There’s a great deal of information available on protective gear and its recommended use during the present pandemic. In a healthcare environment, full gowns, face shields, masks, and gloves are frequently used when there’s any great chance of exposure. The general public, on the other hand, is advised to wear cloth masks, wash their hands, and stay away from people.
But there a lot of essential workers out there who have no choice but to deal with the outside world and (more…)
Today is the fourth of July, 2020. As of this writing, the CDC reports 128,648 cumulative deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States, with over 2.7 million total cases reported. The present trend is rising numbers diagnosed, presently in excess of 50,000 new patients per day and increasing — this compared to 500 in mid-March. Some take comfort in the fact that COVID deaths per day are trending down. This would be a grievous error.
First, let us deal with the more optimistic myths. Remember, there’s (more…)
The following is basic medical knowledge backed by science, and I’ve linked the science for you. Very little of this is new; the concepts have been around for quite a while now, and we’ve spent decades refining our knowledge. Most is not a matter for discussion; it is factual rather than opinion, and should be treated as such. (more…)
Obviously there’s no government “Freedom To Breathe Agency”. It’s a private group out to sell cards, which unless you’re very lucky will not help you one bit. You would be ill-advised to rely on one of these to evade arrest.
But you didn’t need anyone to tell you that. You already knew it.
That’s why we’ll discuss other things, such as whether having a legitimate medical condition is enough to get you out of wearing a mask (more…)
I keep having to tell myself that: It’s not about me, I say. And then fifteen seconds later it becomes about me again. Pretty silly, isn’t it?
When I go outside wearing a mask, I can’t breathe. I get light-headed; there’s a tightness in my chest; I get dizzy. My lungs are going like a bellows in a steel mill and my heart’s like a jackhammer. It’s called a panic attack, they tell me, though like Paul Vitti I object strongly to that term. To me, it’s that I’m overheating and can’t get enough air. That will always be my private interpretation, no matter that my brain tells me otherwise. (more…)
We’re having a great debate in this country, and as per usual it’s about the wrong things.
When I say the words “great” and “debate” in this context, I’m being misleading. It’s more of a drunken argument between ignorance and stupidity somewhat reminiscent of politics and religion over post-Thanksgiving football between (more…)
It’s been in the news by now, so you may fancy you already know all about it — and, given the quality of my readership, you may even be right.
However, I’m not writing this entirely for the present day, but rather as a running account of what will doubtless be known as the “COVID Primary” for future readers. Then too, there may be something in here of which you may as yet be unaware. In light of these factors, then, I beg your indulgence for the forthcoming account. (more…)
Yes, you. You’re reading this, so I’m talking to you. And you appear to be missing some crucial information essential to interpreting the present situation.
There exist quite a few out there who are conversant with such terms as “flattening the curve”; I’m fairly sure you can explain (more…)
Yes, there’s a plague. And for some of us, today really sucks. Doctors and nurses are getting burned out — and worse, sick — and things are still just ramping up. The numbers look bad and tomorrow they’ll look worse and a week from now we’re going to look back on today and wish it was still only as bad as this.
It’s tempting to focus on this (more…)
We’re getting used to world leaders making decisions that appear Quixotic, even a bit insane. In the face of a world that’s shutting down due to a virus, North Korea is running missile tests every couple of days, rogue Iraqi militias keep firing missiles at American bases, Russia’s doing a curious diplomatic maneuver with Venezuela… and Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has decided that his countrymen are tough enough to survive COVID-19 without any protection.
Over the past few weeks, Bolsonaro has downplayed fears of a global pandemic, (more…)
The Not Fake News 
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