There’s a ton of anger toward Donald Trump for his mishandling of the present outbreak. I understand it; at present, I myself am quite disappointed. There’s a few things that ought to have been done much sooner, and we should examine them.
We have too few doctors, nurses, nurse’s aides, people trained in hazmat disposal, (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…)
…probably. Yes, one or two of you do, but if so you’re in the hospital right now because you can’t breathe, and so you’re probably not reading this.
Bear in mind: I’m writing this with a persistent sore throat, bad lungs, and a massive case of paranoia. It might just be the damned cherry blossoms and the annual pollen dump; it might be the coronavirus. I have no (more…)
I thought it would never happen. Either Gabbard or Yang was going to stay in way too long and then endorse Sanders, was my prediction. And now they’ve both let me down.
I mean, yeah, sure, nobody could have predicted the election would pivot to be about the Coronavirus. Taking down Trump I can see, and I even anticipated that the Democratic establishment would fear a Sanders presidency even more than a Trump (more…)
Tomorrow, the 53,000-odd residents of the Northern Marianas will hold their Democratic Caucuses. Curiously, this territory, which is strongly Republican and has no sway in the November elections, will award 6 at-large delegates and another 5 superdelegates.
Nobody’s running here; nobody’s done any serious polling. Bloomberg had operatives (more…)
Here’s what is meant by mitigating and flattening the curve.
COVID-19 has between a 5 and 20% hospitalization rate for severe symptoms. If it infected as many people in the U.S. as influenza we would be looking at a minimum of 1.7 million people in need of hospitalization — and not just for a few days.
No country in the world is prepared to take on this kind of caseload quickly. (more…)
After opening fifteen hundred points down, the stock market dropped another two thousand. Consumer goods are up 20% — hoarding toilet paper does some good after all — but the rest of the market is through the floor.
Coronavirus fears, a massive price war for oil, and a certainty among financial wonks that a downturn is due: All these come together to create a truly nasty couple of days, (more…)
I am NOT a medical expert. I’m not a doctor, an immunologist; I’m not even a licensed ambulance attendant any more. So when I tell you things about a viral outbreak, you should take them with a grain of salt. (So to speak. I’m also not a pharmacist.)
But when I talk about panic, you should listen to me. When I tell you about history, you should listen. And when anyone else who is not an immunologist (more…)
Note: I’m a commentator, not a doctor. There’s a reason I don’t work in a hospital, and it’s not just because I’m squeamish. When in doubt, consult a doctor; this article is just general information.
Yesterday, the CDC released a guidance document on the COVID-19 outbreak. It tells us… well, honestly it tells us that they really don’t know much. It’s deadlier than the normal flu outbreak by at least a factor of 10; up to one case in five may require hospitalization. If you’re old and chronically ill, you’re much more likely to die. Oh, and those masks? Probably won’t keep you from catching it, but if used properly might keep you from spreading it.
And that’s about it.
So… yeah. Not exactly the most informative press release (more…)
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