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Covid-19 #14 - Are We Done Yet?


Fragile Bird

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16 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

So this image started showing up on the local NextDoor and Facebook channels this week.

https://d3926qxcw0e1bh.cloudfront.net/post_photos/1a/cc/1accd9763f67812e3d1390026c61e1b0.jpeg.max800.jpeg

I am not sure if the posters who use it are serious or not, since I can't imagine a reputable doctor actually prescribing or recommending this cocktail to the general populace.  But the comments sections of threads about Sky Harbor requiring travelers to wear masks, the CDC's guidelines for opening schools, and the governor cautioning the citizens to be cautious are full of it.

Sometimes it seems like the internet has permitted us to travel backwards in time to a pre-literate society where hex marks like the images above possess the power to protect people from ideas they don't like.

I worked with a guy not that long ago who once claimed he went to college to study alchemy, so this is right up that alley.

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1 hour ago, DanteGabriel said:

Like Martha Stewart, every few years you need to beat up a politically inconsequential rich white woman sometimes just to pretend the meritocracy is a real thing.

The real sin of the Lori Loughlin types is wanting to secure privileged seats for their worthless kids at a discount. You normally need to donate over a million bucks to get that treatment, so the deans and Senior Vice Presidents of Groveling for Cash can polish their resumes. Paying tens of thousands to low level minions like athletic coaches is so gauche and Not to Be Countenanced.

Not sure it's at a discount. My dad likely got to go to a top 25 law school because his dad was willing to pay.

That's how you get your name on something with everyone agreeing on how well they've done. 

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16 minutes ago, IheartIheartTesla said:

It looks like Trump's daily regimen, although I am not aware of zithromax (apparently its an antibiotic that prevents pink eye among other things).

So azithromycin (the active in zithromax) has quite a few studies which suggest it can really improve things for COPD sufferers. Amongst other things its been shown to increase the ability of alveolar macrophages to clear cell apoptotic cell debis as well as bacterial infections (even at sub-inhibitory concentrations). So not surprised its being tried out with COVID. But from a quick google looks like all the trials are very limited and / or it isn't really improving outcomes. So yeah, probably rubbish.

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8 hours ago, Wilbur said:

So this image started showing up on the local NextDoor and Facebook channels this week.

https://d3926qxcw0e1bh.cloudfront.net/post_photos/1a/cc/1accd9763f67812e3d1390026c61e1b0.jpeg.max800.jpeg

I am not sure if the posters who use it are serious or not, since I can't imagine a reputable doctor actually prescribing or recommending this cocktail to the general populace.  But the comments sections of threads about Sky Harbor requiring travelers to wear masks, the CDC's guidelines for opening schools, and the governor cautioning the citizens to be cautious are full of it.

Sometimes it seems like the internet has permitted us to travel backwards in time to a pre-literate society where hex marks like the images above possess the power to protect people from ideas they don't like.

 

7 hours ago, Impmk2 said:

So azithromycin (the active in zithromax) has quite a few studies which suggest it can really improve things for COPD sufferers. Amongst other things its been shown to increase the ability of alveolar macrophages to clear cell apoptotic cell debis as well as bacterial infections (even at sub-inhibitory concentrations). So not surprised its being tried out with COVID. But from a quick google looks like all the trials are very limited and / or it isn't really improving outcomes. So yeah, probably rubbish.

Trump stuck his ugly fingers in the topic of treatment research and clouded the waters. Hopefully wiser politicians learn from that. Since Trump mental diarrhea, every scientist and his mother are trying to disprove HCQ as potential treatment, most of the time quite clumsily.

There are in fact very few studies in one way or another that are worth their pages. It is possible we never know thanks to Trump. Maybe we should ask the Indians or similar more reasonable people.

ETA: Yes, @Wilbur that combo has been suggested multiple times. Will we ever know whether it works?

 

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An acquaintance of ours, an oncologist, included us on an email a week or two ago in which he advised that a regimen of aspirin would be a simple and effective treatment for a lot of Covid cases because it seems to primarily attack through inflammation, and because aspirin is already established as cheap, available in volume and safe to most people.  He based this on his years research of chemo treatments.  The email went quite long with some technical explanation.

I thought it was bizarre for any doctor to offer widespread unsolicited medical advice.  It felt like a crank message TBH.

(I don’t know him well but our close friend who is an oncology surgeon, and also included on the email, did confirm that this guy is an oncology research doctor.  But offered no further opinion)

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1 hour ago, Iskaral Pust said:

An acquaintance of ours, an oncologist, included us on an email a week or two ago in which he advised that a regimen of aspirin would be a simple and effective treatment for a lot of Covid cases because it seems to primarily attack through inflammation, and because aspirin is already established as cheap, available in volume and safe to most people.  He based this on his years research of chemo treatments.  The email went quite long with some technical explanation.

I thought it was bizarre for any doctor to offer widespread unsolicited medical advice.  It felt like a crank message TBH.

(I don’t know him well but our close friend who is an oncology surgeon, and also included on the email, did confirm that this guy is an oncology research doctor.  But offered no further opinion)

Maybe it is interesting, maybe it is not. There is truly a dearth of information about what people should/shouldn't do in case they get infected. In particular what they can do to avoid or to try to avoid getting hospitalized. It is all like. if you get covid just call ER in case things get bad. I think it is worrying because people will randomly try whatever they have heard it might help. From smuggled and/or adulterated HCQ (yes, it's a thing) to sauna baths with essential oils.

BTW: Does anybody know the status of ibuprofen here. Middle March it was the worst thing you could do in case of COVID-19. Some days later it was all fine. Still, it seems doctors avoid to prescribe it.

 

 

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20 minutes ago, rotting sea cow said:

 

BTW: Does anybody know the status of ibuprofen here. Middle March it was the worst thing you could do in case of COVID-19. Some days later it was all fine. Still, it seems doctors avoid to prescribe it.

 

 

There is no compelling evidence that ibuprofen worsen COVID19.   But providers are being cautious and avoiding using NSAIDs in COVID19 pts.

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It was interesting listening to a econ professor break down how universities here in the U.S. will change over the next five years, and I am curious if it's the same in other countries.

The Good: Getting into tier 1 schools is going to be a lot easier. And getting into tier 2 schools will be really easy if you've got the grades. Standardized testing for admissions will also get phased out in many places. 

The Bad: The reason why it will be easier than ever to get in is because online learning is going to greatly expand. Maybe it's just me, but I hated online classes, and only took them when I had to. I feel like it robs you so much of the richness of in class debates. Sure you can have them online, be it video or chat, but it's not the same.

The Ugly: He estimated between 500 and 1,000 colleges and universities will close for good. He didn't make it clear though if he was talking about traditional four year institutions or just anything that's post HS. But a quick Google search suggests that regardless, that's a huge percentage. So much rich history could be lost forever. 

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1 hour ago, Tywin et al. said:

...The Ugly: He estimated between 500 and 1,000 colleges and universities will close for good. He didn't make it clear though if he was talking about traditional four year institutions or just anything that's post HS. But a quick Google search suggests that regardless, that's a huge percentage. So much rich history could be lost forever. 

I regret the inevitable loss of some of these schools.  On the other hand, my own impression is that colleges and universities today have a very large percentage of students who probably don't need to be in college.  Given the high cost of a college education, and the fact that a significant number of undergraduate students are either a) not leadership material, b) not academically inclined, c) not serious about their educations, and/or d) just living off their parents for four more years, we may have an oversupply of higher education in the US.

Or perhaps we have a poor allocation of resources, where kids of middle-class parents go to college whether they need it or not, while perhaps more scholastically-inclined poor kids go without.  Anecdotally, two of our neighborhood kids attend UofA down in Tucson, and their parents spend some big bucks to send them.  But the kids are both just plain stupid, barely passing out of the local Catholic high school, and neither one gives a damn about classes, and both are openly contemptuous of the experience in their loud conversations at our regular block parties.  I wouldn't consider hiring them as fresh-outs, and I wouldn't want to do business with any company that does hire them, so what are they doing in school?

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See, stories like this, about 1,000 universities closing, indicate unemployment is going to stay high for a long time. The economy will slow down, profits will slow down, and what’s happening in the stock market is ludicrous. IMO.

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1 minute ago, Rippounet said:

Perhaps I'm slightly taking this bit out of context, but I don't think anyone can seriously believe that.

Yes, it is probably more of the mis-allocation of educational resources.

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6 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

See, stories like this, about 1,000 universities closing, indicate unemployment is going to stay high for a long time. The economy will slow down, profits will slow down, and what’s happening in the stock market is ludicrous. IMO.

Yeah, I'm leaning towards going selling and holding cash before the end of May. There is, at least, another correction coming if not a prolonged slide into recession/depression. The risk is the Fed pumping enough into the market to keep it afloat until things sort out ... But can that realistically go on for a couple years?

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3 minutes ago, Week said:

Yeah, I'm leaning towards going selling and holding cash before the end of May. There is, at least, another correction coming if not a prolonged slide into recession/depression. The risk is the Fed pumping enough into the market to keep it afloat until things sort out ... But can that realistically go on for a couple years?

The summer months should be good for the markets, even if it's all an illusion. I'd dump stocks in the fall. And do so in a Patriot way. 

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15 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

The summer months should be good for the markets, even if it's all an illusion. I'd dump stocks in the fall. And do so in a Patriot way. 

Is the patriotic way to do so after a classified briefing while reassuring the public that all is well? Asking for an elected friend.

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28 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

See, stories like this, about 1,000 universities closing, indicate unemployment is going to stay high for a long time. The economy will slow down, profits will slow down, and what’s happening in the stock market is ludicrous. IMO.

That's what happens when the Feds make sure there is no liquidity issues and purchased almost every investment under sun to keep the economy going.  I'm sure the next step if there is further signs of trouble is for the Feds to announce that they will purchase ETF's that hold corporate stocks (kinda what Japan did in the 1980s).

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3 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said:

Is the patriotic way to do so after a classified briefing while reassuring the public that all is well? Asking for an elected friend.

Patriotic? I said Patriot. Lie. Cheat. Steal. But in this sense it's cutting bait a year early rather than a year late. 

Just don't get punked by Vlad and let him steal your ring. 

Also, do not let your beautiful love be stolen away by some pirates.

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1 minute ago, Tywin et al. said:

Patriotic? I said Patriot. Lie. Cheat. Steal. But in this sense it's cutting bait a year early rather than a year late. 

Just don't get punked by Vlad and let him steal your ring. 

Also, do not let your beautiful love be stolen away by some pirates.

You disrespectful flyover lutefisk-cramming son of a motherless Swede!

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1 minute ago, Gareth said:

That's what happens when the Feds make sure there is no liquidity issues and purchased almost every investment under sun to keep the economy going.  I'm sure the next step if there is further signs of trouble is for the Feds to announce that they will purchase ETF's that hold corporate stocks (kinda what Japan did in the 1980s).

The billions being dropped from the sky by helicopter - sorry, trillions - are giving the markets a boost while people wait for ‘normal’ to return. Normal ain’t returning for a couple of years, and that’s only if there is a vaccine that works. Sure the Fed can buy ETFs, but I see that like King Canute ordering the tide to go back out. It didn’t work for the Japanese stock market and won’t work here. The Japanese stock market never recovered because of the fact too many zombie companies remained standing.

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