Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #43

[margarita25]

I think 5 months more of social isolation is just not possible economically.

People need jobs, and in this country their jobs are linked to their health insurance and their ability to fight this horrible illness and remain financially solvent.

How are hospitals going to be able to pay their staff, buy equipment and medications, and provide care if a huge amount of the population does not have insurance paying the hospitals? Same for doctors offices, surgery centers, nursing homes, group care facilities? How long can they go before there just isn't enough money to pay the salaries and buy the supplies?

During the Great Depression, the WPA put able bodied men and women out there building infrastructure, which we all depend on, 90 years later ! But you can't have people on work crews if they have to be 6 feet apart and wear PPE, can we?

This is what really gives me the night terrors

Well one thing is clear: The President wants to open things up as soon as possible imo, emphasizi g that “we need to get back to work”, “our country wasn’t built for this”,
and “we have to open our country again.”

Dr. Fauci, on the subject, talked about pretty much the same thing I was talking about earlier today which is that it has to be done precisely, carefully, or there could be a second wave, moo.

 

[Trudie]

If you find more research about the action of COVID-19 on red blood cells, I'd really be interested in reading about it. It's hard for me to understand how an anti-parasitic could work on a virus, but I am really hoping that it will be found to be a treatment. If it's effective, it's as cheap as water and widely available. I think that a person can buy 5 litres for about $45.00, enough to probably treat a minor village. moo, jmo

But, I need to stop talking about it, lest someone foolishly try to dose themselves and end up going blind. An overdose destroys the retina, so please dear WSers, be prudent and watch for scientific updates. Don't take my word for it.

@musicaljoke
Linking Covid-19 and 'Parasite'

Viruses are microscopic particles and can be compared to parasites since they need to invade a living cell and alter the metabolic machinery of the host cells to keep themselves alive and replicate.

 

[dotr]

Thank you so much for posting this article. Although it is not for a lay person, if you read it carefully you can get a sense of how the virus works in your body. I am particularly interested in the impact of taking ACE Inhibitors on the developments of the viral infection. From this article, it says that "part of the spike can extend and attach to a protein called ACE2 which appears in particular cells in the human airway" and then the virus can then invade the cell.

I asked my doctor by telephone to provide me with a prescription for another blood pressure lowering medication in case I want to go off ACE inhibitors such as lisinopril, and he provided me with another presecription of another medication outside of this class of medicines if I want to change. I did get the new prescription but haven't decided yet if I will go off lipitor and start taking the new medication. Understanding how the virus works and the impact of taking an ACE inhibitor will be part of my decision-making process.

This article is helpful as part of that process.

MOO.

Happy you found the article useful, adding these ones too..FWIW
Antihypertensive treatment with ACEI/ARB of patients with COVID-19 complicated by hypertension
''Antihypertensive treatment with ACEI/ARB of patients with COVID-19 complicated by hypertension''
April 1 2020
What people with heart issues need to know about COVID-19 | AZ Big Media
''The site of action for these drugs also appears to be the means by which COVID-19 enters the human body.

In the statement, experts stress there is no clinical data showing that ACE inhibitors or ARBs have an effect — good or bad — on COVID-19 in people, or in patients with COVID-19 and heart disease.''

Evidence Continues to Link ACE Inhibitors to Severe COVID-19 Symptoms
March 31, 2020

''Why is hypertension appearing to be a primary driver of COVID-19?

The incidence of hypertension is noticeably high in patients with COVID-19 and the high degree of targeting of older individuals is very unusual. A recent study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the Kirkland Nursing home observed: “The most common chronic underlying conditions among facility residents were hypertension (69.1%), cardiac disease (56.8%), renal disease (43.2%), diabetes (37.0%), obesity (33.3%), and pulmonary disease (32.1%).”1

Thus, hypertension may be a primary risk factor and driver of the severe symptoms of COVID-19. The ACE2 Receptor is used by the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) to enter cells. A protease, TMPRSS2, is also required to prime the virus for cellular entry. Data suggests that serum of patients which have recovered from infection blocks this entry mechanism.2

In a recent blog, the director of the National Institutes of Health, Francis S. Collins, stated:“The genomic data of the new coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 show that its spike protein contains some unique adaptations. One of these adaptations provides special ability of this coronavirus to bind to a specific protein on human cells called angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE2).”3

Other researchers have observed that lisinopril and losartan can increase (or upregulate) the ACE2 Receptor mRNA cellular expression by five and three-fold, respectively.4 This has given rise to concerns that these inhibitors may increase ACE2 Receptor cellular surface expression leading to exacerbated viral load in cells.''
Antihypertensive drugs may protect against COVID-19 in heart patients
By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDMar 31 2020

Common drugs used in high blood pressure, heart failure, and diabetic patients with kidney damage, including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), could be protective in patients with COVID-19.

A review of available data and evidence titled, “Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 and Anti-Hypertensives (Angiotensin Receptor Blockers and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors) in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19),” was published in the latest issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.''

 

[Trudie]

Has anyone found info confirming Covid is a parasitic virus?
It seems like CDC might lean in that direction since malaria drugs & now Ivermectin are being tested.

 

[Boston Corbett]

I hadn't expected to be shopping at Dollar Tree for Easter baskets while wearing a home-sewn black mask this Lenten season, but one never knows.

 

[ZoriahNZ]

Aren't all viruses technically parasitic since they need to use the host cells to replicate?

 

[zecats]

Yes thank you. I couldn't figure how to link it without using his FB page. It's so beautiful, I listen to it often.

You Tube freezes for me. Ah - he*ll, he has already been on Ellen and betting he wants the publicity or he wouldn't have made the video.

Here is his page in case you can't listen to YouTube.

Elvis Francois

 

[BUF]

Is this fear mongering? Just wondering what others think. Is it BS because it was reported by CNN? As coronavirus cases grow, hospitals adopt a system to rank patients for treatment - CNN

Why would it be BS because it was reported by CNN?

 

[margarita25]

“"It's something that I witnessed in all of them (the patients). They have, like ... allergy eyes. The white part of the eye is not red. It's more like they have red eye shadow on the outside of their eyes," Earnest said.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology sent an alert to its members Sunday evening that there are reports Covid-19 can lead to conjunctivitis -- which can lead to a reddening of and around the eyes. It warned ophthalmologists to protect their mouth, nose and eyes when seeing patients who could be infected.”

[...]

“Eye issues are not on the list of symptoms being circulated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that stresses a high fever, dry cough and shortness of breath, though the list is not all-inclusive.
Earnest tracked those symptoms, too. But for her and her colleagues at the Life Care Center and admitting doctors at a nearby hospital, the eyes became a sign that coronavirus had struck, she told CNN.
"We've had patients that just had the red eyes as the only symptom that we saw and go to the hospital and pass away," she said.
"I've even had the disaster medical control physician say, 'Do they have the red eyes?' And I will say yes. And he'll say, 'I'll find you a bed.' It's just something about this, the way that it affects these patients."”

Washington coronavirus: Care home nurse tells of sudden ways the virus struck her patients - CNN
Mar 23

• As I mentioned previously, I noticed the eyes in the Wuhan videos. It’s interesting to randomly come across this article I hadn’t seen.

• We also discussed “goggles”as well very early on when I asked why the guy in Wuhan was wearing goggles to go to the grocery store.

 

[jjenny]

Here is a good article explaining the difference between viruses, bacteria and parasites.
"Viruses are different from all other infectious microorganisms because they are the only group of microorganisms that cannot replicate outside of a host cell. Because viruses do not eat food - instead they seize materials and energy from host cells by hijacking cellular machinery - some scientists argue that they are more like complex molecules than living creatures. Viruses are known to infect nearly every type of organism on Earth. Some viruses, called bacteriophages, even infect bacteria."
Introduction to Bacteria, Viruses, Fungi, and Parasites | Microchem Laboratory

 

[epiphany]

Is this fear mongering? Just wondering what others think. Is it BS because it was reported by CNN? As coronavirus cases grow, hospitals adopt a system to rank patients for treatment - CNN

I read this article from the NYT a couple of days ago, and I've been weepy ever since. I burst out into tears seemingly out of the blue. It sent me to a bad place. I'm trying to hold tightly to this piece of the article (BBM):

<snip> The New York chapter of the American College of Physicians, a national organization of internists, wrote to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo last week, asking that he issue an executive order granting doctors immunity from liability for the decisions they make “when the need for allocation of ventilators results in some patients being denied access.”

Mr. Cuomo has repeatedly said he does not want to allow hospitals to ration care. No hospital has yet run out of ventilators, he has said. Some hospitals are experimenting with putting multiple people on one machine.

“There’s no protocol,” Mr. Cuomo said on Tuesday when asked if there would be a triage for patients if critical supplies run out.

Still, state health officials have had discussions with hospital representatives about how to quickly enact new rules if they are needed, according to people familiar with the matter. Two weeks ago, a draft was circulated, although nothing has been implemented.

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Health declined to answer questions about the discussions and instead referred to Mr. Cuomo’s stance that triage should not be necessary. She also pointed to a recent executive order by Mr. Cuomo that would protect doctors from lawsuits in Covid-related cases, but an American College of Physicians representative said on Wednesday that the order did not go far enough.

Patient Has Virus and Serious Cancer. Should Doctors Withhold Ventilator?

 

[Deerrun]

Is this fear mongering? Just wondering what others think. Is it BS because it was reported by CNN? As coronavirus cases grow, hospitals adopt a system to rank patients for treatment - CNN

I'm confused by what you wrote. The truth is not fear mongering, they have been talking about having to make tough decisions for awhile now. They will not have enough equipment to treat everyone that needs it. Do you not like CNN? I am not sure what they have to do with it specifically, other news outlets are reporting on this as well.

 

[Boston Corbett]

430,000 People Have Traveled From China to U.S. Since Coronavirus Surfaced (NYT)

Since Chinese officials disclosed the outbreak of a mysterious pneumonialike illness to international health officials on New Year’s Eve, at least 430,000 people have arrived in the United States on direct flights from China, including nearly 40,000 in the two months after President Trump imposed restrictions on such travel, according to an analysis of data collected in both countries.

The bulk of the passengers, who were of multiple nationalities, arrived in January, at airports in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Newark and Detroit. Thousands of them flew directly from Wuhan, the center of the coronavirus outbreak, as American public health officials were only beginning to assess the risks to the United States.

Flights continued this past week, the data show, with passengers traveling from Beijing to Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, under rules that exempt Americans and some others from the clampdown that took effect on Feb. 2. In all, 279 flights from China have arrived in the United States since then, and screening procedures have been uneven, interviews show. (much more)​

 

[margarita25]

I hadn't expected to be shopping at Dollar Tree for Easter baskets while wearing a home-sewn black mask this Lenten season, but one never knows.

Respectfully:
Essential business? Easter basket shopping?

I really hope people aren’t taking chances and not staying at home to go get Easter baskets.

—-
ETA:

Here is how seriously France’s leader is warning against Easter related activities:

France:

How 160,000 Police In France Are Cracking Down On Errant Easter Travelers

“160,000 police and gendarmes are out on French roads and motorways in force, cracking down on errant Easter holidaymakers. Friday marked the beginning of the usual grand départ in France, when millions of people leave home and head to the coast and countryside.

The start of the two-week festive break is staggered across the country, and unfurls for over a month. Greater Paris–the Île-de-France–and the southern France Occitanie region surrounding Toulouse were the first off the mark this weekend. Others will follow soon.

But “the virus is not on holiday,” warned French prime minister, Édouard Philippe, in a televised address Thursday. This as France enters the third week of its lockdown, now extended until at least mid-April as COVID-19 cases continue to spiral.”

[...]

“New Smartphone App To Control People’s Movement
Castaner says from Monday a new smartphone app will be available on the interior ministry’s website. This will for many replace the mandatory printed document people have to carry with them at all times to justify their reasons to leave home. Travelers can present it to police who then scan a QR code.”

[...]

““We’ll be there when you leave, during the journey and when you arrive,” declared Paris’s police chief, Didier Lallement on BFMTV. “Those who persist in their stupid plans” will be stopped in their tracks he added. Penalties he said will be “extremely severe”.

[...]

“We Are Watching You: Surveillance Stepped Up”

[...]

““You cannot leave to go to a holiday home,” transport minister, Laurent Nuñez, said on RTL Radio. Drone checks will also be stepped up over Easter to curb the traditional exodus he warned. “There will be no leaving for holiday … There will be checks across the country. Considerable numbers of police and gendarmes will be put in place mostly checking on the ground but also from the air.” Those who snub the lockdown rules could face hefty fines, he added. People who blatantly “challenge the restrictions” would be committing a crime.”

[...]

This comes amid rising concerns in France, that despite the extreme coronavirus outbreak, people are slackening off on the lockdown rules. Even though the outbreak is yet to reach its peak. As one headline read today: “Quarantine: Attention Don’t Get Too Relaxed”.”

 

[Yesiamapirate]

I'm calling it BS. I think you're right in the source contributing to fear mongering. Of course this is their opinion of what MAY happen, probably only in places overwhelmed with cases. Obviously different parts of countries and the US have not been hit as hard as NY. I'm an optimist, rather than a pessimist and I can't subscribe to the may be or could be. <modsnip>

MOO only MOO

I agree. And also it’s my opinion that these type decisions re care and end of life etc. are made every day. Not just related to Covid. They just make news now. Not will we have a vent of course, pre Covid you did. But decisions are made every day whether a vent will be helpful or lead to a recovery. Some patients pre Covid were put on a vert long enough for family to come. Knowing it was not going to save them. Now, that is not possible. I hope I make sense.

<modsnip>

 

[dotr]

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/anti-parasitic-drug-kills-covid-19-in-lab-c-955457
April 3 2020
''An anti-parasitic drug available throughout the world has been found to kill COVID-19 in the lab within 48 hours.

A Monash University-led study has shown a single dose of the drug Ivermectin could stop the SARS-CoV-2 virus growing in cell culture.

“We found that even a single dose could essentially remove all viral RNA (effectively removed all genetic material of the virus) by 48 hours and that even at 24 hours there was a really significant reduction in it,” Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute’s Dr Kylie Wagstaff said on Friday.

While it’s not known how Ivermectin works on the virus, the drug likely stops the virus dampening the host cells’ ability to clear it.''

 

[Trudie]

Aren't all viruses technically parasitic since they need to use the host cells to replicate?

Parasites are part of a large group of organisms called eukaryotes. Parasites are different from bacteria or viruses because their cells share many features with human cells including a defined nucleus. Parasites are usually larger than bacteria, although some environmentally resistant forms are nearly as small.
Introduction to Bacteria, Viruses, Fungi, and Parasites | Microchem ...

also:

Viruses are not made out of cells, they can't keep themselves in a stable state, they don't grow, and they can't make their own energy. Even though they definitely replicate and adapt to their environment, viruses are more like androids than real living organisms.
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/cells/viruses/a/are-viruses-dead-or-alive
Are viruses dead or alive? (article) | Cells | Khan Academy

iirc Covid is NOT a living organism, and classified as a virus, right? Is it both a parasite/virus, a combo, if you will? (Rhetorical unless we have a scientist here)

 

[Boston Corbett]

Respectfully:
Essential business? Easter basket shopping?

I really hope people aren’t taking chances and not staying at home to go get Easter baskets.

ETA:

Here is how seriously France’s leader is warning against Easter related activities:
Looking for link

Good points, and my levity should have been tempered with the information that DT provides grocery staples, my main reason for being there. But yo, Easter baskets are right there too.

ETA: no toilet paper there though

 

[Midgie2]

Gotta vent, sorry.
Our daughters in laws (they are in their late 60s, along with 3 adult sons and partners) want them to come over for Easter like usual.
Our daughter is pregnant and due in May. Our grand baby is 2 1/2.
The MIL’s “heart will break if they don’t come over”. *insert sarcasm.
Why can’t people grow up???????

 

[Recidivist]

Good points, and my levity should have been tempered with the information that DT provides grocery staples, my main reason for being there. But yo, Easter baskets are right there too.

Happy Holy Week. I save my baskets year to year, but I still have to get some candy. I do Easter Egg hunt in the back yard. It's always fun, and mmm, candy.