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COVID-19

Started by Tank, March 10, 2020, 07:43:23 AM

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No one

Argentium:
Yesterday I was in the shopping mall to wire some money to my sister and I saw a shop attendant (not where I was, thankfully) lift his mask so that he could sneeze

It's a little encouraging actually, that country I reside in, does not have exclusive rights to these bozos.

Icarus

Silver you are sending money to your sister................are you sending money to your crazy sister?   

xSilverPhinx

Quote from: Icarus on August 22, 2020, 11:34:56 PM
Silver you are sending money to your sister................are you sending money to your crazy sister?

That's the one.
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


No one

Does she have an incriminating photo of you in an uncompromising position?

xSilverPhinx

Quote from: No one on August 23, 2020, 01:35:43 AM
Does she have an incriminating photo of you in an uncompromising position?

No, we are basically sending her money this time so she can rent an apartment in Uruguay and stay there...in that land far, far away. Basically paying her to stay away.
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


Dark Lightning

Quote from: xSilverPhinx on August 23, 2020, 02:22:19 AM
Quote from: No one on August 23, 2020, 01:35:43 AM
Does she have an incriminating photo of you in an uncompromising position?

No, we are basically sending her money this time so she can rent an apartment in Uruguay and stay there...in that land far, far away. Basically paying her to stay away.

You're, aproximadamente, en Rio? Is Uruguay far enough away?  ;D I had to look up the translation, and I hope that google got it correct. I studied Spanish in my teens for three years. I could read Italian and Portuguese and even a little French from what I had learned, and get the basic meaning, but the spelling of the words and of course a lot of the nuance was lost to me. If I had it to do again, I might have been a linguist. Languages have always fascinated me.

xSilverPhinx

Quote from: Dark Lightning on August 23, 2020, 04:10:10 AM
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on August 23, 2020, 02:22:19 AM
Quote from: No one on August 23, 2020, 01:35:43 AM
Does she have an incriminating photo of you in an uncompromising position?

No, we are basically sending her money this time so she can rent an apartment in Uruguay and stay there...in that land far, far away. Basically paying her to stay away.

You're, aproximadamente, en Rio? Is Uruguay far enough away?  ;D I had to look up the translation, and I hope that google got it correct. I studied Spanish in my teens for three years. I could read Italian and Portuguese and even a little French from what I had learned, and get the basic meaning, but the spelling of the words and of course a lot of the nuance was lost to me. If I had it to do again, I might have been a linguist. Languages have always fascinated me.

I am em Rio! :grin: Just not Rio de Janeiro. 'Rio' means 'River' and there are three states with River in their name, I live in Rio Grande do Sul, about 1,600 km from the city of Rio de Janeiro.  ;D

Uruguay is closer, but still far enough away to be comfortable.

I'm also fond of languages. I tried to be a linguist in a past life, and even completed a year of English-Portuguese at uni, but it didn't work out. I'm actually glad it didn't because I prefer where I am now. Better subject, and much better people.  ::)
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


Randy

Quote from: xSilverPhinx on August 23, 2020, 11:43:57 AM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on August 23, 2020, 04:10:10 AM
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on August 23, 2020, 02:22:19 AM
Quote from: No one on August 23, 2020, 01:35:43 AM
Does she have an incriminating photo of you in an uncompromising position?

No, we are basically sending her money this time so she can rent an apartment in Uruguay and stay there...in that land far, far away. Basically paying her to stay away.

You're, aproximadamente, en Rio? Is Uruguay far enough away?  ;D I had to look up the translation, and I hope that google got it correct. I studied Spanish in my teens for three years. I could read Italian and Portuguese and even a little French from what I had learned, and get the basic meaning, but the spelling of the words and of course a lot of the nuance was lost to me. If I had it to do again, I might have been a linguist. Languages have always fascinated me.

I am em Rio! :grin: Just not Rio de Janeiro. 'Rio' means 'River' and there are three states with River in their name, I live in Rio Grande do Sul, about 1,600 km from the city of Rio de Janeiro.  ;D

Uruguay is closer, but still far enough away to be comfortable.

I'm also fond of languages. I tried to be a linguist in a past life, and even completed a year of English-Portuguese at uni, but it didn't work out. I'm actually glad it didn't because I prefer where I am now. Better subject, and much better people.  ::)
Getting off track here but I just wanted to say that I constructed three alien languages for a LAN game which is quite fun. They wanted me to construct all five but the fatigue got to me. I got paid for the use in publications and I got to keep the rights.
"Maybe it's just a bunch of stuff that happens." -- Homer Simpson
"Some people focus on the destination. Atheists focus on the journey." -- Barry Goldberg

Recusant

Many people are saying that this study got it wrong.

"Herd immunity an impractical strategy, study finds" | EurekAlert

QuoteAchieving herd immunity to COVID-19 is an impractical public health strategy, according to a new model developed by University of Georgia scientists. The study recently appeared in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Controlling COVID-19 has presented public health policymakers with a conundrum:

How to prevent overwhelming their health care infrastructure, while avoiding major societal disruption? Debate has revolved around two proposed strategies. One school of thought aims for "suppression," eliminating transmission in communities through drastic social distancing measures, while another strategy is "mitigation," aiming to achieve herd immunity by permitting the infection of a sufficiently large proportion of the population while not exceeding health care capacity.

"The herd immunity concept is tantalizing because it spells the end of the threat of COVID-19," said Toby Brett, a postdoctoral associate at the Odum School of Ecology and the study's lead author. "However, because this approach aims to avoid disease elimination, it would need a constant adjustment of lockdown measures to ensure enough--but not too many--people are being infected at a particular point in time. Because of these challenges, the herd immunity strategy is actually more like attempting to walk a barely visible tightrope."

[Continues . . .]
"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


Randy

I read somewhere (can't remember where to look up the source) that some people who were infected before became infected again. It seems like the herd immunity strategy will not hold water anyway.
"Maybe it's just a bunch of stuff that happens." -- Homer Simpson
"Some people focus on the destination. Atheists focus on the journey." -- Barry Goldberg

Dark Lightning

Quote from: Randy on September 25, 2020, 03:27:19 PM
I read somewhere (can't remember where to look up the source) that some people who were infected before became infected again. It seems like the herd immunity strategy will not hold water anyway.

That's true, I've seen it in the news, as well. I know that the "common" cold mutates all the time. Since it and C-19 are both coronaviruses, it doesn't surprise me. I'm hoping that the mutants aren't more lethal.

Randy

Quote from: Dark Lightning on September 25, 2020, 04:55:51 PM
Quote from: Randy on September 25, 2020, 03:27:19 PM
I read somewhere (can't remember where to look up the source) that some people who were infected before became infected again. It seems like the herd immunity strategy will not hold water anyway.

That's true, I've seen it in the news, as well. I know that the "common" cold mutates all the time. Since it and C-19 are both coronaviruses, it doesn't surprise me. I'm hoping that the mutants aren't more lethal.
I hadn't thought about them becoming more lethal although that is certainly within the realm of probability. Maybe we are looking at the end of humanity.
"Maybe it's just a bunch of stuff that happens." -- Homer Simpson
"Some people focus on the destination. Atheists focus on the journey." -- Barry Goldberg

Dark Lightning

And if that wasn't bad enough, there's another new influenza strain capable of being passed back and forth from man to bird to pig. In China. We need the chump out of office before he screws the pooch again, if this gets out of China.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/spotlights/2019-2020/cdc-prepare-swine-flu.html

Recusant

The somewhat bizarre and highly questionable "Great Barrington Declaration" (Wikipedia link) urges a herd immunity approach. There have been a number of responses to/examinations of that farrago of unfounded, speculative, irresponsible "sciency" noise. I thought that the one posted on Wired was good (a few free articles before a paywall goes up there).

A reply of sorts has appeared in the form of the John Snow Memorandum. Named for John Snow, a 19th century British doctor who was prominent in the development of the field of epidemiology, its title also might be seen as a reference to "Game of Thrones" and its recurring theme of "winter is coming."

QuoteAny pandemic management strategy relying upon immunity from natural infections for COVID-19 is flawed. Uncontrolled transmission in younger people risks significant morbidity and mortality across the whole population. In addition to the human cost, this would impact the workforce as a whole and overwhelm the ability of healthcare systems to provide acute and routine care.

Furthermore, there is no evidence for lasting protective immunity to SARS-CoV-2 following natural infection and the endemic transmission that would be the consequence of waning immunity would present a risk to vulnerable populations for the indefinite future. Such a strategy would not end the COVID-19 pandemic but result in recurrent epidemics, as was the case with numerous infectious diseases before the advent of vaccination. It would also place an unacceptable burden on the economy and healthcare workers, many of whom have died from COVID-19 or experienced trauma as a result of having to practise disaster medicine. Additionally, we still do not understand who might suffer from long COVID. Defining who is vulnerable is complex, but even if we consider those at risk of severe illness, the proportion of vulnerable people constitute as much as 30% of the population in some regions. Prolonged isolation of large swathes of the population is practically impossible and highly unethical. Empirical evidence from many countries shows that it is not feasible to restrict uncontrolled outbreaks to particular sections of society. Such an approach also risks further exacerbating the socioeconomic inequities and structural discriminations already laid bare by the pandemic. Special efforts to protect the most vulnerable are essential but must go hand-in-hand with multi-pronged population-level strategies.

Once again, we face rapidly accelerating increase in COVID-19 cases across much of Europe, the USA, and many other countries across the world. It is critical to act decisively and urgently. Effective measures that suppress and control transmission need to be implemented widely, and they must be supported by financial and social programmes that encourage community responses and address the inequities that have been amplified by the pandemic. Continuing restrictions will probably be required in the short term, to reduce transmission and fix ineffective pandemic response systems, in order to prevent future lockdowns. The purpose of these restrictions is to effectively suppress SARS-CoV-2 infections to low levels that allow rapid detection of localised outbreaks and rapid response through efficient and comprehensive find, test, trace, isolate, and support systems so life can return to near-normal without the need for generalised restrictions. Protecting our economies is inextricably tied to controlling COVID-19. We must protect our workforce and avoid long-term uncertainty.

Japan, Vietnam, and New Zealand, to name a few countries, have shown that robust public health responses can control transmission, allowing life to return to near-normal, and there are many such success stories. The evidence is very clear: controlling community spread of COVID-19 is the best way to protect our societies and economies until safe and effective vaccines and therapeutics arrive within the coming months.

We cannot afford distractions that undermine an effective response; it is essential that we act urgently based on the evidence.

[Link to full memorandum.]
"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


Dark Lightning

Benefits of universal masking from Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-1132-9

"Projections of current non-pharmaceutical intervention strategies by state—with social distancing mandates reinstated when a threshold of 8 deaths per million population is exceeded (reference scenario)—suggest that, cumulatively, 511,373 (469,578–578,347) lives could be lost to COVID-19 across the United States by 28 February 2021. We find that achieving universal mask use (95% mask use in public) could be sufficient to ameliorate the worst effects of epidemic resurgences in many states. Universal mask use could save an additional 129,574 (85,284–170,867) lives from September 22, 2020 through the end of February 2021, or an additional 95,814 (60,731–133,077) lives assuming a lesser adoption of mask wearing (85%), when compared to the reference scenario."

>:(

Bolding is mine. These maskholes need to get it together and wear them.