Coronavirus Tidbits #94 10/25/20
Announcements:
Apologies to my fans. Sorry this did not send on Sunday as intended. Do you think DeJoy's reach has extended to MailChimp???
First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I'm getting.
Tidbits will likely be a bit shorter and a little less frequent for the next little bit. I have been immersed in #GOTV efforts.
Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don't be shy about that.
My latest Forbes post:
Polio Eradication Program Key In Covid-19 Response
on how the infrastructure designed to eradicate Polio is now being used for Covid-19
News
The White House is considering slashing millions of dollars for Covid relief, HIV treatment, screenings for newborns and other programs in Democratic-led cities that Trump has deemed “anarchist jurisdictions,” according to documents obtained by POLITICO. https://t.co/38p11appLJ
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) October 21, 2020
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This is a shameful political choice by this administration:
https://twitter.com/meganranney/status/1319777292747407363?s=20
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This @bylenasun story is horrifying and deserves all of our attention. You do not force public health to be complicit in your immoral scheme! https://t.co/HMZN3OFr2K
— Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH (@JenniferNuzzo) October 24, 2020
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Mike Pence, head of Coronavirus task force, is out campaigning, falsely claiming that is "essential" work, despite his Chief of Staff and 4 others (so far) now testing positive.
Essential personnel who have been exposed wear masks EVERYWHERE they go for their essential work, regardless of a (-) test result.
— Dara Kass, MD (@darakass) October 25, 2020
They also quarantine when they are not at work to minimize risk to others. #VoteHealth because they don’t care about anyone but themselves. https://t.co/diqbyYY2uJ
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Recommended reading/training: Choose Democracy
How to Beat an Election-Related Power Grab
https://choosedemocracy.us/trainings/#.X5VxoxNKh-U
Twitter has blocked me from posting links to this site.
Diagnostics:
still an incredible, negligent last of testing.
Drugs:
Gilead's Remdesivir doesn't save lives. So says a large, multi-country study run by WHO's Solidarity trial network. An indepth look at the study by @kakape also notes that Gilead just cut a $1B deal with Europe for the drug.https://t.co/sHPOz478vh
— Jon Cohen (@sciencecohen) October 16, 2020
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“At the very least, they should have had an external advisory review of all the data before they made this bold move. By negating the new research they’ve derailed knowing the truth about this drug.”https://t.co/piMYosHu7l @_jacquie_lee @business w/ @peterbachmd
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) October 24, 2020
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Another #COVID19 treatment touted by #Trump admin shows no benefit in a large clinical trial -- convalescent plasma therapy. Remember when Trump called @US_FDA employees "the deep state" for failing to rush approval?
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) October 23, 2020
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‘There’s only one chance to do this right’—FDA panel wrestles with COVID-19 vaccine issues
ScienceInsider
By Jon Cohen
Oct. 23, 2020
Concerns raised yesterday by an advisory group to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may once again tap the brakes on Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. government’s $10.8 billion push to rapidly move candidate COVID-19 vaccines from concept to communities.
As new U.S. cases of the pandemic coronavirus set a daily high of more than 75,000, FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) held a 9-hour virtual meeting to discuss a regulatory pathway that could permit the widescale use of a COVID-19 vaccine that has only minimal evidence of safety and efficacy. A so-called emergency use authorization (EUA) could use preliminary data from vaccine efficacy trials now underway to shave many months off the standard approval process, and FDA wanted VRBPAC to weigh in about the wisdom of taking this shortcut. The hearing, live-streamed on YouTube, drew intense interest, and some of the committee members—a mix of academics, consumer representatives, and government scientists—had an unsettling but clear message to FDA: Hold your horses.
Devices:
This figure says it all. https://t.co/B6Yd9NKxpe pic.twitter.com/X1rsobTNAr
— Atul Gawande (@Atul_Gawande) October 23, 2020
Epidemiology/Infection control:
We can’t get tired in this fight. We can’t afford to become silent. There are consequences left in the wake of #COVID19 that will shake us for generations to come. #RacialHealthDisparities https://t.co/ulP9iR1255
— Ebony Jade Hilton, MD (@EbonyJHilton_MD) October 21, 2020
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Unsurprising, though still tragic & preventable. https://t.co/uTYJT8g1AS
— Madhu⚕️ Singh, MD (@thinkalot) October 24, 2020
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A new CDC MMWR found an employee at a correctional facility developed #COVID19 after brief, close contact with infected incarcerated people that added up to more than 15 minutes over the course of an 8-hour shift. Learn more: https://t.co/fL61sm5UMG pic.twitter.com/Y6a2KLEyGh
— MMWR (@CDCMMWR) October 22, 2020
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First, let’s look at Infections over past 2 months
— Ashish K. Jha (@ashishkjha) October 21, 2020
All numbers 7-day moving avg from @COVID19Tracking
Between August 1 and September 23, cases fluctuating between 700-900 per day
Restrictions lifted 9/23
Infections start to take off by Oct 1
By 10/19, over 1800 cases per day pic.twitter.com/eJNnyHbsKX
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First COVID-19 Wave Offers ICUs Lessons for Next Time
— Medication shortages forced hospitals to get creative, but staff shortages still loom large
https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/chest/89225?
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Adoption of Strategies to Mitigate Transmission of COVID-19 During a Statewide Primary Election
Physical modifications to polling locations were reported by respondents, including spacing of voting booths ≥6 feet apart (88%), modifying polling location layout such that voters moved through the space in one direction (80%), and use of visual cues to remind voters to stay ≥6 feet apart (87%)
14% reported that their polling location ran out of hand sanitizer or cleaning supplies on election day. Availability of masks for poll workers at polling stations was reported by 88% of respondents and for voters by 70%.
Nearly three quarters (72%) of respondents reported contact (within 6 feet) with >100 persons and 27% reported close contact (within 6 feet for ≥15 minutes) with >100 persons on election day.
The large number of close contacts (≤6 feet for ≥15 minutes) reported by poll workers underscores the potential for in-person voting locations to serve as mass gathering events, supporting current guidance related to the importance of absentee voting, extended polling location hours, and other voting options that reduce congregation of voters in polling locations.
Tips, general reading for public:
StayAtHome
Wash your hands.
Rinse and repeat.
Get a humidifier and run it over the winter--dry air will help the coronavirus (and other respiratory viruses spread)
https://www.statnews.com/2020/10/21/covid19-winter-dry-indoor-air-helps-coronavirus-spread/
Politics:
ATTN!
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) October 23, 2020
While you were sleeping #Trump issued an edict that eliminates job protections for tens of thousands (maybe millions) of federal employees, all involved in policy-making. It paves the way for a mass firing of govt employees.
MOREhttps://t.co/jUCWJRE1zX
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Stunning fact: 12 GOP senators on Judiciary Committee who voted to advance Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination represent 9 million fewer Americans than 10 Dems who boycotted vote
— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) October 22, 2020
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https://twitter.com/threadreaderapp/status/1320159171770257410?s=20
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As election nears, Trump leans on health care agencies to aid his campaign
Amid mounting desperation about his reelection odds, President Trump has increasingly come to rely on an unorthodox campaign tool: the Department of Health and Human Services.
As the Nov. 3 election draws closer, HHS and the agencies within it have rolled out several initiatives clearly motivated as much by the election as by policy considerations. Most notably, the administration has announced plans to spend billions of taxpayer dollars on seemingly political projects like a mass marketing campaign to “inspire hope” about Covid-19 and a pending plan to mail $200 pharmacy gift certificates to millions of seniors.
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All that Went Wrong at CDC
ProPublica and Science both published sweeping exposés on the failures of American public health and the Trump administration in curtailing the pandemic, focusing on the impact to the CDC.
One insider complained that the agency was turned into "an agent of propaganda for a political regime," according to the ProPublicapiece.
From just yesterday — Trump campaign flouted agreement to follow health guidelines at rally, documents showhttps://t.co/NMkcSUsxVB
— The Ghost of George Conway (@gtconway3dg) October 25, 2020
Feel good du jour:
Today I had the honor to escorting my 104.5 year-old friend Ruth to vote.
— Faith Salie (@Faith_Salie) October 25, 2020
She was born before women had the right to vote.
Her 1st vote was for FDR.
Her dad died of the flu during the pandemic of 1918, when she was 2.
This is her voting story today. pic.twitter.com/FaJlPhGT42
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“At 102, World War II veteran fulfills her dream of going skydiving. Vivian ‘Millie’ Bailey has had a lot of adventures during her 102 years of life, and over the weekend, she made another memory when she fulfilled her dream of going skydiving.” https://t.co/z1B5mMDTvB pic.twitter.com/Klqr2A7NL0
— McKay Smith (@McKayMSmith) October 23, 2020
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https://twitter.com/Khanoisseur/status/988460742914392065?s=20
Comic relief:
Two gay penguins with a reputation for trouble stole an entire nest of eggs from a neighboring lesbian couple at the same zoo https://t.co/4jaH4OjFN2
— The Cut (@TheCut) October 22, 2020
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These @ProjectLincoln billboards are up in Times Square.#Jarvanka don’t want you to see them.
— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) October 24, 2020
They are threatening to sue.
It’d be such a shame if people decide to retweet it... pic.twitter.com/AwQJYS44DQ
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This letter made me smile...
The Lincoln Project’s legal response to the frivolous threat of a lawsuit from Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s lawyer.
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) October 24, 2020
This will not be the last they hear from us. pic.twitter.com/GNnFsnsCer
Perspective/Poem
Bits of beauty:
