Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #48

[tresir2012]

Hard choices indeed. The cards have been dealt and we are unprepared for the pandemic.

You refer to sacrificing lives, but I think it is more sacrificing the very small chance that you or your loved ones will suffer permanent loss due to coronavirus. But that is a real concern nonetheless.

The Washington Post commentary is powerful and compassionate. It is hard to argue with the logic, except it makes no mention of the economic cost is of waiting until after we’ve taken common-sense measures to prevent the preventable.

Sally Jenkins says sarcastically- Rather than damage the economy further, we must accept a certain number of coronavirus casualties so the rest of us can go back to restaurants and football games. It’s a false moral equation and a false choice.

Sally is a good and expressive writer. She talks about people going to restaurants and football game instead of people getting back to work to pay their bills. Very effective. She says a moral equation is false, but doesn't present the societal cost of keeping the economy shut to her equation. Her equation isn't really an equation.

I guess everyone will want the flu jab next year so there will probably be a shortage. Anyone over 65 or with an underlying health conditions usually gets offered it but there is no evidence it helps against CV19, although people may think it does.

Regarding if staying in and social distancing was a choice to save lives, we had a week where we were asked to social distance and kids were off school and the majority took no notice, then we got the mandatory lockdown. So in general we are selfish creatures, survival of the fittest, not much social conscience so a lot would not care IMO, until it affects someone they know.
MOO.

 

[Lavender Moon]

A motorcade of about two dozen cars just drove past my house, all festooned with ribbons, balloons and paper flowers and bearing homemade "Happy ninth birthday, Isabella" signs.
"If you're happy you know it" was played in Spanish, then English .
When they reached her house, they honked their horns and cheered, clapped and sang.
What a sweet gift for a little girl who can't have a traditional birthday party this year!

 

[firebird]

Hard choices indeed.

Indeed. Liberty v. death. Seems I've heard that somewhere before

 

[Lilibet]

Hard choices indeed. The cards have been dealt and we are unprepared for the pandemic.

You refer to sacrificing lives, but I think it is more sacrificing the very small chance that you or your loved ones will suffer permanent loss due to coronavirus. But that is a real concern nonetheless.

The Washington Post commentary is powerful and compassionate. It is hard to argue with the logic, except it makes no mention of the economic cost is of waiting until after we’ve taken common-sense measures to prevent the preventable.

Sally Jenkins says sarcastically- Rather than damage the economy further, we must accept a certain number of coronavirus casualties so the rest of us can go back to restaurants and football games. It’s a false moral equation and a false choice.

Sally is a good and expressive writer. She talks about people going to restaurants and football game instead of people getting back to work to pay their bills. Very effective. She says a moral equation is false, but doesn't present the societal cost of keeping the economy shut to her equation. Her equation isn't really an equation.

I appreciate and respect your opinion @The Night Watchman. I agree that the societal cost is huge if the economy remains shut down. I don’t know if there are any good solutions that value everyone’s “rights.” I think Sally Jenkins is referring to the unfortunate and very vocal whining of some who feel that their “right” to attend sports events and eat out are so very important. They are pleasure-oriented rather than wanting people to get back to work and pay their bills. And those are the ones I think have no concern for anyone but their selfish selves. JMO

 

[Cool Cats]

I guess everyone will want the flu jab next year so there will probably be a shortage. Anyone over 65 or with an underlying health conditions usually gets offered it but there is no evidence it helps against CV19, although people may think it does.

Regarding if staying in and social distancing was a choice to save lives, we had a week where we were asked to social distance and kids were off school and the majority took no notice, then we got the mandatory lockdown. So in general we are selfish creatures, survival of the fittest, not much social conscience so a lot would not care IMO, until it affects someone they know.
MOO.

No. In general we are caring creatures....

It's just "the uncaring" get more air time. Put that in your Pipe and smoke it...

 

[Lilibet]

I don't think the rights are mutually exclusive. I enjoy my rights to freedom, but that includes the privilege to live in such a way, that I voluntarily commit myself to care for others who enjoy the same rights. That freedom, E pluribus unum, was the motto in the initial 1776 design of the Great Seal of the United States. We are not a collection of disconnected individuals, rather, we are willing to put our freedom to work for the common good.

Yes, that’s how it should be.

 

[weepingangel]

Massachusetts
Health officials announce 156 more deaths and 1,970 new COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts
More at link graphs/charts

The number of coronavirus-related deaths in Massachusetts increased to 1,560, with 156 new deaths reported on Saturday.
Statewide, there are now 1,970 new positive cases of the virus, according to the latest figures, up to 36,372 in total. Altogether, 156,806 COVID-19 tests have been carried out by state and commercial labs.
Of the total coronavirus-related deaths, the majority - 810 - were reported in long-term care facilities.

How Baystate Health shielded an order for face masks and respirators from being taken by federal officials

Securing personal protective equipment for frontline health care workers is forcing administrators to develop a new set of operating skills.
Dr. Andrew W. Artenstein, who heads Baystate Health’s command center for COVID-19, described his experiences attempting to acquire N95 face masks and related gear for workers in a letter published by the New England Journal of Medicine.
In the past, getting needed face masks and supplies for Baystate was a relatively straightforward process. Amid the growing health care crisis, hospital workers were “stymied by a lack of personal protective equipment,” he said, “and the cavalry does not appear to be coming.”

Police investigating threatening letter left at Life Care Center, where residents and a nurse have died from COVID-19

Police in Littleton are investigating a threatening letter left this week at the Life Care Center of Nashoba Valley, a care facility that has seen a deadly outbreak of COVID-19.

Report: Ex-Red Sox Wade Boggs wonders if he had coronavirus, caught it from Chris Sale

Boggs shook hands and had a “a lengthy conversation” with Sale at an event for sponsors and limited partners in Fort Myers, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

 

[branmuffin]

Yes, I can.......... Over something they strongly believe in....moo

I would hazard a guess that a lot of these people would not do well put in the conditions my parents and grandparents endured during WW2, especially in England.

What would have been the value of individual rights if exercising those rights put everyone else in danger? What would have been the point in the UK of everyone in a town ensured their blackout curtains were closed during a bombing raid if one individual in town felt the order trampled their personal beliefs?

I'm sure there are a lot of 16 year olds who believe they are old enough to drink. I'm sure some people think it's okay to drive drunk. Maybe some people have a problem separating their belief system from personal selfishness. IMO

 

[cody22]

Opinion - One thing for sure, we live in very interesting times in the USA........Yall all stay safe......moo

 

[musicaljoke]

we were talking about sitting on a park bench
rsbm

That was a good explanation LadyL. I think it's important, when looking at the places that have been closed, is that we also understand the spirit of those closures and not get overly concerned about the detail about what exactly we can do, and what we can't.

If we can buy into the general need to self isolate in order to stop the spread of Covid from one human to another, then it can make sense. If we relied on the letter of the law, then lawmakers would need all the paper on the planet and oceans of ink to articulate every detail of how we might maintain social distancing. I believe that we need to let go of nit-picking at the regulations and understand the sense of what the public health and gov't leaders are trying to accomplish. The simple principle is to stop the spread.

 

[Bravo]

And it's the covidiots that will burden the Health Care System. Taking a bed possibly from someone who followed the rules but has to work to put food on the table. Expose so many others. I could go on and on but best I don't

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Very clear and informative.

Do you want a job with the Government Information Office?

Ha! I can't take credit for it unfortunately, or fortunately.

 

[The Night Watchman]

I guess everyone will want the flu jab next year so there will probably be a shortage. Anyone over 65 or with an underlying health conditions usually gets offered it but there is no evidence it helps against CV19, although people may think it does.

Regarding if staying in and social distancing was a choice to save lives, we had a week where we were asked to social distance and kids were off school and the majority took no notice, then we got the mandatory lockdown. So in general we are selfish creatures, survival of the fittest, not much social conscience so a lot would not care IMO, until it affects someone they know.
MOO.

I have learned so much about seasonal viruses that I realize that I have been 100% wrong in not getting the flu shot. Somehow I didn't realize how it impacted others or I just didn't listen. The reality is that the media didn't put a face on the victims, like they do with coronavirus. I certainly will get a flu shot every year going forward.

60% of Americans do not get the flu shot, and I'd guess at least half of these will get the shot going forward. Because they see first hand how a virus without a vaccine affects others. This may save thousands of lives.

 

[weepingangel]

Massachusetts
Baker holds off on decision to reopen Massachusetts schools during COVID-19

“If you could wave a magic wand, which we can’t, I believe that the vast majority of school systems and school district leaders would like to see the kids back at some point before the end of the year,” Baker said.
One reason Baker said he wants to see schools reopen before the end of the school year would be so students could take tests to determine how far behind they fell due to the pandemic.
Baker said competency tests are important “so that there’s some idea about things people could work on over the course of the summer so they’re not completely behind when they show up in the fall.”

 

[Lilibet]

That was a good explanation LadyL. I think it's important, when looking at the places that have been closed, is that we also understand the spirit of those closures and not get overly concerned about the detail about what exactly we can do, and what we can't.

If we can buy into the general need to self isolate in order to stop the spread of Covid from one human to another, then it can make sense. If we relied on the letter of the law, then lawmakers would need all the paper on the planet and oceans of ink to articulate every detail of how we might maintain social distancing. I believe that we need to let go of nit-picking at the regulations and understand the sense of what the public health and gov't leaders are trying to accomplish. The simple principle is to stop the spread.

Well said @musicaljoke regarding laws about social distancing vs the underlying principle behind them to stop the spread. <modsnip>

 

[roche.analisa]

Great articles. Thank you. I know what I would tell doctors ahead, if i ended up in the hospital/icu.

My dad, who is almost 75 and working daily in the food pantry he runs, told me he does not want to be put on a vent if it comes to that.

 

[Tillicum]

Ohio Kroger update: I placed a pick up order at 11 AM. I ordered eggs, hamburger, jello, ice cream and mushrooms. When I got the email verification of my order it said I agreed to substitutions. I didn't. I called and explained that we couldn't have sugar and would they please not substitute our sugar free items as we couldn't use them. She was very nice and noted it on our order. When we picked up the order she said they substituted the medium eggs for large but they charged the same price. Everything else in our order was there. Imagine my surprise while disinfecting our groceries and finding a bag of sugar free Russel Stovers chocolates! How sweet is that?

 

[10ofRods]

I’m in the same boat regarding asthma.

Me too. Although just last night, I read a New York woman's account of her struggle with CoVid. She is a lifelong asthmatic. She was admitted at about the same time as 5 other patients, none of them asthmatics. 2 were over 80, both died. A third died but was severely obese. She and another person survived (as did others, but she was simply more aware of the little group she had seen on her first day).

She had been using her inhaler before being admitted. They added a steroid inhaler and said she probably she have started it earlier, so something to consult with our primary care doctors about. She began to wonder if the inhaler treatment that she got right away actually aided in her survival.

Fact is, we aren't sure exactly why the over-80 crowd is dying, except that it would appear their immune systems are just not up to the battle. The obese people have to push way more oxygen around and their lungs have to struggle against more weight.

I'm an asthmatic too and it's been really bad since December. I haven't really had issues for years, but this year (maybe all the pollen?) it's really bad.

 

[Lilibet]

I would hazard a guess that a lot of these people would not do well put in the conditions my parents and grandparents endured during WW2, especially in England.

What would have been the value of individual rights if exercising those rights put everyone else in danger? What would have been the point in the UK of everyone in a town ensured their blackout curtains were closed during a bombing raid if one individual in town felt the order trampled their personal beliefs?

I'm sure there are a lot of 16 year olds who believe they are old enough to drink. I'm sure some people think it's okay to drive drunk. Maybe some people have a problem separating their belief system from personal selfishness. IMO

Thank you @branmuffin. During WWII, my mother was a volunteer who walked around Greenwich Village in NYC nightly checking on blackout curtains. I remember that she explained to me (born post-war in 1946) that if there was one small chink of light, a bomber could see the target, risking everyone’s lives. No generation since then has had to sacrifice their personal freedom for the greater good of society. To many, that is an alien concept. But this virus is the enemy and this is war. This is why I have no patience with those who chafe against these temporary restrictions that can save lives. JMO

 

[Cool Cats]

My dad, who is almost 75 and working daily in the food pantry he runs, told me he does not want to be put on a vent if it comes to that.

I just got back today from dropping off stuff and visiting with and checking on my dad who lives alone and he is almost 88. There is all this food over there and I'm like "dad, where did all this food come from?"

And he says the neighbors keep bringing him food and are always worried about how he is doing! He has more food than you could shake a stick at and made me take some of it home!

Well God Bless America! Home of the free and thoughtful!