Originally Posted by Bwana:
Once again, don't come in this thread with some kind of political agenda, or you will be shown the door. If you want to go that route, there is a thread about this in DC.
Originally Posted by Dartgod:
People, there is a lot of good information in this thread, let's try to keep the petty bickering to a minimum.
We all have varying opinions about the impact of this, the numbers, etc. We will all never agree with each other. But we can all keep it civil.
Thanks!
Click here for the original OP:
Spoiler!
Apparently the CoronaVirus can survive on a inanimate objects, such as door knobs, for 9 days.
California coronavirus case could be first spread within U.S. community, CDC says
By SOUMYA KARLAMANGLA, JACLYN COSGROVE
FEB. 26, 2020 8:04 PM
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating what could be the first case of novel coronavirus in the United States involving a patient in California who neither recently traveled out of the country nor was in contact with someone who did.
“At this time, the patient’s exposure is unknown. It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States,” the CDC said in a statement. “Community spread means spread of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown. It’s also possible, however, that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected.”
The individual is a resident of Solano County and is receiving medical care in Sacramento County, according to the state Department of Public Health.
The CDC said the “case was detected through the U.S. public health system — picked up by astute clinicians.”
Officials at UC Davis Medical Center expanded on what the federal agency might have meant by that in an email sent Wednesday, as reported by the Davis Enterprise newspaper.
The patient arrived at UC Davis Medical Center from another hospital Feb. 19 and “had already been intubated, was on a ventilator, and given droplet protection orders because of an undiagnosed and suspected viral condition,” according to an email sent by UC Davis officials that was obtained by the Davis Enterprise.
The staff at UC Davis requested COVID-19 testing by the CDC, but because the patient didn’t fit the CDC’s existing criteria for the virus, a test wasn’t immediately administered, according to the email. The CDC then ordered the test Sunday, and results were announced Wednesday. Hospital administrators reportedly said in the email that despite these issues, there has been minimal exposure at the hospital because of safety protocols they have in place.
A UC Davis Health spokesperson declined Wednesday evening to share the email with The Times.
Since Feb. 2, more than 8,400 returning travelers from China have entered California, according to the state health department. They have been advised to self-quarantine for 14 days and limit interactions with others as much as possible, officials said.
“This is a new virus, and while we are still learning about it, there is a lot we already know,” Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “We have been anticipating the potential for such a case in the U.S., and given our close familial, social and business relationships with China, it is not unexpected that the first case in the U.S. would be in California.”
It is not clear how the person became infected, but public health workers could not identify any contacts with people who had traveled to China or other areas where the virus is widespread. That raises concern that the virus is spreading in the United States, creating a challenge for public health officials, experts say.
“It’s the first signal that we could be having silent transmission in the community,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. “It probably means there are many more cases out there, and it probably means this individual has infected others, and now it’s a race to try to find out who that person has infected.”
On Tuesday, the CDC offered its most serious warning to date that the United States should expect and prepare for the coronavirus to become a more widespread health issue.
“Ultimately, we expect we will see coronavirus spread in this country,” said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “It’s not so much a question of if, but a question of when.”
According to the CDC’s latest count Wednesday morning, 59 U.S. residents have tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus — 42 of whom are repatriated citizens from a Diamond Princess cruise. That number has grown by two since Messonnier’s last count Tuesday, although the CDC was not immediately available to offer details on the additional cases.
More than 82,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported globally, and more than 2,700 people have died, with the majority in mainland China, the epicenter of the outbreak.
But public health leaders have repeatedly reminded residents that the health risk from the novel coronavirus to the general public remains low.
“While COVID-19 has a high transmission rate, it has a low mortality rate,” the state Department of Public Health said in a statement Wednesday. “From the international data we have, of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, approximately 80% do not exhibit symptoms that would require hospitalization. There have been no confirmed deaths related to COVID-19 in the United States to date.”
CDC officials have also warned that although the virus is likely to spread in U.S. communities, the flu still poses a greater risk.
Gostin said the news of potential silent transmission does not eliminate the possibility of containing the virus in the U.S. and preventing an outbreak.
“There are few enough cases that we should at least try,” he said. “Most of us are not optimistic that that will be successful, but we’re still in the position to try.”
Though I will say this... I've been astonished by the number of very respected healthcare professionals I've spoken to over the past 8-9 months who seem totally off their rocker when it comes to vaccinations and even pharmaceutical medications.
The nurse who explained how taking Chinese herbs was the best treatment for Covid probably takes the cake. [Reply]
US records the deadliest day since pandemic started
WION Web Team
WASHINGTON Published: Dec 31, 2020, 09.40 AM(IST)
Covid-19 deaths surpassed 340,000 on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.
The United States has reported a record number of deaths from COVID-19, as the worst outbreak in the world shows little sign of easing.
With a patient in California also confirmed to have the British variant of the virus, the country is also considering requiring COVID tests from passengers from more countries as early as next week.
Also read | US may authorize AstraZeneca Covid vaccine for emergency use in April
Covid-19 deaths surpassed 340,000 on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.
With the national case count topping 19.6 million, the death toll across the United States rose to 340,586 as of 2:22 p.m. local time (1922 GMT), according to the CSSE data.
Nearly every inmate at Alaska's biggest prison has contracted coronavirus
New York State reported 37,687 fatalities, at the top of the US state-level death toll list. Texas recorded the second most deaths of 27,298. The states of California and Florida both confirmed more than 21,000 deaths, the CSSE tally showed.
Originally Posted by TLO:
Though I will say this... I've been astonished by the number of very respected healthcare professionals I've spoken to over the past 8-9 months who seem totally off their rocker when it comes to vaccinations and even pharmaceutical medications.
The nurse who explained how taking Chinese herbs was the best treatment for Covid probably takes the cake.
It's probably helpful to understand the silos in which we operate.
Floor nurses are not required to keep up on clinical guidelines and advise on treatments. They have tremendous experience in hands-on medicine, but they do not have training in evidence-based evaluation.
Numerous physicians graduate from residency programs and end up in practice environments (say, a family clinic) where they don't have to justify their treatment decisions unless there is an interdisciplinary team at the clinic. While such clinics are increasingly common, they are nowhere near universal, and without that push, it's easy for your skills to atrophy.
Surgeons are trained much more on fixing the problem by cutting and preventing infections than treating with medicine, and when you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail if you're not careful.
Similarly, two-thirds of pharmacists end up in a retail setting where aside from a few interactions and counseling points, they are so overworked that they are largely just regurgitating the interactions the software dings for them. Some of this is due to being understaffed, and another portion comes from the divide that still exists within pharmacy over how active one should be in making clinical decisions.
And in all cases, there are numerous examples of healthcare workers that just do not give a shit, and who are only there to cash a paycheck.
Of all the things that have happened this year, one of the most dispiriting is how much respect I've lost for my professional colleagues, who far too often are happy to flout regulations they implore upon everyone else (gigantic weddings, interstate travel with elderly family) or promote absolute bullshit pseudoscience (essential oils, ItWorks! and other MLM garbage, etc.). [Reply]
I'm skeptical about it being 70% more transmissible. I have no doubt this is a mutation of some sort. But I'm curious as to where the 70% figure came from. [Reply]
Originally Posted by TLO:
I didn't word my question very well.
I'm skeptical about it being 70% more transmissible. I have no doubt this is a mutation of some sort. But I'm curious as to where the 70% figure came from.
Looking at how the infection rate in and around London and really the UK as a whole, I would say there’s a strong possibility of it
We’re up to 1.3% of the US population vaccinated so that’s great [Reply]
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
It's probably helpful to understand the silos in which we operate.
Floor nurses are not required to keep up on clinical guidelines and advise on treatments. They have tremendous experience in hands-on medicine, but they do not have training in evidence-based evaluation.
Numerous physicians graduate from residency programs and end up in practice environments (say, a family clinic) where they don't have to justify their treatment decisions unless there is an interdisciplinary team at the clinic. While such clinics are increasingly common, they are nowhere near universal, and without that push, it's easy for your skills to atrophy.
Surgeons are trained much more on fixing the problem by cutting and preventing infections than treating with medicine, and when you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail if you're not careful.
Similarly, two-thirds of pharmacists end up in a retail setting where aside from a few interactions and counseling points, they are so overworked that they are largely just regurgitating the interactions the software dings for them. Some of this is due to being understaffed, and another portion comes from the divide that still exists within pharmacy over how active one should be in making clinical decisions.
And in all cases, there are numerous examples of healthcare workers that just do not give a shit, and who are only there to cash a paycheck.
Of all the things that have happened this year, one of the most dispiriting is how much respect I've lost for my professional colleagues, who far too often are happy to flout regulations they implore upon everyone else (gigantic weddings, interstate travel with elderly family) or promote absolute bullshit pseudoscience (essential oils, ItWorks! and other MLM garbage, etc.).
This , half my department still refused their flu shots this year , a lot of their beliefs still comes from their parents/friends and a lot of what they learned in school is focused solely on their professions etc ,
I was showing nurse some rib fractures on a male patient and I was counting ribs and she was amazed that men had the same number of ribs as women because she thought Men had 1 less because Adam gave one to eve or something like that . [Reply]
Originally Posted by Monticore:
This , half my department still refused their flu shots this year , a lot of their beliefs still comes from their parents/friends and a lot of what they learned in school is focused solely on their professions etc ,
I was showing nurse some rib fractures on a male patient and I was counting ribs and she was amazed that men had the same number of ribs as women because she thought Men had 1 less because Adam gave one to eve or something like that .
Originally Posted by TLO:
Though I will say this... I've been astonished by the number of very respected healthcare professionals I've spoken to over the past 8-9 months who seem totally off their rocker when it comes to vaccinations and even pharmaceutical medications.
