The Next Pandemic: SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19

[shoshin]

 

If India is diagnosing 80K cases per day, the real number is probably at least 10X that. That's astounding. 

[keepthefaith]

On 8/29/2020 at 11:17 PM, transplantbillsfan said:

Trump needs to take his goddamn job seriously for the few remaining months he's in office.

 

Top 6 Covid cases per capita all include states Trump needs for his own reelection purposes, which is the only thing that really motivates him other than money:

 

Louisiana 

Florida 

Arizona 

Mississippi 

Alabama 

Georgia 

 

These are all places a Republican nominee should pretty easily win, but Donald Trump keeps shooting himself in the foot out of pure neglect.

 

Uh, Governors. 

 

Trump and his team are working on the problem overall.  Development and rollout of vaccines, treatments and supplies of medical equipment. 

[spartacus]

7 minutes ago, shoshin said:

 

If India is diagnosing 80K cases per day, the real number is probably at least 10X that. That's astounding. 

what's astounding?

the PCR testing is doing exactly what is was designed to do

identify coronavirus genetic materrial in one's body - after multiplying that material 35 TRILLION times

doesn't matter that COVID-19 has nothing to to do with the results

 

it's not a coinicidence that the CDC changed the PCR specs in June from doubling of 35x to 45x

this increased the times the genetic material was multiplied from 5 billion to 35 trillion

right about the same time as the "2nd wave" hit with new cases everywhere

yet still nobody sick

 

[BUFFALOTONE]

1 hour ago, BeerLeagueHockey said:

It is funny and really DUMB.  I keep reading it typically takes a few days to classify and report out all the covideaths.  But what I don’t understand is wouldn’t the death show up at the date & time when the human expires, you know like they write on every death certificate?  This either implies that the deaths are categorized when someone makes the decision, or people literally decide to not die on the weekend (not true). Why not backfill last Saturday with the real data!  
 

As a reliability engineer (if I was one), I would think the actual date and time of an occurrence would override the “decision” of an engineer when a piece of equipment failed. Let me track all the bearing failures in my fleet for when I review and classify that bearing indeed fail. Lots of bad bearings on Tuesday morning.

Holy cow I’ve been saying this for 4 weeks... I can only speak of FL and the daily count from the state. They say for example 200 people died of Covid 19 on Aug 20th, then when you open the article it stated this number was taken over several weeks... what does that mean? They count it against the daily amount but it was taken over a months worth of data. I agree with the above, once you pass from it that should be it. This just pumps up the numbers more and more...

[ALF]

Schools opening especially colleges,  cases will be going up even Buffalo now . Treatment  and containment is a lot better now so less deaths .  

[GOBUFFALO716]

Eagles owner slams Trump over COVID response 

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/philadelphia-eagles-owner-jeffrey-lurie-calls-us-coronavirus-response-e2-80-98a-tragic-embarrassment-e2-80-99/ar-BB18yyWa

 

 

[B-Man]

It seems that the Wuhan virus’s risks have been grossly exaggerated

by Andrea Widburg

 

Original Article

 

 

 

[GOBUFFALO716]

3 minutes ago, B-Man said:

It seems that the Wuhan virus’s risks have been grossly exaggerated

by Andrea Widburg

 

Original Article

 

 

 

Ask the 190,000 dead Americans if it was grossly exaggerated.

[bilzfancy]

5 minutes ago, B-Man said:

It seems that the Wuhan virus’s risks have been grossly exaggerated

by Andrea Widburg

 

Original Article

 

 

 

Do the math, that means just a little over 11,000 died from the virus, that didn't have underlying conditions

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

14 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

 

The problem I have with your logic is that if “we” just acted responsibly at the outset of this mess there’s a very good chance that we would be in a much better position right now.  So, unfortunately, because we engaged in half measures, refused to wear masks, and to a certain point dabbled in magic and bleach and direct-to-lung Lysol ideas as potential silver bullets, we may have to go through another shutdown this fall.  It absolutely sucks.  And I feel terribly for those who will be hurt by it,  But it may fall into the “short term pain, long term gain” category.  Otherwise we’re just going to be overrun.  

I reject your speculation. We’ve never gone full measure, no one supports full measure, and we’ll never know anything about anything because it’s all based on speculation, not reality. 
 

Using the logic dictated by the fear mongers, the reality is protestors caused many, many, many deaths, likely the majority of deaths in the country.  
 

 

[spartacus]

2 minutes ago, leh-nerd skin-erd said:

I reject your speculation. We’ve never gone full measure, no one supports full measure, and we’ll never know anything about anything because it’s all based on speculation, not reality. 
 

Using the logic dictated by the fear mongers, the reality is protestors caused many, many, many deaths, likely the majority of deaths in the country.  
 

 

 

none of these containment measures are based in science and none of them will stop the virus

 

if sick people were not forced into nursing homes to kill thousands, this virus would be a non-event

 

[shoshin]

1 hour ago, spartacus said:

what's astounding?

the PCR testing is doing exactly what is was designed to do

identify coronavirus genetic materrial in one's body - after multiplying that material 35 TRILLION times

doesn't matter that COVID-19 has nothing to to do with the results

 

it's not a coinicidence that the CDC changed the PCR specs in June from doubling of 35x to 45x

this increased the times the genetic material was multiplied from 5 billion to 35 trillion

right about the same time as the "2nd wave" hit with new cases everywhere

yet still nobody sick

 

 

Do you have a link to that claim about the CDC changing its spec in June? I'd like to read about that. 

[SectionC3]

7 minutes ago, leh-nerd skin-erd said:

I reject your speculation. We’ve never gone full measure, no one supports full measure, and we’ll never know anything about anything because it’s all based on speculation, not reality. 
 

Using the logic dictated by the fear mongers, the reality is protestors caused many, many, many deaths, likely the majority of deaths in the country.  
 

 

 

I’m not sure with what you take issue.  We agree that the response to this point has been a series of half measures.  Your compliant with respect to the “protests” is not founded upon data.  One must wonder why you have taken issue with those gatherings when there have been other, large-scale collections in which the crowd easily outnumbered that gathered at an aforementioned protest.  Off the top of my head, I submit that the recent Sturgis gathering fits that bill, as does even President Trump’s ill-attended Tulsa rally.  So I assume that you believe that the decisions to hold those events was utterly irresponsible and representative of poor leadership.  

6 minutes ago, spartacus said:

 

none of these containment measures are based in science and none of them will stop the virus

 

if sick people were not forced into nursing homes to kill thousands, this virus would be a non-event

 

Except for, you know, the people who were down for the count for months and who have, among other things, lung scarring. 

[KD in CA]

Just in case you need a reminder of what's been happening in all those GOP-led states.....

 

 

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fcases-updates%2Fcases-in-us.html#cases

[spartacus]

1 hour ago, shoshin said:

 

Do you have a link to that claim about the CDC changing its spec in June? I'd like to read about that. 

I got the info from the CDC site back in June

 

Could not find current instructions for use 

You may have better luck

 

 

 

Now they have info on new test to search for covid and the flu in the same test

Since they don't advertise what test is being used- be sure the media will have a field day with these new test results for the flu  to be used to inflate the covid test #s

CDC’s Diagnostic Multiplex Assay for Flu and COVID-19

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/lab/multiplex.html

 

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

1 hour ago, SectionC3 said:

 

I’m not sure with what you take issue.  We agree that the response to this point has been a series of half measures.  Your compliant with respect to the “protests” is not founded upon data.  One must wonder why you have taken issue with those gatherings when there have been other, large-scale collections in which the crowd easily outnumbered that gathered at an aforementioned protest.  Off the top of my head, I submit that the recent Sturgis gathering fits that bill, as does even President Trump’s ill-attended Tulsa rally.  So I assume that you believe that the decisions to hold those events was utterly irresponsible and representative of poor leadership.  

Except for, you know, the people who were down for the count for months and who have, among other things, lung scarring. 

Welp, you made the initial point, in my opinion it was an overly simplistic version of “Why can’t we all just get along” which for most people means “ Do what I want and we’ll get along”.   
 

Your question about protests v Sturgis is reasonable, and I’m happy to address it.  Had the call for a total lockdown been observed strictly, I would be bagging on the Sturgis crowd.  The fact is that long before Sturgis, there were mass gatherings of people across the country.   There was precious little outcry at the mass gatherings, while those with the inside scoop suggested a family Memorial Day gathering of 11+ was exceptionally dangerous, and that gathering together to celebrate the life of someone lost was the beginning of the end of civilization.  On the other hand, Home Depot and the like we’re wide open for business, subject to a max of 50 so folks could buy their petunias and tomato seeds for the backyard garden. 
 

As for the data set, I’m not sure what you’re seeing.  Infection rate and death count increased in conjunction with the mass gatherings.  Is that not true? 
 

Anyway, I’m 100% comfortable with lawful and non-violent protest.  I have friends who I disagree with on issues that protest, I respect many of the people who stand for a cause.   IMO, though, it seems silly to debate 10,000+ people being extremely dangerous on one hand and suggesting the wings of butterflies above another crowd of 10,000 creates a containment zone that is COVID free.  
 

 

 

[keepthefaith]

22 minutes ago, leh-nerd skin-erd said:

Welp, you made the initial point, in my opinion it was an overly simplistic version of “Why can’t we all just get along” which for most people means “ Do what I want and we’ll get along”.   
 

Your question about protests v Sturgis is reasonable, and I’m happy to address it.  Had the call for a total lockdown been observed strictly, I would be bagging on the Sturgis crowd.  The fact is that long before Sturgis, there were mass gatherings of people across the country.   There was precious little outcry at the mass gatherings, while those with the inside scoop suggested a family Memorial Day gathering of 11+ was exceptionally dangerous, and that gathering together to celebrate the life of someone lost was the beginning of the end of civilization.  On the other hand, Home Depot and the like we’re wide open for business, subject to a max of 50 so folks could buy their petunias and tomato seeds for the backyard garden. 
 

As for the data set, I’m not sure what you’re seeing.  Infection rate and death count increased in conjunction with the mass gatherings.  Is that not true? 
 

Anyway, I’m 100% comfortable with lawful and non-violent protest.  I have friends who I disagree with on issues that protest, I respect many of the people who stand for a cause.   IMO, though, it seems silly to debate 10,000+ people being extremely dangerous on one hand and suggesting the wings of butterflies above another crowd of 10,000 creates a containment zone that is COVID free.  
 

 

 

 

Do protests of any kind (including peaceful) even move the policy needle in the direction of those protesting?  If so, are the policy changes effective or desirable?  Can anyone provide an example where protests and protests alone resulted in something good? 

Edited August 31, 2020 by keepthefaith

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

2 hours ago, GOBUFFALO716 said:

Eagles owner slams Trump over COVID response 

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/philadelphia-eagles-owner-jeffrey-lurie-calls-us-coronavirus-response-e2-80-98a-tragic-embarrassment-e2-80-99/ar-BB18yyWa

 

 

Interestingly, he’s willing to risk many, many more lives in pursuit of his own personal gain.   He’s one of the architects of a few hundred people getting together repeatedly over 6 months in a blood sport that encourages extremely close contact and the exchange of massive amounts of bodily fluids.  
 

 

[SectionC3]

22 minutes ago, leh-nerd skin-erd said:

Welp, you made the initial point, in my opinion it was an overly simplistic version of “Why can’t we all just get along” which for most people means “ Do what I want and we’ll get along”.   
 

Your question about protests v Sturgis is reasonable, and I’m happy to address it.  Had the call for a total lockdown been observed strictly, I would be bagging on the Sturgis crowd.  The fact is that long before Sturgis, there were mass gatherings of people across the country.   There was precious little outcry at the mass gatherings, while those with the inside scoop suggested a family Memorial Day gathering of 11+ was exceptionally dangerous, and that gathering together to celebrate the life of someone lost was the beginning of the end of civilization.  On the other hand, Home Depot and the like we’re wide open for business, subject to a max of 50 so folks could buy their petunias and tomato seeds for the backyard garden. 
 

As for the data set, I’m not sure what you’re seeing.  Infection rate and death count increased in conjunction with the mass gatherings.  Is that not true? 
 

Anyway, I’m 100% comfortable with lawful and non-violent protest.  I have friends who I disagree with on issues that protest, I respect many of the people who stand for a cause.   IMO, though, it seems silly to debate 10,000+ people being extremely dangerous on one hand and suggesting the wings of butterflies above another crowd of 10,000 creates a containment zone that is COVID free.  
 

 

 

 

1.  infection rate and death count have increased concomitantly with protests.  But where is the data linking protests to that increase?  Could it be that refusal to social distance and refusal to wear masks in “none-protest” contexts contributed to the uptick?

 

2.  Along those lines, you assume that nobody (or at least that a critical mass) of protesters did not wear masks.   I don’t know that we have data to that effect, either.  Assuming (safely, I think) that political fault lines apply here, my guess is that the vast majority of protesters were masked.  Sturgis . . . I doubt.  Tulsa we know the opposite to be true.  

 

3.  Your point about hypocrisy regarding lack of outcry is fair.  But you’re also hypocritical in your defense of Sturgis.  It’s essentially an “our wrong is actually right because someone else was wrong, too” argument.  And, you seem to contend that the protests spawned a significant increase in infection rate and relevant deaths.  By that logic, Surgis should be condemned.  And by the same logic, Tulsa (mention of which you conspicuously avoided) was a travesty of, among other things, leadership. 

9 minutes ago, leh-nerd skin-erd said:

Interestingly, he’s willing to risk many, many more lives in pursuit of his own personal gain.   He’s one of the architects of a few hundred people getting together repeatedly over 6 months in a blood sport that encourages extremely close contact and the exchange of massive amounts of bodily fluids.  
 

 

 

I don’t disagree with this, but by the same logic you have to stand for the shutdown of schools, bars, restaurants, and gyms until this is over.  And it is reasonable for him to complain that his business model has been significantly disrupted by the federal action and inaction with respect to the pandemic.  

Edited August 31, 2020 by SectionC3

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

17 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

 

1.  infection rate and death count have increased concomitantly with protests.  But where is the data linking protests to that increase?  Could it be that refusal to social distance and refusal to wear masks in “none-protest” contexts contributed to the uptick?

 

2.  Along those lines, you assume that nobody (or at least that a critical mass) of protesters did not wear masks.   I don’t know that we have data to that effect, either.  Assuming (safely, I think) that political fault lines apply here, my guess is that the vast majority of protesters were masked.  Sturgis . . . I doubt.  Tulsa we know the opposite to be true.  

 

3.  Your point about hypocrisy regarding lack of outcry is fair.  But you’re also hypocritical in your defense of Sturgis.  It’s essentially an “our wrong is actually right because someone else was wrong, too” argument.  And, you seem to contend that the protests spawned a significant increase in infection rate and relevant deaths.  By that logic, Surgis should be condemned.  And by the same logic, Tulsa (mention of which you conspicuously avoided) was a travesty of, among other things, leadership. 

 

I don’t disagree with this, but by the same logic you have to stand for the shutdown of schools, bars, restaurants, and gyms until this is over.  And it is reasonable for him to complain that his business model has been significantly disrupted by the federal action and inaction with respect to the pandemic.  

As I’ve said many times Sect, I’m a simple guy.  I reject the notion that I need data beyond what’s readily available to come to a reasonable conclusion.  
 

I’m not the harbinger of doom suggesting church gatherings of 15 socially distanced and masked protests create unreasonable risk where gatherings of 25,000 people gathered in close proximity do not, masked or not.  

 

I’m not the one suggesting haircuts posed a clear and present danger to humanity, or that thousands of protestors somehow magically appear masked and virus free at a protest.  I’ll say it again—- people come to protest via all means of transport, touching and interacting with many people along the way.  They talk, they sleep, they eat, they consume, they cry, they rage, they defecate and more than likely urinate wherever possible.  They likely boink like the dickens too, mostly because that is what people do. 
 

I did not defend Sturgis, I’m not defending Sturgis now.  I simply applied the logic that ultimately, to gather or not gather is largely a political decision, not a medical one.  That leads to believe we have been bamboozled on a massive scale, or, in the alternative, political leaders in support of shutdowns for gyms but massive protests for individuals are all about culling the herd.  
 

If large protests are not dangerous, it stands to reason that large rally’s are not. 

[shoshin]

49 minutes ago, spartacus said:

I got the info from the CDC site back in June

 

Could not find current instructions for use 

You may have better luck

 

B-Man’s sources would have covered this in great detail if it was as you describe. I see nothing from Professor Google. 

[spartacus]

5 minutes ago, shoshin said:

B-Man’s sources would have covered this in great detail if it was as you describe. I see nothing from Professor Google. 

 

The PCR test is being replaced anyway

1. if not with with the all in one Flu/Covid test

2. trhe qucik at home test

 

too hard to find covid only cases

 

nobody knows what black box is being used to test you

[shoshin]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-trump-sowed-covid-supply-chaos-try-getting-it-yourselves-11598893051?mod=hp_lead_pos5

 

How Trump Sowed Covid Supply Chaos. ‘Try Getting It Yourselves.’

 

Sergio Melgar, the chief financial officer for the largest health-care system in central Massachusetts, was about to run out of medical-grade N95 masks. A Chinese company poised to replenish the supply wanted the money upfront.

 

It was after midnight on March 20, too late to arrange a wire transfer. So Mr. Melgar took out his own credit card and authorized a $100,000 charge. “If I don’t do this,” he recalls thinking, “we will run out.”

 

Days earlier, as the spread of the coronavirus pandemic was becoming clear in the U.S., stoking panic about shortages of medical supplies, the Trump administration signaled to states they shouldn’t expect the federal government to meet their medical-supply needs. In a March 16 conference call, President Trump told governors that the federal government would try to help, but that for “respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment—try getting it yourselves.”

 

...

Instead, the federal government’s approach turned hospital systems and state governments into rivals.

 

Medical providers begged and scavenged for supplies. One doctor, worried his shipment of masks and gowns would be seized by another state, divided the supplies between two trucks to make sure at least some would get through.

 

Some states turned against each other. One refused to give another contact information for lab supplies, fearful of being outbid. Governors kept shipment details secret. Other governors dispatched state police to airports to guard their cargo.

 

Interviews with Trump administration and state officials and hospital executives, as well as internal documents and emails reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, show that the White House’s shifting of responsibility to the states came gradually, influenced in part by its late recognition of the supply threat and its slowness in mobilizing the federal government to coordinate a response.

 

Early on, some states and a small number of Trump officials were pushing for the federal government to centralize the supply chain, but the idea was never seriously considered inside the White House, officials said.

[B-Man]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Big Blitz]

 

 

[Doc Brown]

15 hours ago, bilzfancy said:

Do the math, that means just a little over 11,000 died from the virus, that didn't have underlying conditions

My guess is most of those 11,000 had some sort of undiagnosed underlying health condition.  Protecting the vulnerable by doing our best not to get the virus and spread it is all we can do.

[Kemp]

On 1/27/2020 at 9:57 AM, LeviF91 said:

It's important to understand that mis/disinfo doesn't just come from the Chinese government.  I'm willing to bet that most of the pictures we are seeing of sick/dead people in China are not from this outbreak.

 

There's a lot of uncertainty thanks to the Chinese constantly lying, but public health interventions most certainly make infection reproduction numbers go down - even in 3rd world conditions.  I've seen R numbers for this virus anywhere from 2.5 to 3.8.  By comparison, measles is anywhere from 12 to 18.

 

Is it bad?  Yeah - but it's mostly bad because the Chinese were more concerned about saving face than they were saving lives.  Luckily we don't have the same kinds of issues with our government that the Chinese have.

 

Funny.

On 1/27/2020 at 10:25 PM, B-Man said:

 

 

 

I’D RATHER THEY DID BETTER AT CONTAINING THE VIRUS: 

 

Chinese Officials Race to Contain Anger Over Virus.

 

 

 

 

.

 

Love when there are trails.

On 1/28/2020 at 10:48 PM, snafu said:

 

Yep. Unless the reports of fatalities are completely wrong, this doesn’t seem to be all that awful.

And Is it super contagious?

 

 

No big deal.

[Kemp]

On 2/1/2020 at 2:52 PM, Foxx said:

not, i repeat, not the coronavirus.

A 'highly pathogenic strain' of H5N1 bird flu has been reported in China's Hunan province 

 

Repeat it again.

On 2/3/2020 at 3:41 PM, Doc said:

 

They didn't tell anyone that they genetically engineered it with HIV. 

 

Didn't know that.

[nkreed]

18 hours ago, keepthefaith said:

 

Do protests of any kind (including peaceful) even move the policy needle in the direction of those protesting?  If so, are the policy changes effective or desirable?  Can anyone provide an example where protests and protests alone resulted in something good? 

I don't have an answer to your question. But I do have an observation on your insinuation (wether intentional or not). The insinuation I take from this is that the US should ban the right to assemble (since it does no good). We have enough constitutional trampling already, we don't need more.

[Kemp]

On 2/25/2020 at 6:45 PM, Wacka said:

Someone has gone full Tibs

The flu has a higher mortally rate.

 

yeah

On 2/25/2020 at 9:25 PM, B-Man said:

 

 

It will be ready, tomorrow and then the day after that.

On 2/26/2020 at 7:54 PM, B-Man said:

 

Pence is a steady hand and that’s what’s needed here. President Trump did the right thing making him point person.

 

We need an experienced administrator for a large undertaking as this (not an MD), who will not be leaking to the media

 

 

.

He was also smart to make it bi-partisan. 75% of the people up there on stage (CDC bureaucrats etc) are Dems and Hillary voters.

 

Trump is standing aside and letting the bureaucrats speak.

 

 

 

.

 

Funny

[Kemp]

On 2/27/2020 at 8:47 AM, Chef Jim said:

I hire people not so I can tell them what to do I hire them to tell me what to do. 

         - Steve Jobs

 

i think he did pretty well. 

 

Trump seems in direct opposition to Jobs.

On 2/27/2020 at 1:22 PM, B-Man said:

 

 

Is it a few weeks, yet?

[Kemp]

On 2/27/2020 at 5:46 PM, RaoulDuke79 said:

This is just like Sars and Ebola, only even more so now because every single thing has become politicized. Media frenzy is causing unnecessary fear and overreaction. Its shameful. A lot of people groaned and scoffed when Trump labeled the MSM as an enemy of the people, but it was a spot on assessment. 

Yes

And 199 of them will go to the homeless encampments or illegals because.........California. 

 

On 2/28/2020 at 11:14 AM, B-Man said:

The Democrats and the virus: Truth is hard, propaganda is cheap!

by Patricia McCarthy

 

Original Article

 

The Democrats have truly lost their minds.  For years they have wailed about how our borders should all be open, how there should be no walls.  When President Trump six weeks ago banned travelers from China, they called him a racist, of course.  Now that the virus has spread, they are blaming him, accusing him of an anemic response.

 

Wrong.  The country has a pandemic plan in place, no matter who is president, but Trump has been on the case since China informed the world of the virus breakout.  A task force to address this virus has been in place for at least a month.

 

They've accused Trump of cutting the budget of the CDC and NIH.  Even AP shows that he did not.  He had proposed some cuts, but they never went into effect, and there is a standing congressional fund for health emergencies.

 

But the Democrats do not care about facts; they live for any crisis they can weaponize for an assault on the president.  They are as shameless as they are calculating.  As always, they believe they can fool the American people and that their lies will not be exposed.  Thomas Sowell was exactly right when he said, "It is usually futile to try to talk facts and analysis to people who are enjoying a sense of moral superiority in their ignorance."

 

Of course, these Dems have an army of like-minded fellow travelers in the media, like Gail Collins, who, in her NYT column, said the virus should be called Trumpvirus, as if the President created it in the Oval Office and disseminated it far and wide.  That is how depraved they are. 

 

More at the link:

 

Great job, Donnie.

[Kemp]

On 2/28/2020 at 2:57 PM, B-Man said:

 

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Five Reasons to Stop Freaking Out About Coronavirus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reading that link of yours to Breitbart tells you all you need to know about Breitbart.

 

Coronavirus is an “info-demic,” a panic caused by the spread of partial and often misleading information about a health risk, sometimes deliberately.

The virus is real, and a small number of people have been infected. But it is going to pass.

It is an unpleasant respiratory illness, but it is not an organ-destroying horror like Ebola. Precautions are being taken, a vaccine will emerge, and life will continue as usual.

Here are five specific reasons to chill out.

1. Coronavirus is a familiar illness, and not as bad as others. It is from the SARS family — and less deadly. As Ha’aretz noted, “the mortality rate from the current disease ranges from 0.5 to 2 percent, and is significantly lower than the mortality rate from the 2002 SARS outbreak (9.5 percent) and much lower than the 2012 SARS outbreak (34.4 percent). It may even be close to the mortality rate from an ordinary flu outbreak in the United States.”

2. The U.S. response has been exceptionally good. There have only been 16 cases thus far, none deadly. President Donald Trump bought precious time by stopping travel to China last month — a step critics said was overly drastic. Democrats are screaming about funding and staff cuts that never actually happened. The latest outrage: the White House is controlling the message. As they should! The people in lab coats are not always good communicators.

3. We are going to have a vaccine soon. There are private companies in the U.S. and around the world racing to develop a vaccine — not just because of the urgent public health need, but because whoever finds it first stands to make a lot of money. (This is where the profit motive, and the pharmaceutical industry, are so crucial — contrary to what Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, and other Democrats running for president have been saying about them.)

4. China is going to be all right. The number of cases in China sounds large — until you consider the size of China. True, the Chinese government has been duplicitous about coronavirus, as it is about everything. (Amartya Sen famously observed that India, unlike China, has never suffered famine because India has a free press.) And U.S. firms are learning a long-overdue lesson about the risks of investing there. But China will eventually pull through.

5. The same people who want you to panic about coronavirus want you to panic about everything. The news business thrives on chaos. In addition, the media want to destroy Trump, which is why they spread the Russia collusion hoax. Coronavirus is not a hoax, but pundits should be asked if they cared enough about flu — which kills far more people — to get their shot this year. If not, ignore them. Remember to wash your hands, and stay cool.

On 2/29/2020 at 2:26 PM, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

as I said before, CDC reported 61,000 US flu related deaths in 2017-2018.....where was that PANIC?...

 

61,000 you say.

[Kemp]

On 2/29/2020 at 2:44 PM, Foxx said:

the media is not your friend.

https://twitter.com/BradenDMitchell/status/1233837117303902209

 

 

"The press needs to shut up". 

Ain't democracy great?

On 2/29/2020 at 3:48 PM, 3rdnlng said:

The difference is the number from the cruise ship that are quarantined. Today he used the number of 62 that may have it. Trump says that the upcoming warmer weather should help, which is accurate. 

 

 

On 2/29/2020 at 4:17 PM, fansince88 said:

Im thinking huffing Lysol is out only hope. That kills 99.9% of coronavirus per the label. 

 

 

Did Trump get the idea from this guy?

[Kemp]

On 3/2/2020 at 8:53 AM, Foxx said:

https://twitter.com/me_think_free/status/1233440669848481794

 

 

Remember the tests that say "Which of these does not belong?"

[GG]

Speaking of verbal diarrhea, is Kemp ever going address the Williamsburg Hasid apocalypse? 

 

 We're 5 months past THE funeral and the weddings.   Surely the community would be wiped out by now.   

[WEATHER DOT COM]

Just now, GG said:

FLYNNDICATED!

 

Finally!!!!!

[Kemp]

On 3/2/2020 at 9:39 PM, Buffalo Bills Fan said:

 Trump's knowledge on science  everything is horrible. 

 

His SATs proved that.

[Chef Jim]

46 minutes ago, Kemp said:

 

Trump seems in direct opposition to Jobs.

 

And your point other than Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump?  
 

You’re like a band that plays the same set every single night.  Even if their music is good it becomes boring and very predictable. 

[Kemp]

On 3/4/2020 at 9:22 AM, Hardhatharry said:

Does anyone care if Iran situation gets better? TBH it is good they got it