Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #76

[dmac55]

Covid-19 Data Will Once Again Be Collected by CDC, in Policy Reversal - WSJ
WSJ News Exclusive | Covid-19 Data Will Once Again Be Collected by CDC, in Policy Reversal

 

[10ofRods]

Covid-19 Data Will Once Again Be Collected by CDC, in Policy Reversal - WSJ
WSJ News Exclusive | Covid-19 Data Will Once Again Be Collected by CDC, in Policy Reversal

Well, that's good news and a first step back on track.

 

[tresir2012]

IMO it means they're only testing people who are likely to be infected. So they're not testing the general population. For eg, they may only be testing where there are known outbreaks, or only testing people who report to hospital with serious covid-like symptoms.

IMO different testing strategies are perfectly legitimate. It's expensive and slows down limited testing facilities if you try to test the entire population. Can be better to prioritize quick diagnosis precisely where needed.

The R number is not measured, like positivity is, it's calculated based on statistical formulas, plugging in numbers such as the change in hospitalizations or deaths over time.

Coronavirus: What is the R number and how is it calculated?

I thought this graph in the article was good to show the rise in people being infected to sustain the outbreak dependent on the R number.

Image captionIf the R-value is above one then the number of cumulative cases takes off, but if it is below one then eventually the outbreak stops. The further below one, the faster that happens.

 

[Simply Southern]

@dmac55

Covid-19 Data Will Once Again Be Collected by CDC, in Policy Reversal - WSJ
WSJ News Exclusive | Covid-19 Data Will Once Again Be Collected by CDC, in Policy Reversal

WSJ has a paywall. Could you post the reason?

I heard her speak this week and CDC was working to build a new system to handle all the data.

I'm quite interested. Thanks

 

[MrX]

Should be an interesting weekend in Phoenix. Metrics for Maricopa County (which includes Phoenix, Scottsdale, etc.) say that bars with food permits can reopen as restaurants. The problem is that the Governor didn't address this at today's presser (other than to dodge a question about enforcement). Head of the Health Department answered a question about why some applications to reopen were denied, but that was all based on them trying to open before metrics said they could. So it's a confused mess where responsible places will be stuck sitting on their hands, while Billy Bob's Saloon will put out some beer nuts and call itself a "restaurant." Exactly what happened in May...

EDIT: Looks like they need two weeks of reported metrics, so next week is when places will start reopening.

 

[ZoriahNZ]

Covid-19 Data Will Once Again Be Collected by CDC, in Policy Reversal - WSJ
WSJ News Exclusive | Covid-19 Data Will Once Again Be Collected by CDC, in Policy Reversal

It's behind a paywall, so I cant read all the details, but it makes me wonder why the disruptive change in the first place (the reasons given didn't seem to pan out) and why the sudden reversal?

I'm glad, though, since having all the data centralized with the CDC and publicly accessible to researchers, hospitals, reporters etc. seemed the best strategy for tracking the situation in a timely, accurate and accountable manner.

Apparently Dr. Birx says a new system with the CDC is being implemented soon?

 

[dmac55]

Covid-19 Data Will Once Again Be Collected by CDC, in Policy Reversal - WSJ
WSJ News Exclusive | Covid-19 Data Will Once Again Be Collected by CDC, in Policy Reversal

I should have added this part:
(from same source)
(The title of the article makes it sound like it's a done deal, and I'm not sure about that)

"Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus coordinator, told hospital executives and government officials in Arkansas this week that the current system under which hospitals report new cases is “solely an interim system” and that the reporting would soon go back to the CDC."

 

[Simply Southern]

The New River Valley, in SW Virginia Schools aren't fooling around to keeping schools open. Their positivity rate is less than 1%.

Virginia Tech football players holding themselves accountable as other ACC programs struggle with coronavirus

We actually had a player team meeting recently,” he said. “It was only players and we were just talking about how seriously we have to take this season, and if we want to play, we’ve got to be smart off the field, not just on the field.

“To be honest with you, I’m not even worried about the older guys. I just had to get the message to the younger guys since it’s their first year in college. They may want to have fun, but they’ve got to know, just at least for a semester, we’ve got to be smart.”

Seven VT students suspended after off-campus events allegedly added risk to public health during pandemic

Radford University suspends three students for ‘endangering health and safety of others’

 

[CSIDreamer]

I was just reading our county school system page. Yesterday, Amazon employees donated 10,000 face shields to our school system. Nice!

 

[dmac55]

@dmac55




WSJ has a paywall. Could you post the reason?

I heard her speak this week and CDC was working to build a new system to handle all the data.

I'm quite interested. Thanks

The reason given was:
"... the shift to Health and Human Services led to delays and data problems"

Below is a source without a paywall, that has similar information:

"CDC is working with us right now to build a revolutionary new data system, so it can be moved back to the CDC, and they can have that regular accountability with hospitals relevant to treatment and PPE," she [Dr. Birx] said.

Birx says data collected from hospitals during coronavirus pandemic has been "extraordinarily important" - CNN
Birx says data collected from hospitals during coronavirus pandemic has been "extraordinarily important" - CNN

 

[musicaljoke]

Covid-19 Data Will Once Again Be Collected by CDC, in Policy Reversal - WSJ
WSJ News Exclusive | Covid-19 Data Will Once Again Be Collected by CDC, in Policy Reversal

This is an important, strategic move that may restore international trust in the US's data collection process. The CDC is a highly respected organisation that has the confidence of the global public health community. Shifting data collection away from the CDC and into an unfamiliar database through the newly formed TeleTracking Technologies created suspicions which, we are just beginning to hear, were justified.

Irregularities In COVID Reporting Contract Award Process Raise New Questions

 

[SouthAussie]

The reason given was:
"... the shift to Health and Human Services led to delays and data problems"

Below is a source without a paywall, that has similar information:

"CDC is working with us right now to build a revolutionary new data system, so it can be moved back to the CDC, and they can have that regular accountability with hospitals relevant to treatment and PPE," she [Dr. Birx] said.

Birx says data collected from hospitals during coronavirus pandemic has been "extraordinarily important" - CNN
Birx says data collected from hospitals during coronavirus pandemic has been "extraordinarily important" - CNN

There is also an article here that says ....

HHS officials insisted the new system would be quicker and provide more complete data. But an NPR analysis showed that weeks after the data collecting change, information posted to the public HHS site was spotty, incomplete and riddled with errors.

.... Lisa M. Lee, former chief science officer for public health surveillance at CDC and now an associate vice president at Virginia Tech. If the CDC were put back in charge of the data "for the long-haul, we would have a much better system," she says, "[because] we have professional surveillance scientists at CDC and public health professionals who have the expertise to handle data that are this complex."

White House Stokes Hopes That Key Hospital Data Tracking Will Soon Return To CDC

(The linked NPR analysis - link in this article - is interesting, too)

 

[Trino]

The New River Valley, in SW Virginia Schools aren't fooling around to keeping schools open. Their positivity rate is less than 1%.

Virginia Tech football players holding themselves accountable as other ACC programs struggle with coronavirus

We actually had a player team meeting recently,” he said. “It was only players and we were just talking about how seriously we have to take this season, and if we want to play, we’ve got to be smart off the field, not just on the field.

“To be honest with you, I’m not even worried about the older guys. I just had to get the message to the younger guys since it’s their first year in college. They may want to have fun, but they’ve got to know, just at least for a semester, we’ve got to be smart.”

Seven VT students suspended after off-campus events allegedly added risk to public health during pandemic

Radford University suspends three students for ‘endangering health and safety of others’

Let's up the ante on the college parties. 17 students suspended, 50 quarantined at St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN.
17 St. Olaf College Students Suspended, 50 In Quarantine After COVID-19 Exposure At Off-Campus Party

 

[katydid23]

Well, that pretty ugly for sure. The US built a fence to stop US migrants from coming into Canada? Oh really? It sure as heck isn't about Canadians hopping the border and bringing Covid into the US. Sheesh!

Canada has nothing to do with this fence.

it explains it in the article:

“This barrier is designed to prevent vehicles from either accidentally or purposefully crossing the boundary and endangering citizens in both countries.”

Most of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley border with Washington state is separated by only a ditch and stone markers on the south side of Zero Avenue.

The strip has recently been in the spotlight amid an uptick in migrants and asylum seekers entering Canada away from official border crossings.

A British Family was recently detained for weeks by U.S. officials after “accidentally” driving across the boundary into Washington.

 

[they'll get you]

A controversial virus medication, spruiked by Donald Trump, will be trialled in a Melbourne hospital, which is recruiting participants.

Trump drug to be trialled in Melbourne hospital

 

[katydid23]

This is what I don’t quite get. Mississippi’s Rt rate is .91, which isn’t that bad yet the positivity rate is 23%, which is terrible. I thought a high positivity rate shows widespread community activity.

Can someone explain this to me?

Could the high positivity rate mean that the only people getting tested are those that are pretty sure they have the virus? If you test fewer people, but a lot of them are infected, you get a high positivity rate.

Where it may be that some states have easier and cheaper access ton tests and may have lower positivity rates because some took test out of curiosity?

 

[SouthAussie]

A controversial virus medication, spruiked by Donald Trump, will be trialled in a Melbourne hospital, which is recruiting participants.

Trump drug to be trialled in Melbourne hospital

"It’s understood the trial will examine whether the drug can reduce the risk of coronavirus infection prior to exposure and not as a treatment option."

Sounds like some volunteer med staff may trial it on themselves at Royal Albert Hospital, due to the amount of med staff contracting the virus.

 

[katydid23]

"It’s understood the trial will examine whether the drug can reduce the risk of coronavirus infection prior to exposure and not as a treatment option."

Sounds like some volunteer med staff may trial it on themselves at Royal Albert Hospital, due to the amount of med staff contracting the virus.

I have seen credible studies that have shown that to be true, globally. Nations that have used it as a preventative measure or used it very early on, have much lower case rates than nations that banned it's use. [I posted an article way back in the thread, but I will try and find it again.]

 

[katydid23]

some good news:
COVID-19 fatality rates fall as treatments improve


The percentage of those infected with the coronavirus who die of COVID-19 is falling in most states, a sign that the battle against the virus is entering a new phase.

Across the nation, that percentage — known as the case fatality rate — has been on the decline for weeks, and in some states for months. It is a hopeful indicator, but one that health experts caution is layered with uncertainty.

Health experts pointed to several reasons for the decline: Doctors are learning about better methods of treating those who are ill. Those who contract the virus are now more likely to be younger, rather than older people who are most at risk of dying. And more widespread testing is identifying cases among those who show few or no symptoms.

COVID-19 fatality rates fall as treatments improve

 

[Clair Louise]

I have seen credible studies that have shown that to be true, globally. Nations that have used it as a preventative measure or used it very early on, have much lower case rates than nations that banned it's use. [I posted an article way back in the thread, but I will try and find it again.]

There have been several studies which show that it had no effect on preventing the virus.
Which countries used it early or at any other time?
Malaria drug touted by Trump fails to prevent COVID-19 in high profile study