Fear and Loathing, a Rat Flu Odyssey

[LongShortLong]

^oldest trick in the book. Leave ol' KQ with the check.

So... fear about covid transmission, reason to loathe the friend, and a continuing saga. Fear-and-Loathing-a-Rat-Flu-Odyssey

[MontuckyFried]

Okay....ya wanna know what happened? We all showed up at ther appointed time, sat down, talked for a bit then one of the pair that had traveled extensively announced she felt off and they left because she was concerned about infecting ther rest of us should she be sick with covid.

Yes. These days, it's perfectly reasonable to be conscientious about feeling kinda off and excusing yourself just in case, but also don't forget that we ALL feel "off" after travelling extensively. I'm sure she's fine and your whole crew will be fine. Better safe than sorry I suppose, but don't sweat it either.

[CarlMega]

So... fear about covid transmission, reason to loathe the friend, and a continuing saga. Fear-and-Loathing-a-Rat-Flu-Odyssey

Now that's a clever tie-in.

In my own awkward way and with dad-joke humor, I want to be supportive of KQ. She's a great poster/mag and clearly wants to be conscientious about the pandemic - much in the same way that montucky pointed out about her friend excusing herself. Maybe she could have done that sooner - I dunno? But there's a certain level of inherent risk you assume when agree to go to a restaurant and much beyond your control: waitstaff and other patrons who may have travelled, their habits, opportunities for exposure to/fro and on & on. Once you decide who is reasonable to dine with, as OG put it, the rest blends into the background of everyday life-risk.

So KQ, I hope you are not too worried about this but no doubt you are entitled to feel exactly as you feel - no judgment. But feel confident that no one would ever frown down at your personal decisions in risk taking - you're in the zone of "wow, that's some dumb luck". In a few days time, you'll almost assuredly be right as rain and get this out of your head.

[jono]

I don't know if this will make you feel better or worse, KQ, but FWIW, if there's anywhere in the world that can incubate another virus right now it's gotta be Idaho. Half vaccinated and 99% back to normal. Confirmed cases of delta outnumbering RSV by 700x or so, but RSV and flu (zero confirmed cases reported statewide as of a week ago) are both under surveillance. Lots of symptomatic negatives in this area, so either the tests have been selected/adjusted to allow more false negatives than false positives, or there are other gnarly bugs going around. Because there are definitely a few folks testing negative for COVID but getting cold-like symptoms (plus fever). If she does have COVID, at least you're all vaccinated. Could be preferable to some other bugs (if they actually are other bugs).

Hope you're past worrying about it shortly, but I get the irritation with being "luckier than smart."

[SumJongGuy]

[LongShortLong]

I'm not a doctor, but babies get protection via antibodies in milk. So maybe. Probably best to eat a person raw, as cooking likely denatures the antibodies. OTOH, antibody treatments are given intravenously, so maybe there's something special about babies or milk that allows antibodies to enter orally. Anyway, that's plenty for a facefook post for anyone researching food pairings with Chianti.

[old goat]

Antibodies may be transferred during cannibalism but that won't help B and T cell mediated immunity.

[PB]

Now Prions ......

[old goat]

Merck is asking for an EUA for it's covid pill.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/merck-a...ll-11633946402
Of course if you're in Covid denial you won't take the pill any more than the shot.

"The companies announced molnupiravir’s positive results this month after an early look at the data found that it helped unvaccinated people who were at high risk of becoming sick. High risk was defined as having at least one characteristic associated with severe disease or death, such as old age, obesity or diabetes."

So not aimed at breakthrough cases, so far. Maybe there will be off label use for immunocompromised and otherwise very high risk breakthrough cases?

I wonder if it will be useful for other viral diseases--flu for example. According to this article maybe. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02783-1

Apparently the drug works by taking the place of some of the base molecules in viral RNA, essentially mutating the mRNA. Which raises the question-could it alter human DNA in the same way, and what would be the consequences if it did. Presumably the drug would work like cancer drugs--it only works on actively replicating cells, or in this case, viral particles, and since cancer cells and viruses are replicating much faster than normal human cells the normal cells are affected much less. Since the drug is only given for 5 days, I would hope there wouldn't be much affect on host DNA during that time. I hope.

[mcski]

The timing protocol and efficacy of that pill seem less than optimal in making a big sea change impact. Better than nothing tho I guess.

[old goat]

The timing protocol and efficacy of that pill seem less than optimal in making a big sea change impact.

No one is claiming that it will.

[KQ]

I'm just going to stick this here:

From COVID to climate change, we have no idea what we're talking about

While it is nonsensical to try to prescribe a diagnosis to America’s current state of civic discourse — from dumping manure on the White House lawn in the name of climate action to attending the Met Gala to demand we “tax the rich” — we often blame partisan politics. But what if part of the problem is that we literally cannot understand one another? And, perhaps worse than that, the institutions we trust to lead the public have stopped trying to communicate to be understood.

Let’s get the figures out of the way. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that 50% of U.S. adults cannot read a book written at an eighth grade level. The National Institute of Literacy estimates that the average American reads at a seventh to eighth grade level. Despite these concerns, an analysis of 21 major media outlets found that consumers require a 10th grade reading level to comprehend any of them.

Most notably, Fox News and NPR ranked at an 11th grade level, while outlets like MSNBC and Politico exceeded a 12th grade level. This is not an isolated issue. Both the government and media fail to meet Americans where they are in terms of knowledge and vocabulary on critical subjects, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or climate change.

In 2010, President Barack Obama signed the U.S. Plain Writing Act, requiring “federal agencies use clear government communication that the public can understand and use.” While the intention was to ensure government institutions communicated with national literacy and comprehension rates in mind, the COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated that some issues cannot be merely legislated away. A fall 2020 analysis of federal and state websites related to COVID-19 failed to meet the standards for communicating with the public identified by leading institutions such as the American Medical Association and National Institutes of Health.

These concerns can also be applied to how we talk about climate change. When vital information about climate change is being communicated to the public through words like “mitigation,” “adaptation,” “carbon neutral” or, even worse, “carbon negative,” Americans are lost.

This was especially clear when a Twitter user recently pointed out that his milk boasted being “carbon positive” by 2045. Unsurprisingly, the replies were full of confusion and differing dictionaries of climate jargon. The general consensus was that Horizon Organic really meant “carbon negative,” or that the company will capture more carbon than it emits, but didn’t want negative language on its branding materials. Other users also mentioned that the terms “carbon negative” and “carbon positive” actually mean the same thing, which, of course, is problematic for the average citizen just trying to make sense of it all.

When the words we use to discuss one of the biggest problems of our lives do more to confuse than inform, it’s not a mystery as to why climate action has stalled for decades. From 3D data segmentation to workforce solutions and now climate action, I have spent the past five years creating accessible digital media on behalf of organizations. No matter the complexity or mundanity behind policy or scientific information, one thing remains the same: Language that requires highly specialized knowledge is found everywhere, and it is intentionally alienating people.

To be clear, the goal is not to make every American an epidemiologist or climate scientist. Instead, communicators in the space need to be more deliberate with the language they use and its readability. At the pandemic’s beginning, media outlets came under fire for hiding their COVID reporting behind a paywall. Similarly, if we as science and policy communicators do not work to deliver our information in a way that is accessible to the public, our words are also hidden away, just in plain sight.

[KQ]

Guess she's one of those "7th grade readers"

Anti-Mask Alaska State Senator Gets COVID-19, Touts Unproven Treatments

Alaska state Sen. Lora Reinbold, a Republican who was banned from an airline earlier this year for refusing to comply with its mask policy, said Tuesday she tested positive for COVID-19 and touted a “recipe” of unproven treatments, including the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin.

Another state Republican, Sen. David Wilson, also tested positive, and both are quarantining at home, the Anchorage Daily News reported. A third GOP senator, Click Bishop, said he was feeling ill, but reportedly tested negative for the virus.

“Its my turn to battle Covid head on... game on! Who do you think is going to win? When I defeat it, I will tell you my recipe,” Reinbold wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday night.

She said she was “completely unimpressed” with instructions to take Tylenol after her positive test, calling it a “bad recipe” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Department of Health.

The CDC says on its website that health care providers may recommend acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, to reduce fever.

The lawmaker then detailed a cocktail of vitamins and supplements she was taking, as well as aspirin and ivermectin, a drug often used for deworming livestock that has not been shown to work as a COVID-19 treatment and may have dangerous side effects. Inappropriate use of the drug has become a problem after it was touted by right-wing media personalities.

“I am blessed to have gotten Ivirmectin the “de -covider.” My Vicks steamer has been a God send! My naturopath gave me tips too- that I am sure will work! I will update you in a few days. I plan to keep my promise to stay OUT of the hospital- some of them seem like scary places these days,” Reinbold wrote in her post.

Reinbold has been a vocal opponent to COVID-19 safety measures. She was slammed by Alaska’s Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy in February for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and the state’s virus response.

She was barred from flying with Alaska Airlines in April after she refused to comply with its mask policy. She had previously complained about the airline on Facebook, saying it was “part of mask tyranny.”

Last month, she asked to be excused from legislative sessions until next year, saying she can’t travel to the state capital because she was banned from flying on the only airline with service from her district.

[skaredshtles]

<snip>

“Its my turn to battle Covid head on... game on! Who do you think is going to win?

[CarlMega]

Vicks, huh?

[Jax]

My stepdad tested positive today, mom called me in tears because she's spent the past 1.75 years being holed up because she has a week immune system, on heart meds, previous heart attack and 2x breast cancer survivor. He runs a dealership in their small town in NM and they shut it down today as several employees tested positive. Place is close enough to TX and they sell to rich texans, I have no doubt how this all happened despite him following protocol to his best ability. They are both double vaxxed with Moderna but it's been close to 6 months since their second shot. He felt like it was a regular cold but he started coughing last night she said. He's in separate room now but that doesn't mean shit and she knows it.

She doesn't get her test until Monday I guess, out of 9 testing centers that was earliest she could find. No doubt she likely has it. Kinda worried. She's 70+ years old, a fighter, but small and delicate in stature. Ugh. Worried about my stepdad, too, but he's 17 years younger than her, in pretty good shape, no health issues so far. I'm counting on him to help her through her golden years but now it's like, whoa, what if I lose them both, never thought I'd have to think of that. Dammit.

[Rideski]

I hope it works out ok.

[teleee]

My stepdad tested positive today, mom called me in tears because she's spent the past 1.75 years being holed up because she has a week immune system, on heart meds, previous heart attack and 2x breast cancer survivor. He runs a dealership in their small town in NM and they shut it down today as several employees tested positive. Place is close enough to TX and they sell to rich texans, I have no doubt how this all happened despite him following protocol to his best ability. They are both double vaxxed with Moderna but it's been close to 6 months since their second shot. He felt like it was a regular cold but he started coughing last night she said. He's in separate room now but that doesn't mean shit and she knows it.

She doesn't get her test until Monday I guess, out of 9 testing centers that was earliest she could find. No doubt she likely has it. Kinda worried. She's 70+ years old, a fighter, but small and delicate in stature. Ugh. Worried about my stepdad, too, but he's 17 years younger than her, in pretty good shape, no health issues so far. I'm counting on him to help her through her golden years but now it's like, whoa, what if I lose them both, never thought I'd have to think of that. Dammit.

Hang in there Jax! Our moms are almost a carbon copy. My mom is mid 70’s 2 time breast cancer survivor. I have been terrified of losing her through this whole thing. My parents have been so good about isolating, wearing masks, getting vaccines and boosters - respite living in the Fox News center of the universe Wyoming. So after all that my dad tested positive (cough, run down, etc) 10 days ago, and in the confirming test they both tested positive and are just now finishing up their quarantine period. The good news is other than my dad being sick for a about 4 days they are both doing great. So a long way of saying I hope they had their vaccines ( I believe it is a difference maker in people who are high risk like both of our moms) and I hope they built pul through with minor side affects. PM me if you want more details.


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[Jax]

That's reassuring Telee, thank you so much.

Yeah might have to double down on cbd tonight so I can get some sleep. It's been a rough month for my mom as she's had to sit idly by while her sisters put her dad, my Papa, my last surviving grandparent, in a nursing home, downgraded from assisted living. He's 95+ and not long for this world. But mom can't go visit him to say goodbye either. When it rains it pours man. Fuck.

[KQ]

My stepdad tested positive today, mom called me in tears because she's spent the past 1.75 years being holed up because she has a week immune system, on heart meds, previous heart attack and 2x breast cancer survivor. He runs a dealership in their small town in NM and they shut it down today as several employees tested positive. Place is close enough to TX and they sell to rich texans, I have no doubt how this all happened despite him following protocol to his best ability. They are both double vaxxed with Moderna but it's been close to 6 months since their second shot. He felt like it was a regular cold but he started coughing last night she said. He's in separate room now but that doesn't mean shit and she knows it.

She doesn't get her test until Monday I guess, out of 9 testing centers that was earliest she could find. No doubt she likely has it. Kinda worried. She's 70+ years old, a fighter, but small and delicate in stature. Ugh. Worried about my stepdad, too, but he's 17 years younger than her, in pretty good shape, no health issues so far. I'm counting on him to help her through her golden years but now it's like, whoa, what if I lose them both, never thought I'd have to think of that. Dammit.

<vibes>

My 90yo mother with high blood pressure, thyroid issues and carrying extra weight had a break through case about a month ago now. She got through it at home without help. Hope your folks have the same experience.

[Jax]

Fingers crossed, thanks KQ.

[Harry]

Vibes for Jax’ family.


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[riser4]

Sorry Jax. Vibes.

[MontuckyFried]

[old goat]

What if you have to piss?