***NON-POLITICAL COVID-19 Discussion Thread***

[JakeF]

A couple of reminders...

Originally Posted by Bwana

Once again, don't come in this thread with some kind of political agenda, or you will be shown the door. If you want to go that route, there is a thread about this in DC.

Originally Posted by Dartgod

People, there is a lot of good information in this thread, let's try to keep the petty bickering to a minimum.

We all have varying opinions about the impact of this, the numbers, etc. We will all never agree with each other. But we can all keep it civil.

Thanks!

Click here for the original OP:

Spoiler!

Apparently the CoronaVirus can survive on a inanimate objects, such as door knobs, for 9 days.

California coronavirus case could be first spread within U.S. community, CDC says
By SOUMYA KARLAMANGLA, JACLYN COSGROVE
FEB. 26, 2020 8:04 PM

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating what could be the first case of novel coronavirus in the United States involving a patient in California who neither recently traveled out of the country nor was in contact with someone who did.

“At this time, the patient’s exposure is unknown. It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States,” the CDC said in a statement. “Community spread means spread of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown. It’s also possible, however, that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected.”

The individual is a resident of Solano County and is receiving medical care in Sacramento County, according to the state Department of Public Health.

The CDC said the “case was detected through the U.S. public health system — picked up by astute clinicians.”

Officials at UC Davis Medical Center expanded on what the federal agency might have meant by that in an email sent Wednesday, as reported by the Davis Enterprise newspaper.

The patient arrived at UC Davis Medical Center from another hospital Feb. 19 and “had already been intubated, was on a ventilator, and given droplet protection orders because of an undiagnosed and suspected viral condition,” according to an email sent by UC Davis officials that was obtained by the Davis Enterprise.

The staff at UC Davis requested COVID-19 testing by the CDC, but because the patient didn’t fit the CDC’s existing criteria for the virus, a test wasn’t immediately administered, according to the email. The CDC then ordered the test Sunday, and results were announced Wednesday. Hospital administrators reportedly said in the email that despite these issues, there has been minimal exposure at the hospital because of safety protocols they have in place.

A UC Davis Health spokesperson declined Wednesday evening to share the email with The Times.

Since Feb. 2, more than 8,400 returning travelers from China have entered California, according to the state health department. They have been advised to self-quarantine for 14 days and limit interactions with others as much as possible, officials said.

“This is a new virus, and while we are still learning about it, there is a lot we already know,” Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “We have been anticipating the potential for such a case in the U.S., and given our close familial, social and business relationships with China, it is not unexpected that the first case in the U.S. would be in California.”

It is not clear how the person became infected, but public health workers could not identify any contacts with people who had traveled to China or other areas where the virus is widespread. That raises concern that the virus is spreading in the United States, creating a challenge for public health officials, experts say.

“It’s the first signal that we could be having silent transmission in the community,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. “It probably means there are many more cases out there, and it probably means this individual has infected others, and now it’s a race to try to find out who that person has infected.”

On Tuesday, the CDC offered its most serious warning to date that the United States should expect and prepare for the coronavirus to become a more widespread health issue.

“Ultimately, we expect we will see coronavirus spread in this country,” said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “It’s not so much a question of if, but a question of when.”

According to the CDC’s latest count Wednesday morning, 59 U.S. residents have tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus — 42 of whom are repatriated citizens from a Diamond Princess cruise. That number has grown by two since Messonnier’s last count Tuesday, although the CDC was not immediately available to offer details on the additional cases.

More than 82,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported globally, and more than 2,700 people have died, with the majority in mainland China, the epicenter of the outbreak.

But public health leaders have repeatedly reminded residents that the health risk from the novel coronavirus to the general public remains low.

“While COVID-19 has a high transmission rate, it has a low mortality rate,” the state Department of Public Health said in a statement Wednesday. “From the international data we have, of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, approximately 80% do not exhibit symptoms that would require hospitalization. There have been no confirmed deaths related to COVID-19 in the United States to date.”

CDC officials have also warned that although the virus is likely to spread in U.S. communities, the flu still poses a greater risk.

Gostin said the news of potential silent transmission does not eliminate the possibility of containing the virus in the U.S. and preventing an outbreak.

“There are few enough cases that we should at least try,” he said. “Most of us are not optimistic that that will be successful, but we’re still in the position to try.”

[loochy]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

tens of thousands to spare. You need one?

I hope not.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by TLO

I agree. But they were going on about safety data and the need to wait a couple weeks yesterday. If they've been able to bypass that then great!

If places have the storage capacity, I say start shipping out the vaccine now. Have it ready to start going in arms as soon as approval is given.

They need to have more safety data and then a thorough review of that safety data and Pfizer doesn't have it yet and I don't think any of the other vaccines do either. People aren't going to take it if they can't trust it.

Also I doubt we are ready for the refrigeration aspect of these mRNA vaccines.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

They need to have more safety data and then a thorough review of that safety data and Pfizer doesn't have it and I don't think any of them do. People aren't going to take it if they can't trust it.

Also I doubt we are ready for the refrigeration aspect of these mRNA vaccines.

What safety data are we looking for that they don't have? The trial was with ~44k people (maybe ~22k who got the vaccine assuming they split it in half), and they haven't seen any major safety issues yet.

I know they want a full 2 months of data (and I agree that it's needed before they actually start distributing things), but it's not like there's been a pile of safety issues that they just haven't looked at yet.

[KS Smitty]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

They need to have more safety data and then a thorough review of that safety data and Pfizer doesn't have it yet and I don't think any of the other vaccines do either. People aren't going to take it if they can't trust it.

Also I doubt we are ready for the refrigeration aspect of these mRNA vaccines.

UPS and FEDEX are already retrofitting and adding refrigerated vehicles to their fleets for vaccine distribution. So someone is thinking about this aspect.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by KS Smitty

UPS and FEDEX are already retrofitting and adding refrigerated vehicles to their fleets for vaccine distribution. So someone is thinking about this aspect.

This is one of those situations that I just don't worry about. I can't imagine that Pfizer would have put all this time and money into a vaccine if they thought it would be a huge issue to distribute it.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by DaFace

This is one of those situations that I just don't worry about. I can't imagine that Pfizer would have put all this time and money into a vaccine if they thought it would be a huge issue to distribute it.

Won’t dry ice hit the level of cold temps needed?

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Won’t dry ice hit the level of cold temps needed?

Yeah, believe so. I would think you could just about direct ship it to hospitals on dry ice without too much of a problem as long as you can forecast how many are needed in advance. The biggest questions to me are 1) whether there are concerns with dry ice supplies in general and 2) if there will be issues with hospitals requesting more than they can use in the 10-day period and the having doses go bad.

There are challenges for sure, but I just don't see how they would be insurmountable.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Won’t dry ice hit the level of cold temps needed?

Yes it will.

[R Clark]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Won’t dry ice hit the level of cold temps needed?

I would think so but it doesn’t last long if your in and out of container much ,but that might not be an issue. We have a hard time finding it where I live ,that also may not be an issue in the city.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Yeah, believe so. I would think you could just about direct ship it to hospitals on dry ice without too much of a problem as long as you can forecast how many are needed in advance. The biggest questions to me are 1) whether there are concerns with dry ice supplies in general and 2) if there will be issues with hospitals requesting more than they can use in the 10-day period and the having doses go bad.

There are challenges for sure, but I just don't see how they would be insurmountable.

My close friend owns a few pharmacies and they've already been instructed on how they'll be able to get these storage wise. So it's already in the works.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by DaFace

What safety data are we looking for that they don't have? The trial was with ~44k people (maybe ~22k who got the vaccine assuming they split it in half), and they haven't seen any major safety issues yet.

I know they want a full 2 months of data (and I agree that it's needed before they actually start distributing things), but it's not like there's been a pile of safety issues that they just haven't looked at yet.

Maybe it is me but I think we would need more data than just a month. They also haven't said what age groups they have done but the speculation is they aren't doing children or the elderly yet for example.

[Donger]

Let's science the shit out of this ****ing virus and stomp it into submission.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by KS Smitty

UPS and FEDEX are already retrofitting and adding refrigerated vehicles to their fleets for vaccine distribution. So someone is thinking about this aspect.

Originally Posted by DaFace

Yeah, believe so. I would think you could just about direct ship it to hospitals on dry ice without too much of a problem as long as you can forecast how many are needed in advance. The biggest questions to me are 1) whether there are concerns with dry ice supplies in general and 2) if there will be issues with hospitals requesting more than they can use in the 10-day period and the having doses go bad.

There are challenges for sure, but I just don't see how they would be insurmountable.

If you watch the 60 minutes interview with the general of Warp Speed....yeah it is challenging.

The Johnson and Johnson vaccine will only need to use regular refrigeration and only 1 dose unlike these mRNA vaccines which will require 2 doses 2-4 weeks in between.

[TLO]

The monoclonal antibody announcement kind of came and went without much publicity.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by O.city

It sucks and I'm glad I dont' have to make the decisions, but if we have to close bars and restaurants to keep schools open, well.....

Schools and kids are just too important.

You can't keep schools open if you don't have teachers to teach the kids, just like you can't provide adequate care to the people who are sick if you don't have adequate staff.

MU has been on bed holds for weeks now. The peds hospital is cross training pediatric nurses to be able to cover over at the main hospital due to patient surges and staff shortages.

Columbia just went back to all-virtual through mid-January, and as much as it sucks (and it will cost us around $2,000/month), it's the right decision for the educators. I'm just glad that we can afford to shoulder that financial burden.