Corona Virus: It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint

[LawBeefaroni]

Illinois is reporting 11.4M tested in the state. That's for a population of around 12.6M. There must be a lot of people getting many multiple tests because no way we have 90% of the population tested.

[ImLawBoy]

Illinois is reporting 11.4M tested in the state. That's for a population of around 12.6M. There must be a lot of people getting many multiple tests because no way we have 90% of the population tested.

I know that my neighbor and her kid have been tested multiple times. Her kid goes to a school "pod" with 3 or 4 other kids from her class, so when she gets the sniffles or something, she needs to be tested. We, in contrast, haven't had any testing in our household of 5.

[pr0ner]

Illinois is reporting 11.4M tested in the state. That's for a population of around 12.6M. There must be a lot of people getting many multiple tests because no way we have 90% of the population tested.

I definitely know some people who have been tested multiple times for various reasons, and then there are people like me who have yet to endure the nasal raping.

[stessier]

people like me who have yet to endure the nasal raping.

It's not fun, but it's really not that bad.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Illinois is reporting 11.4M tested in the state. That's for a population of around 12.6M. There must be a lot of people getting many multiple tests because no way we have 90% of the population tested.

Also I believe, at least in some places, healthcare workers get tested fairly regularly. As do people working in nursing homes, etc.

[GungHo]

Illinois is reporting 11.4M tested in the state. That's for a population of around 12.6M. There must be a lot of people getting many multiple tests because no way we have 90% of the population tested.

Also I believe, at least in some places, healthcare workers get tested fairly regularly. As do people working in nursing homes, etc.

I believe this 100% but it's odd bc I'm in healthcare and have been exposed at least twice(that I know of) and I've cared for dozens of COVID-19 patients; but I've yet to be tested. I've never been symptomatic so that's a big + in my favor. Just further proof of how totally haphazard our approach to this whole thing has been at nearly every level

[Default]

I believe this 100% but it's odd bc I'm in healthcare and have been exposed at least twice(that I know of) and I've cared for dozens of COVID-19 patients; but I've yet to be tested. I've never been symptomatic so that's a big + in my favor.

So, you have never been tested to make sure that you aren't asymptomatic?

[gbasden]

Washington Post

“My 12-year-old son is home by himself right now, and there are protesters banging outside the door,” she told the Central District Health’s Board of Health, which serves four counties in the state’s most populous region. “I’m going to go home and make sure he’s okay.”

Somebody is going to push this a little too far and get gunned down by the person they are trying to terrify. I can't wait to see how the lunatics square a legitimate castle defense against one of their own.

[GungHo]

I believe this 100% but it's odd bc I'm in healthcare and have been exposed at least twice(that I know of) and I've cared for dozens of COVID-19 patients; but I've yet to be tested. I've never been symptomatic so that's a big + in my favor.

So, you have never been tested to make sure that you aren't asymptomatic?

Most places won't test you unless you are symptomatic and believe it or not my institution is simply not setup to do large scale testing on its employees of which we have about 10,000(across multiple campuses). We are a pediatric facility so we aren't as high in the food chain for testing equipment as most other hospitals are. The truth is we aren't seeing a ton of kids with this; absolutely there are some and a fair % end up in the icu. But it is absolutely nothing like what the broader medical world at large is dealing with; just not even close.
I get what you're saying but in similar situations, say an exposure to TB you would test the exposed person and immediately begin treatment. Of course we don't really have a tried and true established treatment regimen for covid like we do TB so I'm sure that alters the calculus a bit. But I think most importantly, I and even moreso, the hospital, would want to know if I'm infectious. I'd like to keep this thing away from my wife who has some kind of (after 10 years of trying) undiagnosed autoimmune disorder for which she takes immunocomprimising drugs. And the hospital would absolutely want me kept away from our most vulnerable pts, which, unfortunately, tend to be the ones I care for.
As it stands, our policy is 'if you're exposed and don't show symptoms you are ok to care for patients in full PPE. N95, goggles, full body 'bunny suit', glove, booties. And on paper that sounds reasonable....until you walk into a patient's room who has a broken leg and the kid gets freaked out and the parents tell you to leave.
I've long thought (and expressed this opinion to my betters) that since you don't typically become contagious for 3-5 days after exposure, allow us to continue working at least the first couple of shifts before that 72 hr mark with modified PPE (n95 goggles gloves). It really is the full body 'bunny suit' that sets ppl off as they feel like they've falling into a Contagion movie remake.
But then test us at the 3, 4, and 5 day marks and see what's going on. Maybe even stretch that out to a full week as the latest quarantine guidelines indicate 7 days of isolation can be adequate. Of course the problem then becomes one of $ and employee productivity; if I pop + they send me home on a 7-10-14 day vacay and our already short staff are even worse off. I don't deny it's a mess but I feel like we could be doing better.

[LawBeefaroni]

I believe this 100% but it's odd bc I'm in healthcare and have been exposed at least twice(that I know of) and I've cared for dozens of COVID-19 patients; but I've yet to be tested. I've never been symptomatic so that's a big + in my favor.

So, you have never been tested to make sure that you aren't asymptomatic?

Most places won't test you unless you are symptomatic and believe it or not my institution is simply not setup to do large scale testing on its employees of which we have about 10,000(across multiple campuses). We are a pediatric facility so we aren't as high in the food chain for testing equipment as most other hospitals are. The truth is we aren't seeing a ton of kids with this; absolutely there are some and a fair % end up in the icu. But it is absolutely nothing like what the broader medical world at large is dealing with; just not even close.
I get what you're saying but in similar situations, say an exposure to TB you would test the exposed person and immediately begin treatment. Of course we don't really have a tried and true established treatment regimen for covid like we do TB so I'm sure that alters the calculus a bit. But I think most importantly, I and even moreso, the hospital, would want to know if I'm infectious. I'd like to keep this thing away from my wife who has some kind of (after 10 years of trying) undiagnosed autoimmune disorder for which she takes immunocomprimising drugs. And the hospital would absolutely want me kept away from our most vulnerable pts, which, unfortunately, tend to be the ones I care for.
As it stands, our policy is 'if you're exposed and don't show symptoms you are ok to care for patients in full PPE. N95, goggles, full body 'bunny suit', glove, booties. And on paper that sounds reasonable....until you walk into a patient's room who has a broken leg and the kid gets freaked out and the parents tell you to leave.
I've long thought (and expressed this opinion to my betters) that since you don't typically become contagious for 3-5 days after exposure, allow us to continue working at least the first couple of shifts before that 72 hr mark with modified PPE (n95 goggles gloves). It really is the full body 'bunny suit' that sets ppl off as they feel like they've falling into a Contagion movie remake.
But then test us at the 3, 4, and 5 day marks and see what's going on. Maybe even stretch that out to a full week as the latest quarantine guidelines indicate 7 days of isolation can be adequate. Of course the problem then becomes one of $ and employee productivity; if I pop + they send me home on a 7-10-14 day vacay and our already short staff are even worse off. I don't deny it's a mess but I feel like we could be doing better.

That's generally how it's done here too.

[Blackhawk]

Michelle works in a county hospital, and is in and out of both the COVID rooms and the ER. She's never been tested.

[Daehawk]

Our hospital and the next one over are at 199% ICU. I dont know how they gauge that extra 99% . Maybe its patients in the halls.

[Zaxxon]

Vaccines to start moving tomorrow, arriving Monday.

[YellowKing]

My hospital released a big FAQ on the vaccine, and while they mention they are prioritizing direct Covid contact workers first, they're still implying it will be available to all employees as they get more doses. We'll see how it plays out.

[LawBeefaroni]

Our hospital and the next one over are at 199% ICU. I dont know how they gauge that extra 99% . Maybe its patients in the halls.

Probably temporary beds and/or other units converted to ICU.

Basically they're saying they have double normal capacity.

[Daehawk]

Every year Chattanooga has a ice skating rink pop up for the holidays. Same this year. News interview showed some lady with her 4 kids "Theres no reason they cant come out and have a little Christmas fun"

No not at all lady. Dont let a deadly disease that could kill one or more of your kids or other people stop you from going out and having fun. Cripes .

[Holman]

Our hospital and the next one over are at 199% ICU. I dont know how they gauge that extra 99% . Maybe its patients in the halls.

Probably temporary beds and/or other units converted to ICU.

Basically they're saying they have double normal capacity.

Yeah. One of my best friends is head nurse in a department of an Atlanta hospital. They're doing makeshift ICUs in spaces normally given to routine patients.

The problem is that not everyone in the hospital is qualified for ICU work, so exhaustion of personnel is as important as bed space.

[Daehawk]

16+ million US cases as of today.

[LawBeefaroni]

Our hospital and the next one over are at 199% ICU. I dont know how they gauge that extra 99% . Maybe its patients in the halls.

Probably temporary beds and/or other units converted to ICU.

Basically they're saying they have double normal capacity.

Yeah. One of my best friends is head nurse in a department of an Atlanta hospital. They're doing makeshift ICUs in spaces normally given to routine patients.

The problem is that not everyone in the hospital is qualified for ICU work, so exhaustion of personnel is as important as bed space.

Yeah absolutely. And it means if you get in a serious car accident or have a heart attack, you could be screwed.

[GungHo]

Our hospital and the next one over are at 199% ICU. I dont know how they gauge that extra 99% . Maybe its patients in the halls.

Probably temporary beds and/or other units converted to ICU.

Basically they're saying they have double normal capacity.

Yeah. One of my best friends is head nurse in a department of an Atlanta hospital. They're doing makeshift ICUs in spaces normally given to routine patients.

The problem is that not everyone in the hospital is qualified for ICU work, so exhaustion of personnel is as important as bed space.

Yeah absolutely. And it means if you get in a serious car accident or have a heart attack, you could be screwed.

We can always make more room, just can't make more nurses.

My phone was blowing up today with emails and texts from emergency staffing companies absolutely desperate for Healthcare workers. 5-6x my normal salary with all kinds of other incentives, bonuses etc.
And yet at our institutions we're eerily quiet; we're pediatric only (not even an L&D or women's hospital) and we're hearing the same thing from the few patients we do have: 'scared to take my kid to the hospital'.

We're rapidly approaching the moment when our system just falls apart and that has very concerned. Moreso than anything else that has happened in this wildly insane unbelievable year; the moment we(collective Healthcare) start turning away icu level patients and they start dying in the waiting room, in the parking lot, etc. That's the moment some really scary shit starts happening. By and large families accept that their loved ones died when they're in the trauma room or the icu and they accept that you did everything you could. They're not going to be so understanding when they pass on the sidewalk outside the ER bc we told them we can't take them. And we've seen countless examples this year of just how whacked out a large portion of this country is: add guns and the extremis of losing a loved one...that's not good.

[Default]

And this where a national healthcare system shows it's value, as opposed to the patchwork combination of non-profits and rob-you-blind for-profit healthcare that we are crippled with.

[Kraken]

My primary care doc for the past 30+ years is retiring. He's a few years older than I, and his youngest kid is thru college now, so it's time. His frustration with telemedicine and the covid situation in general pushed him over the line. Coincidentally, I read yesterday that up to 25% of medical professionals nationwide are considering retirement or a career change, such as going from clinical medicine into research, for example.

[Holman]

My primary care doc for the past 30+ years is retiring. He's a few years older than I, and his youngest kid is thru college now, so it's time. His frustration with telemedicine and the covid situation in general pushed him over the line. Coincidentally, I read yesterday that up to 25% of medical professionals nationwide are considering retirement or a career change, such as going from clinical medicine into research, for example.

On the other hand, there's been media talk of a "Fauci Effect," with medical school applications suddenly up almost 20% this year.

[RunningMn9]

Michelle works in a county hospital, and is in and out of both the COVID rooms and the ER. She's never been tested.

It’s not a real virus in Indiana.

[Holman]

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status ... 08320?s=20

[Blackhawk]

That one doesn't bother me. It seems to me that the President's staff would be top priority regardless of the President. They're not a sports team, doing it primarily for profit and entertainment. And we're not talking about thousands here.

[LordMortis]

That one doesn't bother me. It seems to me that the President's staff would be top priority regardless of the President. They're not a sports team, doing it primarily for profit and entertainment. And we're not talking about thousands here.

Agreed, though it's hard to swallow in the context of non mask wearing and hoax claiming and open the economy shouting and best practice pshawing White House.

[Smoove_B]

That one doesn't bother me. It seems to me that the President's staff would be top priority regardless of the President. They're not a sports team, doing it primarily for profit and entertainment. And we're not talking about thousands here.

The issue is collectively they've gone out of their way (the entire administration) to undermine efforts and the overall message on what the average citizen should be doing. People like Trump, Rudy, Chris Christie, etc... all have been given A++ medical treatment after engaging in absurdly reckless behavior and now they're first in line for the vaccination. I mean, JFC they've been hosting Christmas parties at the White House the last two weeks - even after all the outbreaks they've been directly involved in! The President deserves to be protected. Trump and his goons deserve to be tossed on their asses.

[Blackhawk]

I don't entirely disagree with that. It's all complicated by the fact that we have the conceptual "President" and the actual "president."

[Kraken]

You mean the president-elect and the president-reject?

[LawBeefaroni]

Correlation doesn't equal causation but remember those warning about long term effects? One wonders.

The Gators were coming out of a timeout during Saturday's 83-71 loss to the Seminoles when Johnson collapsed on the court. He was given emergency medical attention and taken to the locker room.

Before the incident, Johnson had just finished an alley-oop on a pass from Tyree Appleby. He celebrated with teammates and walked toward the sideline. As the team broke its huddle, he collapsed on the court and players screamed toward the sideline for help.

Johnson, a junior forward from Norfolk, Virginia, tested positive for COVID-19 during the summer.

[Alefroth]

You mean the president-elect and the president-reject?

Apparently there isn't a plan to vaccinate them yet. Why aren't they near the front of the line?

[YellowKing]

Feeling OK-ish about where our local hospital is. We're currently 12 weeks out from ICU capacity. Hopefully by that time we'll have turned the corner quite a bit. I'm sure we'll have to weather a Christmas/New Year surge in mid-January, but we're in better shape than I thought we would be.

[LordMortis]

Talked to my dad this morning. He and mom were in church yesterday while the congregation were mourning multiple COVID deaths in their congregation.

It's what they want, so I can't be angry with them but I'm frustrated at what brings them peace of mind.

[Smoove_B]

A masterpiece by Ed Yong -
How Science Beat the Virus And what it lost in the process:

As of this writing, the biomedical library PubMed lists more than 74,000 COVID-related scientific papers—more than twice as many as there are about polio, measles, cholera, dengue, or other diseases that have plagued humanity for centuries. Only 9,700 Ebola-related papers have been published since its discovery in 1976; last year, at least one journal received more COVID‑19 papers than that for consideration. By September, the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine had received 30,000 submissions—16,000 more than in all of 2019. “All that difference is COVID‑19,” Eric Rubin, NEJM’s editor in chief, says. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, told me, “The way this has resulted in a shift in scientific priorities has been unprecedented.”

But the COVID‑19 pivot has also revealed the all-too-human frailties of the scientific enterprise. Flawed research made the pandemic more confusing, influencing misguided policies. Clinicians wasted millions of dollars on trials that were so sloppy as to be pointless. Overconfident poseurs published misleading work on topics in which they had no expertise. Racial and gender inequalities in the scientific field widened.

Amid a long winter of sickness, it’s hard not to focus on the political failures that led us to a third surge. But when people look back on this period, decades from now, they will also tell stories, both good and bad, about this extraordinary moment for science. At its best, science is a self-correcting march toward greater knowledge for the betterment of humanity. At its worst, it is a self-interested pursuit of greater prestige at the cost of truth and rigor. The pandemic brought both aspects to the fore. Humanity will benefit from the products of the COVID‑19 pivot. Science itself will too, if it learns from the experience.

Probably one of the best quotes I've seen in 9+ months:

“To study COVID‑19 is not only to study the disease itself as a biological entity,” says Alondra Nelson, the president of the Social Science Research Council. “What looks like a single problem is actually all things, all at once. So what we’re actually studying is literally everything in society, at every scale, from supply chains to individual relationships.”

[$iljanus]

Probably one of the best quotes I've seen in 9+ months:

“To study COVID‑19 is not only to study the disease itself as a biological entity,” says Alondra Nelson, the president of the Social Science Research Council. “What looks like a single problem is actually all things, all at once. So what we’re actually studying is literally everything in society, at every scale, from supply chains to individual relationships.”

Yup. So many sociological aspects of this disease need to be studied due to their influence on public health policy, such as trust in authority, the whole politics vs sound science debate, the emotional cost to our health care workers, effects on a generation of children being virtually taught, how managing the pandemic is influenced by a country’s culture, and so on.

I’m hoping for a multi volume treatise on Covid-19 authored by Laurie Garrett on the subject. Someone needs to speak for the dead and the survivors. And so many need to be held accountable.

[Daehawk]

Should be even more fun when the next virus comes along in maybe 4 years. Or whenever.

[The Meal]

Should be even more fun when the next virus comes along in maybe 4 years. Or whenever.

Japan’s bird flu outbreak spreads to tenth prefecture

[Paingod]

2020 isn't done givin' yet.

[malchior]

Interesting trade off here - switching from testing to vaccine distribution. I have to imagine this will happen elsewhere as well.

https://twitter.com/NC5PhilWilliams/sta ... 6679122947