Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #84

[tresir2012]

This article may interest you.

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What we found was sobering yet not surprising. Spikes in Covid-19 cases occurred in seven of the 14 cities and townships where these rallies were held: Tulsa; Phoenix; Old Forge, Penn.; Bemidji, Minn.; Mankato, Minn.; Oshkosh, Wis.; and Weston, Wis.

Campaign Rallies Leave a Trail of Community Outbreaks

Some of the events appear to have more than one spike. What caused that? And there appears to be no scale. And they found no spikes from protests. This I find hard to believe because we witnessed that ourselves.

 

[SouthAussie]

Some of the events appear to have more than one spike. What caused that?

My guess would be community spread from the initial outbreaks. The graph shows a small 14 day span either side of Day Zero.

 

[tresir2012]

Official number is that 14% are functionally illiterate. That means below 6th grade level; person struggles to remember one sentence while attempting to follow the next sentence. 6th graders are supposed to be able to read and pull out the main conclusions/ideas of a paragraph.

But I agree with you that it's actually higher than that. Of course, my bias is that I mostly teach young adults. I've taught in more places than just California, and it was not any different (W. Texas, NM, Washington state). My good friend, who studies this issue, says same for her work in Massachusetts (where it's clearly better than in NM) and in Illinois.

What I notice is reading fatigue. If I put too many questions on a test (say...more than 10-12?), the ability to answer correctly takes a dive at about the 8th question. So, sustained reading is difficult for many people. That's why so many people read the headline and think it truly summarizes an article - but...well...it's rarely that simple.

What evidence do you have that Covid victims have low literacy levels? This is simply victim blaming by another name IMO.

 

[10ofRods]

How hard is to explain to someone that it's important to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 we need to wear a mask, stay 6 feet away from others, wash your hands and avoid touching you face?

The idea that literacy is involved in understanding something so simple escapes me. JMO

Have you ever been a teacher?

Merely making people aware of facts does little. People need context to understand the why of things. I can thin of some very public figures who clearly do not understand what's going - even though it's "simple."

Actually, math is quite simple (especially statistics). And yet, most people struggle to get through any kind of double blind study (such as a vaccine study). So, even if people "get" the mask thing (which they don't, obviously), they won't get the later steps that are connected to pandemic relief.

All of the things you mention need to be practiced more in some contexts than others - and people need that context.

Anyway, you seem to be saying all the people who don't wear masks or who wear them on their chins are stupid. My DH would definitely agree.

I don't think it's that simple.

 

[10ofRods]

Smokers and drinkers and anyone with a health condition like type 2 diabetes or dementia are probably as well then.

How is dementia in the same category as diabetes? I'd truly be interested to know what research supports that. I believe it's mostly genes. None of us chooses our parents.

BTW, some populations are more prone to diabetes or alcoholism than others...due to genes.

 

[musicaljoke]

Under the Affordable Care Act, you can buy health insurance with a low monthly premium, but you may have to pay the first $5,000-$6,000 in costs out of your own pocket—including the cost of insulin.

Insulin is expensive. You also need a meter plus test strips. The costs add up quickly for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics.

Some are fortunate to have an insulin pump but the supplies even with insurance are expensive. You have sensors, cartridges, reservoirs, tubing, special adhesives, alcohol wipes, chargers, etc.
People ration their insulin. Putting them at great risk.

Is than an annual payment of $5000-6000 per year in addition to the monthly premium?

 

[10ofRods]

Some of the events appear to have more than one spike. What caused that? And there appears to be no scale. And they found no spikes from protests. This I find hard to believe because we witnessed that ourselves.

You witnessed people getting CoVid???

So many variables - this is why it takes an actual study to present reasonable conclusions about these spikes. It's been ongoing, there are thousands of articles.

The protests continue to confound us - but personally, what I see is that it was mostly people way way younger than me. So...they are more likely to be asymptomatic or paucisymptomatic and never seek testing...until someone in their circle, perhaps, gets symptomatic CoVId.

Fairly easy to explain and the data keep stacking up in that direction.

 

[SouthAussie]

What evidence do you have that Covid victims have low literacy levels? This is simply victim blaming by another name IMO.

I don't feel that anyone is 'blaming'. We are trying to understand why so many people are not following the CDC recommended guidelines.

I am interested to know why others may feel that they are not following the CDC guidleines? All those unmasked people we see. All those people who are shown in pics who are not social distancing. Is it oppositional defiance then?

There just are not too many reasons that I can personally think of.

IMO

 

[tresir2012]

These people did not understand what 'quarantine' meant. And they were required to quarantine. They understood the written language and little pictures about washing hands and staying apart.

Unless you have lived closely among these other cultures, I don't expect some people to understand or accept what I am trying to get across.

So at this point in time, I am going to stop trying to explain.

It is not hard to understand or explain. I live in a multi cultural society. So once someone who spoke their language explained it, they understood.

My guess would be community spread from the initial outbreaks. The graph shows a small 14 day span either side of Day Zero.

Well that could be a wedding or a funeral or church or any gathering. That's not evidence it was from the rallies.

 

[CharlestonGal]

oops.....

Gators coach Mullen tests positive for COVID-19

Florida coach Dan Mullen announced Saturday he has tested positive for COVID-19, the latest hit to a football program that has been severely affected by the coronavirus spread.

Mullen said on Twitter that his positive test has been confirmed and he is self-isolating from his family members, who are healthy. Sources told ESPN that Mullen has been isolating since Thursday.

Mullen took a heavy amount of criticism last week after a loss at Texas A&M, saying the crowd noise had an impact on the game while calling for the Gators to "Pack the Swamp" for the visit from LSU. Mullen backtracked from those comments only Wednesday, saying his initial statement was not a demand for increased attendance at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, adding, "I certainly apologize if I offended people."

Florida has no plans to increase its attendance at this time.

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

Early on we were told we didn’t need masks and not long after nearly everyone was required to wear one in public spaces. Covid patients were returned to care homes and now we know that’s not a good idea. Some were advocating for a federal lockdown. Now we understand the consequences of lockdowns and know that it should be a last resort and used to regroup.

I like to to weigh the evidence and decide for myself what I need to do to keep safe. The information we receive about covid is constantly evolving as we learn.
Some of us that didn’t believe lockdowns were the be-all and end-all were not wrong.

 

[tresir2012]

I don't feel that anyone is 'blaming'. We are trying to understand why so many people are not following the CDC recommended guidelines.

I am interested to know why others may feel that they are not following the CDC guidleines? All those unmasked people we see? All those people who are shown in pics who are not social distancing? Is it oppositional defiance then?

There just are not too many reasons that I can personally think of.

I don't feel that anyone is 'blaming'. We are trying to understand why so many people are not following the CDC recommended guidelines.

I am interested to know why others may feel that they are not following the CDC guidleines? All those unmasked people we see. All those people who are shown in pics who are not social distancing. Is it oppositional defiance then?

There just are not too many reasons that I can personally think of.

IMO

Are you talking about specific events like the rallies? If so, many of those venues were outside and did not have mask mandates I believe. You would have to be specific. But posters making general statements about Covid victims and literacy have no evidence tying those together and so it is ridiculous IMO.

 

[Deleted member 39678]

Have you ever been a teacher?

Merely making people aware of facts does little. People need context to understand the why of things. I can thin of some very public figures who clearly do not understand what's going - even though it's "simple."

Actually, math is quite simple (especially statistics). And yet, most people struggle to get through any kind of double blind study (such as a vaccine study). So, even if people "get" the mask thing (which they don't, obviously), they won't get the later steps that are connected to pandemic relief.

All of the things you mention need to be practiced more in some contexts than others - and people need that context.

Anyway, you seem to be saying all the people who don't wear masks or who wear them on their chins are stupid. My DH would definitely agree.

I don't think it's that simple.

No I'm not a or ever have been a teacher. I have no idea why you think that I'm saying that all people who don't wear masks are stupid.

There is little context needed to understand why wearing a mask helps to stop the spread of Covid-19. JMO

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

I don't feel that it is unkind to try to explain the lack of mask wearing and ignoring of other covid guidelines as people being scientifically/medically/culturally illiterate. I think it is giving them benefit of doubt ... which is a kind thing to do.

Because we are now 7 months in to this thing, with requirements/guidelines having clearly been (and being) explained over and over and over by learned medical experts and learned leaders.

Unless there is an ongoing issue with oppositional defiance perhaps?

IMO

Sometimes the experts don’t get it completely right.

 

[CSIDreamer]

I don't feel that it is unkind to try to explain the lack of mask wearing and ignoring of other covid guidelines as people being scientifically/medically/culturally illiterate. I think it is giving them benefit of doubt ... which is a kind thing to do.

Because we are now 7 months in to this thing, with requirements/guidelines having clearly been (and being) explained over and over and over by learned medical experts and learned leaders.

Unless there is an ongoing issue with oppositional defiance perhaps?

IMO

I think it's more likely mixed messages. If you look at how many people have posted on however many threads on Covid just on WS, it's miniscule compared to the global population. We are NOT the norm. Not by a long shot. Granted, we're exceptional in our own ways by being here. But still. When I discuss the pandemic with other people, I talk to them like they're normal people, because they are. Jmo

 

[10ofRods]

Are you talking about specific events like the rallies? If so, many of those venues were outside and did not have mask mandates I believe. You would have to be specific. But posters making general statements about Covid victims and literacy have no evidence tying those together and so it is ridiculous IMO.

There's actually a ton of evidence - but I don't think I should be the only one looking it up.

And by a ton of evidence, I mean more than one epidemic, more than one healthcare crisis, and more than a couple of decades of research. I mean many decades of research, including a big blast as this pandemic started.

You could start here: Literacy and health outcomes

and if you want some recommendations that are more in depth, you can look at

ACP Journals

Both are large reviews of literature with long bibliographies. Oh, and here's one of the many articles specific to CoVid, also with a bibliography of must-read articles:

The enigma of health literacy and COVID-19 pandemic

 

[tresir2012]

You witnessed people getting CoVid???

So many variables - this is why it takes an actual study to present reasonable conclusions about these spikes. It's been ongoing, there are thousands of articles.

The protests continue to confound us - but personally, what I see is that it was mostly people way way younger than me. So...they are more likely to be asymptomatic or paucisymptomatic and never seek testing...until someone in their circle, perhaps, gets symptomatic CoVId.

Fairly easy to explain and the data keep stacking up in that direction.

We witnessed the cases going up after the May protests, yes, and read some reports of it as well.

 

[doublestop]

Smokers and drinkers and anyone with a health condition like type 2 diabetes or dementia are probably as well then.

How is a condition like diabetes a result of health illiteracy? People from all walks of life have diabetes--including doctors, nurses, and med school professors.

 

[Satchie]

I don't feel that anyone is 'blaming'. We are trying to understand why so many people are not following the CDC recommended guidelines.

I am interested to know why others may feel that they are not following the CDC guidleines? All those unmasked people we see. All those people who are shown in pics who are not social distancing. Is it oppositional defiance then?

There just are not too many reasons that I can personally think of.

IMO

IMO it depends, like most everything else, on social environment (which is experienced as social pressure) - the people one hangs out with, peers, family, friends and the leadership in these immediate social circles. Or, if in a public environment, what the majority of the people in that public location are doing.

 

[10ofRods]

No I'm not a or ever have been a teacher. I have no idea why you think that I'm saying that all people who don't wear masks are stupid.

There is little context needed to understand why wearing a mask helps to stop the spread of Covid-19. JMO

So...it would be great if you could convey that to everyone else.

Some of us are tired trying. Any thoughts on why it's so hard to convince people of the obvious? (Or is it just obvious to some lucky people?)
---------

Oh, and here's a link to more about how health literacy and CoVid intertwine - it's relevant.

Your last statement needs a citation, IMO. Because the research says otherwise.

Here's a MSM article glossing the health illiteracy/CoVid issue (viruses aren't new; human responses to viruses are well studied; none of it is new).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/heal...1c8a18-d053-11ea-9038-af089b63ac21_story.html