
Coronavirus Tidbits #95 11/15/20
Announcements:
First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I'm getting.
Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don't be shy about that.
News
This is sick and so irresponsible. @GovLarryHogan @UPMC @upmcwesternMD Each of these people should be fined for violating the mask guidelines and endangering others in the community. cc @CumberlandTN @teresamcminn1 @AlleganyHlthMD https://t.co/ABpF5fPrFD
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) November 14, 2020
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40% of American still planning to attend Thanksgiving with 10+ people; 30% not planning to mask or ask others to mask: https://t.co/cXe1vDbS3u
— Anne Helen Petersen (@annehelen) November 14, 2020
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Excellent thread from Ed Yong. Start here:
https://twitter.com/edyong209/status/1327234910822821893?s=20
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After many childhood vaccinations got put on hold at the start of the pandemic, global measles cases are expected to spike in the coming years. (Vox)
Diagnostics:
still an incredible, negligent lack of accurate rapid testing.
Drugs:
He juiced the market and his own pocket. https://t.co/tpCz6Hy7uy
— Barbara Malmet (@B52Malmet) November 12, 2020
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Small study--COVID-19 survival among elderly patients could be improved by arthritis drug baricitinib
The research team say the findings are being followed up with large-scale clinical trials.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/icl-csa111320.php
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Gates Foundation adds $70 million more funding for COVID vaccines for poor thru COVAX and GAVI
An extra $50 million will go to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) led by the GAVI vaccine alliance, the foundation said, and another $20 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) which is co-funding development of several COVID-19 vaccine candidates.
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Time to Discuss Potentially Unpleasant Side Effects of COVID Shots? Scientists Say Yes.
By JoNel Aleccia and Liz Szabo NOVEMBER 12, 2020 Kaiser Family Foundation
Drugmaker Pfizer is expected to seek federal permission to release its COVID-19 vaccine by the end of November, a move that holds promise for quelling the pandemic, but also sets up a tight time frame for making sure consumers understand what it will mean to actually get the shots.
This vaccine, and likely most others, will require two doses to work, injections that must be given weeks apart, company protocols show. Scientists anticipate the shots will cause enervating flu-like side effects — including sore arms, muscle aches and fever — that could last days and temporarily sideline some people from work or school. And even if a vaccine proves 90% effective, the rate Pfizer touted for its product, 1 in 10 recipients would still be vulnerable. That means, at least in the short term, as population-level immunity grows, people can’t stop social distancing and throw away their masks.
Left out so far in the push to develop vaccines with unprecedented speed has been a large-scale plan to communicate effectively about those issues in advance, said Dr. Saad Omer, director of the Yale Institute for Global Health.
Devices:
I used my last chlamydia/gonorrhea NAAT swabs yesterday. No more screening. If you have symptoms or an exposure history, you will get treated. What century is this? What country is this?? It didn’t have to happen. We need leadership fr @HHS @CDCgov @CDCSTD. @JoeBiden, take note!
— Melanie Thompson (@drmt) November 13, 2020
I hope then President Biden will invoke the Defense Production Act on Day 1 for testing supplies, PPE, masks...Feels so good to say "President Biden"
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Report: Half of Gowns Fail to Meet Safety Standards
— ECRI names brands that fell short in testing in "Gown Testing Summary" spreadsheet with a partial list of the models it tested (25 of 34)
ECRI's report on gowns follows a similar analysis it released in September that looked at KN95 masks from China and found that 70% did not meet minimum standards.
Epidemiology/Infection control:
Give this sentence a Pulitzer https://t.co/0r1UdEuUtx
— Melissa Brown (@itsmelissabrown) November 13, 2020
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My god. Do not turn away.
— uché blackstock, md (@uche_blackstock) November 13, 2020
cc: @APMResearch pic.twitter.com/QSd6GQPCKB
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N. Dakota Governor oks Nurses to Work While COVID-Positive -- but won't declare a statewide mask mandate
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/89637?
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Should nursing students fill the gaps in patient care?
A Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security report published in June noted that concepts in public health emergency response and disease surveillance and containment strategies are "frequently absent" from nursing education. It also stated that graduates "enter the profession already lacking critical knowledge to keep themselves and their patients safe."
https://www.medpagetoday.com/nursing/nursing/89626?
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I fully agree. Thank you for this great video, Government of #Germany. To beat #COVID19, this winter:
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 15, 2020
-Avoid crowds, #StayHome
-Keep physical distance
-#WearAMask
-#WashYourHands
-Keep your windows open as much as possible
-Cough, sneeze away from others
Let’s #ACTogether! https://t.co/ttfh4RF7a1
Tips, general reading for public:
StayAtHome
Wash your hands.
Rinse and repeat.
Thinking About a Holiday Gathering? Look at This Troubling Map First
https://www.wired.com/story/thinking-about-a-holiday-gathering-look-at-this-map/
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Useful Thanksgiving planning suggestions from Dr. Tara Smith (@aetiology)
First, given record case numbers across the U.S., the best thing to do is simply not have an extended family gathering, full stop. My family is keeping it to immediate households only this year. We'll probably video chat with my nephews and nieces but that's it for 2020. /2
— Dr. Tara C. Smith (@aetiology) November 12, 2020
If you're determined to have a larger gathering, today is the day for everyone attending to start quarantining if possible. Have groceries delivered, stay home and avoid others not in your household if you can. This will reduce your chance of exposure between now and Tday. /3
If you can't quarantine, you can still minimize other exposures. You might be needed at work, but can avoid bars, restaurants, and seeing other friends for the time being. Decrease your bubble as much as possible to keep your Tday guests safer. /4
If you and other attendees can get tested prior to gathering, that could also give additional peace of mind, but keep in mind that any exposures that occur after taking the test can still leave you at risk of infection. A negative test with later exposures isn't a guarantee. /5
During the meal, the CDC has put out some guidelines to minimize transmission while you're gathered together: cdc.gov/coronavirus/20 Keys: masks, ventilation, distance, hand hygiene and not sharing utensils. Keep it short. /6
Our hospitals and medical personnel are at their limits, and we're not willing to chance getting sick and maybe needing hospitalization amidst all of this. We're all hoping for reduced transmission and a vaccine in 2021 so we can have a more normal celebration next year. /fin
I suspect it will be the same for Christmas. Anticipate another spike in cases from Thanksgiving gatherings, which will leave already-overwhelmed hospitals even worse right around Christmas.
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Impressive!
— Erik Solheim (@ErikSolheim) November 15, 2020
Taiwan has not had covid19 cases for 200 days.
The West has so much to learn!
pic.twitter.com/N55pcMpFc2
Politics:
Whew! State GOP lawmakers in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin have all said they would not intervene in the selection of electors, who ultimately cast the votes that secure a candidate’s victory.
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Assistant Director for Cybersecurity for the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Bryan Ware bas been fired. Looks like Trump wants to leave our Infrastructure wide open for attackhttps://t.co/fk5GyXbkFp
— Olga Lautman (@OlgaNYC1211) November 12, 2020
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Florida Gov DeSantis has drafted a law that would allow citizens to kill looters in an expansion of the state's "Stand Your Ground" law. The law would allow armed citizens to shoot suspected looters or anyone engaged in “criminal mischief” to businesses.https://t.co/FX8xSQS8Rp
— SmartDissent.com (@smartdissent) November 13, 2020
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Please cancel these in-person dinners, @SpeakerPelosi & @kevinomccarthy to keep everyone safe from #covid19 - yourselves, your new members, servers, the Capitol police and all of their families and contacts. And, to show public health leadership. https://t.co/HC1AOYYBgp
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) November 13, 2020
And lo and behold, the dinner was cancelled.
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Shalala loses — and other 2020 election results that will have big implications for health and science
https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/03/2020-results-health-science-policy/
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How might a mask mandate play out? Look to the battle over seat belt laws https://t.co/YFieXbwtCq
— STAT (@statnews) November 14, 2020
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#Breaking: DACA recipients win AGAIN. Court rules in our Batalla case that Chad Wolf was not lawfully appointed and his memo gutting #DACA is invalid. More details soon. But say it loud: #HomeIsHere
— Karen Tumlin (@KarenTumlin) November 14, 2020
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I do not understand why Senate Republicans chose to share positive cases only with members of their own party, putting staff and other senators at risk. We must put aside our differences and look out for our neighbors. At the end of the day, we‘re all Minnesotans.
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) November 14, 2020
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2 died of Ebola: They said Obama should resign.
— Andrea Junker ® (@Strandjunker) November 13, 2020
4 died in Benghazi: They had Hillary testify for 11 hours, held 33 hearings, and launched a multiyear probe.
248,585 died thanks to Trump’s malevolence: They cheer him on, and deny the reality that he lost to Biden by a landslide.
Feel good du jour:
Grandson of Nazi who took over Jewish store tracks down owner's descendants to apologize - CNN
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Why this Virginia man spent days making an Alzheimer’s ‘busy box’ for a stranger
https://www.washingtonpost.
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Further Baby Beaker nonsense.#WaybackWednesday
— Bunsen and Beaker (@bunsenbernerbmd) November 12, 2020
But some fun science- the beard on a Berner is thought to be a selective trait to protect their neck from predators high in the mountains.
It does protect against little piranha sharks.#dogs pic.twitter.com/4nNKz5UQdb
Comic relief:
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Perspective/Poem
By coincidence: exactly 6 years ago today, as Vice President of the USA, Joe Biden sent this note to his staff.
— dan barker (@danbarker) November 7, 2020
I presume in the background, thoughts of his first wife & daughter who died long ago; or his son, who died of cancer just a few months after this note.
Worth reading. pic.twitter.com/UwBbJ8A73i
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For what it's worth, canceling our Thanksgiving celebrations to prevent the spread of COVID gives us a great opportunity to talk to our kids about how entering someone else's home to intentionally spread a deadly disease is foundational to the holiday in the first place.
— hodel in the streets, chava in the sheets (@mrotzie) November 12, 2020
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https://twitter.com/kittiebabiee/status/1326713223106727937?s=20
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How privileged is your life where wearing a mask is the most oppressed you’ve ever felt?
— Good Trouble (@JLBarrow) November 13, 2020
Bits of beauty:

