Day 11 in the countdown to an end to the COVID-19 panic.

[Darren]

More good news.

"Researchers at Mayo Clinic expect to release a test that would tell whether a person has had and recovered from COVID-19 on Monday. The Star Tribune reports the University of Minnesota is also narrowing in on an antibody test."

"FDA approval is not needed at this time. However, laboratories that are offering these tests have to go through a very rigorous verification process to make sure that the tests they're offering provide the right results.

Clinicians will be able to order this in individuals who they think having are a result for would be helpful to either guide return to work [decisions] or further quarantining."

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/04/0 ... eioiYWvUD8

[Lord Jim]

Great news for Lupus sufferers!

Lupus patients face medication shortage as vital drug is used to treat coronavirus

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - The FDA has given emergency approval for doctors to use anti-malaria drugs to treat the coronavirus. Now, millions of doses could be sent to hospitals across the country. One of those malaria medications, hydroxychloroquine, is already used for chronic conditions like lupus.

In Springfield, Grove Pharmacy is completely out of it already, and that is starting to worry people who already rely on it.

"It's not just the people that might get COVID-19 who are at risk. There are other people whose lives are in danger, said Esther Guy. "My life is in danger if I'm not able to get my medications."

Guy is a pianist by trade and a patient by chance.

"Lupus used to be a death diagnosis," she said.

She was diagnosed in 2012 and there's one thing she credits to saving her life.

"It's enabled me to get out of bed by myself and walk and function by myself," Guy said.

It's called hydroxycloroquine, commonly known as an anti-malarial drug.

"The medication that I take for lupus is one of the medications they're using for people with coronavirus. So that eased a lot of the anxiety but then when I found out there was a shortage, that made me very nervous," Guy said.

Now, anxiety is heightened again, not only for patients, but pharmacists, too.

"The availability of hydroxychloroquine is very minimal. There is a limitation of how much is being sent because of the shortage," said Miguel Nunez, with Grove Pharmacy.

Nunez said hydroxycloroquine is only kept in stock for patients who need it regularly, but now, the drug is being used to treat severe cases of coronavirus and there is simply none left.

"All of our resources have been exhausted. We have researched this two weeks ago and we're still not getting any of it," Nunez said.

Guy is trying stay positive, and trying not to panic, but knows exactly what will happen if more of the drug doesn't arrive soon.

"It's not hyperbole, it's not an exaggeration. I will die if I don't get hydroxychloroquine," she said.

https://www.ky3.com/content/news/Lupus- ... 40011.html

[Lord Jim]

One of my favorite songs.

Thanks, LJ!

It seemed like an appropriate thread for it, Dale...

[dales]

[Crackpot]

Well my cousin is in the hospital with it.

[Scooter]

Fuck. Hope it turns out ok.

[BoSoxGal]

Fuck. Hope it turns out ok.

x2

[Lord Jim]

X3

[Crackpot]

She better be. Random chance couldn’t be that much of an asshole. Her daughters lost thier father last year her grandfather a few weeks ago for them to lose thier mother as well is a bit much.

[BoSoxGal]

Random chance is a cocksucking motherfucker; nevertheless, I really hope your cousin will beat that bastard covid.

[dales]

Well my cousin is in the hospital with it.

Such sad news.

Best thoughts and prayers towards you and yours.

[Econoline]

CP, I hope she recovers ASAP. Sending thoughts and.......(well, I NEVER say this, but I'll say it this time:).....thoughts and prayers.

And luck.

[Guinevere]

I’m sorry CP, I hope she is able to recover and get well. Sending her and her family all good thoughts and energy.

[ex-khobar Andy]

x8 or whatever the count is now.

[Joe Guy]

Me too.

[ex-khobar Andy]

Once the dust has settled, there is one thing I hope for apart from that we all survive. I have long been a little fed up with the routine 'thank you for your service' that we seem to offer those in uniform whenever the opportunity arises. Go to a hockey game and and some sergeant just back from wherever will be trotted out so that we can all feel good about clapping her or him. Don't get me wrong: I appreciate those who take risks on my behalf. But let's not make the mistake of thinking that those who serve in uniform are a breed apart, a distinct tribe, and that bravery does not exist elsewhere. Here in the US and with the NHS in UK and the excitable Italians and the inscrutable Chinese and wherever doctors and nurses and hospital aides are to be found there are so many examples of ordinary people doing heroic things.

Strange place to find it, but there is something life-affirming about a pandemic.

[BoSoxGal]

Yes, even grocery clerks earning a fraction of the income with no benefits are risking their lives to serve their communities.

[dales]

Same for our first responders.

[Joe Guy]

[Lord Jim]

More good news! We're back under 1000 deaths in the daily death total!

April 2 (GMT)

29874 new cases and 968 new deaths in the United States

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

Clearly we've hit our peak! Soon we'll be back down to zero! Everybody can go back to work!