(17 years of informed commentary)
Dr. Andrew G. Weber, a pulmonologist and critical-care specialist affiliated with two Northwell Health facilities on Long Island, said his intensive-care patients with the coronavirus immediately receive 1,500 milligrams of intravenous vitamin C. Identical amounts of the powerful antioxidant are then readministered three or four times a day, he said.I'm not going to mention the product name because those in the know have already emptied the shelves of it around these parts, but there is a product on the market that has close to the 1500mg mentioned in the article. Should you not be able to procure the product there are other things you can do. Oranges, Limes, Lemons and Cranberry juice all have high levels of vitamin C. You can take these items on a regular basis as a way to make it harder for an infection to take hold. This is not just for the current pandemic. The "funny" thing about it is that a lot of the foods that provide this "medicine" are well stocked, even in the most mass hysteria panic buying emptied stores. And just to make sure I'm being responsible about this info. Mayo Clinic says:
For adults, the recommended daily amount for vitamin C is 65 to 90 milligrams (mg) a day, and the upper limit is 2,000 mg a day. Although too much dietary vitamin C is unlikely to be harmful, megadoses of vitamin C supplements might cause: Diarrhea
Nausea
Vomiting
Heartburn
Abdominal cramps
Headache
Insomnia
The researchers noted that this action is likely due to carvacrol, one of the main compounds in oregano oil. While carvacrol was more effective against certain viruses on its own, oregano oil was more effective against respiratory viruses, such as flu viruses.Referenced paper here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3768712/ I'm not saying it's effective against THIS particular virus. I don't know. I do know is when I go out, I put some in my mouth. When I travel, I put some in my mouth. I also consciously remember to nose breath rather than mouth breath because:
Filtering prevents airborne bacteria, viruses, other potentially disease-causing substances from entering the lungs, where they may cause infection. Filtering also eliminates smog and dust particles, which may clog the narrow air passages in the smallest bronchioles.Just a warning though. Oil of Oregano is STRONG. You only need 3 drops max. You will feeeeeel it.
1) The Mean is: 1116 deaths.Variance has gone up 500k. SD has increased by 400 and mean by 300. These increases are within the margin of error. Most of the increases in deaths have come from Italy,Spain and Iran, with ~800,700 and 250 respectively.
The Standard Deviation is: 1262
The Margin of Error is: 420.5
Variance: 1,592,094
Local governments and politicians are inflicting massive harm and disruption with little evidence to support their draconian edicts. Every local government is in a mimetic race to one-up each other in authoritarian city ordinances to show us who has more “abundance of caution”. Politicians are competing, not on more evidence or more COVID-19 cures but more caution. As unemployment rises and families feel unbearably burdened already, they feel pressure to “fix” the situation they created with even more radical and “creative” policy solutions. This only creates more problems and an even larger snowball effect. The first place to start is to stop killing the patient and focus on what works.Yes sir. The responses have been "virtue signaling" writ large. [update] I wake up this morning to the article being pulled by Medium. Allegedly there are serious errors in the paper. I can't check because I didn't download the original (which goes back to my criticism of media changing and removing items from the internet). But I wanted to draw the reader's attention to one of the critiques:
1% of cases will be severeFollowed by:
~1% of percent of everyone who is tested for COVID-19 with the US will have a severe case [my underlines]The accompanying chart is headlined:
Coronavirus [COVID1-19]: The Severity of diagnosed cases in ChinaSince we cannot go back to the original article to get how the author got his 1% we don't know if that claim is supported by later data or extrapolation from current available data. However; as it stands, this particular critique is unfounded. Right on it's face. In my post about the math I gave the mean, sd, me and variance for the numbers as on that day. I showed that mathematically, China and Italy were/are statistical outliers. We should pay attention to them, but it is unlikely they will be the example of what to expect world wide. I put the variance on there so that the reader can know how bad it *could* get. Those numbers were for deaths rather than "severe cases" which is in dispute here. Per my "math" post, the US death rate is 1.5%. Not the 2.3% seen in China. Could it go up? variance says yes. Will it go up? Nobody knows. But here's the rub as I've pointed out earlier. If there are far more undiagnosed cases of Wuhan than we known (the known unknowns) then the actual case numbers skyrockets and the percentage of those with severe cases shrinks dramatically. Anyway it's too bad that the piece is unavailable. Now you can't read it. Now you can't follow the links in it to primary sources and you can't engage in the open debate. The gatekeepers have decided for you. For your own benefit of course.
But there are other factors that may have contributed to Italy’s fatality rates, experts say. This includes a high rate of smoking and pollution - the majority of deaths have been in the northern region Lombardy region, which is notorious for poor air quality.Also
But Prof Ricciardi added that Italy’s death rate may also appear high because of how doctors record fatalities. “The way in which we code deaths in our country is very generous in the sense that all the people who die in hospitals with the coronavirus are deemed to be dying of the coronavirus. “On re-evaluation by the National Institute of Health, only 12 per cent of death certificates have shown a direct causality from coronavirus, while 88 per cent of patients who have died have at least one pre-morbidity - many had two or three,” he says.
“It has a high degree of safety and is clearly effective in treatment,” Zhang told reporters on Tuesday. Patients who were given the medicine in Shenzhen turned negative for the virus after a median of four days after becoming positive, compared with a median of 11 days for those who were not treated with the drug, public broadcaster NHK said. In addition, X-rays confirmed improvements in lung condition in about 91% of the patients who were treated with favipiravir, compared to 62% or those without the drug. Fujifilm Toyama Chemical, which developed the drug – also known as Avigan – in 2014, has declined to comment on the claims.
The other thing is that I have thought that this virus, if it has been in circulation AND is as infectious as it seems to be, that it may be like HPV. Human Papiloma Virus is carried by at least half the population in the US. Most people are asymptomatic but do pass it on. A few people get cancers like cervical cancer and oral cancer relatively late in life due to this virus.Now news out of Italy:
ROME - "The vast majority of people infected with Covid-19, between 50 and 75%, are completely asymptomatic but represent a formidable source of contagion". The Professor of Clinical Immunology of the University of Florence Sergio Romagnani writes this at the top of the Tuscany Region, in anticipation of a strong increase in cases also in the Region, on the basis of the study on the inhabitants of Vo 'Euganeo where the 3000 inhabitants of the country are been subjected to swab. The immunologist explains that the data provided by the study carried out on all the inhabitants of Vo 'Euganeo highlight two very important information: "the percentage of infected people, even if asymptomatic, in the population is very high and represents the majority of cases above all, but not only that, among young people; and the isolation of asymptomatics is essential to be able to control the spread of the virus and the severity of the disease ".Screencap in case it disappears:
NORTHFIELD — Atlantic County’s budget is estimated to increase slightly to $216.7 million in 2020, with the amount to be raised by taxes going up less than 1% to $151.6 million, County Executive Dennis Levinson said Tuesday.The June 2019 Budget presentation below,
For the moment, the information is only based on observations made with patients admitted to intensive care. Doctors report “massive doses of NSAIDs” taken especially by young people without comorbidity, suffering from severe forms of the disease.in the list of common NSAIDS:
- ibuprofen (Advil, Antarene, Brufen, Hemagen, Ibupradoll, Intralgis, Nurofen, Nureflex, Spedifen, Spifen, Upfen)So you may want to ease up on the Advil if you use it regularly for reasons other than doctor's orders. If you're on doctors orders, you may want to have a little convo with them.
There are things that are very unlikely to happen that do happen. There are things that are supposed to happen frequently that don't. Most of the time you'll be somewhere in the middle. Don't let either phenomena distract you from the average.
People who contract the novel coronavirus emit high amounts of virus very early on in their infection, according to a new study from Germany that helps to explain the rapid and efficient way in which the virus has spread around the world.Importantly:
The researchers found very high levels of virus emitted from the throat of patients from the earliest point in their illness —when people are generally still going about their daily routines. Viral shedding dropped after day 5 in all but two of the patients, who had more serious illness. The two, who developed early signs of pneumonia, continued to shed high levels of virus from the throat until about day 10 or 11.
Osterholm said the data in the paper confirm what the spread of the disease has been signaling — “early and potentially highly efficient transmission of the virus occurs before clinical symptoms or in conjunction with the very first mild symptoms.”I'm not clear as to what "earliest point" is. Is that a cough that makes you go "hmmmm" but not enough to get you alarmed? Is it a runny nose but no other symptoms? Is it a scratchy throat but nothing else? These are symptoms that many people will go to work (and whatever) while having. If that is the case, before they even get to a point of getting tested for anything they would be highly contagious. It would also mean that if we're depending on "have symptoms, let me get tested" as a means of tracking cases, that's not going to "work". By "work" I mean contain the spread. I'm already on record as saying that the data shows that "infection", "dead" and "hospitalization" should not be automatically linked unless talking about the elderly.
The WHO report and the Chinese study found that those who died were older and had preexisting conditions such as cardiovascular disease, uncontrolled diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic respiratory diseases and cancer."This sentence no longer appears in the linked text. Why was it removed? Not only that but the original headline was "ICY Patients with corona virus and pneumonia treated in Wuhan China-The Washington Post." It now reads: "How doctors treat the sickest coronavirus patients". See below:
Authorities earlier said a 31-year-old evacuee from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship was first infected on February 18 while aboard, but later appeared to recover in a hospital in Japan She tested negative on March 4 and 6 in the country, before returning to Hong Kong on All Nippon Airways flight NH811 on March 7. On Monday, she was found to be still infected at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam. At a regular press conference, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable diseases branch under the Centre for Health Protection, said the woman had a chronic illness with a weak immune system, and could have been carrying the virus for a prolonged period.So two important things stand out to me about this case: 1) Generally, the people most in danger are those who are already sick and the very elderly. Not that you want to get it, but most people who get it will recover. We'll get back to that. 2) The idea that she was a carrier for quite some time. I have had a long standing (relatively speaking) idea that the virus has been in circulation in the US, particularly major coastal cities with large international populations and points of entry. I believe that it's been in the US since at least December. This based on other readings out of China. I believe a large number of people have been infected, got sick, toughed it out and got better. In their incubation periods they infected other people and, if the above report is to believed, infected people even after they thought they got better. The other thing is that I have thought that this virus, if it has been in circulation AND is as infectious as it seems to be, that it may be like HPV. Human Papiloma Virus is carried by at least half the population in the US. Most people are asymptomatic but do pass it on. A few people get cancers like cervical cancer and oral cancer relatively late in life due to this virus. I saw someone comment that "experts" say that 70 million people in Italy may get infected. That would be half the population and in line with my hypothesis. We shall see. If it IS like HPV in that people walk around with it without any impact on their health then that could be a good thing and will make claims on "x number infected" far less "scary". Now going back to my first point I present a chart from the bottom of the linked article as of this writing:
The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Tuesday in Kansas v. Garcia that federal immigration law does not preempt a state prosecution for identity theft.I had to pause when reading that because: First: Why would a federal law prevent the prosecution of the crime of identity theft? Second: Why is this a split decision?
Ramiro Garcia, Donaldo Morales and Guadalupe Ochoa-Lara were all found to have used someone else’s social security number to qualify employment and/or housing. The state of Kansas utilized the I-9 form to charge the three with the state crime of identity theft. The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) requires that employers verify that new employees are not unauthorized aliens. This process is accomplished through the completion of the federal work-authorization form (I-9). The forms require the employee to provide certain information, such as the employee’s email address, telephone number, birth date and social security number. All three respondents in these cases argued that IRCA preempted their prosecutions. The argument was based on 8 USC §1324a(b)(5), which states that “I–9 forms and ‘any information contained in or appended to such form[s] may not be used for purposes other than for enforcement of’ the INA or other listed federal statutes.”So what does that section say?
(5) Limitation on use of attestation form A form designated or established by the Attorney General under this subsection and any information contained in or appended to such form, may not be used for purposes other than for enforcement of this chapter and sections 1001, 1028, 1546, and 1621 of title 18.And what do the sections in title 18 say? Head of section 1001:Part I. CRIMES Chapter 47. FRAUD AND FALSE STATEMENTS
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully—Head of section 1028:18 U.S. Code § 1028. Fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information
(1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact;
(2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or
(3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry;
(a) Whoever, in a circumstance described in subsection (c) of this section— (1) knowingly and without lawful authority produces an identification document, authentication feature, or a false identification document;Head of Section 1546:18 U.S. Code § 1546. Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents
(2) knowingly transfers an identification document, authentication feature, or a false identification document knowing that such document or feature was stolen or produced without lawful authority;
(3) knowingly possesses with intent to use unlawfully or transfer unlawfully five or more identification documents (other than those issued lawfully for the use of the possessor), authentication features, or false identification documents;
(4) knowingly possesses an identification document (other than one issued lawfully for the use of the possessor), authentication feature, or a false identification document, with the intent such document or feature be used to defraud the United States;
(5) knowingly produces, transfers, or possesses a document-making implement or authentication feature with the intent such document-making implement or authentication feature will be used in the production of a false identification document or another document-making implement or authentication feature which will be so used;
(6) knowingly possesses an identification document or authentication feature that is or appears to be an identification document or authentication feature of the United States or a sponsoring entity of an event designated as a special event of national significance which is stolen or produced without lawful authority knowing that such document or feature was stolen or produced without such authority;
(7) knowingly transfers, possesses, or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, or in connection with, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of Federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable State or local law; or
(8) knowingly traffics in false or actual authentication features for use in false identification documents, document-making implements, or means of identification;
(a) Whoever knowingly forges, counterfeits, alters, or falsely makes any immigrant or nonimmigrant visa, permit, border crossing card, alien registration receipt card, or other document prescribed by statute or regulation for entry into or as evidence of authorized stay or employment in the United States, or utters, uses, attempts to use, possesses, obtains, accepts, or receives any such visa, permit, border crossing card, alien registration receipt card, or other document prescribed by statute or regulation for entry into or as evidence of authorized stay or employment in the United States, knowing it to be forged, counterfeited, altered, or falsely made, or to have been procured by means of any false claim or statement, or to have been otherwise procured by fraud or unlawfully obtained; orHead of section 1621: 18 U.S. Code § 1621. Perjury generally
Whoever— (1) having taken an oath before a competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any case in which a law of the United States authorizes an oath to be administered, that he will testify, declare, depose, or certify truly, or that any written testimony, declaration, deposition, or certificate by him subscribed, is true, willfully and contrary to such oath states or subscribes any material matter which he does not believe to be true; or...So Ramiro Garcia, Donaldo Morales and Guadalupe Ochoa-Lara are essentially admitting to the crime, under which they have run afoul of the above listed codes and their argument is that the state didn't have the right to prosecute them? Hmmm...OK then, why weren't they charged by the feds as soon as the fraud was discovered? If they want to play that game, INS should have arrested them on the spot. That said let's look at the dissent in the decision:
Our precedent demonstrates that IRCA impliedly preempts state laws that trench on Congress’ detailed and delicate design. In Arizona, we invalidated a state law that made it a crime for an unauthorized alien to work. 567 U. S., at 403. In reaching that conclusion, we acknowledged that the Act’s employer-related sections contain an express preemption provision, while the employee-related provi- sions do not. Id., at 406. Even so, the Act’s employee- related provisions retained, through implication, preemp- tive force. Id., at 406–407. Congress, we explained, “made a deliberate choice not to impose criminal penalties on aliens who” merely “seek, or engage in, unauthorized employment.” Id., at 405. The Act puts combating the employment of unauthorized aliens at the forefront of federal immigration policy. Id., at 404. But it also reflects “a considered judgment” not to pursue that goal at all costs. Id., at 405. “Unauthorized workers trying to support their families” usually “pose less danger than al- ien smugglers or aliens who commit a serious crime.” Id., at 396. And they may have “children born in the United States, long ties to the community,” or other attributes that could counsel in favor of prosecutorial restraint. Ibid. We ultimately held in Arizona that the States thus may not make criminal what Congress did not, for any such state law “would interfere with the careful balance struck by Congress with respect to unauthorized employment of aliens.” Id., at 406. Given that “obstacle to the regulatory system Congress chose,” we concluded that the state law at issue conflicted with the federal Act and was therefore preempted. Id., at 406–407. [my underlines]Note that these judges admit that the congress passed laws to purposely keep states from enforcing employment AND immigration law because of the threat those laws imposed on those in the country illegally. These same people lecture us about the "rule of law" and "nobody above the law" who then create "sanctuary states" where they can pre-empt federal enforcement of immigration and employment law at will. A serious country would not only allow the federal government (or national government) to enforce it's immigration and employment laws, it would not prevent it's states, counties, districts, boroughs or whatever from doing the same. And the lawmakers would definitely not purposely try to "not impose criminal penalties" on those who have trespassed AND committed ID theft which no citizen would be able to get away with.
In a 2008 survey performed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, 25 cities were asked for the three largest causes of homelessness in their communities. Mental illness was the third largest cause of homelessness for single adults (mentioned by 48% of cities). For homeless families, mental illness was mentioned by 12% of cities as one of the top 3 causes of homelessness... In addition, half of the mentally ill homeless population in the United States also suffers from substance abuse and dependence (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Minorities, especially African Americans, are over-represented in this group. Some mentally ill people self-medicate using street drugs, which can lead not only to addictions, but also to disease transmission from injection drug use. This combination of mental illness, substance abuse, and poor physical health makes it very difficult for people to obtain employment and residential stability.Mental illness being the third largest cause. I recall watching a Youtube channel where various homeless people were interviewed. A large number of the people had fell into addiction that cost them their jobs and families. This is not the fault of "billionaires". It is why as a rule I don't give money to homeless. I give food or clothes. Another point on addiction and homelessness:
The 100,000 Homes Campaign, a movement of communities working to find permanent homes for 100,000 homeless individuals, conducted a survey of more than 30,100 homeless people across the country. Close to 60 percent of participants had a substance abuse problem. Nearly 14 percent engaged in drugs intravenously, and roughly 20 percent had a drug problem without knowing or admitting it. Alcohol is more common among older generations, whereas drug abuse is more prevalent with young adults. Polydrug use — using two or more drugs in combination — has become more popular among all adults.So we can clearly see that a rather large percentage of the homeless are homeless for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with "billionaires". It is either due to their own behavior (substance abuse) or mental illness they developed or were born with. The next class of people who are homeless are those done in by circumstances beyond their control. For example due to the explosive growth of IT businesses in California, housing costs have skyrocketed and the population of working homeless has ballooned. We're talking teachers and other professionals who in any other area of the country would probably not be homeless. Who drove up the housing prices? Not [usually] billionaires but the millionaires that own the property. Next we have the unexpected medical event. I think this is where Sanders' argument is and will be most potent. I read that a person went to get tested for COVID-19 and received a 3k bill. Should have never happened. The extremely high costs of medical care in the US has to be addressed. Simply throwing more taxpayer money at it is not going to help. I completely understand that it takes a large sum of money to discover new treatments. I understand that medical professionals are often highly paid and that the equipment in use is specialized and "expensive" but these kinds of bills simply shouldn't be possible. These, IMO abusive billing practices are going to get Socialism in the door a lot faster than people think because all of us are going to need medical care in our lifetimes. One of the possible reasons I see for these inflated bills is the health insurance industry. Similar to how it may be the case that guaranteed government student loads are inflating college costs, I think that these hospitals and other entities, knowing that some insurance company is going to pay for the service, regardless of whether the patient can actually pay, drives up costs. What incentives are there to get these bills down to a reasonable amount is there, when the vast majority of patients pay a $50 "fee" and the $3000 comes from AETNA? Who in turn has been guaranteed by the government to have employees pay in x-amount of their wages to their company? How many patients with a 104 degree temp is going to be all: "Well doc, can I get an estimate? Can I get competing quotes from nearby hospitals? Naw, I don't think I want to pay for this pill right here, you just take the blood sample and I'll go get my own Advil." So a lot of Bernie supporters are going to need to be real about the causes of homelessness. It's not a simple billionaires are to blame.