Mike CHS
Herd Master
@farmerjan - you are wasting your time in this thread.
Coronavirus Covid-19 Is it Affecting You and How?
- Thread starter Baymule
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Beekissed
Herd Master
I agree. There are none so blind as those who refuse to see. They love the false drama of it all, it seems to give their life a purpose it never had. You simply cannot offer truth to those who love a lie.
Bunnylady
Herd Master
Honestly, I think she's wasting her time filling her head with those conspiracy theories . . .
One of my favorite movie lines comes from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. In the scene, three of the Pevensie children have just watched as their brother walks into the White Witch's castle. They are acutely aware of the danger he's in, even if he isn't. Susan and Peter wind up taking their frustration and anxiety out on each other, and Lucy, the youngest, stops their quarreling with the simple statement,
"This isn't helping Edmund!"
That's the thought that comes into my mind every time I see someone bringing up some of this conspiracy stuff (most of which is many months old and has been debunked countless times over). The disease is real, the problem is real; what we need to be focused on is working our way through the problem. Creating drama by making up lies about the people who are trying to deal with the problem isn't helping Edmund or anyone else. Anthony Fauci is just a man, trying to do his job. He's the kind of person that errs on the side of caution. He has had the unenviable job of telling people things that they really would rather not hear, and has had that job made infinitely more difficult by having to deal with a president that belittled him, contradicted him, refused to talk to him for weeks at a time, and publicly stated that he would fire him as soon as the election was over. The only thing he can do is advise, trying to blame him when people ignore that advice is pointless.
Ain't that the truth!
. . and being disrespectful to her friend, who specifically requested not to have it here.
One of my favorite movie lines comes from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. In the scene, three of the Pevensie children have just watched as their brother walks into the White Witch's castle. They are acutely aware of the danger he's in, even if he isn't. Susan and Peter wind up taking their frustration and anxiety out on each other, and Lucy, the youngest, stops their quarreling with the simple statement,
"This isn't helping Edmund!"
That's the thought that comes into my mind every time I see someone bringing up some of this conspiracy stuff (most of which is many months old and has been debunked countless times over). The disease is real, the problem is real; what we need to be focused on is working our way through the problem. Creating drama by making up lies about the people who are trying to deal with the problem isn't helping Edmund or anyone else. Anthony Fauci is just a man, trying to do his job. He's the kind of person that errs on the side of caution. He has had the unenviable job of telling people things that they really would rather not hear, and has had that job made infinitely more difficult by having to deal with a president that belittled him, contradicted him, refused to talk to him for weeks at a time, and publicly stated that he would fire him as soon as the election was over. The only thing he can do is advise, trying to blame him when people ignore that advice is pointless.
Ain't that the truth!
Bunnylady
Herd Master
So, I've read the editorial in the Wall Street Journal by Dr. Marty Makary (the guy who is thinking we will achieve "herd immunity" by April). His logic is this:
the 500,000 Americans who have died of Covid-19 represent about .15% of our population.
The mortality rate for Covid-19 is .23%
Since .15 is about 2/3 of .23, that should mean that about two thirds of our population have had Covid-19 at this point (remember, there are supposed to be an awful lot of people who have mild symptoms or even no symptoms at all, who may not even think to get tested, even if they have easy access to getting tested - which a lot of them may not have).
Add those hypothetical millions of cases of previous infection to the 150 million people that the
government is hoping to have vaccinated by the end of March, and the Coronavirus will have a pretty hard time finding anyone new to infect.
Anyway, that's his theory. The problem is, you can't prove it. The vast majority of those hypothetical and known previous infections won't have any antibodies present in their blood, so you can't prove it by testing. (Incidentally, he said nothing at all about naturally acquired immunity being in any way superior to vaccination; wherever that came from, it wasn't Dr. Makary). What he did say, is that these people should have "activated T-cells;" white blood cells that will remember the virus and respond appropriately if they meet it again.
But like I said, as things stand right now, you can't prove it. Science wants numbers, hard data. Biden himself told his experts, "Don't guess. If you aren't sure, say you don't know." People's faith in our country's leadership has been severely shaken, and he wants to know that whatever line the administration presents is backed by solid evidence. Right now, the only thing they know for sure is that the numbers of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are down, exactly why is still guesswork.
So, why the difference between this doctor's opinion and that of the "experts?" Well, look at what they do. Dr. Makary is a surgeon. It takes a pretty bold person to slice into a live patient, believing that the damage you are doing will ultimately be for the patient's good. So, surgeons by nature tend to be optimists. Dr. Fauci is an epidemiologist. In his 80 years on this planet, he has had plenty of opportunities to see how stupid people can be when it comes to diseases, so it makes sense that he'd be a pessimist. Makary is like, "numbers are dropping; this is a hopeful sign! Let's tell people there's hope!" Fauci is more along the line of "if we speak too soon, they may just throw caution to the wind and we may lose ground. We can't start celebrating yet."
So what's the take-away? Short term, keep handwashing, masking, social distancing; if you were planning on getting vaccinated, this isn't a reason to change that. Long term? Well coronavirus is not going to just go away; it most likely will always be something a doctor has to consider when they are faced with a patient with a fever and respiratory symptoms. It will probably become like flu in that the advice will be regular vaccinations for the most vulnerable members of the population (and anyone else that wants them). And it will also mean constant monitoring by the scientific community. So far, the only variations that have been identified seem not to have mutated in a way that would get past the current vaccines or immunity acquired by other means, but that could change at any time. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it may be closer than we thought . . . but don't go burning your mask just yet.
the 500,000 Americans who have died of Covid-19 represent about .15% of our population.
The mortality rate for Covid-19 is .23%
Since .15 is about 2/3 of .23, that should mean that about two thirds of our population have had Covid-19 at this point (remember, there are supposed to be an awful lot of people who have mild symptoms or even no symptoms at all, who may not even think to get tested, even if they have easy access to getting tested - which a lot of them may not have).
Add those hypothetical millions of cases of previous infection to the 150 million people that the
government is hoping to have vaccinated by the end of March, and the Coronavirus will have a pretty hard time finding anyone new to infect.
Anyway, that's his theory. The problem is, you can't prove it. The vast majority of those hypothetical and known previous infections won't have any antibodies present in their blood, so you can't prove it by testing. (Incidentally, he said nothing at all about naturally acquired immunity being in any way superior to vaccination; wherever that came from, it wasn't Dr. Makary). What he did say, is that these people should have "activated T-cells;" white blood cells that will remember the virus and respond appropriately if they meet it again.
But like I said, as things stand right now, you can't prove it. Science wants numbers, hard data. Biden himself told his experts, "Don't guess. If you aren't sure, say you don't know." People's faith in our country's leadership has been severely shaken, and he wants to know that whatever line the administration presents is backed by solid evidence. Right now, the only thing they know for sure is that the numbers of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are down, exactly why is still guesswork.
So, why the difference between this doctor's opinion and that of the "experts?" Well, look at what they do. Dr. Makary is a surgeon. It takes a pretty bold person to slice into a live patient, believing that the damage you are doing will ultimately be for the patient's good. So, surgeons by nature tend to be optimists. Dr. Fauci is an epidemiologist. In his 80 years on this planet, he has had plenty of opportunities to see how stupid people can be when it comes to diseases, so it makes sense that he'd be a pessimist. Makary is like, "numbers are dropping; this is a hopeful sign! Let's tell people there's hope!" Fauci is more along the line of "if we speak too soon, they may just throw caution to the wind and we may lose ground. We can't start celebrating yet."
So what's the take-away? Short term, keep handwashing, masking, social distancing; if you were planning on getting vaccinated, this isn't a reason to change that. Long term? Well coronavirus is not going to just go away; it most likely will always be something a doctor has to consider when they are faced with a patient with a fever and respiratory symptoms. It will probably become like flu in that the advice will be regular vaccinations for the most vulnerable members of the population (and anyone else that wants them). And it will also mean constant monitoring by the scientific community. So far, the only variations that have been identified seem not to have mutated in a way that would get past the current vaccines or immunity acquired by other means, but that could change at any time. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it may be closer than we thought . . . but don't go burning your mask just yet.
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Alaskan
Herd Master
But what if I dropped it in the pig poo pile???but don't go burning your mask just yet.
Sorry... had to.
Bunnylady
Herd Master
*sigh* Alaskan, I will not ask why you aren't socially distancing from pigs.But what if I dropped it in the pig poo pile???
Sorry... had to.
(But I hope you at least washed your hands)
Alaskan
Herd Master
*sigh* Alaskan, I will not ask why you aren't socially distancing from pigs.
(But I hope you at least washed your hands)
Hoping Is a GOOD thing!
Bunnylady
Herd Master
I take it that's a "no."
Hoping Is a GOOD thing!
But seriously, Alaskan, I think you are wasting your time putting masks on pigs. The jury may still be out on whether pigs can catch Covid-19, but I daresay most people aren't going to get close enough for it to matter.
Alaskan
Herd Master
Except my piggies are ultra cuteI take it that's a "no."
But seriously, Alaskan, I think you are wasting your time putting masks on pigs. The jury may still be out on whether pigs can catch Covid-19, but I daresay most people aren't going to get close enough for it to matter.
How could you resist a snuggle?
animalmom
Herd Master
Better looking than some of the guys I dated in my misspent youth.
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