Coronavirus prep

lynn_glenmont

ReenieHJ wrote: »

ElioraFR wrote: »

Yes, I did read that information. Did you know that there are rat farms in Vietnam? That the demands of the cuisine in China and elsewhere mean that there are bat and rat farms in asia? What do you think about the fact that there are many Sars type viruses that live in bats and they are sold in open markets in Asia every day?

I'm not here to demand anything or condemn anyone, just would like to know if your philosophy for animal species extends to the extreme circumstances of asia and its effect on the coming possiblilty of mor Pandemic virus infection?

So, in the beginning of Covid-19 a lot of info came into the news about it originating from eating bats. Then many news articles pooh-poohed that idea. With all the unknowns about this virus I just assumed nobody really know how it all started or what truths to listen to. Are you telling me(maybe I missed it somewhere?) that it did indeed originate from wet markets?
Doesn't every country have intelligent doctors telling people not to eat this or that? It's probably a very bad idea? They pull things from being sold when something is known to be uhhh....deadly?
I know I'm very naive but sometimes I gotta wonder how/why the world works the way it does.

Nothing I have seen ever suggested transmission came from eating bats. Rather transmission came from being in close proximity to live bats (or some other animal that theoretically was an intermediary in the transmission process). I'm assuming people are not eating live bats.

ElioraFR

I have changed my thinking on eliminating a species.
I had a cat who killed mice and another one who caught birds. My dog chased a rabbit until it died of fright and chased a deer until it got lost. Probably the most serious predetor and killer so far as making critters extinct is the human, but I don't know for sure if that's true.I read that mosquitoes have killed more people than any other living thing.

I do believe Nature will take care of itself in one way or another.

Thanks for the conversation all.
I apologize if I caused anyone fear or anger.

To the one who called me silly.
Yes, sometimes I am silly for sure. 🤓

paperpudding

I didn't mean to call you yourself silly.

I meant the argument you put up was silly.

Which it seems you have realised yourself if you have now re thought your wish to exterminate a species.

Always good to see when ones initial thought was in fact not as worthwhile as it first seemed.

Cheers.

GaleHawkins

ExistingFish wrote: »

There was NIH funded "gain-of-function" research on bat coronavirus as the Wuhan lab. I would not reject the idea that pangolin and bat coronaviruses may have been mixed, but I would suspect knowing the research was going on that it was not by nature.

I haven't seen any proof (not that it would be released), but it is a well reported fact that the exact type of research was going on. It was controversial research because of the exact outcome we have going on right now.

I see no need to vilify animals.

But we have an emotional need to deny the "gain-of-function" research activity.

baconslave

ExistingFish wrote: »

There was NIH funded "gain-of-function" research on bat coronavirus as the Wuhan lab. I would not reject the idea that pangolin and bat coronaviruses may have been mixed, but I would suspect knowing the research was going on that it was not by nature.

I haven't seen any proof (not that it would be released), but it is a well reported fact that the exact type of research was going on. It was controversial research because of the exact outcome we have going on right now.

I see no need to vilify animals.

We are always messing with viruses and have been doing that for a long time. And if you look into that, you'll see that they get out of the lab and cause trouble. We're messing with the flu right now to study it and making strains that are more virulent, all to try to improve treatment. But the viruses do get out. We just don't hear about it.

I've read reports that COVID-19 was def NOT engineered. Well, that's the internet for you. Whatever you want to be true, you'll find someone confirming it. Now that's not to say that though it's a natural virus that the Chinese weren't messing with it, or we weren't involved with that particular messing, but the report I read said that it's equally likely that it jumped species due to the nasty wet markets.

But it doesn't matter whether or not they were messing with the virus or we were; it very well may have gotten out. As I said, we (humanity) are messing around with viruses all the time. Escapes happen. It may or may not have happened this time, but it will happen again. Maybe humans should learn to be more careful when they play with dangerous things. Maybe China needs to get onto those wet markets. China did suppress the news of the virus outbreak. And that caused it to get out of China in a greater number than it would have otherwise. So that's their fault ffs. Still, how did the U.S. handle it once we knew about the outbreak? Once we did know, the fallout from the decisions made, actions taken or not taken, and the resulting consequences are all on the U.S. and no one else.

So there are multiple sources of culpability to be addressed in this debacle.

IMO, currently we are experiencing a massive epidemic of "unable to put aside politics and learn" in this country that is prolonging the mitigation of this virus and the resulting damage. The picture history will be forced to paint isn't going to be flattering.

MikePfirrman

GaleHawkins wrote: »

ExistingFish wrote: »

There was NIH funded "gain-of-function" research on bat coronavirus as the Wuhan lab. I would not reject the idea that pangolin and bat coronaviruses may have been mixed, but I would suspect knowing the research was going on that it was not by nature.

I haven't seen any proof (not that it would be released), but it is a well reported fact that the exact type of research was going on. It was controversial research because of the exact outcome we have going on right now.

I see no need to vilify animals.

But we have an emotional need to deny the "gain-of-function" research activity.

My understanding (and the understanding of most scientists that don't give into conspiracy theories) is that the NIH was over there trying to anticipate new viruses before they infect millions. It used to be a normal thing for countries to cooperate on preventing Pandemics. Had it not been for going over to Africa to stop Ebola, it might have been a lot worse for the US. And we pulled the plug on the research meant to protect us all. Sort of like getting rid of the pandemic team at the CDC.

You all are getting really close to spreading outright, really out there conspiracy theories on here. Just my opinion. Please leave the dissemination of misinformation on Facebook. You are going down the rabbit hole of "it's all a Bill Gates, Fauci and Obama caused" conspiracy path on here. I, for one, don't appreciate it. It's just BS.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/obama-admin-wuhan-lab-grant/

janejellyroll

GaleHawkins wrote: »

ExistingFish wrote: »

There was NIH funded "gain-of-function" research on bat coronavirus as the Wuhan lab. I would not reject the idea that pangolin and bat coronaviruses may have been mixed, but I would suspect knowing the research was going on that it was not by nature.

I haven't seen any proof (not that it would be released), but it is a well reported fact that the exact type of research was going on. It was controversial research because of the exact outcome we have going on right now.

I see no need to vilify animals.

But we have an emotional need to deny the "gain-of-function" research activity.

On the contrary, it's obvious from the current discourse in this country that many have a deeply rooted emotional need to believe stuff like this.

ElioraFR

On a brighter note: three people in my building wear masks to descend and ascend the incredibly tight late 19th century wooden staircase that our doors all open off of. At least my husband won't feel so threatened now whenever he goes down to put out the garbage.

Never mind the other 18 people in the building using the stairs, at least its a start.

ahoy_m8

I have 2 kids going back to college & 1 teaching in a middle school. Here's how their schools are preparing:

1) The larger public institution has ramped up its own in-house lab testing capacity and is testing in 2 tracks:
--people with symptoms (insurance will be billed; university pays if no insurance; either way, no OOP); 3 rapid test machines can do 100/day (15 min) plus "several hundred"/day saliva tests. It contracted with an outside lab for overflow testing.
--5k/week asymptomatic people in 3 tracks: randomly selected, targeted by community (e.g. dorm section), and targeted by profession (e.g. health worker, day care worker, researcher, etc). You can't ask to participate in asymptomatic testing so as not to skew results. It's voluntary & free.
--The university has been doing contact tracing all summer and had increased the staff of experienced tracers.
While they have communicated the testing & contact tracing plan, I'm unsure where a student goes if they're sick & positive and have roommates.

2) The smaller private institution has partnered with Quest. About 2 weeks before school starts, everyone returning to campus was FedEx-ed a self-test to be shipped back to Quest same day as sampled. People testing positive are asked to delay their return to campus (with specific criteria for return). The school owns a nearby hotel, and it cancelled all reservations through year end to use as a quarantining facility. What happens to students testing positive once school starts depends on where they live. Students who live within 300 miles of campus are asked to return home & continue classes online until return criteria met. Students living farther away have to figure out a different plan, which might include the quarantine hotel depending on specific circumstances, case-by-case. They will prioritize isolation for students in dorms over off-campus housing.
The smaller school is asking students not to travel once arriving on campus (unless sick), and both are asking students to decamp at Thanksgiving to finish semester remotely.

3) Other than delaying the start of school, we have no idea what the preparations have been or will be for the public middle school. Our state education authority has been making the job of ISDs much harder by not issuing guidelines (and reimbursement formula) in a fashion timely enough to allow any plan at all AND contradicting/undermining local health authorities on whom ISDs have been relying for guidance in the absence of a coordinated state response. Terrible state leadership. (Also terrible infection rates -- Texas had 6 of the top 10 hotspots in the country this week per https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/23/upshot/five-ways-to-monitor-coronavirus-outbreak-us.html)

Who knows how well the university plans will work. I guess that largely rests in the hands of 18-22 year olds with not fully developed prefrontal cortexes. But at least they have plans. The ISD's appear to be having a much harder time.

janejellyroll

ahoy_m8 wrote: »

I guess that largely rests in the hands of 18-22 year olds with not fully developed prefrontal cortexes.

I will just say when I was that age I thought I was good at assessing risks and making reasonable choices. I would have been very annoyed with anyone who told me that I wasn't.

I'm now 41 and look back on things I did and realize that in many ways, it's like having a whole new brain.

I would not have said things like "partying is worth [x consequence]" or "getting to spend time with this guy is worth [x consequence], but my choices absolutely reflected that on some level I thought it was.

Maybe I was the bad egg, but I don't have a great feeling overall about the abilities of at least a portion of college students to make decisions about socializing versus the risk of COVID-19.

(Obviously, even some older people are failing this test now too!).

ahoy_m8

Right there with you on all points, Janejellyroll.

hipari

Yep. I graduated a year ago, and my heart really aches for the college students. I can really see them, myself included, going ”well, I’m young and healthy, flus come and go, I’m not visiting any hospitals or nursing homes so it’s not that likely I would be the only person risking others, but college/freshman year/senior year/whatever only happens once”.

During the last few months I’ve had to constantly remind myself that I’m not missing out on any once-in-a-lifetime events or celebrations and there will be others. It was still hard. I can imagine how heart-wrenching it is for those who actually miss out on stuff that can only happen once, and I can definitely see them caving in.

corinasue1143

My granddaughter graduated high school this year. No graduation. Once in a lifetime. She’s ok. No senior prom. Once in a lifetime. She’s ok. No state softball tournament. It’s hard, but she’ll be ok. No all state softball tournament. Once in a lifetime for her. She’s heartbroken.

Gisel2015

baconslave

corinasue1143 wrote: »

My granddaughter graduated high school this year. No graduation. Once in a lifetime. She’s ok. No senior prom. Once in a lifetime. She’s ok. No state softball tournament. It’s hard, but she’ll be ok. No all state softball tournament. Once in a lifetime for her. She’s heartbroken.

I had a senior as well. She has missed so much: volunteering, an internship experience, a free summer to hang with friends, a summer job. She's really losing patience with people who won't take the precautions needed to get the virus down. She's bracing herself for the possible further disappointment of ending up with all her Freshman classes in college online-only. I was talking to her a min ago, and she had the crazy eyes. I wouldn't cross her today...

Theoldguy1

ahoy_m8 wrote: »

Who knows how well the university plans will work. I guess that largely rests in the hands of 18-22 year olds with not fully developed prefrontal cortexes. But at least they have plans. The ISD's appear to be having a much harder time.

We live in a college town (20k student state university, 2k student private university plus a junior college). Unfortunately the university plans will most likely work fine until about an hour after the first beer is cracked at an off campus party.

ElioraFR

Gisel2015 wrote: »

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻💖💞💕💜

T1DCarnivoreRunner

OH Gov. Mike DeWine tested positive ahead of a meeting with President Trump. With the White House testing everyone before they meet with the President, now 2 cases (both asymptomatic) have been found as a result. Gov DeWine and Congressman Louie Gohmert. Both might have continued infecting others if they had not been tested.

I believe this supports my earlier idea to test everyone often so that the asymptomatic people can know and stop spreading it.

MikePfirrman

T1DCarnivoreRunner wrote: »

OH Gov. Mike DeWine tested positive ahead of a meeting with President Trump. With the White House testing everyone before they meet with the President, now 2 cases (both asymptomatic) have been found as a result. Gov DeWine and Congressman Louie Gohmert. Both might have continued infecting others if they had not been tested.

I believe this supports my earlier idea to test everyone often so that the asymptomatic people can know and stop spreading it.

I'm originally from Ohio and I've been proud of the way Dewine has handled things. It does make me a bit sad how he's been getting just roasted on social media for doing the right things. Most anti-science people in Ohio are now all saying, "see, this shows it's not anything to worry about". They don't stop to think that perhaps Dewine following his own protocol might possibly save his life.

I didn't know until last month that the severity of Covid-19 depends, in great part, on "viral load" -- just how much virus you are exposed to. So, Dewine could have caught it, even with a mask on. Wouldn't be particularly surprising with all the interfacing he has to do on a daily basis. But the fact that it isn't severe shouldn't be the reason people excuse not masking up, just the opposite. Perhaps his following safety measures is exactly why he's not worse.

When you see some of the healthiest people that have died, most have been either docs, nurses or first responders -- people that by the risk they have to face are exposed to greater loads/volumes of the virus. I just wish people wouldn't be looking for reasons to minimize this disease and the risk. I hope he'll be fine.

I'll also caution that a lot of what I said seems to be the common belief, but it's not been proven without a doubt. Here's a good article on it.

https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-questions-about-covid-19-and-viral-load/

missysippy930

On the news today it was reported that a resident of LaCrosse WI (border city with MN) who had Covid 3 months ago, may be reinfected now. They are trying to determine whether it’s a reinfection or a flare up of the previous infection. It was also reported there is a similar case reported in Kentucky Tuesday. I wonder how this affects antibody theories?