Coronavirus thread

[JBS]

From (indirectly) the NYT:

Sweden Has Become the World's Cautionary Tale

https://news.yahoo.com/sweden-become-worlds-cautionary-tale-121752098.html

Comparing with Denmark, laissez-faire approach led to much higher COVID death rate but no macroeconomic benefit.
But, reading the last few paras, neither country is comparable economically to the USA because of their universal health care systems.

The U.S. problems have little to do with not having UHC

Most of our problems stem from supply lacks.
Not enough tests
Not enough contact tracing
Not enough PPE
Not enough hospital beds for areas with spikes

It does not matter who pays for something if it's not available.

[MusicTurner]

So fundamentally, everyone is in the same boat in the US states, both rich and poor? That's a bit difficult to believe.


There's now quite a lot of reports on set-backs generally -

- 1 million more infected globally, in just 5 days, the total number reaching 12 mio.
- Melbourne, 5 mio people in quarantine due to outbreak
- Tokyo, an increase again, but maybe due to more testing
- Russia, Brazil, Israel and now parts of India among the countries struggling with high levels of infections
- some developments in the US not looking good, reports say
- Trump's Tulsa rally 'more than likely' boosted outbreak there https://apnews.com/ad96548245e186382225818d8dc416eb
- Sweden, more critique coming up - about 1/3 of fatalities were in loneliness, mainly due to safety measures and a lack of resources, and 40 municipalities have managed things badly, a report says.

  In my country, Denmark, the situation has been good for quite a few days, with 0-1 fatalities and 10-30 registered new infections per day, only 18 hospitalized and 5 people in intensive care, with 609 total fatalities. This from a population of 5.6 mio.
  It is not certain that the positive, local trend will continue though, given the holiday flux and tendencies abroad. 930,000 have been tested, which is a comparatively high number, and only 13,000 were registered as infected.
  To the best of my knowledge, all corona treatment is free here, except perhaps some easily obtained supplementary medicine.

[T. D.]

An encouraging item:

ICU Ward at Heart of Italy Outbreak Now Virus-Free: ABC (9 a.m. NY)
The main hospital in Bergamo, one of Italy's hardest-hit cities in the pandemic, had its first day without any COVID-19 patients in intensive care, according to ABC News, which cited a spokesperson for the Papa Giovanni XXIII hospital.

Meanwhile, American exceptionalism thrives...per the BBC (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53337483):

The US state of Arizona, for instance, is currently registering as many new cases of coronavirus as the entire European Union, which has a population 60 times greater.

[greg]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clscC120ZQM

I don't know if anyone watches bald and bankrupt, but he made a video today about how he spent the last month nearly dying from covid.

BTW his channel is awesome, his earlier days are travel in India and his recent stuff is east europe/Russia, mostly visiting small towns and old Soviet stuff.

[drogulus]

The U.S. problems have little to do with not having UHC

Most of our problems stem from supply lacks.
Not enough tests
Not enough contact tracing
Not enough PPE
Not enough hospital beds for areas with spikes

It does not matter who pays for something if it's not available.

     That's strictly true. I would only observe that Somethingcare-for-all would be consistent with strong public health generally. The same politicians who have wrecked the virus response are in court to destroy OCare and have signaled very strongly that they have no interest in replacing it with anything. If they lose power I think it's likely that critical supplies will be a priority not only for this crisis but future ones.

[drogulus]

     I have an oximeter. It says I have lots of oxi.

[Karl Henning]

You remind me, I haven't yet taken today's moximeter reading.

[JBS]

     That's strictly true. I would only observe that Somethingcare-for-all would be consistent with strong public health generally. The same politicians who have wrecked the virus response are in court to destroy OCare and have signaled very strongly that they have no interest in replacing it with anything. If they lose power I think it's likely that critical supplies will be a priority not only for this crisis but future ones.

It's a magnificent argument  against SomethingcareForAll.
Eventually the GOP will  come back into power. Imagine  all the harm they could do to health care if SomethingcareForAll was in place when they do,

[T. D.]

Is the GOP in Florida suppressing COVID-19 infection data?

https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-sheriff-wins-battle-with-de-santis-administration-over-coronavirus-data-174305203.html

[drogulus]

Is the GOP in Florida suppressing COVID-19 infection data?

https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-sheriff-wins-battle-with-de-santis-administration-over-coronavirus-data-174305203.html

     Yes, the Health Dept.employee who created the state virus dashboard was fired because she refused to manipulate the data. She says many cases have been deleted from the records to make the numbers look better. What strikes me is how Trumpists think they can get away with such shenanigans since everyone is looking for them to pull stunts like this. They do it anyway, but......why? What possible advantage could they get from it?

[drogulus]

It's a magnificent argument  against SomethingcareForAll.
Eventually the GOP will  come back into power. Imagine  all the harm they could do to health care if SomethingcareForAll was in place when they do,

     No, it's not. It's an argument for a program Repubs can't easily destroy. By building it on a solid foundation (like, for example, Medicare) you make it as Repub proof as it's possible to make it. Another advantage is consolidation of the program takes advantage of the greater efficiency of public programs over private ones. The overhead is very low for SS/Medicare/Medicaid compared to the now withering private employee based system. Also, they improve over time, because politicians have an incentive to improve programs that cover everyone much more than separate programs designed for the poor class.

     My Medicare is improving. The dental coverage just got a boost. This will continue to happen, because many people want it, and they are not just poor people who have no power.

     

[JBS]

     Yes, the Health Dept.employee who created the state virus dashboard was fired because she refused to manipulate the data. She says many cases have been deleted from the records to make the numbers look better. What strikes me is how Trumpists think they can get away with such shenanigans since everyone is looking for them to pull stunts like this. They do it anyway, but......why? What possible advantage could they get from it?

Because even if caught, no one will be able to figure out what the original figures were.

Specific to Florida, despite being a epitome of a swing state, the GOP has dominated state politics for over two decades. The only Democrat holding statewide office is the Commissioner of Agriculture. In the legislature the GOP holds 73 out of 120 seats in the state House of Representatives. It's not quite so dominant in the state Senate: 23 out of 40.
So DeSantis doesn't have to worry about the legislature opposing him.

[JBS]

     No, it's not. It's an argument for a program Repubs can't easily destroy. By building it on a solid foundation (like, for example, Medicare) you make it as Repub proof as it's possible to make it. Another advantage is consolidation of the program takes advantage of the greater efficiency of public programs over private ones. The overhead is very low for SS/Medicare/Medicaid compared to the now withering private employee based system. Also, they improve over time, because politicians have an incentive to improve programs that cover everyone much more than separate programs designed for the poor class.

     My Medicare is improving. The dental coverage just got a boost. This will continue to happen, because many people want it, and they are not just poor people who have no power.

   

Having been my mother's caretaker for so many years, your belief in Medicare's efficiency can only make me laugh.

I can best put the reality of Medicare into the wish that you stay healthy for many more years. Because Medicare is very inefficient for any patient who is not in relative good health.

[T. D.]

Because even if caught, no one will be able to figure out what the original figures were.

Specific to Florida, despite being a epitome of a swing state, the GOP has dominated state politics for over two decades. The only Democrat holding statewide office is the Commissioner of Agriculture. In the legislature the GOP holds 73 out of 120 seats in the state House of Representatives. It's not quite so dominant in the state Senate: 23 out of 40.
So DeSantis doesn't have to worry about the legislature opposing him.

But golly gee whiz,  aren't there any elected Floridian Republicans with principles or ethics, who believe that the public deserves to know the truth about a life-threatening public health crisis? Isn't that what "public servants" are for?

   

OK, forget it.

[JBS]

But golly gee whiz,  aren't there any elected Floridian Republicans with principles or ethics, who believe that the public deserves to know the truth about a life-threatening public health crisis? Isn't that what "public servants" are for?

   

OK, forget it.

There's at least one...the sheriff in the story you posted earlier.

And Rick Wilson, although I guess he does not qualify as GOP anymore.

[T. D.]

26 Mississippi legislators have tested positive for Covid-19, officials say

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-07-08-20-intl/h_2ccc0229b82992fe872260e59d821850

From other stories, one can find that the positive tests occurred

after working for weeks in a Capitol where many people stood or sat close together and did not wear masks.

[SimonNZ]

Touting criticized study, White House presses FDA to authorize hydroxychloroquine — again
Trade adviser Peter Navarro leads the effort with support from Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president's lawyer, and Laura Ingraham's show on Fox News.

[...]"Navarro says his goal is simple: At a time when the virus is surging in many parts of the country, there are 60 million doses of hydroxychloroquine in the Strategic National Stockpile that can't be distributed unless the FDA issues an emergency authorization. He asserted the Henry Ford study shows the drug works when used as an early treatment and said the FDA should take action "within days, weeks or months" so he could send the shipments."[...]

[T. D.]

So a trade advisor and a moronic Faux News Teleprompter reader (who fails to heed her own "Shut up and dribble" advice  ) have been proclaimed national health advisors! How brilliant. 

But under the WWJD? (What would Jair do?) principle, the decision is a no-brainer!  Jair's the poster boy for hydroxychloroquine!
https://apnews.com/66a86e4cccf4e94ea75a8eedd92afeb3

[SimonNZ]

But sixty million stockpiled? Who signs off on that? With what oversight? I assume they haven't stockpiled every other problematic drug under trial, just the one the thugs either have a financial stake in or where they can't admit their all-in fingers-crossed don't-make-me-read-science advocacy of an early miracle-cure was perhaps a little hasty.

[T. D.]

But sixty million stockpiled? Who signs off on that? With what oversight? I assume they haven't stockpiled every other problematic drug under trial, just the one the thugs either have a financial stake in or where they can't admit their all-in fingers-crossed don't-make-me-read-science advocacy of an early miracle-cure was perhaps a little hasty.

Exactly.
GOP don't believe in oversight, it was surely done on the Orange Swindler's whim. I'd be dumbfounded if the OS's family has no financial stake in this deal.*

Plus, to quote the article cited,

said Paulo Calmon, a political science professor at the University of Brasilia. "Chloroquine composes part of the denialist's political strategy, with the objective of convincing voters that the pandemic's effects can be easily controlled."

*You ain't seen nothing yet. Wait until the forthcoming "October Surprise", when the putative vaccines are announced. I guarantee the Orange Swindler, Kushner and their ilk will own financial stakes in all of the announced "leading pack" of biotech firms. Products probably won't work worth a damn, but King Grifter will profit huugely.