Is it time to talk about coronavirus? (1 Viewer)

[Malcolm R]

Not sure why all the press seem so shocked about this? Given all the traveling he does and all the people he comes into contact with daily, it was only a matter of time.

 

[Carlo_M]

You couldn’t write this.

It’s simultaneously unbelievable and totally predictable.

 

[Mark Booth]

It is looking possible that RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel might have been the person that brought COVID to the White House. She met with Trump (and, obviously, would have interacted with White House staff) last Friday. Apparently, she started feeling poorly on Saturday but didn't get tested until Wednesday, which came back positive.

Senator Mike Lee has tested positive too. He met with SCOTUS nominee Amy Barrett a few days ago. In their photo op they were standing about 2 feet apart and were not wearing masks. Doh!

Now that cooler weather is approaching and so many school districts have returned to in-classroom teaching, well, the 2nd wave will likely take hold in the near future. What we've seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg.

Mark

 

[Malcolm R]

They say Barrett already had the virus a couple months ago, so she probably feels she has some level of immunity.

 

[Carlo_M]

They say Barrett already had the virus a couple months ago, so she probably feels she has some level of immunity.

With the anecdotal evidence starting to show you can possibly get re-infected, that's a heck of a risk. My one friend who had it back in May (six weeks to test negative) is the most diligent mask-wearer I know. He does not want to go through it a second time.

 

[Malcolm R]

I'm sure you can get it more than once. Sicknesses caused by other coronaviruses (flu, common cold) keep coming around. There's no permanent immunity, either from being infected or from any vaccine. I suppose the question would be how quickly it could happen.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Now that cooler weather is approaching and so many school districts have returned to in-classroom teaching, well, the 2nd wave will likely take hold in the near future. What we've seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg.

Mark

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe we've even left the first wave yet in the US.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I'm sure you can get it more than once. Sicknesses caused by other coronaviruses (flu, common cold) keep coming around. There's no permanent immunity, either from being infected or from any vaccine. I suppose the question would be how quickly it could happen.

That may be mostly due to the virii mutating (enough) to get thru one's defenses, including one's natural immune system.

Forget where I read it (whether here or maybe in my Google newsfeed), but there's apparently some recent talk that Covid-19 may even be mutating in such ways that might defeat our current particular strategies w/ masks and social distancing (and maybe handwashing)...

_Man_

 

[Mark Booth]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe we've even left the first wave yet in the US.

Your comment suggests you assume that the number of cases would have to drop to close to zero before there's a second wave. That's not the case. A second wave will be depicted on graphs as another large bump in positive cases. Despite hot spots around the country, the U.S. positivity rating has been on a gentle decline since early August. Right now the U.S. (as a whole) is sitting at around a 5% positivity rating. We'll be in a second wave when that number rises above 15% or so.

Mark

 

[Francois Caron]

They say Barrett already had the virus a couple months ago, so she probably feels she has some level of immunity.

Never assume that with this virus. The science has already revealed that acquired immunity is very likely limited to only a few months.

 

[Sam Posten]

We are on a hair trigger with the politics angle here. Nobody over the line yet, please do not push it!

 

[Mark Booth]

Never assume that with this virus. The science has already revealed that acquired immunity is very likely limited to only a few months.

Amy Barrett was tested this morning and the results were negative.

Mark

 

[Mark Booth]

The Barrett nomination event in the WH Rose Garden on Saturday could have been the spread event. Five people that attended that event have now tested positive for COVID (including POTUS and FLOTUS). It was held outdoors but there was almost zero social distancing happening and the majority of attendees did not wear masks.

Mark

 

[Mark Booth]

Something to ponder... Anyone that gets anywhere near the president must have a COVID test first. This has been routine at the White House for months. They use some form of quick result test, which I suspect is somewhat less reliable than more standard tests, but EVERYONE gets tested. The president is, perhaps, the most "sheltered" person on the planet with regard to attempts to prevent infection.

Yet, he still got it.

What do you bet that, starting today, a lot of the people pictured in the photo above are now wearing masks?

Mark

 

[Carlo_M]

To your point Mark, on CNN about 15 minutes ago from this posting, they showed a picture Jim Acosta took of a huddle of WH aides and staffers huddled together and they noted it was the first time they'd seen all those people...wearing masks.

 

[DaveF]

That may be mostly due to the virii mutating (enough) to get thru one's defenses, including one's natural immune system.

Forget where I read it (whether here or maybe in my Google newsfeed), but there's apparently some recent talk that Covid-19 may even be mutating in such ways that might defeat our current particular strategies w/ masks and social distancing (and maybe handwashing)...

Everything I’ve read is that SARS-COV-2 is mutating slowly as these viruses do, and this is increasing confidence vaccines will be effective and useful.

Opinion | The Coronavirus Is Mutating, and That’s Fine (So Far) (Published 2020)

SARS-CoV-2 has been slowly changing in small ways, without getting more dangerous.

www.nytimes.com

Low genetic diversity may be an Achilles heel of SARS-CoV-2

Scientists worldwide are racing to develop effective vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic. An important and perhaps underappreciated aspect of this endeavor is ensuring that the vaccines being developed confer...

www.pnas.org

Something to ponder... Anyone that gets anywhere near the president must have a COVID test first. This has been routine at the White House for months. They use some form of quick result test, which I suspect is somewhat less reliable than more standard tests, but EVERYONE gets tested.
...

Back in the Spring, they were using an Abbot rapid test system which was said to be much less accurate than the PCR testing.

Abbott COVID-19 test — used by White House — could be inaccurate, FDA warns

The test, which the FDA said could produce false negatives, got emergency use authorization in March.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Carlo_M]

Also I think we can infer that testing around the President is likely not as diligent as we've been led to believe. All of the studies say it takes between 2-14 days to be symptomatic. Theoretically if he (and others) are being tested daily, they shouldn't have shown symptoms, let alone bad enough to warrant going to Walter Reed with a fever, if his and the First Lady's last negative test was yesterday.

In fact, Chris Wallace just said on TV that certain people arrived so close to start time at the debate, that there was an "honor system" in place.

 

[Wayne_j]

All I'm going to say is that tonight at the store I work at all but 1 person was properly wearing a mask. That one person had the mask on his chin. Usually there are 5-6 people who refuse to wear a mask. Maybe this will help people realize that they must wear masks.

 

[Mark Booth]

To your point Mark, on CNN about 15 minutes ago from this posting, they showed a picture Jim Acosta took of a huddle of WH aides and staffers huddled together and they noted it was the first time they'd seen all those people...wearing masks.

Yep. WH press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has been quoted multiple times about her refusal to wear a mask at public events. Yet, here she is today (blue dress, center):

Doh!

Mark

 

[Mark Booth]

In fact, Chris Wallace just said on TV that certain people arrived so close to start time at the debate, that there was an "honor system" in place.

Mark