Day 9 in the countdown to an end to the COVID-19 panic.

[Darren]

A doctor on Long Island has had good results using doxycycline instead of azithromycin with elderly patients.

"His patients were under long-term acute care and had comorbidities such as hypertension, coronary artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or congestive heart failure.

The FDA has warnings that azithromycin “can cause abnormal changes in the electrical activity of the heart that may lead to a potentially fatal irregular heart rhythm.”

So instead, Alam replaced azithromycin with another decades-old antibiotic that doesn’t pose any known risks to the heart.

“Doxycycline is an anti-inflammatory with properties similar to azithromycin but without the safety concerns and without cardiac toxicity,” he said."

https://nypost.com/2020/04/04/long-isla ... -patients/

[RayThom]

[Scooter]

Yes, I pointed out days ago, when you were touting the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a miracle cure (only because Trump had claimed it to be, and you were dutifully parroting him) that each drug individually carried a risk of sudden cardiac death through QT prolongation, which made the combination of the two far deadlier. Nice to know you are finally waking up to the danger posed by it.

[Darren]

Yes, I pointed out days ago, when you were touting the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a miracle cure (only because Trump had claimed it to be, and you were dutifully parroting him) that each drug individually carried a risk of sudden cardiac death through QT prolongation, which made the combination of the two far deadlier. Nice to know you are finally waking up to the danger posed by it.

To each his own ... treatment. That's the first mention of doxycycline I've found for those with comorbidities. Want to see the info on ivermectin? That has an effect on the virus too. Maybe if we dewormed and deflued the population, people might come to their senses instead of hosting parasites, real and virtual.

What I'm seeing is people and companies rising to the challenge to save lives and end the "crisis" that the media might be better showcasing instead of the "BAWL, SOB, SOB we're all going to die" stories.

Turn off your TV. It does a brain good. Better yet carry it out to the curb and leave it for some other member of the Borg.

[Lord Jim]

[Lord Jim]

A doctor on Long Island has had good results using doxycycline instead of azithromycin with elderly patients.

[Scooter]

What I'm seeing is reminiscent of the early attempts at treating HIV, a lot of spaghetti being thrown at the wall to see if any of the strands would stick. Many claims of "promising" treatments that turned out to be fruitless. In that case, it turned out be 15 years from the first recognition of cases until something that could be touted as effective treatment was found. We can't afford to wait that long again.

[TPFKA@W]

Here is a good story on some drugs that may also be in the running to help save people with covid-19. https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2 ... irus-covid

[Lord Jim]

Turn off your TV. It does a brain good. Better yet carry it out to the curb and leave it for some other member of the Borg.

LMAO!!!

A Trump supporter accusing others of being members of a mindless, lockstep, "hive collective"...



Yeah, cutoff your access to actual independent information and make the Trumpist Disinformation Machine your pipeline to reality...



Please keep posting Darren...

Laughter may not be the very best medicine, but it certainly helps... :

[Darren]

An Oxford study points to herd immunity already existing.

"A week later, a team from Oxford University, led by Sunetra Gupta, a professor of theoretical epidemiology, and Jose Lourenco, made a splash with the publication of a dramatically different model of the disease’s prevalence. Their paper suggested that, among other possibilities, up to 68% of the population may have already been infected with the virus — many without knowing it. If that’s true, they argue, the threat will have subsided in two to three months, with the health service stretched but not overwhelmed."

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... to-tell-us

[Scooter]

Their paper...which also hasn’t been peer reviewed, suggests the virus may have been spreading a month before we were aware there was a viral enemy in our midst and that we may be approaching broader immunity. Yet, that’s just one of the many scenarios that fits the model (best explained, actually, by Harvard postdoc James Hay). The number of reported deaths could also be explained by a smaller number of infections and a larger proportion who are at risk of hospitalization.

IOW, an equally plausible explanation for their findings is that infection poses a greater risk of hospitalization and death than is currently believed.

[ex-khobar Andy]

Now I know where he gets it from.

[Darren]

Older news: according to Cuomo the rate of hospital cases is dropping.

"Evidence suggests density control plan may be working," Mr Cuomo tweeted during his press conference. After Sunday showed hospitalisations doubling every two days, it then went down to every 3.4 days on Monday. Then Tuesdays numbers showed hospitalisations doubling only ever 4.7 days.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 1585151679

[ex-khobar Andy]

An Oxford study points to herd immunity already existing.

"A week later, a team from Oxford University, led by Sunetra Gupta, a professor of theoretical epidemiology, and Jose Lourenco, made a splash with the publication of a dramatically different model of the disease’s prevalence. Their paper suggested that, among other possibilities, up to 68% of the population may have already been infected with the virus — many without knowing it. If that’s true, they argue, the threat will have subsided in two to three months, with the health service stretched but not overwhelmed."

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... to-tell-us

My emphasis added.

There is no indication that this is true. It's one of many scenarios which are possible - i.e., have some theoretical plausibility. If in fact it is true that some large percentage of the population has been already infected without knowing it, then it follows from basic epidemiological theory - which has been known for decades - that some degree of herd immunity has developed and yes, it will all go away shortly.

I reminds me of the old WW2 joke about food rationing: "If we had some bacon we could have bacon and eggs if we had some eggs."

"If" is a very big word. So, far from the study 'pointing' to herd immunity, it makes the trivial point that 'if' 68% are already infected - and there is no evidence to suppose that this is true - then things are not as bad as they might be.

[Joe Guy]

It should be easy for someone to design an orange mask with Trump's nose and mouth on it. If they could make it so the mouth appears to move when he tilts his head, he could be protected from the virus and deny that he is wearing a mask.

[ex-khobar Andy]

Older news: according to Cuomo the rate of hospital cases is dropping.

"Evidence suggests density control plan may be working," Mr Cuomo tweeted during his press conference. After Sunday showed hospitalisations doubling every two days, it then went down to every 3.4 days on Monday. Then Tuesdays numbers showed hospitalisations doubling only ever 4.7 days.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 1585151679

The rate of new hospital case is dropping. All this means is that they are on the upper reaches of the Gaussian curve - we can't yet tell if we are a week or two weeks or even three from the apex. And of course the death rate curve follows the new cases curve by a week or two so yes there is light at the end of the tunnel and we are getting closer to it; but we always knew that once we entered the tunnel.

Having said that, of course I am pleased and, as you say, density control plans are working. Then why in fucks's name are eight R governors still refusing to put them in place in their states? Why is Trump refusing to make this a nationwide effort?

[ex-khobar Andy]

Then why in fucks's name are eight R governors still refusing to put them in place in their states? Why is Trump refusing to make this a nationwide effort?

And to answer my own question in case anyone needs it; it's because Trump is a fucking idiot as is his son-in-law, and those governors who for some reason want to follow him - and let's not forget that Trump has made it clear that governors who do not agree with him will fall to the back of the queue f he can get away with it, so there may be some rationale for those governors going along - have abrogated any idea of leadership.

[Darren]

An Oxford study points to herd immunity already existing.

"A week later, a team from Oxford University, led by Sunetra Gupta, a professor of theoretical epidemiology, and Jose Lourenco, made a splash with the publication of a dramatically different model of the disease’s prevalence. Their paper suggested that, among other possibilities, up to 68% of the population may have already been infected with the virus — many without knowing it. If that’s true, they argue, the threat will have subsided in two to three months, with the health service stretched but not overwhelmed."

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... to-tell-us

My emphasis added.

There is no indication that this is true. It's one of many scenarios which are possible - i.e., have some theoretical plausibility. If in fact it is true that some large percentage of the population has been already infected without knowing it, then it follows from basic epidemiological theory - which has been known for decades - that some degree of herd immunity has developed and yes, it will all go away shortly.

I reminds me of the old WW2 joke about food rationing: "If we had some bacon we could have bacon and eggs if we had some eggs."

"If" is a very big word. So, far from the study 'pointing' to herd immunity, it makes the trivial point that 'if' 68% are already infected - and there is no evidence to suppose that this is true - then things are not as bad as they might be.

There are lots of people on other sites talking about a mystery illness in the last months of 2019 that was like flu but wasn't flu. Many report it was the sickest they ever been with breathing issues and the cough. Some on one site are nurses.

The antibody tests can't be started fast enough.

[Scooter]

Yes, it's a shame that there is still such a shortage of tests because Trump dropped the ball on that one as well as everything else.

Oh wait, I forgot, that was Obama's fault.

[Darren]

More good news!

You can head over to Tractor Supply and buy some ivermectin. If you still want the aquarium cleaner you'll need to go to Walmart.

"The important next step is for scientists to determine the correct human dosage for Ivermectin

It is not known exactly how Ivermectin works against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, but the drug compound is thought to be an inhibitor of one of the cell's natural processes, which scientists believe is hijacked by a number of viruses to get around the immune responses of humans.

Some RNA viruses use the cell's own transport system to send a protein into the cell's nucleus that blocks the immune system from attacking the virus. Ivermectin targets not the virus but the transport system, effectively blocking the virus's own defences."

https://www.smh.com.au/national/austral ... 1585970447