Fear and Loathing, a Rat Flu Odyssey

[LongShortLong]

It's still not clear to me how much of the respiratory problems of Covid 19 are viral pneumonia, excessive inflammatory response, and/or secondary bacterial pneumonia. Can someone clarify for me?

Not a doc, but I'd add clotting problems. From an engineer's perspective, since we're getting microclots (nanoclots?) in the blood, those clots on the venous side are going to be trapped by the lung (clogging the exchange membrane). Knowing about nothing how the lung works, I can imagine blocking the blood input side of alveolar tissue causes problems. If there's some feedback system that says "pump more/harder," this also explains the enlarged left ventricles in Covid patients/victims - the jammed up lung causes the left ventricle to work harder trying to pump the blood through. Lung tissue is pretty delicate - could the clogs, and presumed higher pressures cause the pneumonia?

[bodywhomper]

It's still not clear to me how much of the respiratory problems of Covid 19 are viral pneumonia, excessive inflammatory response, and/or secondary bacterial pneumonia. Can someone clarify for me?

Partial answer regarding secondary infection (apparently, not very many)

https://www.clinicalmicrobiologyandi...423-7/fulltext

[Benny Profane]

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/statu...20467895320576

[glademaster]

I'm about ready to step in front of a cement truck. Don't think I've ever been quite this miserable.

[Benny Profane]

I'm about ready to step in front of a cement truck. Don't think I've ever been quite this miserable.

Try dealing with all this, then having a tropical storm rip through your state, taking your power out for 36 hours, spoiling food in your fridge, and totally fucking up all the great road biking in your hood for probably at least a few weeks.

[glademaster]

Try dealing with all this, then having a tropical storm rip through your state, taking your power out for 36 hours, spoiling food in your fridge, and totally fucking up all the great road biking in your hood for probably at least a few weeks.

My parents live in Hardwick, NJ, Benny. I'm aware. They have a hard-wired propane generator and a 1000 gallon tank. Highly recommended for the northern end of hurricane alley.

I'm exhausted with being in a position where I have to expose myself to so many people who don't take this seriously, in close quarters, with ample opportunity for aerosol and surface transmission on a daily basis. IIRC, you don't have to go to work every day.

[hutash]

Try dealing with all this, then having a tropical storm rip through your state, taking your power out for 36 hours, spoiling food in your fridge, and totally fucking up all the great road biking in your hood for probably at least a few weeks.

There is a difference between being inconvenienced and being miserable. Yes, you may be a miserable person when you are inconvenienced, but deal with it.

[Self Jupiter]

Couple days ago I trotted up five flights of stairs so a potential customer could take the elevator to look at a space up there. Got my mask on the whole time, of course. We’re only in the space for a couple minutes before I catch him lowering his buff-style face covering when he thought he was out of my field of vision. I’m think he caught my glare as I’m sure I couldn’t help myself, fuck that guy.

[Benny Profane]

There is a difference between being inconvenienced and being miserable. Yes, you may be a miserable person when you are inconvenienced, but deal with it.

I'm tired of fucking dealing. It's been over five months, with no end in sight. But, yeah, perspective. I'm reading a great book on the Kindle (thank you, Kindle battery life). A World Lit Only By Fire https://www.amazon.com/World-Lit-Onl.../dp/0316545562 . Talk about short and brutal lives, even for the elites. If you didn't get taken down by plagues and a crappy harvest, you could get hauled out to the square and burnt alive because you said something bad about the pope.

[old goat]

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/statu...20467895320576

I'm not sure what Dr. Feigl-Ding is upset about. A couple K (3K in the US) is a drop in the bucket in the overall cost of care for even a moderately ill patient and cheap compared to a lot of drugs in that class. Plus Gilead is licensing it at a discount to generics to sell it cheap in the 3rd world. The drug saves far more in hospital bills than it costs. There's a lot to get outraged about in the pharmaceutical world but this isn't one of them.

[jono]

^^Kinda same. Cost to produce a vial means nothing to me. How many vials? American taxpayers should see a return on that NIH investment, though.

[glademaster]

Well, there are still people saying that the flu kills more people every year. We're fucked in 4 dimensions.

[SkiCougar]

Hmmm.

"“Same situation in Japan,” says Dr Bartlett. “One hundred and twenty-one million people in Japan, and they’ve had less than a thousand people die during the whole pandemic. In Singapore, only 12 people have died in the entire country during the whole pandemic.”

https://www.iceagenow.info/simple-ch...andemic-video/

>>and the population density is much greater in those that about everywhere in the usa but new York. yep, the key is social distancing, right.

but this whole article is probably right wing lies, sure; yeah.

[KQ]

Honestly KQ, I think people have the intention of their mask fitting poorly, so they can get more air than when it is well sealed, flush to the face, as it should be.

Anyone watch the NBC evening news yesterday? So many, many, many people with masks below their noses and chins. There were everywhere in at least 3 different stories and in the feature "feel good" story they showed kids working on creative writing together where at least one or more kids had their masks sitting on the table they were sharing with others rather than on their face. Oh well.

Ima gonna stay on the farm and try to remember to SD if people stop by (happens seldom) if I don't have a mask within reach. Grocery/Feed/Cannabis store are pre-order and surgical in & out.

[::: :::]

sometimes the spectacle of critical thinking is just stunning to behold in the wild

it deserves a voiceover from sir attenborough

[KQ]

VERIFY: No, this Texas doctor has not discovered a cure for COVID-19 using 'inhaled steroids'


HOUSTON — Has a Texas doctor discovered a cure for COVID-19? It’s a question many people have asked the VERIFY team after watching a video that has gone viral on social media.

The 30-minute YouTube interview features Texas physician Dr. Richard Bartlett, who claims to have found a cure for COVID-19.

“The silver bullet is inhaled steroids,” Bartlett said.

Bartlett claims he has been successfully treating his COVID-19 patients with the steroid Budesonide.

“You use a nebulizer machine. It’s an asthma medicine. It’s a respiratory anti-inflammatory for COVID, which is a respiratory inflammatory disease and it works. 100% of my patients are alive,” Bartlett said.

He claims Japan, Singapore and Iceland have lower death rates because they are using inhaled steroids as forms of treatment.

“Guess how many people have died to date, during the whole pandemic, in Taiwan? Seven,” Bartlett said.

Bartlett said he has shared his findings with Sen. Bob Hall and Sen. Ted Cruz.

“We have sent that unpublished paper to Senator Cruz’s office already. So, he is responsible for the information he has now, and now everybody knows he has it,” Bartlett said.

We have four sources for this, Dr. Bindu Akkanti, associate professor of critical care medicine at McGovern Medical School at UT Health and attending physician at Memorial Hermann, the CDC, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz’s office and Texas Senator Bob Hall’s office.

Bartlett said he has been treating patients with COVID-19 since March. He claims inhaled steroids are a cure.

First, let’s address Bartlett’s claim that inhaled steroids are the cure for COVID-19.

“I wish it was as simple as that. If it was truly a silver bullet, and if it was truly a simple right, we would be using medications,” Akkanti said.

The CDC said there is no known cure for COVID-19. So, we can VERIFY that claim is false.

As for the countries Bartlett mentions have low death rates, we checked with the CDC and can VERIFY that information is true, however, Akkanti said there is no scientific evidence that inhaled steroid treatments are the reason.


“There are very small studies from each individual country that are coming through. But I think when we look at it on a large scale, there is no current signal that inhaled article steroids are preventing it or curing it,” Akkanti said.

As for the claim that Bartlett has discussed his “silver bullet cure” with federal and state lawmakers, Cruz’s office told the VERIFY team, “Dr. Bartlett spoke with staff to share his experiences and research.”

We can also Verify that Hall has received the document and has published it on his social media pages.

We had an interview scheduled with Barlett on Monday afternoon, but his spokesperson sent us a text message on Sunday saying he would have to reschedule because of his “busy COVID schedule.”

[Toadman]

Well, there are still people saying that the flu kills more people every year. We're fucked in 4 dimensions.

Thank God there are 5 dimensions.

[jono]

Well, there are still people saying that the flu kills more people every year. We're fucked in 4 dimensions.

On the upside, skougar just discovered that countries that wear masks and accept personal responsibility for the common good are doing better than the US. So that's something.

[bodywhomper]

Pretty big anti covid mitigation protests in Germany

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...german-leaders

[ColMan]

[glademaster]

Thank God there are 5 dimensions.

Whoosh. Although that was so far over your head you probably didn't even hear it.

[KQ]

Whoosh. Although that was so far over your head you probably didn't even hear it.

[ex-powderbroker]

Hmmm.

"“Same situation in Japan,” says Dr Bartlett. “One hundred and twenty-one million people in Japan, and they’ve had less than a thousand people die during the whole pandemic. In Singapore, only 12 people have died in the entire country during the whole pandemic.”

https://www.iceagenow.info/simple-ch...andemic-video/

>>and the population density is much greater in those that about everywhere in the usa but new York. yep, the key is social distancing, right.

but this whole article is probably right wing lies, sure; yeah.

not really RW lies, just lies... unless ted cruz starts advocating for this new hoax

[Toadman]

Whoosh. Although that was so far over your head you probably didn't even hear it.

Nope, it was so far beneath me, I couldn't feel the vibrations.

[The AD]

not really RW lies, just lies... unless ted cruz starts advocating for this new hoax

Wow, Skougs really is gullible.

Just as an exercise, if the difference between Japan and Taiwan versus the U.S. can be explained by those countries using a cheap steroid to treat COVID-19, then how do you explain that the U.S. has roughly 46 times as many CASES per million population as Japan and 750 times as many as Taiwan?