Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #79

[Lilibet]

NYTimes article revealing how the data regarding children has been misrepresented for other than health purposes.

Quoting from this link...and the rest of the article is even worse. Read it and weep for our children and teachers.

WASHINGTON — Top White House officials pressured the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this summer to play down the risk of sending children back to school, a strikingly political intervention in one of the most sensitive public health debates of the pandemic, according to documents and interviews with current and former government officials.

As part of their behind-the-scenes effort, White House officials also tried to circumvent the C.D.C. in a search for alternate data showing that the pandemic was weakening and posed little danger to children.

The documents and interviews show how the White House spent weeks trying to press public health professionals to fall in line with President Trump’s election-year agenda of pushing to reopen schools and the economy as quickly as possible. The president and his team have remained defiant in their demand for schools to get back to normal, even as coronavirus cases have once again ticked up, in some cases linked to school and college reopenings.

The effort included Dr. Deborah L. Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, and officials working for Vice President Mike Pence, who led the task force. It left officials at the C.D.C., long considered the world’s premier public health agency, alarmed at the degree of pressure from the White House.
BBM
Behind the White House Effort to Pressure the C.D.C. on School Openings

 

[they'll get you]

Cruise ship with 1500 passengers onboard struck with 12 positive COVID-19 cases in Greek Islands

Greek authorities say 12 crew members on a Maltese-flagged cruise ship carrying more than 1500 people on a Greek islands tour have tested positive for coronavirus and have been isolated on board.

Cruise ship with 1500 passengers onboard struck with 12 positive COVID-19 cases in Greek Islands

 

[ilovewings]

Cruise ship with 1500 passengers onboard struck with 12 positive COVID-19 cases in Greek Islands

Greek authorities say 12 crew members on a Maltese-flagged cruise ship carrying more than 1500 people on a Greek islands tour have tested positive for coronavirus and have been isolated on board.

Cruise ship with 1500 passengers onboard struck with 12 positive COVID-19 cases in Greek Islands

Let me see, what to do during a pandemic: wear a mask, social distance, curb side pickup so you don't go to restaurants, and of course how could i forget: Crusing with 1500 of my closest friends!!!! how special is that?

 

[margarita25]

NYTimes article revealing how the data regarding children has been misrepresented for other than health purposes.

(Marking. Thank you, 10ofrods)

 

[tresir2012]

Dr Tom Frieden says:

"Blaming CDC for their failures is like blaming someone who has been tied up and encased in cement for failing to swim. Our premier public health agency hasn't been allowed to play the role that it usually plays: Keeping Americans safe."

He draws attention to this article.

"Frieden admits the CDC has stumbled at times, especially early in the pandemic.


The first test kits distributed to states were faulty, delaying the roll-out of testing.

"They've definitely made some mistakes," he says. "The testing in particular didn't go well."

The agency has also sent out conflicting messages about who should be tested and how the virus is spreading.

Twice in that last month, it has released and then removed new guideline from its website.

Communication, Frieden says, has been a major challenge for the agency over the last seven months.

In past outbreaks, like the H1N1 flu, the CDC held weekly, sometimes daily, press briefings explaining the agency's evolving response.

After holding several media briefings in early March, the agency abruptly stopped.

Dr. Frieden says, the CDC has been largely silenced from communicating with Americans by an administration, he says, is eager to move on from this virus.

"It's not going to go away on its own," Dr. Frieden says. "Even if we have a vaccine, there is no fairytale ending to this pandemic.”

This sounds like CDC made a lot of mistakes. Especially early on when it mattered.

 

[tresir2012]

Well, there is a point of view that says everyone should just get Covid. Predictions are that about 3% of people overall would die in that case. Then it would be pretty much over - unless of course CoVid really does attack T cell immunity, as currently theorized by several reputable scientists. And unless we can get it over and over until we die from it.

I hate to try to state it, but it has its own internal logic, I guess.

It is in this model that 15-25% of those 85 and over die (whether in care homes or not, just to make that clear).
4-5% of those aged 75-84 (all figures in this post are approximate), 3% for those aged 65-84, 1-2% of those 50-74, 1% of those 30-49. Less than half a percent of the rest.

That's a lot of dead people. However, as I am frequently told by younger people, "Old people are going to die soon anyway." Relatively speaking, that's true. It's rather heartless, but it's true.

I don't think I'll be taking my retirement fund and spending it on bars and restaurants though. I think I'll donate it to a worthy cause after splitting a good chunk between my offspring.

It's only about 2-5 million more Americans who die in this model - and our only control at this point seems to be whether it will be fast (Florida style) or slow (New York style).

We don't know the real rates because so many Americans have known comorbidities that make figures from other nations less useful, we have terrible data here on the home front (if we consider the nation as a whole), and, well, a lot of people won't know they have some comorbidity (such as an electrical issue with their heart) until they get CoVid that affects their heart. It's always that way with infectious disease.

I hope those young people have enough coin to take the wheel of the economy and pay enough taxes to support the government and its expenses, as well as themselves and all the businesses they are going to visit. I wonder how many of them will inherit much if their parents are the unlucky ones who die (that would be about 3% of their parents, on average).

Most Americans are in debt, they don't have a lot of savings. House payments are real (and young people may not even know what the house payment is - much less taxes and upkeep).

Anyway - there's a view that says just bite the bullet, get it over with and move on. All of this is very eye-opening. DeSantis has let the genie out of the bottle. I think it's also the case that FL has more old people than many other states...

So the Swedish approach may be the best in the end perhaps.

 

[JerseyGirl]

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Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #80