Althouse: At the Tuesday Night Café...

March 31, 2020

At the Tuesday Night Café...

0ED9C04E-630D-42B9-BD59-F30C210111C8_1_201_a

... you can talk all night.

110 comments:

Jaq said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/31/20, 7:54 PM
Jay Vogt said...: Just experienced a 6.5 earthquake here in Idaho. I'd just gotten home. Got out of the car and stuff started shaking. WTH!

This is an odd year man.; 3/31/20, 8:01 PM
Mark said...: TZ marathon on SyFy.; 3/31/20, 8:01 PM
Jaq said...: I am freaking out because Terry Teachout’s wife Hilary just passed from Wuhan, and she suffered from pulmonary hypertension just like my daughter does.

I have lost everything in the past, was forced to sell my home in a short sale, declare bankruptcy, and sell a lot of my shit on my front lawn for money to move to another state with my young family. it sucked, but it didn’t kill me. I got over it. I had to pay high interest rates to buy cars for a while. We moved on. I don’t know what losing my daughter would be like, I can’t even think about it; 3/31/20, 8:06 PM
StephenFearby said...: Washington Post
March 30, 2020 at 4:14 p.m. EDT
FDA authorizes widespread use of unproven drugs to treat coronavirus, saying possible benefit outweighs risk

Millions of doses of anti-malarial drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine will be distributed to hospitals across the country to try to slow the disease in seriously ill patients

"...A study in France tracking outcomes in 20 patients given hydroxychloroquine, or a combination of hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin, has been widely cited by Trump and other proponents of prescribing the drugs for the coronavirus."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/30/coronavirus-drugs-hydroxychloroquin-chloroquine/

Comment:

The French group has since reported in the following preprint outcomes in EIGHTY PATIENTS using ONLY the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin:

Clinical and microbiological effect of a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in 80 COVID-19 patients with at least a six-day follow up: an observational study.

Abstract
We need an effective treatment to cure COVID-19 patients and to decrease the virus carriage duration. In 80 in-patients receiving a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin we noted a clinical improvement in all but one 86 year-old patient who died, and one 74 year-old patient still in intensive care unit.

A rapid fall of nasopharyngeal viral load tested by qPCR was noted, with 83% negative at Day 7, and 93% at Day 8. Virus cultures from patient respiratory samples were negative in 97.5% patients at Day 5. This allowed patients to rapidly de discharge from highly contagious wards with a mean length of stay of five days.

We believe other teams should urgently evaluate this cost-effective therapeutic strategy, to both avoid the spread of the disease and treat patients as soon as possible before severe respiratory irreversible complications take hold.

https://www.mediterranee-infection.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/COVID-IHU-2-1.pdf

New York University and Washington University will run studies using the same combination:

COVID-19 PEP Study
https://depts.washington.edu/covid19pep/

What is lost in the shuffle is that chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine are not just anti-malaria drugs. They are Zinc Ionophores:

PLoS One. 2014; 9(10): e109180.
Chloroquine Is a Zinc Ionophore
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4182877/

Why this fact has importance (zinc kills viruses when it can get into infected cells) is explained in fascinating detail here:

MedCram - Medical Lectures Explained CLEARLY

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update 34 with pulmonologist & critical care specialist Roger Seheult, MD. Dr. Seheult illustrates compelling articles about the possible efficacy of chloroquine in the treatment of coronavirus infections and its role in aiding cellular zinc absorption.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7F1cnWup9M&feature=youtu.be; 3/31/20, 8:06 PM
Original Mike said...: "Time's up"; 3/31/20, 8:06 PM
JML said...: Thoughts and prayers, Tim, for you and your family, and especially your daughter.; 3/31/20, 8:09 PM
wild chicken said...: Yeah felt the quake all over Montana, too.; 3/31/20, 8:09 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Some Much-Needed Coronavirus Perspective.

Again, perspective doesn't diminish the seriousness of covid-19-Wuhan virus. but, perspective if the needed reminder of reality, because the media isn't hyping reality.; 3/31/20, 8:10 PM
Original Mike said...: Best wishes, Tim. Hope your daughter can isolate.; 3/31/20, 8:14 PM
stevew said...: Tim, praying for the best possible outcome for your family and your daughter.; 3/31/20, 8:15 PM
Kathryn51 said...: Keep an eye on Washington State projections - I use the IHME site.

It's "just a model", which means a guesstimate, but thus far appears to be tracking and, in fact, showing some improvement. For instance, the projected fatality rate has fallen a bit.

Were we fortunate that first "outbreak" was here? Not sure - but I do know that many of us in King/Snohomish County began to do what CDC encouraged - wash hands; don't touch face, cover your mouth when sneezing/coughing. Take extra care when visiting family in nursing homes - while we could visit. Those over 60 or with compromised systems should curtail travel and avoid crowds. In other words, we were practicing this stuff BEFORE the government stepped in and began to order action, Although we never bunkered in like Meadehouse.

Within 10 days, Gov. Inslee ordered school closures and restricted gatherings to under 50 Oh, and don't worry - our local Seattle/King County government was VERY quick to ensure that the busses and trains would still run with all sorts of extra safeguards. A week later he shut down restaurants, bars, gyms, etc. And then all non-essential businesses.

I'm glad Inslee worked gradually - was easier to get buy-in.

Now, I just hope that if we hit our peak when we still have resources, Inslee will let up a bit - especially in the rural counties with only a handful of cases and zero fatalities.; 3/31/20, 8:17 PM
Drago said...: Sham-peachment III takes an early hit when hack moron Dem Gov Whitmer of MI, whom only die-hard lefties and LLR's defend, has already completely backtracked on her earlier lies about the Trump admin withholding aid to her state because Trump doesn't like her while Trump made sure to get the stockpiles up in States where Trump likes the Gov, for example, Florida.

This was going to be Exhibit A in the inevitable Sham-peachment III hearings starting in about 2 months (to coincide nicely with the Dem convention and the run up to the election).

Unfortunately, we now know that Gov Whit-less did not even request Federal aid until Mar 26.

Cue Sad Trombone....

Yep. Another complete Democrat "Kathleen Blanco" maneuver....but this time it blew up early.

And another Alpha Torpedo hits this idiot Governor after she is forced to withdraw her threatening letter to doctors and pharmacists regarding HydroxyCholoroquine/Azithromax.

And to think, this latest democrat/lawfare/lefty/LLR-lefty ploy collapsed in just 72 hours.....in the middle of a pandemic no less.

Maybe she ought to be Biden's running mate....; 3/31/20, 8:20 PM
Meade said...: @ Tim, stay strong, Tim. We’re all pulling for you and your daughter.; 3/31/20, 8:25 PM
Drago said...: In other news, there has been a Great Awakening as to how horrible the Chinese Commies have behaved towards the rest of the world.

Apparently, because the global elites and democrats/lefties/LLR-lefties in this nation protected the ChiCom's so passionately, the ChiComs really thought they could get away with foisting completely useless gear on the rest of the world as a way of colluding with the dems/lefties/LLR-lefties to create narratives to attack Trump.

And now that entire collusion scheme is collapsing:

"Coronavirus: Countries reject Chinese-made equipment"
30 March 2020

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52092395?

All I can say is: its about time.

And anyone who has been carrying water for these murderous creeps at Althouseblog really ought to think twice about saying anything negative towards any other commenters for, basically, forever.; 3/31/20, 8:27 PM
Drago said...: Tim, you and yours are in our prayers.; 3/31/20, 8:28 PM
Big Mike said...: @tim, what Meade just wrote. Kids are precious.; 3/31/20, 8:30 PM
Ken B said...: Here is a video showing a bunch of simulations of small SIR models. It illustrates some of the considerations and effects in play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxAaO2rsdIs; 3/31/20, 8:32 PM
Jimmy said...: Tim. Prayers for you and your family, and daughter. like meade said, we are pulling for you. and praying.; 3/31/20, 8:32 PM
mockturtle said...: Tim, I pray your daughter does not contract the virus. God bless you and your family.; 3/31/20, 8:33 PM
rehajm said...: Sorry to hear Tim. Prayers for you and your daughter to get he help she needs and a speedy recovery.; 3/31/20, 8:33 PM
Achilles said...: Drago said...
Sham-peachment III takes an early hit when hack moron Dem Gov Whitmer of MI, whom only die-hard lefties and LLR's defend, has already completely backtracked on her earlier lies about the Trump admin withholding aid to her state because Trump doesn't like her while Trump made sure to get the stockpiles up in States where Trump likes the Gov, for example, Florida.

There are a lot of masks coming off right now.

No matter what team globalist does these days it seems to blow up in their face.; 3/31/20, 8:35 PM
Sebastian said...: "I don’t know what losing my daughter would be like."

Yes, the worst thing.; 3/31/20, 8:38 PM
Michael K said...: If anyone is interested, here is a podcast on details (lots of details) about the virus of COVID.

It seems the virus will not mutate as much as influenza, which is good news.

A little bit of leftist politics. Good explanation of testing problems. Hour and a half,; 3/31/20, 8:39 PM
Inga said...: “I am freaking out because Terry Teachout’s wife Hilary just passed from Wuhan, and she suffered from pulmonary hypertension just like my daughter does.”

Tim, I’m sorry to hear that your daughter has a diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension. I too have this diagnosis, although I suspect mine was a misdiagnosis, as I never had any symptoms. I was diagnosed after I had a echocardiogram, was referred to pulmonologist but never followed through because I seriously doubted the diagnosis. This was about 10 years ago.; 3/31/20, 8:41 PM
rcocean said...: CNN refused to show Trump on the Corona Virus Briefing, but cut back in after he spoke. Chuck Todd says MSNBC will cut away from briefings if "the information is no longer Vital".

Good to know are left-wing media are protecting us from the President of the USA during the most important health crisis since 1918.; 3/31/20, 8:43 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Don't freak out, Tim. Every situation is different. I read Insta's link to Hillary Teachout's struggle. I didn't see the Wuhan-virus mentioned.; 3/31/20, 8:44 PM
Drago said...: Another important narrative milestone was achieved today when, after weeks and weeks of the same old s*** from the lefty/LLR-lefty media, Fauci had to stand up and say to Jim Acosta, who is busy attempting to reinforce the basis for the dems coming Sham-peachment hearings, that the Trump admin did in fact react quite early and forcefully to this crisis.

This "Faucian" retort to the dems favorite new talking point, which is that Trump refused to listen to the "experts" and dithered which led to thousands more dead, comes just a day after the NYTimes goes after Dr Birx for daring to compliment President Trump and his handling of the crisis.

This means that in just the last 48 hours, Dr's Birx and Fauci, both quite liberal in fact, have thrown a real monkey wrench into the increasingly bizarre Nancy Pelosi's Sham-peachment plans.

This might explain why obambi, of all the people who ought to shut up at this time given it was his and Biden's retrenching of all pandemic response into the ridiculously inadequate structure we had in place at the beginning of this, jumped into the fray today to sneakily insinuate that the already thoroughly debunked dem/LLR-lefty talking point that Trump called the virus a hoax, was actually true.

I'm hoping that Fauci and Birx are beginning to realize that in order to take down Trump, BOTH Fauci and Birx will have to go down with him since they both were there everyday from Day 1 and Fauci and Birx are already on the record as saying President Trump never once, in any way, overruled their recommendations.

That means that if Trump is totally incompetent, then so are Fauci and Birx.

Poor Fauci and Birx. They are about to find out what it means to become collateral damage in the Dems/LLR-lefties continuing efforts to over-turn the 2016 election and disrupt the 2020 election.; 3/31/20, 8:45 PM
Drago said...: Inga: "Tim, I’m sorry to hear that your daughter has a diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension. I too have this diagnosis, although I suspect mine was a misdiagnosis, as I never had any symptoms. I was diagnosed after I had a echocardiogram, was referred to pulmonologist but never followed through because I seriously doubted the diagnosis. This was about 10 years ago."

Let's hope that you are correct and that you stay well.; 3/31/20, 8:46 PM
Drago said...: rcocean: "Good to know are left-wing media are protecting us from the President of the USA during the most important health crisis since 1918."

The very good news is that CNN's ratings have collapsed and this move will only accelerate people watching other networks or live streaming.; 3/31/20, 8:48 PM
rcocean said...: Thanks Dr. K. Some facts, as opposed to the usual media spin and hype is welcome.; 3/31/20, 8:49 PM
narciso said...: Cut back on the polemics for a bit, drago, there will be times for recriminations of who let this dark shadow spread? Honestly you can be just as much a tool as the other side.

Prayers for you tim.; 3/31/20, 8:49 PM
rcocean said...: BTW, according to "The Hill" somebody called Mike Francesca - who's "SPORTS RADIO GIANT" has attacked Trump for his handling of the virus. I have no idea who this GIANT is, but no doubt he's a top expert in both baseball and epidemics.; 3/31/20, 8:52 PM
Drago said...: In other amazing Democrat news, Nancy Pelosi says President Trump needs to implement the Defense Production Act........which is odd. Since that was done 4 days ago.

Meanwhile, the deteriorating Slow Joe Biden (Not-A-Real-Doctor Jill Biden really ought to be ashamed of herself) advised President Trump to appoint someone else to lead the team working on the virus response.

No one had the heart to tell him about VP Pence.

And can you blame them? What would be the point of even mentioning it?; 3/31/20, 8:53 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Tim, this is very unscientific, but today was the first day that I felt some confidence that the situation was coming under control. I have consistently underestimated things so far, I will be first to admit, but I think we are closing in on the plateau. Based on Italy it will be a long plateau, but that is a hell of a lot better than exponential growth.; 3/31/20, 8:55 PM
rcocean said...: Aren't we luck to live in the age of celebrity? Now, everyone who appears in the movies, TV, or can throw a ball or sing a song, gives us their expert political and scientific opinions on every issue. It didn't use to be this way. Poor Ike had to end the Korean War without the help of Joe Dimaggio or Marilyn Monroe.; 3/31/20, 8:56 PM
Josephbleau said...: Thanks for the podcast link Dr. I will watch with interest.; 3/31/20, 8:57 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Blogger rcocean said...
CNN refused to show Trump on the Corona Virus Briefing, but cut back in after he spoke. Chuck Todd says MSNBC will cut away from briefings if "the information is no longer Vital".

"Vital" being whatever the Trump-hating non-epidemiologist in charge at MSNBC decides is "vital."; 3/31/20, 9:02 PM
Achilles said...: Drago said...

The very good news is that CNN's ratings have collapsed and this move will only accelerate people watching other networks or live streaming.

The only people watching CNN were stuck in airports and CNN was paying airports to keep them on.

And now there aren't any people stuck in airports.

CNN's owners may soon decide to invest their money in another propaganda outlet.; 3/31/20, 9:04 PM
narciso said...: curious; 3/31/20, 9:07 PM
chickelit said...: StephenFearby wrote: What is lost in the shuffle is that chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine are not just anti-malaria drugs. They are Zinc Ionophores:
______________________
That wasn't lost on me and others trained in chemical science. Nine days ago I wrote:

"When I look at the structure of chloroquine [wiki link], I see exactly why the molecule blinds zinc so well: those nitrogenous appendages swaddle the ion and no doubt there's some chelate effect going on. As for how chloroquine gets inside the cell, look at the other side of the molecule. It's a big nonpolar (lipophilic) moiety that dives right into a gooey cell membrane, dragging the zinc with it by its tail." link

There's a little bit of jargon in my explanation (non polar, lipophilic, chelate effect, moiety), but that jargon represents beautiful concepts worthy of appreciation by laypeople. Read the links at my cite if you what to know more about this at a deeper level.; 3/31/20, 9:08 PM
Achilles said...: narciso said...
curious

Did he make it too obvious?

Also people need to stop calling him Mr. Blackface. Northam has never worn blackface.

He was the other guy in that picture.; 3/31/20, 9:12 PM
narciso said...: That is fascinating, i never heard of chelates except a passing reference in carl sagans cosmo.; 3/31/20, 9:13 PM
Michael K said...: I am freaking out because Terry Teachout’s wife Hilary just passed from Wuhan, and she suffered from pulmonary hypertension just like my daughter does.

I don't know much about Terry Teachout's wife's case. Primary pulmonary hypertension can be bad.

But not all cases are.

In this review, we focus on the following two points: (1) Why can pulmonary arterial hypertension-targeted drugs improve right ventricular function without an apparent decrease in pulmonary artery pressure? (2) Are proposed goals sufficient to improve long-term prognosis of the patients? Further, we will discuss what would be the appropriate goal in treating patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

I was told I had this by echocardiogram 20 years ago.

Teachout's wife had a bilateral lung transplant. The best guy in the world at this is Vaughn Starnes at USC in LA. If any questions, see him.; 3/31/20, 9:14 PM
narciso said...: Quilted northam, his election was bought with the bloodprice of charlottesville that mcauliffe enabled; 3/31/20, 9:14 PM
Iman said...: How they tell time in Italy...

https://youtu.be/fvB3Uvdggxs; 3/31/20, 9:17 PM
Chris N said...: Tim and family. Stay safe.; 3/31/20, 9:17 PM
walter said...: "Northam has never worn blackface."
Umm..
"I don't know if anybody has ever tried that, but you cannot get shoe polish off."; 3/31/20, 9:23 PM
Mark said...: After issuing orders implementing a ten-person rule, closing non-essential businesses and telling people to stay at home except for essential purposes, Maryland has now declared that churches are "non-essential."

Nearly all (or maybe even all) had already stopped holding services and, to the extent they were open, were following a ten-person limit for those who wanted to come in to quietly pray. Apparently that wasn't good enough.; 3/31/20, 9:24 PM
narciso said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/31/20, 9:25 PM
walter said...: With the extended lockdown he imposed, Northam should at least give his constituents a demonstration of his Moonwalk.
Maybe online lessons.
Coronavirus PSA: "Beat it"; 3/31/20, 9:28 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: @Mark.

I’ve been recording hymn, postludes and preludes for my client church and putting them up on Facebook for online services.; 3/31/20, 9:29 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: I’ve decided to forego political talk for the duration online.

Who’s to blame no longer seems to matter much, and it seems incharitable.; 3/31/20, 9:30 PM
chickelit said...: narciso: From wiki: "The word chelation is derived from Greek χηλή, chēlē, meaning "claw"; the ligands lie around the central atom like the claws of a lobster."

"Ligand" itself derives from Latin "ligare" -- to tie or bind. Cf. ligature marks in crime solving.; 3/31/20, 9:31 PM
Ken B said...: “CNN's ratings have been collapsing”

Their ratings have been “collapsing” for ages, and yet they go on and on. The only way they will stop what they do is if they are liquidated in bankruptcy, and even then Stelter will wander around like a zombie, lying.; 3/31/20, 9:34 PM
The Godfather said...: Dear Tim in Vermont, you don't know me, but know that I pray for your daughter.; 3/31/20, 9:34 PM
Mark said...: Archdiocese of Baltimore jumped on the stay at home order -- before it was officially interpreted to declare churches to be non-essential -- to close its churches and suspend all sacraments, including Confession, except in cases of imminent death.; 3/31/20, 9:41 PM
Jimmy said...: Shouting Thomas- I've been noticing a lot of hymnals and chorale online lately. With technology, it is possible to make a choir out of people with cell phones. I have always taken comfort in hymnal or chorale music, especially in trying times.
https://youtu.be/nDIJz6zzHNU. a group of singers in Nashville got together via their phones and made some nice music. It is the hymnal 'it is well with my soul', which has been around for a long time. Never heard it this way, it is nice.; 3/31/20, 9:59 PM
MayBee said...: Tim i pray for your daughter that she does not get this virus or any other. I pray she leads a !omg life with much joy. Amen

I hope you can keep her isolated; 3/31/20, 10:00 PM
Mark said...: Astronauts land on planet for repairs. Jerk crewman finds a civilization of ant-sized people. He makes himself a god (devil) over them.

After he demands his captain leave without him, he hears another rocket land. They are giants. And he is the little ant-sized person.

He gets crushed when one of them tries to pick him up.; 3/31/20, 10:01 PM
chuck said...: I am freaking out because Terry Teachout’s wife Hilary just passed from Wuhan

Teachout doesn't mention the virus. Hillary just recently had a double lung transplant and apparently it was more than she could handle.; 3/31/20, 10:01 PM
Inga said...: “I don’t know what losing my daughter would be like."

“Yes, the worst thing.”

Indeed.; 3/31/20, 10:04 PM
chuck said...: Astronaut lands on planet and finds enormous museum. Leaves when golden whirlwind owner returns. Owner make note "..., moderately successful." I forget the name of the story.; 3/31/20, 10:06 PM
Drago said...: Ken B: "Their ratings have been “collapsing” for ages, and yet they go on and on."

Yes, the monied lefties are happy to take a loss and keep the channel going. As elsewhere.

But that is irrelevant. What is relevant are how many people are actually tuning in, and that that number is ever dwindling.

I don't expect any of these leftist media outposts to actually go away. On the contrary. Money poured into these ventures at this point are just sunk costs. Which I'm good with.; 3/31/20, 10:14 PM
chickelit said...: Shouting Thomas said...Who’s to blame no longer seems to matter much, and it seems incharitable.

I tend to agree with you on that point in the political arena. But I disagree profoundly with regards to the origin of this virus. We need to know how the virus originated at the molecular level and in particular why it jumped species and why this doesn't happen more frequently. We are in a good position to do this in the US, still having relatively strong virology and molecular biology labs and talent. And we need to do this in spite of Chinese intransigence [samples destroyed -- results covered up]. At this point in time, the Chinese want their name on everything in the US except for this virus. We need to study the hell out of it to protect ourselves. I hope that is apparent to everyone.; 3/31/20, 10:17 PM
Malcolm said...: We live in a suburb of San Francisco and have two very expert epidemiologists who live here. This is a presentation they gave yesterday about Covid-19:; 3/31/20, 10:21 PM
mockturtle said...: Was there a link, Malcom?; 3/31/20, 10:23 PM
Malcolm said...: We live in a suburb of San Francisco and have two very expert epidemiologists who live here. This is a presentation they gave yesterday about Covid-19: https://zoom.us/rec/play/7pwuIuH8rT83SYGTtASDBfd4W9W8ev-shycXr6ZezU-0VyZSYVOkb7ZEZeUTWTzmTbZwFtyXo3busL0l?continueMode=true&_x_zm_rtaid=_1J21O5fSy2BLqXgX5nmrA.1585710508583.c4ae15aa56722021a6f3381f8adf4e3e&_x_zm_rhtaid=314
This is the highest information, most apolitical presentation I have seen so far.; 3/31/20, 10:25 PM
Ken B said...: With our media, what CNN does is... reported as news by other media!; 3/31/20, 10:26 PM
mockturtle said...: Chickelit: Did you happen to catch Tucker this evening? He said there is plenty of evidence that the virus most likely started in one of the labs in Wuhan. That the 'horseshoe bat' was being studied in both labs and that it was never for sale in the wet market. The conjecture is that some tissue or blood from one of those bats got out somehow. If China would come clean with the true origin of this virus it might help scientists understand it better. China is responsible at least for the subterfuge and lies that have obscured the facts since the onset and should, at least at some point, be held to account.; 3/31/20, 10:31 PM
walter said...: Picturing those CNN tv screens in empty airports.

David Lat
@DavidLat
·
13h
Achievement unlocked: no longer on oxygen! We tapered it down gradually after I was extubated last week, and last night while I was asleep they cut it off entirely. #coronavirus #COVID19 #CoronaBoy; 3/31/20, 10:34 PM
chickelit said...: If China would come clean with the true origin of this virus it might help scientists understand it better.

They may not do that and we'll have to do it despite them. Look, when Otto Hahn and Fritz Straßmann first reported nuclear fission in 1938, we didn't rely on the German government to be forthcoming -- we mobilized our efforts.; 3/31/20, 10:38 PM
Achilles said...: Trying to get a house re-carpeted and turn it over so we can get new renters into it.

But obviously this isn't happening for some amount of time now.

The online school content lasts about an hour.

It is time to start talking about property taxes in Washington State.; 3/31/20, 10:41 PM
Ken B said...: “ Picturing those CNN tv screens in empty airports.”

If a lie falls in an empty airport and no-one hears it ...; 3/31/20, 10:47 PM
chickelit said...: Muchas gracias for that link, Malcom. I'm watching it now.; 3/31/20, 11:00 PM
Mark said...: They may not do that and we'll have to do it despite them.

If it originated from a certain type of bat as asserted, it would be helpful to have some of those infected bats and not just humans that have been infected "from the bats."; 3/31/20, 11:06 PM
mockturtle said...: Malcom, that was excellent and very comprehensive. Everyone should watch it, IMO. A few technical glitches but the information is invaluable. Thank you for posting it.; 3/31/20, 11:13 PM
mockturtle said...: And, Mark, I would certainly want to know the nature of the experimental work they were doing with those bats in the Wuhan labs! If there was genetic fiddling going on, as I have long suspected, it might be crucial to know about it.; 3/31/20, 11:16 PM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: The online school content lasts about an hour.

Exactly the opposite problem in SC. They are making it up as they go along, and my 9 year old niece is getting like 80 pages to read and work through a day. It's ridiculous.; 3/31/20, 11:16 PM
mockturtle said...: Malcom, I made a hyperlink: COVID-19 Lecture; 3/31/20, 11:21 PM
Original Mike said...: Do you have to install Zoom to watch it?; 3/31/20, 11:23 PM
Mark said...: That people might believe it originated in a lab, either are a bio-weapon or as a research project that escaped due to negligence, is because it is plausible knowing the communist Chinese government -- and because such a lab was fairly close by.

It is not entirely the fancies of nutjob conspiracy types.; 3/31/20, 11:25 PM
Mark said...: I would hope that the U.S. military would be smart enough in their weapons development to stay away from such kind of bioweapons which, like poison gas, are certain to boomerang back on the nation that releases it.; 3/31/20, 11:28 PM
mockturtle said...: Do you have to install Zoom to watch it?

I didn't install anything.; 3/31/20, 11:29 PM
CP said...: Sports fans - if you’re interested on the possible laboratory origin of the Coronavirus I recommended YouTube videos by “JC on a bike”. He makes a compelling argument that this virus came out of the Virology Lab in Wuhan, supported by research papers authored by the Chinese scientists who work there.

Meade - to answer your question whether this season flu has been bad I recommend you look at the CDC webpage which provides flu season statistics. It’s very comprehensive and is updated weekly. I found it by googling “CDC flu statistics”. The short answer is yea, even w/o the Wuhan flu.; 3/31/20, 11:43 PM
narciso said...: So california which seems to account for the new cases has 8054 and 181 deaths, i guess the backlog cleared; 3/31/20, 11:47 PM
walter said...: Malcolm's link; 3/31/20, 11:49 PM
Yancey Ward said...: No, they still have 57,000 pending results in California. I have no idea what the problem is, and no journalist, apparently, ever asks any of the California official to explain it in detail.; 3/31/20, 11:55 PM
mockturtle said...: He makes a compelling argument that this virus came out of the Virology Lab in Wuhan, supported by research papers authored by the Chinese scientists who work there.

There were some papers early on by Chinese scientist supporting this theory but they seem to have 'disappeared', like some of the Chinese doctors who have spoken out about the virus.; 3/31/20, 11:55 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Tim in Vermont,

I apologize for my angry retort yesterday. I should have just let it slide like I normally would. I know for some this crisis is extremely personal, and I need to remember that when considering a reply.; 3/31/20, 11:57 PM
Yancey Ward said...: California's testing data summary:

7,482 21,772 57,400 1,617 153 86,654 3/31 16:00 3/31 17:25

The first number (7482) is positives, the second number (21772) is negatives, the third number (57,400) is the pending results,, the 4th number (1617) is hospitalized, the fifth number (153) is the deaths, and the last number (86654) is the total tests run. In short, 66% of the tests California has run since this started are pending, and that number has been around 50-65K since the end of last week.; 4/1/20, 12:02 AM
Yancey Ward said...: In fact, in the last 5 days I have been following this particular state, it hasn't seemed like they have run even 5000 new tests in the last 5 days, just that the pending has fallen from 66,000 to 57,400, but been stuck there for the last two reporting days.

Like I wrote in a comment, this could be a clever way to keep the panic in check- just strangle the data so it looks like California is doing really, really well. Of course, in the absence of a panic, people don't bother to get tested- it ain't worth it.; 4/1/20, 12:06 AM
chickelit said...: Interesting link, Malcolm. It summarized things well. I learned that the name comes from the look of the virus and that the common cold is also corona virus. I'll add that the Greek word for coronovirus is κορωνοϊός with ϊός being the root word for poison.; 4/1/20, 12:11 AM
Drago said...: Yancey Ward: "In short, 66% of the tests California has run since this started are pending, and that number has been around 50-65K since the end of last week."

I believe that is what Birx was talking about today.

There are 3 improved testing kits/protocols out there (Roche, Thermo Fisher and who? Abbot?), but most testers get comfortable with one test kit/protocol and tend to stick with it, so we end up with most of the testing being performed using just 1 kit, which clogs and slows that process while the other 2 kit processing labs are sitting around with tons of capacity saying "where is everyone?".

Birx mentioned that the CDC is working with the manufacturers to try and inform the people ordering the tests to start using the other tests.

I have to say, given the daily visibility on this information which is rocketing around the country, isn't it amazing that lab personnel across the nation are still having a hard time adapting even though it means delaying getting test results?; 4/1/20, 12:31 AM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: I'll say a prayer for your daughter, Tim. May she stay healthy.; 4/1/20, 12:41 AM
heyboom said...: @Tim

Thoughts and prayers for you and your daughter. Hoping for the best.; 4/1/20, 1:33 AM
StephenFearby said...: chickelit said...
StephenFearby wrote: What is lost in the shuffle is that chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine are not just anti-malaria drugs. They are Zinc Ionophores:
______________________
That wasn't lost on me and others trained in chemical science. Nine days ago I wrote:

"...There's a little bit of jargon in my explanation (non polar, lipophilic, chelate effect, moiety), but that jargon represents beautiful concepts worthy of appreciation by laypeople. Read the links at my cite if you what to know more about this at a deeper level."

Where you said: "...Now this got me to thinking of whether quinine itself might be able to pull this off (the transport), albeit much less so than chloroquine. It too is an antimalarial. Thoughts anyone?"

African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 6. pp. 516-519.
Antiplasmodial activity of quinine-zinc complex and chloroquine: A comparative in vitro assessment.

"...The result of this study suggests that the QZ could have a better therapeutic activity against malaria than C."

http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/2171/#.XoQ5TohKiWs

However, in natural compounds there's also:

J. Agric. Food Chem. 2014, 62, 32, 8085-8093

Zinc Ionophore Activity of Quercetin and Epigallocatechin-gallate: From Hepa 1-6 Cells to a Liposome Model

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf5014633; 4/1/20, 1:57 AM
Achilles said...: narciso said...
So california which seems to account for the new cases has 8054 and 181 deaths, i guess the backlog cleared

Yes. This is an interesting feature.

I wonder out of the numbers of dead posted today how many died a week ago.

I need to find a better more comprehensive source of numbers.; 4/1/20, 2:39 AM
JPS said...: tim in vermont,

I hope very much that your daughter will be all right, both in the short run and the longer term.; 4/1/20, 4:25 AM
Jon Ericson said...: https://secondcitycop.blogspot.com/

The Way Back Machine....
About thirty-two days ago - just for shits and giggles:

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday she’s “very disappointed” in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for fanning the flames of fear about the spread of the coronavirus in the United States.

Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, is warning Americans to start preparing now for “the expectation that this might be bad,” triggering a severe disruption in their daily lives.

[...]

Wednesday, Lightfoot essentially accused the federal officials of fear-mongering.

With Chinatown restaurants already suffering from a dramatic decline in business tied to coronavirus fears, the last thing Chicago needs is a premature alarm from federal officials, the mayor said.

“I will candidly tell you that I was very disappointed with the comments of the CDC yesterday and members of the Trump administration around coronavirus,” Lightfoot said.

“We feel very well prepared to address this issue. And I don’t want people to take from the comments … at the federal level that, somehow, they should be worried and that we’re not prepared in this city. We absolutely are prepared.”

Hmmmm. And there was plenty more:

The mayor assured skittish Chicagoans that city, state and county public health agencies are “in constant contact” with the CDC and Homeland Security and have a “well-planned,” coordinated and frequently-tested response in the event the virus reappears.

All impacted agencies and local hospitals are “engaged in table-top exercises on a regular basis,” she said.

The "table-top exercises" consisted of Groot and Fatass sitting at a table passing a single sheet of paper back-and-forth that said "Orange Man Bad!" about fifty times - kind of like the typing that Jack Torrence did in The Shining.; 4/1/20, 4:38 AM
JPS said...: Mark, 11:28:

“I would hope that the U.S. military would be smart enough in their weapons development to stay away from such kind of bioweapons....”

Not a matter of being smart. The U.S. is among the original signatories to the Biological Weapons Convention, pledging not to develop them or have them. Of course so was the Soviet Union. (See also, Vozrozhdeniya Island; Sverdlovsk, anthrax.)

Still, as a matter of federal law, it would be illegal for the U.S. military to do any such development. However naively, I believe that we follow that; that the research at USAMRIID really is focused on how you defend against those; and that our doctrine (we gave up chem and bio, but we still have plenty of nukes) gives us the security to follow the convention we promoted back when Nixon was president.; 4/1/20, 4:53 AM
JPS said...: [Sorry - that unfortunate business at Vozrozhdeniya happened before the BWC was signed. The outbreak at Sverdlovsk was well after.]; 4/1/20, 4:57 AM
Rusty said...: Inga: "Tim, I’m sorry to hear that your daughter has a diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension. I too have this diagnosis, although I suspect mine was a misdiagnosis, as I never had any symptoms. I was diagnosed after I had a echocardiogram, was referred to pulmonologist but never followed through because I seriously doubted the diagnosis. This was about 10 years ago."
Inga. Don't leat this slide. Get a another opinion.; 4/1/20, 6:01 AM
DavidD said...: Nice pic.

One of my favorites.; 4/1/20, 6:09 AM
Marcus Bressler said...: "I don’t know what losing my daughter would be like."

I do. It's been less than a year. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Prayers go out to you and your daughter and your loved ones, Tim.

THEOLDMAN; 4/1/20, 6:23 AM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Marcus, I am sorry for your loss. I have a daughter, she is the brightest thing in my life. I also cannot imagine what it would be like to lose her.; 4/1/20, 7:55 AM
Kai Akker said...: Maryland has now declared that churches are "non-essential." [Mark]

As someone said -- maybe you? -- the masks are coming off.

Many churches, maybe most, archive their sermons, usually with visual, some still without.

Here is one from a very good preacher whose church I attended several times last year. It was the 3/22 service when congregations were disallowed. He does very well for an empty church; you should hear him in a full one! He starts when the intro music ends at 13:00. It is 45 more minutes; a very interesting reading of these events is laid out between about 33:00 and 44:00.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYC9AXIEAaM; 4/1/20, 8:07 AM
Jaq said...: My daughter was born with a hypo-plastic right heart and pulmonary atresia. We knew this in utero, and we chose to go forward steeling ourselves against a bad outcome. It’s not a minor thing. Her heart is a patchwork sewn together by doctors with little widgets to seal up leaks. She has great doctors though, at Boston Children’s and Brigham and Women’s but there is only so much surgery you can do. What I get upset about is people saying, X number of people died, but they had pre-existing conditions, so ‘shrug.’ She’s 22 now and graduated from college and works with autistic children, now they are tying to do that on video, feeling their way along.

I read on Twitter from sources I trust that Hilary Teachout had Covid. Maybe they were wrong, IDK.

Anyway, thank you for the well wishes, I appreciate it.; 4/1/20, 9:34 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: SING ALONG! ....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0-2XxgHIXk&feature=youtu.be; 4/1/20, 9:52 AM
Michael K said...: My daughter was born with a hypo-plastic right heart and pulmonary atresia.

Tricuspid atresia ? Usually more associated. Anyway. good luck. I think the Hillary Teachout death was from the bilateral lung transplant.; 4/1/20, 4:37 PM