Coronavirus Tidbits #96 11/1/20
Quick links
News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty
Announcements:
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. Now there are opportunities to help w post-election challenges. Don’t know if I can muster the energy for that…
Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don’t be shy about that.
News
One case per second in US yesterday. That's diagnosed cases ~1/5 total infections, of which ~1/200 are fatal.
— Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrTomFrieden) October 30, 2020
Today, every 40 seconds, someone in this country will get a Covid infection that will kill them. Unacceptable. Failure. Together, our country can do so much better.
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Another maskless mega-rally. Trump is spreading Covid and hate-mongering throughout sleepy little towns, this in PA–hours after this study came out:
What are the health consequences of Pres. Trump’s campaign rallies? A Stanford study examined 18 Trump rallies and estimated that just those rallies led to 30,000 Covid infections and 700 deaths. https://sebotero.github.io/papers/COVIDrallies_10_30_2000.pdf
This is also after last week’s sh*t show in Omaha, where fans were left stranded in the cold, with no transportation back to their cars. At least 7 were taken to hospitals for hypothermia.
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California confirms first simultaneous flu and coronavirus infection in one patient https://t.co/n7MeStrb0t pic.twitter.com/MCYjhQkliL
— The Hill (@thehill) October 31, 2020
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meantime Scott Atlas, who supplanted Fauci as Trump’s top pandemic adviser, had given an extensive interview to the Kremlin-controlled propaganda network RT https://t.co/Xlz5BX73H5
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) November 1, 2020
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Smart–and nice to see voting encouraged in some places.
Listen to: VoteMobile Helps California Wildfire Victims And Seniors Cast Their Ballots – https://t.co/iMxrUV9F74
— P Mimi Poinsett MD (@yayayarndiva) November 1, 2020
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The money for this fiasco came out of the @CDCgov budget.
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) October 29, 2020
CDC didn't authorize the spending; it was ordered by HHS to provide $300M for a $265M Make America Feel Good Again advertising campaign.
Where's the other $35M? https://t.co/Mk94mdI9U7
Diagnostics:
still an incredible, negligent lack of testing.
Drugs:
Remdesivir, despite failing in Solidarity trial, received FDA approval without input from outside advisory group. EU cut pricing deal with Gilead without knowing Solidarity data. @kakape and I explain in "The ‘very, very bad look’ of remdesivir" https://t.co/yTKq2A1WQT pic.twitter.com/NhBLum09VG
— Jon Cohen (@sciencecohen) October 28, 2020
Devices:
This is an outstanding graphic that shows it’s all about layers:
— Kai Kupferschmidt (@kakape) October 31, 2020
In masks, layers of fibres capture particles that can carry the virus.
In our behavior, layering masks on top of physical distancing and ventilation decreases everyone’s risk of infection.https://t.co/G6flm9NiHk
Epidemiology/Infection control:
As an epidemiologist, I think a lot about numbers. This week two numbers made a big impact on me: 13 and 9. 13 years of life lost on average for each of the 230,000+ Americans killed by Covid. And 9 people on average grieving for each of those deaths. https://t.co/zeafp46eBd 12/
— Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrTomFrieden) October 30, 2020
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Eighteen Trump campaign rallies "ultimately resulted" in more than 30,000 incremental confirmed COVID-19 cases and "likely led to more than 700 deaths," researchers at Stanford University concluded in a study published yesterday. https://t.co/AnL3GB18LE
— Axios (@axios) October 31, 2020
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Excellent dataviz and explanation of superspreader event:
One problem that #covid19 journalists (formerly known as science journalists) have: We’re supposed to report the news, but really at the moment we need to find new ways of saying the same thing over and over. So, here’s superspreading explained visually https://t.co/xW8OkJsIT7
— Kai Kupferschmidt (@kakape) October 30, 2020
Tips, general reading for public:
StayAtHome
Wash your hands.
Rinse and repeat.
Politics:
Where were Texas state police?https://t.co/z6ImQ3B6Kv
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) November 1, 2020
Good thread by Dr. Eric Cervini:
I flew down to Texas to help with the Biden/Harris bus tour, intended to drum up enthusiasm at polling locations. Instead, I ended up spending the afternoon calling 911. 1/ pic.twitter.com/gKAjv7gv85
— Dr. Eric Cervini (@ericcervini) October 31, 2020
and video
A ‘Trump Train’ ambushed a Biden-Harris campaign bus on the the road between campaign events in Texas — and true to form, Trump tweeted his praise pic.twitter.com/T1bw1AAFcP
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) November 1, 2020
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First the black, white & blue anti-Black Lives Matter flag flew outside of Trump rallies, then on stage, next to the US flag; in Wisconsin last week it replaced the US flag behind Trump; now the American flag, with all its complications, is just gone, & a fascist banner waves. pic.twitter.com/kJC0V06OqY
— Jeff Sharlet (@JeffSharlet) October 29, 2020
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GOP working very hard to suppress the vote:
BREAKING: Because of LAST MINUTE ruling, Minnesota DO NOT put ballots in mail any more.
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) October 29, 2020
In the middle of a pandemic, the Republican Party is doing everything to make it hard for you to vote. Stand up for YOUR rights:
Vote in-person or take mail-in ballot directly to ballot box https://t.co/rPlAwN8K0q
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Challenging >100k votes in Houston…
Republicans are trying to throw out 100,000+ votes cast at drive-in voting centers in Harris County. I went to one yesterday. Voters use the exact same voting equipment that is used in traditional polling places. The only difference is that they’re sitting in their cars. pic.twitter.com/CD6XrUNtsh
— Molly Hensley-Clancy (@mollyhc) October 31, 2020
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Some facts about this Harris County drive thru voting suit:
— Daniel Jacobson (@Dan_F_Jacobson) October 31, 2020
1. The TX Sec of State approved Harris County doing this months ago.
2. It‘s been publicly posted for months that Harris County would have this.
3. The plaintiffs waited until after votes were cast to challenge it.
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Voting booths aboard the International Space Station: 1
— Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) October 26, 2020
Ballot drop boxes for all of Harris County, home of 4.7 million people and the famous Mission Control (aka the Johnson Space Center): 1
Houston, we have a problem. https://t.co/2l5tevyPhe
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Another injustice and voter suppression https://t.co/1xY3GDAJXT
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) October 31, 2020
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We are lost. We've lost so much in so short a time.
— Bruce Springsteen (@springsteen) October 28, 2020
On November 3rd, vote them out.
Hear more: https://t.co/ZacuLReNRu pic.twitter.com/jEbT0wP3Ee
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This is amazing.
— Keith Edwards (@keithedwards) October 29, 2020
We need so much more of this. pic.twitter.com/e7bJL3oC4q
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Sarah Cooper (@sarahcpr) and Helen Mirren take on the Access Hollywood Tape…
— Netflix Is A Joke (@NetflixIsAJoke) October 29, 2020
For the full sketch, watch Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine. Now on Netflix! pic.twitter.com/z6c3s3EDXH
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— Cassie Conklin (@conklin_cassie) October 31, 2020
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Feel good du jour:
Something about voting makes me want to dance! I just do it more awkwardly than literally anyone else in the metro area. Whether you run, jump or dance your way to the polls-just VOTE! pic.twitter.com/XeNAzKeYTg
— Dana Nessel (@dananessel) October 30, 2020
"It lets you think outside the box.” — MacArthur genius award recipient @DrDamienFair on using his grant money to support his wife's maternal & child health work. By @megkesh. https://t.co/RWuoUrksls
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) October 29, 2020
Comic relief:
How to regret pic.twitter.com/M40KLcw6XL
— Sarah Cooper (@sarahcpr) October 26, 2020
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Woman stranded at MAGA rally in Omaha says Trump wanted to teach them a lesson pic.twitter.com/SvqYw5MnOZ
— blaire erskine (@blaireerskine) October 28, 2020
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I think I've shared this before but joy is worth sharinghttps://t.co/Od4EL2FxQS
— Madhu⚕️ Singh, MD (@thinkalot) October 29, 2020
Perspective/Poem
Quarantining With My Holocaust Survivor Grandmother
Thoughtful read by Emily Barasch
https://www.jewishexponent.com/2020/10/29/quarantining-with-my-holocaust-survivor-grandmother/
Bits of beauty:
https://twitter.com/harry_fosters/status/1321948701124890625?s=20
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