Coronavirus: How dangerous a threat?

[Jagartrott]

Are you talking about Bhakdi, because on Google Scholar, this is what I get:

Citaties	23865	3862
h-index	84	30
i10-index	274	102

Bhakdi S

Professor im Ruhestand - 28.241-mal zitiert - Infektionen - Immunologie

scholar.google.com

 

[Unchained]

‘Karen’ calls 911 after being barred from pet store for not wearing a mask

Aidan Bearpaw, who works at Bones-N-Scones in Palm Springs, recorded the tense encounter on Sunday and posted it to Facebook.

nypost.com

Here a post that explains almost everything for those inside and outside the US trying to really understand what exactly is happening.
This lady has preexisting conditions too numerous to list..but start with obesity and being dropped or slammed on her head,probably as a child,but from her tone there has been some knocking around as an adult.
The place she is trying to patronize is a private business, does business in a place where there is a mask mandate.
The police should not be called for a mental health emergency.
If you listen to her,part of any conclusion you can draw is something is seriously wrong with the school system.
And before any of you get too far..she is not being denied kidney dialysis,or entry for chemotherapy..or even asked not to enter for medication..
This is taking place at a pet store..her rage and misguided civil rights rant is about a pet product..
This is 8 months into a pandemic,210,000 Americans dead..more debilitated and demoralized, but if an immediate Covid reference point is additionally necessary..the President of the United States was rushed by helicopter for emergency treatment at a military hospital..20+ on his staff out w infections..
Pentagon diminished by Covid catastrophe..
But this gal thinks that there are things worth fighting for during this world crisis..
Pet supplies..
This is the definition of petty and selfish

 

[djpbaltimore]

Are you talking about Bhakdi, because on Google Scholar, this is what I get:

Citaties	23865	3862
h-index	84	30
i10-index	274	102

Bhakdi S

Professor im Ruhestand - 28.241-mal zitiert - Infektionen - Immunologie

scholar.google.com

From pubmed.

sucharit bhakdi - Search Results - PubMed

sucharit bhakdi - Search Results - PubMed

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Interesting that your list really shows that his expertise is mostly... bacterial toxins. I said he was a microbiologist. And it matches what I said that most of his work was not high tier. Mostly quantity over quality IMO.

"One has to let Coronaviruses run their course through the population" Bhakdi sentencing millions to die.

The final word on Remdesivir. Some benefit, but not as much as some have hoped for.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1314311898796486656

View: https://twitter.com/GermHunterMD/status/1314311898796486656

 

[Merckx index]

second tier journals like J. Infect Dis, Blood, and J Biol Chem, but that is to be expected of most scientists.

Maybe I've been retired too long, but back in the day, JBC was not second tier, it was one of the best. To take one example, much of Nobel winner Arthur Kornberg's work on DNA synthesis was published there. Somewhat more recently, his son Roger, who also won a NP, published there.

 

[dusty red roads]

Suicide spike in Japan shows mental health toll of COVID-19

The numbers hint at what may be going on around the world as countries grapple with the fallout from mass unemployment and social isolation.

www.japantimes.co.jp

Edit to add:
Also - this article (original source - NYT): https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/10/10/world/coronavirus-europe-resistance-restrictions/

 

[Cookster15]

N

Suicide spike in Japan shows mental health toll of COVID-19

The numbers hint at what may be going on around the world as countries grapple with the fallout from mass unemployment and social isolation.

www.japantimes.co.jp

Edit to add:
Also - this article (original source - NYT): https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/10/10/world/coronavirus-europe-resistance-restrictions/

Not enough emphasis on this IMO. Of course we need to do what we can to restrict spread of this virus until hopefully a vaccine becomes available but too many blindly support lockdowns and ignore or are oblivious to the very real carnage this can cause people whose livelihoods are not provided by insulated government jobs, welfare or are retired.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

N

Not enough emphasis on this IMO. Of course we need to do what we can to restrict spread of this virus until hopefully a vaccine becomes available but too many blindly support lockdowns and ignore or are oblivious to the very real carnage this can cause people whose livelihoods are not provided by insulated government jobs, welfare or are retired.

So, which sector do you, personally, happen to fall into?

 

[Cookster15]

So, which sector do you, personally, happen to fall into?

Nor sure what you mean by “sectors” but I think there needs to be a balance found.

Hard lockdowns are not the answer because it isn’t a sustainable economic strategy and Japan’s suicide spike is but one example why.

On the other hand I don’t favour Sweden’s approach either.

I think it is possible to tweak restrictions to allow economic activity and still restrict spread of the virus.

 

[yaco]

N

Not enough emphasis on this IMO. Of course we need to do what we can to restrict spread of this virus until hopefully a vaccine becomes available but too many blindly support lockdowns and ignore or are oblivious to the very real carnage this can cause people whose livelihoods are not provided by insulated government jobs, welfare or are retired.

The interesting thing is the lockdown in japan has been less severe and for shorter durations then many countries.

 

[Keram]

Europe is heading to carnage IMO. Especially I would mention former Czechoslovakia which handled first wave really well. Czechia is already worst in Europe case per 100 000 and Slovakia seems 2-3 weeks behind them. Czechia last day 8618 cases which is quite a lot for 10,7 million country and Slovakia 1887, but more concerning is that more than 17% tests are positive which is also big jump. Governments try to avoid lock downs and economic damages but I thinks it is unavoidable. Number of hospitalisations is 6x bigger over month in Czechia and trippled in Slovakia. I would mention Orava region in Slovakia were weddings ceremonies were main spreaders. There is 14 days incidency more than 100 per 10 000. In region with 100 000 citizens there is 1065 cases last 14 days. I am both curious and worried about next weeks in this two countries.

 

[movingtarget]

Herd immunity letter signed by fake experts including 'Dr Johnny Bananas'

Open letter calling for new Covid-19 strategy also signed by ‘Cominic Dummings’

www.theguardian.com

 

[Unchained]

I think cookster brings up many interesting points that obviously cross many cultures. I can only speak from my own personal experience..example..in Ensenada,Baja California..there was a @45 bed emergency capacity for Covid intake..beside the patient capacity,the hospital architecture made it difficult if not impossible for cross contamination. The officials made the decision to construct military hospital tents outside for what then was overflow..so it's all pretty basic math..45 family members show up sick..and the 46,47,48,49th sick people are put in tents..getting treatment in a place you have normally mentally reserved for camping or wedding receptions is unnerving for everyone involved..
when you show up w what could be once in a lifetime medical experience and hearing the words " we are full " makes most at a minimum uneasy and more nervous,if that is possible.
we are full is acceptable at a popular restaurant or parking garage but not common at a hospital..
There really is no alternative to lockdowns..If we have bum rushes at multiple hospitals in a region it's terrible..but imagine driving your sick loved one to the hospital for emergency treatment and having them tell you to come back later or wait in your car or sidewalk until space becomes available..that is and was the brutal ugly reality in N Baja and parts of the US..
So I think it's horrible that people have suffered in so many ways from lockdowns..I can't imagine it is worse than seeing people die waiting in line for treatment..our systems could barely handle a trickle in a Covid sick..imagine if we did nothing

 

[dusty red roads]

The interesting thing is the lockdown in japan has been less severe and for shorter durations then many countries.

That's very true. Full lockdown can't happen due to the Japanese constitution. But suicide rates in Japan tend to be comparatively high compared to other countries anyway, so perhaps it doesn't take as much to push some over the edge.

Also some sectors are still dead or very very slow. The travel/hospitality and arts/entertainment industries (which I'm a part of) in particular. Someone I know has a small event company, with no work since March, everything was cancelled and no large events have been allowed until recently (and there's still a number cap. Some gvt support for my friend's company but nothing for her personally, so she's had to take out loans to support herself and kids. Fortunately the gvt is offering zero interest loans for 2 years (and very very low interest after the 2 years). But then there's the stress of having to pay back big loans.... For some Japanese people that's too much of a burden or shame for them to carry (culturally).

There has been government support, but not everyone is eligible or if they've been supporting families that money and/or have high rents that money could go very quickly. In my case hopefully there will be enough little things here and there to get thru the next 2-3 & beyond years! It seems that some work is starting to pick up, but if the numbers go back up again. Tokyo still averaging around 200-250 new cases a day, though many asymptomatic. Seriously ill in hospital still seems to fluctuate between 20-27. We'll see how the latest easing affect those numbers in the coming months. It's also extremely hard to get a test, so the numbers are by no means accurate. But thankfully we have good ingrained mask habits here, there are definitely areas where people seem to pay little attention to masks, and are pretty impervious to Cover, especially party time in some restaurants/bars, and some parts of the population do think it's all been over exaggerated, but in my area everyone's wearing a mask inside shops and on trains, etc.

The new PM seems determined to make the Olympics happen, and is open to having them in more restricted ways. Looking at what's going on in large swaths of the rest of the world there's no way it can happen as it might have pre-covid, of course. A restricted olympics will sink the economy further, but maybe not quite as bad as a cancelled olympics. At any rate, like other countries we can expect more suicides and mental health issues in the coming years as many jobs simply won't come back.

They're now trying to open up the boarders gradually to 'safe' countries (the idea for now is to begin to allow business travelers, students, arts, athletes, etc who have special permission, as well as residents - but no tourists). This will still require a 14 day self-quarantine and negative test taken up to 72 hours beforehand, and being tested on arrival, though they're considering relaxing the self-quarantine for nationals and residents.

Anyway, a few weeks ago they lifted the "recommendation" to stop serving alcohol at 10pm in restaurants and bars, so we'll see if numbers rise again in the coming weeks/months.

 

[roundabout]

Europe is heading to carnage IMO. Especially I would mention former Czechoslovakia which handled first wave really well. Czechia is already worst in Europe case per 100 000 and Slovakia seems 2-3 weeks behind them. Czechia last day 8618 cases which is quite a lot for 10,7 million country and Slovakia 1887, but more concerning is that more than 17% tests are positive which is also big jump. Governments try to avoid lock downs and economic damages but I thinks it is unavoidable. Number of hospitalisations is 6x bigger over month in Czechia and trippled in Slovakia. I would mention Orava region in Slovakia were weddings ceremonies were main spreaders. There is 14 days incidency more than 100 per 10 000. In region with 100 000 citizens there is 1065 cases last 14 days. I am both curious and worried about next weeks in this two countries.

My cynical interpretation of the last couple of months is that the people in charge simply want to maintain their electability and thus want to be seen imposing additional restrictions only when absolutely forced to (and given the seemingly continuing lack of understanding of exponential growth it may even be too late in some places). And of course when the time will come for those restrictions, it will be your average person who will be blamed since he couldn't COVID-proof his life by himself.

 

[Unchained]

My opinion based on me,what I think I am seeing and hearing..as I was trying to point out in my small town..the difference between 45 and 80 or 100 patients is stupendous!! Health crisis on a grand scale. I find the problem with Mexicans and Americans is that the warning message they got about Covid-19 was direct and deadly,not what I think is playing out real world were you just have 2 or 3 times the death for a period and then it has subsided..it was sold as like a nerve gas kind of thing,invisible and ultra deadly..passing by a person,touching a cardboard box or non wiped lunch table or door handle had you doomed..the virus is more subtle about who and how it kills.
I am not one to normally lump "the media" as one thing but..I think we like exciting stories and headlines and it people were more measured about spread and contraction things may..May have been different..I think Americans have got 2 or 3 times the information as lots of other people and 80-90% looks to be in some way,partially or completely wrong..not sure how to fix that..like potato chips..can't take just one..

 

[movingtarget]

My cynical interpretation of the last couple of months is that the people in charge simply want to maintain their electability and thus want to be seen imposing additional restrictions only when absolutely forced to (and given the seemingly continuing lack of understanding of exponential growth it may even be too late in some places). And of course when the time will come for those restrictions, it will be your average person who will be blamed since he couldn't COVID-proof his life by himself.

Obviously politics is playing a massive role to the frustration of the WHO. For some politicians actually catching and surviving Covid has been a wake up call while for others it hasn't changed anything.

 

[movingtarget]

US Covid cases climb as midwestern states report steep increases

Infections also ticking up in north-east as more than 57,000 tested positive for coronavirus on Friday

www.theguardian.com

 

[Oldermanish]

My cynical interpretation of the last couple of months is that the people in charge simply want to maintain their electability and thus want to be seen imposing additional restrictions only when absolutely forced to (and given the seemingly continuing lack of understanding of exponential growth it may even be too late in some places). And of course when the time will come for those restrictions, it will be your average person who will be blamed since he couldn't COVID-proof his life by himself.

A new twist: Trump stated during Fox interview that the WH medical staff claims "he is cured of C19 and can't infect anyone. " (Paraphrase). He emphasized that he is immune and can't get it or give it to anyone.

This will allow him to justify any campaign gatherings and blame further infection, wait for it: on his supporters. Again he's not stressing wearing masks or any other protection. Just when the train went off the rails we seemingly found a cliff for it to dive into. He's past the Bolsanaro territory of willful marginalization of risk for political gain.

 

[Cookster15]

My cynical interpretation of the last couple of months is that the people in charge simply want to maintain their electability and thus want to be seen imposing additional restrictions only when absolutely forced to (and given the seemingly continuing lack of understanding of exponential growth it may even be too late in some places). And of course when the time will come for those restrictions, it will be your average person who will be blamed since he couldn't COVID-proof his life by himself.

You just summarised exactly what is happening in the Australian state of Victoria. Australia did a great job bringing the initial virus surge to heal back in April via lockdowns. But then the state of Victoria screwed up through badly managed quarantine and contact tracing.

There really is no alternative to lockdowns..

Not all "lockdowns" are the same. Every country or in my case state has different restrictions and levels of restrictions. What I am saying is the level of restriction should and must be modified to combat the virus based upon each region's circumstances but still allow room for the private sector economy continue. Bailing out failed businesses and rapidly growing social security and other government stimulus spending isn't economically sustainable. Then there is the very real danger of economic experiments like MMT being employed. That is another subject with the potential to keep me awake at night

 

[Unchained]

Cookster I can't logically disagree.. Community by community thresholds. In Ensenada the math from outside and from within..inside is unacceptable. So from outside you try and downplay, w an absolute number, only 40 more people were at the ER..and the the up play..100% increase.the only real number is one..so 40 doesn't sound big unless that is your family..100% is a dangerous figure,a moral number. If you say..wow a 100% increase!!! And the person looking at the number says 40 to 80..a 40 person increase..what's the big deal? It's only 40 people..you remove the human element,what makes us different( supposedly) we are supposed to give a fck about one another..regardless..
so getting a cheeseburger,car wash or rub and tug at the Robert Craft parlor are all worthy pursuits unless that executing the exchange substantially risks others..I
going for milk..
Routine.
going for milk drunk..high..
More risk
speeding while high and drunk to get the milk..
questionable about how important the milk should have been..
But getting milk is needed from time to time..
same a maxi pads,diapers or tampons,maybe condoms..all purchases or behaviors on a risk scale that have weight..
But tacos and Covid risk, cigarettes..anything from Wal-Mart..it could and should have waited..so I agree all lockdowns are not equal..but chicken wings,and hair care should be obvious products that can wait..but if buying a Payday,Big Gulp or burrito are to die for purchases..you need government lockdown intervention..common sense is out the window..
When Americans have gunfire exchanged over shoepolish and beer,hair mouse..you need definitions of what is essential..
In Mexico,they stopped selling beer for @100 days..asked people violating curfews,what are you buying? ..at the border further restrictions on travel after surveyed travelers said essential travel objectives..included hair cuts,car care products and pizza....
so I really think that the tension is between the wrong groups,sauce
those getting heavily effected by lock downs should be mad at the person travelling unnecessarily for a more delicious chicken wing sauce instead of the officials trying to restrict the absurdity..
If we have learned anything in the US,it's don't assume anything..from Wal Mart parking to people buying a reasonable amount of bathroom paper products..

 

[movingtarget]

Nearly 10,000 mink dead from Covid-19 outbreak at Utah fur farms

State’s veterinarian says coronavirus had mostly affected older mink, ‘wiping out 50% of the breeding colonies’

www.theguardian.com

 

[movingtarget]

Czech Republic goes from model Covid-19 response to brink of second lockdown

Country lauded as success in managing outbreak on verge of new blanket closures

www.theguardian.com

 

[Nomad]

He can have his opinions, but just know that his opinions are not accurate. There is no rule that it takes 5 years to make a safe vaccine. IMO, he is using his position to make inaccurate claims as an 'authority' knowing that most people will take his word as gospel. Again, explain how a specific vaccine can't possibly be effective at immunity, but a distantly related virus can be. That is his stated position and it is totally unsupported by logic and evidence at this stage. But, we will see soon enough about the effectiveness of the vaccine.

As for Hahn and the FDA, the companies making the vaccine are going to be around longer than any one individual. They are not likely to put out something that they think is unsafe and potentially upend their gravy train. I have posted about sketchy regulatory decisions there, but it looks like I was wrong to think that a vaccine would be pushed out too quickly. You complaining about vaccine side effects is rich considering that you have no problem with 60-80% of people in the world getting COVID-19. Just bad faith posturing pure and simple IMO.

You say his opinion is not accurate but there are other scientists who share his viewpoints (more in Europe than here right now). Here's a paper by Bhakdi, John Loannidis & Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg presented in Researchgate:

"A Tribute To The Coronavirus Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) WHISTLEBLOWERS:"

(PDF) A TRIBUTE TO THE CORONA VIRUS COVID-19 (SARS-COV-2) WHISTLE-BLOWERS

PDF | We are at this moment in the middle of the Corona COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic facing a global disaster, which seemingly is caused by a new... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

www.researchgate.net

A lengthy paper with lots of information & graphs.

Also, Dr. Sunetra Gupta of Oxford gave a very interesting interview recently on British television suggesting that the UK pursue a strategy of herd immunity and making facial coverings voluntary.

And I wouldn't be so sure that Hahn is going to be around longer than any one individual. If Trump is reelected maybe it's Hahn who won't be around. Lol. Hahn works for Trump - not the other way around. And there's quite a bit a friction between the two:

Weiterleitungshinweis

If Trumps wants to ram through the FDA a Covid vaccine there's not much stopping him, IMO. Remember he apparently didn't care much anymore for Fauci benching him and bringing on board Atlas who's doing most of press releases now. The "Operation Warp Speed" program is his grand idea of getting a vaccine out to the public as fast as possible. In fact, he has said he would even have the military distribute the vaccine.

And yes I'm concerned about the some of the side-effects discovered so far during the clinicals and so is the NIH:

NIH 'Very Concerned' about Serious Side Effect in Coronavirus Vaccine Trial

The test was halted when a participant suffered spinal cord damage, and U.S. scientists launched an investigation

www.scientificamerican.com

And another interesting article from the NY Times reporting that the testing protocols from Moderna, Pfizer & AstraZeneca to meet the companies benchmark for success would only protect people from the mild form of Covid-19.

Weiterleitungshinweis

 

[Nomad]

Professor Sunetra Gupta, MD, Infectious Disease Epidemiologist & Professor of Theoretical Epidemiology at the University of Oxford:

View: https://youtu.be/waNZOT2ItT0


Suggests the UK should pursue a strategy of herd immunity allowing people under 30 to circulate normally while implementing care in protecting the most vulnerable and better infection control in hospitals. She feels facial coverings should be discretionary and not mandated.

35k views so far and hundreds of positive comments in support.

 

[djpbaltimore]

Maybe I've been retired too long, but back in the day, JBC was not second tier, it was one of the best. To take one example, much of Nobel winner Arthur Kornberg's work on DNA synthesis was published there. Somewhat more recently, his son Roger, who also won a NP, published there.

Times are a changing. JBC has an impact factor of 4.2 now. Both it and J Immunol have seen their stature drop quite a bit over the last 10-15 years. Society based journals are struggling amid newer competition and decreased membership. Personally, I would put first tier journals above 10.0. From an Immunology standpoint, that would include things like J Exp Med (11.7), Nature (42.7), Nature Imm (20.5), Science (41.8), Immunity (21.5), and Cell (38.6). And even within that group you can see a 1 and HC classification there too. The selective top tier limit the number of articles they publish to maintain their high metrics, so second tier is where most people publish (including the majority of my work FWIW) and are respected journals. They are just a lot less well read by your peers. Like with automobiles, some people feel the need to drive BMWs, while others are comfortable in a Subaru, even if they can afford the latter. I rarely read anything below 2.0, which is where I would put 3rd tier. Those publications are resume filler or for people looking for any port in a storm more than anything and are often rife with shoddy peer review.

ETA. It should be noted, that just as some great papers are published in places like JBC, sometimes nuclear grade crapola gets published in the top tier. Mikovits' Science paper below was retracted, but there are others that probably never get caught.

AAAS

science.sciencemag.org

You say his opinion is not accurate but there are other scientists who share his viewpoints (more in Europe than here right now). Here's a paper by Bhakdi, John Loannidis & Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg presented in Researchgate:"A Tribute To The Coronavirus Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) WHISTLEBLOWERS:"

If Trumps wants to ram through the FDA a Covid vaccine there's not much stopping him, IMO. Remember he apparently didn't care much anymore for Fauci benching him and bringing on board Atlas who's doing most of press releases now. The "Operation Warp Speed" program is his grand idea of getting a vaccine out to the public as fast as possible. In fact, he has said he would even have the military distribute the vaccine.

And yes I'm concerned about the some of the side-effects discovered so far during the clinicals and so is the NIH:

Strictly speaking, that isn't a paper by them. It is a paper about them. The first two conclusions they draw are not only clearly wrong, but Plandemic level propaganda. Did COVID-19 write this article in pseudonym?

The new Corona virus is just the harmless, common cold.

The mortality rate is 0.01%, ten times less than influenza.

It is amusing that the cover suggests that vaccines are big moneymakers for Pharma. That is far from the truth. Vaccine and antibiotics are not revenue producers and that is a dilemma for society.

What is stopping Trump is that he needs a company to apply for an EUA by providing hard data. He needs a partner in Pharma to cooperate. And as I suggested before, drug companies have a longer view than the next 3 weeks. A vaccine will be a big PR coup for a company, but everybody (but Moderna) will be around regardless.

That is one vaccine candidate. I don't think we should lump all of them together especially when they are using different platforms. That is how we get only 50% of people saying they will get the vaccine. If you don't want to get one, I doubt that they will be mandatory for the majority of people.