27 thoughts on “C-19 Chat Post – May 6 2020”

      1. What if you are on a very bad blind date or setup and you want to get out…FAST!?!? 😉

        My hope is that COVID vaccine becomes reality come September and we can go back completely to “pre-March” times. I am looking forward to rolling up my sleeves at my CVS Pharmacy for the COVID and my regular influenza shot come fall.

  1. Agree with JP Dave. Not good. Test positivity is atrocious. Number of tests is totally inadequate. Increase in ICU patients.

    As a whole, a `bright’ spot is that numbers of new cases across the nation are not in the >30k territory. But, that’s not much of a consolation.

    I will say this, though, 5 out of 6 New England states are more or less winning the battle. Add Connecticut to the mix. And, that’s a major accomplishment, given the proximity to New York.

    But, the U.S. is like a ship with no rudder, hoping it’s headed in the right direction. But, hope doesn’t get you to the promised land. Hope is not what defeats this virus. And, I’m sorry if I offend some people, but Jesus is not the vaccine. My impression of Jesus is that he would agree and find it bizarre that some viewed him as a cure or prophylactic. If he had understood pathogens he’d probably be a strong public health advocate.

    More than any country I’ve analyzed with respect to the novel coronavirus, the U.S. is beset by incoherence, lack of planning and preparation, inconsistent and sometimes erratic decision-making, haphazard and patchwork `solutions,’ and sheer incompetence. This is not just at the federal level. There are some governors who have been grossly negligent, or making whimsical rather than evidence-based decisions.

    In New England, we’re lucky to have the likes of Lamont, Raimundo, Scott, Baker, Sununu, and Mills. I’d much rather have this crew than Kemp, DeSantis, Abbott, Justice, and several others.

    1. Unfortunately this nation got off to a bad start from the very beginning in dealing with this pandemic. Even with respect to face masks. I remember at the start, all of the medical community insisting to us via the media “Healthy people should NOT wear masks!!!” Of course, weeks later they reversed itself. Perhaps far fewer infections?

      1. Joshua, what are your thoughts of this potential “miracle” vaccine coming in September?

      2. When I started looking for masks it was January 3 according to my amazon search history. You could not find them anywhere and I tried everywhere. I always thought the advice to not wear masks was so our first responders could have what few there were. Even baker says medical grade masks should be reserved for our front line. And they should

        As an after thought, the blame since shutting down for trump is justified. However, I would bet my bottom dollar Obama would not have shut us down earlier. I recall being really irritated with Obama because he didn’t react to Ebola. He got lucky. It was not as contagious.

  2. Philip, I’m hoping the Oxford University/Astra Zeneca collaboration on a vaccine works. And, I so echo your hopes that we can return to at least a near normal.

    I’m really saddened by all the deaths. I believe many were preventable. Certainly not all. But, our policy failed massively, as did certain other countries. We must face this with humility. I admire governments that admit mistakes and then learn from them. President Macron’s address to the nation was so refreshing. He said “the French government – and I am responsible for its actions – made mistakes, especially in preparation … we must learn from these.” The difference between Macron and Trump is that Macron is self-confident. The irony is that humility is a display of self-confidence, while bragging, boasting, and bluster are often signs of insecurity, especially when they’re not called for. It’s one thing to brag and boast like Reggie Jackson did in the 1970s when he hit a homerun, or Ali for that matter. It’s another to stare failure in the face and say it was a “great success.”

    1. I was just reasinf macrons comments and will share eventually. Your comments are true

  3. Tweet From Dr. Scott Gottleib
    Ten days after covid19 infections peaked in Italy, Spain, and China; each nation showed declines in daily new cases. In U.S., ten days after infections peaked, we’ve showed few declines. Peak U.S. cases was 48,000 on April 26th. Since April 1st, average new cases are about 29,000

    1. Saw that. Thanks for reminding me, JJ. I know Scott Gottlieb personally. He and I did a session together at a conference. He’s very intelligent, but can explain things well to laypeople. As you know, he was Trump’s first FDA Commissioner. Dr. Hahn is now in charge.

      The plateau Gottlieb is referring to has been going on all of April. I have detected a slight decline in recent days. It’s not much of a decline, but enough to make me skeptical of the dire warnings of 200k new cases/day by the end of the month. I do not believe that will happen. Rather, I see a very slow decline in new cases, along with deaths decreasing to an average of 1,000/day by the end of the month. Then step-wise drops in June and July, to say, 600/day, and then 400/day.

      While a number of states have been too `bold’ in reopening early and without first seeing a real decline in cases, many states, I believe, are not taking such an approach. Reopening of any kind entails risks. We should all keep an eye on Europe to see how that goes. But, I’m not against some kind of gradual reopening in states that have seen steady declines in new cases. Your state is in that category, Rhode Island, too. Vermont, NH, and Maine, as well. Unfortunately, my state of Massachusetts is not ready at all. Nor is Texas, in my view (and it is reopening). Nor was Georgia (it reopened). Florida is a big question mark. It’s done well in spite of weird leadership. It could reopen gradually, but I’m concerned about its elderly population.

    1. But that is only “if” he notices a consistent decline in cases if I understand correctly. Baker is not going to follow the path of reopening just for the sake of “reopening” like his fellow governors.

      I find it very troubling that this president is willing to get the economy going no matter how many deaths occur. I really believe he will literally ignore the casualty #s from now on. Kind of like Nero fiddling while Rome burned.

  4. I also heard on the evening news that now children are developing a new form of corona virus. This disease may very well be getting even more out of control. Up until now it appeared at least children were relatively safe. They may very well have lost what little “immunity” they may have had.

      1. Similar to Kawasaki. Enough is enough already within this and killer wasps and a new tick disease. My guess is we either get our act together or there will be more.

  5. New Covid cases and hospitalizations continue to be in a freefall here in CT….

    -55 fewer hospitalizations today
    -Hospitalizations have now decreased 13 out of the last 14 days
    -Only 374 new cases in the State today, fewest I have seen in a long time

    Very good news and encouraged by the great progress being made throughout all the northeast US States. MA is lagging a bit but will get there…

    1. MA is such a hotspot thanks to that stupid Biogen conference back in February. That Cambridge company needs to be held just as responsible for spreading as much as China AFAIC.

      I’d I heard correctly this evening, 100,000 deaths expected by the end of the month. I hope those states that are reopening now are proud of themselves.

Comments are closed.