has on actual people. 

Damn, dude.  Come on.

I don't give Trump any blame for that just like I don't giver Bernie Sanders any blame for one of his followers shooting at republican lawmakers during a softball game. 

There are crazy and/or immature people in this world that will look for whatever excuse to do wrong. 

And just out of curiosity, is Trump now at fault for all offenses both inside and outside the country?  That happened in London. 

PS, in your article, it says the guy only shouted "coronavirus;" he did not use  the word "Chinese" according to accounts.  So this is another reason I fail to see how this story connects to Trump. 

[chez]

Wonder who should take the blame for American created inventions like Coke / Pepsi, McDonalds, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts etc... which contribute to millions of deaths every year for decades.

[JoeKitchen]

You might be right or not.
But if your president believes that, he should be saying
"In the name of my country, I held you, Chinese, reponsible and accountable for what is happening.
FOR THIS, THIS AND THIS VERY REASONS. "
Klartext, as the Germans say.

But he's not doing that, he's just suggesting. Being "smart". Sowing doubt instead of giving confidence-
Fine leader...

It's all about branding, which is what he is doing now.  We are too dependent on drug components coming out of China right now to piss them off so much so they close the door.  Unfortunately they do have us, and the rest of the world, by the balls here. 

I fully hope that after we get out of this, they will be held accountable for this and directly blamed. 

[Raul_Rodriguez]

Wonder who should take the blame for American created inventions like Coke / Pepsi, McDonalds, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts etc... which contribute to millions of deaths every year for decades.

Do you want to ban fast food? No one is forcing you to eat it.

[Rob C]

Slobodan has gone very quiet. He and I might not agree on much but I hope all is well and that he is recovering from whatever bug he has.

I fear this is going to happen more and more, contributors going quiet and the not knowing...

Noticed too; fingers crossed all is okay, but it could also be communication problems. I had a battle with Google Chrome yesterday, and could not open Google through it and only managed to do that by using another server I have on the computer. But no problem on the iPad at the same period.

All normal today, except the bank: my local branch was closed, and a notice informed me I had to to the branch in the next town. When I got there, the door was locked and two people were toiling inside. Through the glass, one told me that to get my money, I had to use the cash machine, which I never do. So, to the machine I went, only to discover the bastards want almost 8% off me for the privilege! What could I do?

The next problem will be putting money in: can't use a cash dispenser backwards, as far as I can tell. As I do it by lodging a cheque.... Anyway, nice to see that the banks will get richer because of this crisis.

Rob