May 18, 2020

Whatever is happening, it must be bad... in Trumpworld, as seen by The Washington Post.

I'm reading "As coronavirus testing expands, a new problem arises: Not enough people to test."

Does everything have to be a problem? Answer: Yes.

Recently, the problem that was portrayed as the thing that was thwarting our hope of returning to normalcy was not enough tests! So more tests were provided, and can we not be happy about it? No! The next problem up is: People aren't showing up to take the tests.

Four months into the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, tests for the virus finally are becoming widely available.... A Washington Post survey of governors’ offices and state health departments found at least a dozen states where testing capacity outstrips the supply of patients. Many have scrambled to make testing more convenient, especially for vulnerable communities, by setting up pop-up sites and developing apps that help assess symptoms, find free test sites and deliver quick results....

Why aren’t more people showing up? “Well, that’s the million-dollar question,” said Utah Health Department spokesman Tom Hudachko. “It could be simply that people don’t want to be tested. It could be that people feel like they don’t need to be tested. It could be that people are so mildly symptomatic that they’re just not concerned that having a positive lab result would actually change their course in any meaningful way.”...

In Wisconsin, officials last week listed a daily capacity of 13,400 tests, spread across 52 labs. But daily reported tests have averaged only about 4,800. To bump up the numbers, Gov. Tony Evers (D) has ordered the National Guard to set up mobile testing sites and told doctors to test anyone with symptoms.... 

Although Massachusetts has tested nearly 6 percent of its population... even Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has been frustrated.... “There’s some people who, for whatever reason, don’t want to be tested,” Baker told reporters. “And we’re just going to have to find a way to work through that.”

78 comments:

Ralph L said...

If they're still poking people deep in the sinus, I can see why. It's right painful.

Last time I looked, Utah had one of the lowest death rates in the nation.

doctrev said...

Doubtless the average person doesn't feel sick, so of course they're not going to get tested until they came into contact with a sick person. At minimum. Or they don't want to go near centralized health care now that they know how incompetent governments can get.

This is the difference between a high-diversity and low-trust society, Professor. Countries like South Korea and Taiwan are quite unified, with educated and trusting conformists who will obey an intelligent and benevolent state. Trying to test for the flu after Americans have already started going back to work, and months after the disease has arrived, is asinine even by dotgov standards. Of course people aren't going to risk their health to save anyone's idiotic belief system. Who knows what they'll do if some ineffective or dangerous solution is mandated nationwide? Hoo mama!

Clyde said...

Maybe they don’t want to be tested because they don’t feel sick, and were told not to be tested unless they have symptoms.

donald said...

Nice comedy piece.

Darrell said...

WaPo supports banning abortion*.
Interesting.

*Population increaser.

Temujin said...

Two things we now know: The Wuhan Virus was here in the US far earlier than originally thought, which means more people have been exposed to it, and probably infected with it, than we know. That leads to this: As tests expand, we're finding that there are more cases of the virus. Not unexpected. But we're also finding that a much larger percentage of the populace already has the antibodies and no symptoms.

The reality is that this is not the end of the world and we do need to reopen- everything. Maybe we don't gather in stadiums of 80,000. Maybe those who are of certain ages (66+) and those with other conditions (obesity, diabetes, heart disease), need to continue to be careful by not going into crowded places and wearing masks.

But it's time to reopen society. This virus is going to run through us no matter what we do. It already is. No reason to kill the economy in an attempt to kill the virus. It'd be like committing suicide to fight cancer.

narciso said...

https://legalinsurrection.com/2020/05/the-ahmaud-arbery-case-as-zimmerman-trayvon-martin-redux/

exhelodrvr1 said...

I saw the list - next attack will focus on the money that was wasted by the admin on getting the unused ventilators.

Rory said...

Some people might be concerned, short- or long-term, about reporting. You're positive? Who were you in contact with? You have antibodies? You were positive - who were you in contact with? Can't remember? Let's see your phone.

exhelodrvr1 said...

I saw the list - next attack will focus on the money that was wasted by the admin on getting the unused ventilators.

Dan from Madison said...

Testing is, and always has been, a canard - unless you are symptomatic and are in a bad way (i.e. hospital worthy). So what if you test negative at the drive through? It's a photograph, not a movie. You could get infected on your way home at the store. Or from your significant other that you live with, if they are asymptomatic.

John Cunningham said...

Heil Baker! How about U do this you tinpot Mussolini? Go ESADMF. Does that work for you?

CrankyProfessor said...

It's kind of like masks. They spent SO much effort discouraging us from getting tests unless we were wildly symptomatic that now they can't give 'em away.

wild chicken said...

The spouse's TDS is off the charts now. Talking about shooting both Trump and Biden. If he were that kind of guy, of course.

I'm trying the Grey Rock technique.

Kentucky Packrat said...

You want people to test, here’s a quick and easy way to get people testing: “All retail businesses are now open at 100% capacity for people with positive antibody tests.” People would queue up by the millions.

tim maguire said...

I’d like to hear more about the quest for a reliable antibody test. It’s at least as important, maybe more important, for the effort to open up.

Nell said...

As a result, I'm sure there will be a few governors who will require testing.....

Lexington Green said...

There have been statements that people who test positive will be removed from their homes by the government and put somewhere without due process and kept there until some undefined someone decides they can go back, if ever. Given that these statements have been made by people in the government, why should anyone be willing to create facts which will make it more likely that this will happen to them?

Sydney said...

My sense is that the daily cases are declining. At least they are here in Ohio and especially in my county, so there is less need to test. One advantage of social distancing is that every infectious disease is reduced, so fewer people with any symptoms that could be mistaken for COVID19. So, less need for testing.
I have been doing a lot of antibody testing at patient requests, though. So far, no one has been positive.

Breezy said...

I agree with Clyde above. Also I think testing is overrated because it’s one snapshot in time and why do it if you feel ok.

If I were tending Covid patients however, I would want to be tested a few times a week.

RMc said...

(a) Everybody was told not to bother getting tested unless they had symptoms.
(b) Testing is painful and inconvenient.
(c) People are afraid that if they go to a testing center (or, God forbid, a hospital), they'll be exposed to the virus.
(d) People are afraid that if they test positive, they'll somehow get in trouble with the government, or be immediately strapped to a ventilator.
(e) Can't I just eat my waffle?

Lurker21 said...

A Washington Post survey of governors’ offices and state health departments found at least a dozen states where testing capacity outstrips the supply of patients.

The horror! How will we survive?

Janetchick said...

What Clyde said about thinking they have to have symptoms to be tested...

When an employee of mine tested positive I thought we would need to close for 2 weeks. But, I got on line and saw where Care Now here in Austin is offering tests to those exposed to virus. I set up employer pay account and asked all of my employees to go get tested. None had any symptoms.They went to different locations and at one an employee was turned away because she didn’t have symptoms. She called me and I referred her to another location where she was tested.

Majority of tests (17) came back withIn 72, hours with a couple just bit longer. I was able to reopen after 1 week instead of 2. My test wasn’t particularly painful but a few of the employees described it as poking a stick in your brain. One said his nose bled.

I have not been billed for the tests. Care Now said government might pick up the tab, which I didn’t know beforehand.

Howard said...

You people need to give up on your rampant early infection herd immunity theory. Randomized statistically significant serology testing has been conducted the United States infection rate is about 3% of the total population in Spain which is the hardest hit per capita in the world is only 5%

They have testing clinics set up at CVS and rite aid and Walgreens and other places allover Center Mass. I suppose I should go get tested.

Janetchick said...


I forgot to add to my pos that I went to my doctor last week and told him I had been tested for Covid 19 and he asked me what type of test I took. I told him nasal swab. He said a saliva test now available. He told me I could come to him if I needed to be tested again.

Kevin said...

Does everything have to be a problem? Answer: Yes.

This is the genesis of fake news, news plus required framing.

The “truth” being added is a wholly artificial ingredient.

Fernandinande said...

Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has been frustrated, and he's just going to have to find a way to work through that.

T...people who test positive will be removed from their homes by the government and put somewhere without due process and kept there until some undefined someone decides they can go back, if ever.

"Gallup City Manager Maryann Ustick said Friday that the New Mexico Department of Health was negotiating with NCI to figure out how to process people from a detox hold into a quarantine hold when they become sober."

The latest Navajo Times print edition has a picture of the Gallup police taking a guy to "Gallup Detox" to be "held".

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Not seeing the everything is bad in Trumpworld angle.

dbp said...

There are two kinds of tests and the utility to the person being tested is very different.

The government would like to test people for the virus. This is important for them because then they can control the spread of infection by forcing you to isolate, contact trace etc. It is not very useful for you personally, you are exposed to the virus and may, or may not get sick.

The antibody test is very useful to you--if you have antibodies, boom! Hall-pass! You are immune and can go about your business. If you're negative, sad but useful information: Protect yourself in accordance with your tolerance for risk combined with your risk factors, like age and health.

Bob Boyd said...

Whatever is happening, it must be bad... in Trumpworld

And whatever people decide for themselves must be stupid, backward, ignorant and dangerous.

Amadeus 48 said...

It is going to become clear soon that this whole thing was a panic-induced over-reaction to something we have experienced before several times in our lives and always before treated as part of life--for us Boomers: measles, mumps, chicken pox, polio, Asian flu, Hong Kong flu, etc.

The panic was initiated by a Brit crank with minimal skills--Prof. Nial Ferguson of Imperial College London, formerly of Oxford--who has a steady record of being badly wrong about epidemics over the past 40 years. Thanks to him, I cannot donate blood because I lived in the UK in 1990 and 1991. He later caused the slaughter of over 12,000,000 healthy cattle to head off a forecast epidemic of hoof-and-mouth disease. Now this--have you heard? 2.2 million deaths in the USA coming our way!

Bah!

Dust Bunny Queen said...

There is not a whopping total of 34 cases in the ENTIRE County where I live. All of them in a place that is 90 miles away from me. No cases in our area and none in the surrounding Counties. (Not that I am under any illusion that we are invulnerable here). I go to big city about once a month...less lately.

Tests? What tests? There are no places nearby to get tested. Our local clinic hasn't offered/advertised testing. I suppose I could ask /shrug....but why? There is no news on our "local" channels about where to get tested.

Yes. If I do get sick, run a fever, cough, etc... I will go to the doctor. If and When only.

stevew said...

I sent an email to my state rep asking that she work with Gov Baker to reopen MA. She sent a polite reply that parroted the government talking points on why continued shutdown and slow opening was justified. Among these talking points was this:

"The federal government stipulated 14 days of a downward trend in new cases before opening a state.  Additionally, a low absolute incidence level is critically important – both to enable contact tracing and give the public confidence to engage in the economy. We are very far from meeting both thresholds, so at this point in time, it makes sense to open up the economy in phases.  I fear that opening up businesses too quickly before ramping up testing and suppressing transmission will force them to be repeated."

Daily tests administered in this state (MA) in the month of May have ranged from a low of 6,290 to a high of 15,652. The chart of the number of positive cases looks nearly identical to the one of the number of tests, because the percentage of positives has held pretty steady in the low teens.

I suggested that the Governor reduce the number of daily tests each day so that we can achieve the metric of a downward trend in new cases. I also suggested that due to the significant loss of tax revenue resulting from the economic shutdown that MA should furlough government workers, all the non-essential ones, and the Legislative and Executive branches should forego their salaries until the state is re-opened.

Lots of folks have pointed me to Portnoy's rant, from all across the political perspective there is positive support for what he says.

SteveM said...

I live in a Covid-19 hot spot, Bergen County, NJ. More than a month ago, a free, drive-thru testing location was opened down the street from me, in a pharmacy parking lot. For the first month, in order to get tested, you need a prescription from a doctor that you were suffering from symptoms. During that period, I drove by about 8-10 times, and only on one occasion did I see any cars online for testing, and on that one occasion, it was 7 cars. Recently, NJ lifted the prescription requirements and anyone can get tested now, even without any symptoms. After that, I have driven by on two more occasions, and there were waiting cars stretching around the corner and down the street on both occasions, about 30 cars.

Hey Skipper said...

@Howard:

“ You people need to give up on your rampant early infection herd immunity theory. Randomized statistically significant serology testing has been conducted the United States infection rate is about 3% of the total population in Spain which is the hardest hit per capita in the world is only 5%.”


What portion of the population is susceptible to Wuhan19 in the first place?

Certainly isn’t everyone, and the USS Roosevelt suggests it could be as low as 30%.

Ray - SoCal said...

MA seems to have an Rt of .80 (translation - infection rate is decreasing).

https://rt.live/

The three statistics that seem to matter, are change in death rates, % positives, and age of those whom died. Many of the dead seem to have come from nursing homes. Problem is this information is usually not given.

stevew said...

gilbar said...

World Isn't Ending: WaPoo and Mainstream Media Hardest Hit!!!

Ray - SoCal said...

85% of all people that get infected may be asymptomatic. They don't show symptoms.

And in some areas, if you get tested positive, all they do is send you home without a treatment. Only if you get worse do you get treated. So what is the difference?

Agree with the comment you may be taken out of your home. I read something about Ventura County doing that.

Sheryl Atkinson did some real investigative reporting, and it seems lots of politics involved in down playing hydroxychloroquine. Unbelievable. Usually I would dismiss this as conspiracy type stuff, but I can't, and that degree of corruption in our system endangering lives, is mind blowing. I am being red pilled, and it's not a pleasant experience.
http://fullmeasure.news/news/cover-story/hydroxychloroquine

MayBee said...

There are some people who comment here who were advocates of testing everybody every day and I would like to hear what they think of tests being available now and how they think we should use them. This would be an interesting post to get their perspective.

I understand if that was kind of an in-the-moment reaction, and things aren't as bad as they seemed like they were going to be (the aren't as good as I thought in January that they would be now). But there are some people who are huge proponents of test, test, test and I'd like to hear the thinking behind that and why they think these tests aren't being used now.

NCMoss said...

Unfortunately, the margin of error for both the virus and the antibody test has made widespread testing less meaningful. And with the margin of error for media honesty at around 90% this crisis could last a long time.

rcocean said...

So NOW testing exceeds capacity? Well, I read the news, and that's news to me. That may be the other reason people aren't getting tested. The last news bulletin was that *only* people who were sick with CV-19 symptoms or were essential/medical care workers should be tested. "Don't come in and be tested unless you were in those categories", they finger-wagged.

Now its changed. BTW, why aren't they doing statistically valid random sampling of the entire population to determine the REAL rate of population infection? Wouldn't that be useful to know?

elkh1 said...

First, there is not enough ventilators, then there is not enough dying patients using the ventilators.

Second, there is not enough hospital beds, then there is not enough sick patients taking the hospital beds.

Third, there is not enough test kits, then there is not enough people wanting to get tested.

The pandemic doesn't follow the panic-mongers' playbook.

There wouldn't be a panic if this year wasn't an election year.

There wouldn't be a panic if a Democrat was in the White House.

There wouldn't be endless lockdown if blue governors were not trying to use the endless bailouts to use other taxpayers' money to cover their budget shortfalls.

The lockdown will be over as soon as the Democrats pushed thru their vote-by-mail fraud.

Martin said...

It is REAL easy to see why people don't want to be tested.

Any medical facility or large/semi-large operation you go to, they ask you if you have coronavirus or have been exposed. If you say "Yes" you cannot enter.

Given that about 70% or more of cases are asymptomatic (maybe far higher as that old stat was from before test kits were widely available), it is very rational to not want to know and certainly not want someone who administered the test to know.

Test positive and you're quarantined--that's the next 14 days of your life, gone. Even if you want to know so you can take steps to treat yourself and protect others, you don't want the GOVERNMENT to know and hammer you with the force of law. You will responsibly use a scalpel, the G will attack you with a chainsaw.

Any time you attach a reward or punishment to a survey, especially to the answer or result, you distort it. That is an iron law of survey research.

MadisonMan said...

I won't be tested. It seems like a drain on medical resources to me.

Perhaps we should have people who refuse to be tested wear some kind of badge to indicate that. I suggest a yellow star. I wonder if the Washington Post could advocate for something like this.

mandrewa said...

Well this is strange because I want to be tested.

In particular I wanted to be tested about three weeks ago. I had been around a person who had been around a person that had the coronavirus, and I had what might be construed as a minor symptom of the virus (except that means far less than it sounds because the list of the minor symptoms is so extensive that it covers pretty much everything).

And I really wanted to know because then I would have gone into a more substantial and awkward quarantine than I was already doing and that would not have risked those close to me.

So I inquired and discovered that in my area, a red state, that unless I was dying or close to dying, they were not going to check. Meanwhile if I've understood correctly New York had centers open to people walking in off the street that wanted to be checked.

Doesn't this seem backward? When only a few people in an area have been infected isn't that the best time to check? And when it would still be useful to do contact tracing?

Darkisland said...

I have no desire to be tested. The exception might be if I think I have the Peking Pox and need to know for sure in order to be treated. And that is "might" not "would" be tested.

I see absolutely no benefit to me in being tested.

This is all about money. As is virtually every other thing having to do with this plandemic.

Each test sells for about $50-100 (like every other kung flu data point I trust these numbers very little) If they can test 320mm people, the whole population, that is $16-32 billion in revenues to the testing companies. OF COURSE They want everyone to be tested.

There are way too many people making way too much money out of this who fake pandemic.

Amazon is one.

States that are getting govt handouts

Mask makers

Some hospitals

Ventilator makers

And so on.

John Henry

Darkisland said...

Howard said...

I suppose I should go get tested.

Why do you want to kill your grandmother? I am surprised at you, Howard. I would have thought you would be the first one to have gotten a test.

You are such a little Stalin, criticizing the rest of us for not behaving the way you think think we should. Essentially calling us murderers for not wearing masks. Although no self-awareness about not wearing a mask in the past during flu seasons.

YES, YOU DAMN WELL SHOULD GET TESTED. And make sure they do it with that deep probe. Then do it every day. And pay for it out of your own pocket.

If you start doing that then perhaps you have some standing to tell others what to do.

John Henry

Darkisland said...

I would love to find info about the Trump Treatment (Zinc, zithromycin and hydroxycloraquin) There seems to be so very little that I suspect a coverup of its effectiveness.

The studies I see seem to:

Overdose the patients on cloraquin, not hydroxycloraquin. Give them a double dose and they have heart problems, just like all the literature warns about

Use the treatment on people who already have serious cases of kung flu. Surprise, surprise, it doesn't seem to be that effective. Nobody ever claimed it would be.

Use the hydroxyclraquine without zinc, without zithro. Surprise surprise, not terribly effective, just as expected. You need all 3.

Conflate statistics to make it seem less effective.

Tomy previous post, there is no money in Hydroxycloraquin. It is long off patent, simple to make, safe.

If it did work, the lockdown could have ended in March. Then all these folks making money off the plandemic would have to go find real work.

People need to go to jail for this bullshit. (They won't)

John Henry

Sebastian said...

"People aren't showing up to take the tests."

For the vast majority of people, WuFlu is no big deal, and of course most don't even know they have been infected -- so why should they? For "science"?

Original Mike said...

"even Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has been frustrated.... “There’s some people who, for whatever reason, don’t want to be tested,”"

Why are the people we elect such idiots? Why would you get tested if you're not sick?

Birches said...

Even if I got sick, I wouldn't go get tested. I don't want a stick up my nose unless I was in bad enough shape that the diagnosis mattered. Until I know that doctors are treating Coronavirus in a standard way that works, I'll stay home.

Sam L. said...

Ahhhhh, the WaPoo WaPoops!

minnesota farm guy said...

The rebellion against the various lockdowns should give you a hint of what led our Founding Fathers to revolt. Rules affecting your life over which you have no say, and which clearly are harmful, lead even the most mild mannered to resist. Should the Dem governors persist( Baker counts as a Dem) - and it looks like they want to - there is going to be serious payback at the polls.

Original Mike said...

Also, why would you get tested when there is no cure? Curiosity, which is fine, but the results have no practical value.

stevew said...

Why are the test advocates not recommending the standard statistical practice of random sampling? Of course they can still test people that present with symptoms, but to assess the growth/decline in the spread of the virus, as well as getting an idea about its contagiousness and lethality, a properly sized random sample would do wonders.

These politicians and government bureaucrats either don't understand this or are purposely avoiding it because it doesn't fit their purpose.

Yancey Ward said...

I predicted this would be a problem once we got beyond about 500,000 tests/day. Eventually, you run into the problem of running out of people with symptoms and the desire to be tested. This is one of the reasons I mocked the proposal to test everyone, though not the major reason (which was the impracticality of it).

mandrewa said...

Actually, John Henry, a big study has just come in from a major research hospital, NYULH, on the use of Hydroxychloroquine + Azithromycin + Zinc and it strongly suggests that past a certain stage, the cytokine storm stage, or something near to that, the combination does no good.

But if you give the combination even one or two days before that you can cut the odds of death in half.

This is far better than what I would have guessed.

Who knows how much good it would do if you gave it to people when they first showed a symptom?

In any case at this point in my opinion you are basically trying to kill people if you don't give them hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin plus zinc when they have Covid-19 and they are not yet on a respirator or about to go on one. It should be the standard against which everything else is being compared because as of now it is the best we have.

Roger Seheult explores the study, which was retrospective but the sample size was large, in Coronavirus Pandemic Update 71.

I was about to post a link to that video but was stunned to discover that Google has removed it.

Roger Seheult did little more than just read through the published paper and explain what it meant.

So now Google arrogates to itself the right to censure scientific research?

mandrewa said...

Big Mike said,

"Also, why would you get tested when there is no cure? Curiosity, which is fine, but the results have no practical value."

Actually there is quite a list of things one can do to lower the odds of dying if you know you have it.

Taking very large doses of Vitamin D (at least 50,000 unit per day, if you know you have it!)

Large amounts of Vitamin C, taken intravenously, not orally.

N-Acetyl Cysteine.

Hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin plus zinc (there's a lot of evidence for this at this point, it will at the very minimum cut your odds of dying in half)

The combination of all these things might cut your odds of dying from this or just simply have to go to the hospital for it to, who knows, maybe one-quarter.

That seems pretty significant to me.

Dude1394 said...

Stevew because these people seem to have left math way,way behind in their desire to drive an agenda. It's maddening to me. Headlines that scream 1000 more cases detected and in the small print, 4 people in a hospital in a county.

People are dumb, ( our elite seem to be ) they don't get a test when they don't need a test. If they aren't feeling sick, what good does a test do other than make them have to get ANOTHER test every day to see if they are positive.

Original Mike said...

"Why are the test advocates not recommending the standard statistical practice of random sampling?"

THIS would be of value.

These politicians and government bureaucrats either don't understand this or are purposely avoiding it because it doesn't fit their purpose.

I suspect the latter. Ginning up their numbers supports their authoritarian urges.

mandrewa said...

Ok I've found a link.

If you go to Coronavirus Pandemic Updates and click on the video that is currently on the top of that page you can see what YouTube is censoring.

I am truly astonished that there any idiots out there that think this should be censored.

It's a walk through of "Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin plus zinc vs hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin alone: outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients," by Philip Carlucci et al.

This is an extremely significant study. And the evidence is very strong.

RobinGoodfellow said...

“wild chicken said...
The spouse's TDS is off the charts now. Talking about shooting both Trump and Biden. If he were that kind of guy, of course.

I'm trying the Grey Rock technique.“

My wife (a life-long Republican, BTW) has extreme TDS. What is this Grey Rock technique of which you speak?

RobinGoodfellow said...

“Blogger rcocean said...

BTW, why aren't they doing statistically valid random sampling of the entire population to determine the REAL rate of population infection? Wouldn't that be useful to know?”

Why, yes, yes it would be useful—to anyone interested in actual data. As that information is likely to show a high rate of exposure and a low rate of symptoms, a push for this info probably won’t receive much airtime.

Ray - SoCal said...

More on the politics retarding the use of Hydroxycloraquin, and done studies.

Not using zinc in the studies is VERY Suspicious.

Like someone wants the studies to fail.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/05/dr_fauci_and_the_tuskegee_syphilis_study_victims.html

Tomcc said...

Seriously, who doesn't want a long pointy stick stuck up their nose? Well, me, for one. I would like an antibody test, though.

Original Mike said...

"Actually there is quite a list of things one can do to lower the odds of dying if you know you have it."

If I think I have it, I'm going to my doctor.

mandrewa said...

Original Mike, but here's the thing, there's a huge chance your doctor will not recommend that you do those things that I just listed.

I can only speculate as to the full complete reason why, but I'm pretty sure that almost never is it going to be because the physician in question has sat down and studied the subject and personally found the evidence wanting.

I think most doctors don't have any time for this. They have enough trouble keeping up with the latest treatments that everyone is supposed to be doing, and that if they don't do them they could be sued for not doing them.

But whatever, if the evidence for these things doesn't make sense to you, or if you don't feel like you can evaluate it yourself, then the sensible thing to do is to go with your doctor's judgement.

Michael K said...

Not using zinc in the studies is VERY Suspicious.

I have yet to find a scientific explanation about why Zinc makes a difference. Having said that, I have used Zinc in wound healing for years. It may well have an effect but the only evidence I haver seen is some YouTube video.

Michael K said...

There are a few studies just appearing.

Original Mike said...

@mandrewa - But without a doctor I CAN'T do most of the things on your list. I don't have a prescription pad.

(I guess I could take megadoses of Vitamin D, but I'm not comfortable doing that on my own.)

Ray - SoCal said...

WOW!!!

Trump Admits To Taking Hydroxychloroquine With Zinc As Preventative Measure
https://www.zerohedge.com/health/trump-admits-taking-hydroxychloroquine-zinc

It's nice to have a President practices, "eating his own dog food".

I am impressed.

mandrewa said...

Michael K,

This paper was published on May 8th:

Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin plus zinc vs hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin alone: outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

I'd love to know what you think about it.

mandrewa said...

And Michael K,

I'm assuming you saw the paper I posted before about elevated cytoplasmic zinc levels interfering with RNA dependent RNA polymerase?

If not, I'll dig it up again.

Big Mike said...

Big Mike said,

@mandrewa, actually I didn’t say it (or write it, either). That was the Original Mike.

mandrewa said...

Sorry, Big Mike!

Original Mike said...

How about apologizing to me, mandrewa?

mandrewa said...

Ok, Original Mike! Sorry for getting you two confused.

Original Mike said...

Sorry for being touchy. It's just that this happens constantly. I don't know what the deal is.