I do think there is something to the people getting frustrated at the long delays for test results and giving up angle. I also think there are probably a lot of people like your buddy who for whatever reason benefits from not knowing. We should have always had some type of mandatory once or twice a month testing for everyone but obviously that was never happening in this country. So I guess we muddle on making semi-educated guesses about what is really happening.
I also think it is hard for me to really care about the trajectory we are on right now. For one thing even if we saw a 50% decline from the second peak that is still really really bad. And I think that is possible but unlikely anyways. Also I am beyond frustrated at the complete haphazard way this whole thing has been handled. The fact testing and reporting is still a giant clusterfuck 6 months in is really really insane. And lastly I think we all know what OFS is going to do.
The lone bright spot is I have spent far less time looking at and analyzing the numbers. Once you accept we are fucked with no end in sight it really lowers my motivation to keep up with the numbers. For those of you who are still at it on the regular I commend you.
It’s that stupid nasal swab test that’s the problem. I have no interest in it, though I think it’s quite possible I was exposed and maybe even had it at the beginning of the pandemic. I had a nagging occasional cough for about 4 weeks starting around the middle of March (I have not been to a grocery store since March 13, with the last ‘high risk’ behavior happening on March 6 knowing that was the last time I would be able to do that specific activity until the pandemic was over). I had a doctor’s appointment on the 16th of March which was the day before everything got really hot. There were obviously no masks and the doctor was saying how ‘freaked out’ everyone was asking him questions about it. We were in the same room for roughly 7 minutes or so and it’s not like he didn’t get close.
After antibody tests became available, a generic letter from my doctor came via email saying that he had been tested for antibodies and was a confirmed COVID-19 ‘victim’. He claimed he had been sick in the middle of February but anchorman.gif since no cases had been confirmed in the state at that time. By the time my next appointment rolled around in the middle of June (the day after what I describe as the beginning of pandemic part 2), they were full on PPE, socially distanced seating, a person in the hallway doing temperature checks, etc. Of course when I went in, the receptionist had her mask on her chin but pulled it up when I entered. They had a giant pump of hand sanitizer each patient had to use. I thought it was odd that it would be dispensed that way since you drop your COVID on the pump for the next victim though hopefully the sanitizer would get it all.
Even knowing what I know, I still would not get the nasal swab since I work from home and rarely have any outside exposure (my wife has never shown any symptoms). The highest risk behavior I had was going to a bank for setting up a bank account for the PPP. I had to go twice. The first time, I was the only one wearing a mask (around April 11) because they couldn’t get them and it was appointment only. The second time about 2 weeks later, everyone was. The only time I think I’ve been inside somewhere in public since then was going to pick up a pizza three weeks ago masked up. There were no customers inside but I had to come back because the order hadn’t even been started due to back up. I loved that but have passed the window of infection.
I’m next due for blood work in February, so I’m sure I’ll get an antibody test then if I have no reason to test in the meantime.
The invasive nature of it is all I was describing. I don’t want something jammed up my nose if I can avoid it. It has nothing to do with the quality of the test.
Sanjay Gupta was talking about it maybe a week ago… That’s what got me thinking about it again.
Yep. I have no hope for meaningful improvement that would change my behavior until late March, at best. We are finding new and improved ways to fuck this up as a country, and we will have to pay for each and every additional degree of fuck up. No point in tracking them too closely. Just assume we’re still fucking up and check in occasionally to see.
My guess is we’ll plateau from open for school just in time for a healthy dose of holiday family gatherings. Yayyy! Throw in some young people making out with strangers on New Year’s, and we’ll really be cooking when Biden hopefully takes over.
This is kind of a weird take. The lone bright spot is that you aren’t obsessing over the numbers anymore, but then you commend people who still are? I think you’re doing the right thing. The number tracking in this thread isn’t productive, for the most part.
The saliva test you’re describing is coming here soon, and pretty sure South Korea has had one they used in airports for arriving travelers since probably mid-April or early-May. The only way Hollywood can truly get back to work properly is if there’s an effective fast test that can be taken easily and without being super invasive. If the NBA makes it through its bubble, and there’s no reason to believe they won’t by now, it provides a lot of the basic infrastructure for how to do risky behavior safely. They’re a partner in the development of the saliva test I’m talking about likely because the players hate having a swab jammed up their noses every single day.
Chinese firm says vaccine ready by the end of the year
A Chinese pharmaceutical company has announced that it is expecting to have a vaccine by the end of the year.
The chairman of Sinopharm, Liu Jingzhen, has told media that one of the company’s Covid-19 vaccine candidates, currently undergoing Phase III clinical trials on humans in the United Arab Emirates, is expected to be on the market by the end of December.
China has workshops in the cities of Beijing and Wuhan that are able to produce 120 million and 100 million doses a year respectively, and the vaccine is expected to be priced under 1,000 yuan ($144; £110) for two doses.
There are some concerns in the mainland at the price, with many on the Sina Weibo social media platform saying that it would be unaffordable to rural Chinese. However, given China is currently reporting no domestic cases, only imports, there is limited concern an outbreak would reach smaller, rural communities.
There are more than 200 vaccine candidates currently in development around the world, and more than 20 are at the stage of being used in human clinical trials.
YMMV but my understanding is they’ve mostly stopped using the brain-tickling swab and it’s just regular Q-tips now. When my house went to get tested 2 weeks ago we were nervous about getting our brains stabbed but you gotta do what you gotta do, so when we got there and a nurse was walking around telling people “It’s not the long swab you saw on the news” it was a huge relief.
