You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.
and please wipe your ass.
ReplyDeleteWhy contain it? Here's hoping this virus kicks the legs out from under this whole rotten system! China has been shut down for over a month now, it can't go on forever.
ReplyDeleteSwine flu, bird flu, zika, ebola. History repeats. History also indicates our media and political systems acted hysterically in each case. Microphones and television cameras are more dangerous than Chinese bat shit viruses. Meanwhile, 12,000 have died from two strains of influenza this year.
ReplyDeleteCoronavirus and Ebola are different cases. Coronavirus has similar consequences as the influenza. similar mortality effecting the elderly and people with other conditions. Ebola can have a 100% mortality, then slowly becomes less deadly but an Ebola outbreak is truly a deadly affair. This latest is just another example of over blowing something that needs rational scientific approach. It is sad that the news media , who should be a purveyor of good judgment, has become a purveyor of anything sensational. It just undermines their credibility.
ReplyDeleteI think the people who are saying "it's just the flu" (@6:42, @6:43) really don't understand what's going on, or haven't really looked into what's happening in China, Italy, Iran, etc. This thing seems to be FAR more infectious than the flu, with similar (if not higher) lethality. The rate of infection (an R0 of somewhere from 2.8-4.0+) is way, way higher than influenza, even the Spanish Flu. What happens in that case is that, if it gets a head of steam, the number of severely ill will swamp medical facilities, and people will not get the correct care, and many will die.
ReplyDeleteChina has chosen to control this high rate of infection with draconian quarantines. And it seems to be working for the time being, but we can't shut in hundreds of millions of people to keep the R0 down forever. This is going to have massive impacts to the world economy.
Just look at what governments are doing. It wasn't "media hype" that caused China to lock down entire cities. It was swamped medical facilities and piles of body bags.
I’m glad to see opinions about the role our, now devious, news media plays in creating panic in the population. It seems, on this matter and others, the WORST POSSIBLE image of situations is desired. The old adage “If it bleeds, it leads,” remains relevant. This time, the media is mostly responsible for scaring investors away from their growth savings accounts. Too bad.
ReplyDeleteThis, too, will pass. It will be managed and brought under control by the best medical professionals on Earth. America, in particular, is in better position to handle this problem than most other nations. More will become infected, yes.
7:27- Let’s not discount the average living conditions in China. Many people crammed into small spaces. Personal hygiene at much lower levels than here. A failing Communist state running out of money. Population control through laws. An oppressive government that hides away its serious problems from view.
ReplyDeleteAccording to ABC News, the flu has killed nearly 16,000 (in the USA), yet Coronavirus, which has killed approximately 3,000 worldwide is creating a panic. Sorry, folks, but I think the panic is misplaced. That being said, I don't trust China and think the country is the armpit of the world.
ReplyDelete@8:31 it killed nearly 3,000 in month and a half in a single province in China...amd that's if you buy the official numbers. There have been videos of nurses breaking down in exhaustion and despair, bodybags piled in waiting rooms, crematoriums being overwhelmed. Look at the rate of infection in Italy, South Korea, and on the Diamond Princess. The spread in Hubei has been curtailed by a lockdown, but as 7:27 said that can't last forever.
DeleteIf this is comparable to the flu, why the extreme measures? This is obviously not "just the flu".
The flu and this new virus are all a plot by the Democrat Party and China to destroy America by destroying Donald Trump. Yeah, that's the ticket. Now, if we can just get some of those Ivanka Trump-branded, premium anti-virus drugs from China over here to save all Trump supporters we will be SAVED! Even if Trump loses, the socialist Sanders regime will pay billions of tax dollars to Ivanka to make it happen. See? Problem solved.
ReplyDeleteThis infection had to have been created by them there Russian bots killary was so concerned with with her losing 2016. In reality though it was that same fly that landed on her face after laying it's eggs on all polosi's California shit.
ReplyDelete9:00, It is a virus, like the flu. The symptoms are similar, but it appears to be more contagious than the flu. It also appears to have a higher mortality rate, based on data from China. The mortality rate in China is 2.3%, while the mortality rate for seasonal flu is very low, around 0.05-0.10%. Whether the data in China is representative of what we should expect here is something I question. This is not bc I consider Chinese medicine inferior but bc the Chinese were caught unawares. I believe the rate is far lower in provinces outside Hubei, where the virus originated. It is far too early and there is far too little data to begin making comparisons to Spanish Flu, although you may be right.
ReplyDeleteHere are links to some informative stories:
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/02/study-72000-covid-19-patients-finds-23-death-rate
https://www.statnews.com/2020/02/25/new-data-from-china-buttress-fears-about-high-coronavirus-fatality-rate-who-expert-says/
https://www.livescience.com/new-coronavirus-compare-with-flu.html
Dems are making it political--Pelosi and Schumer --Bernie you are ashamed of this fact so you delete it typical left wing dem
ReplyDeleteWatching Singapore for the last week. Close to the epicenter. Modern hospitals and health care. No deaths. Few new cases in last several days. Our systems are as good. We're simply much larger and will certainly have cases. Some alarm is a good thing. But panic is not.
ReplyDeleteWhen our "most stable genius" preznit offers numerous inaccuracies in his press conference, it's only reasonable for his leadership to be questioned--especially when his goal seems to be reassuring everyone so that the stock market will benefit. If pointing this out makes it a political issue, then so be it. He chose that path.
ReplyDeleteIsn't the coronavirus more infectious because there is no vaccine for it? I mean, duh? We are vaccinated for other strains of flu, so less people become infectious and therefore the spread is less common.
ReplyDeleteThere will be a vaccine in about a year. The antibodies have already been isolated. But global production will take some time. Even with flu science, we lost 12,000 souls this year. The Singapore example is a good indicator of how systems in place (from ebola and zika) will prevent the widespread disaster some are predicting.
ReplyDeleteDie-verisity is our strength people! Open boarders for all!!! Don't be a bigot.
ReplyDeleteAll this in relatively cooler environments than the returning of summer. We don’t know yet what we don’t know.
ReplyDeleteAll are supposed to wash there hands after going to the bathroom. Most miss the Mark as not knowing were there ass begins and ends, this also goes for penises and vagina's.
ReplyDeleteSimple don't eat food prepared by none other than yourself.
I am deleting comments that attempt political points
ReplyDelete"This should be a public health, issue, not some political game."
ReplyDeleteAmen. We're all in this together. This makes our world seem very small.
I didn't grow up with the "wash your hands before eating" mantra, but I have adopted it as an adult after working around many people and getting sick seasonally for several years in a row. Thanks for reminding us.
ReplyDeleteOutside of the political football BS BOTH sides are making of this - since all FOX News and Trump tweets last night was talk about how much Dems were over reacting and trying to make the President look bad...
ReplyDeleteNobody commenting here on this blog has any authority or understanding of may or may not happen with this virus. It could be over hyped and burn itself out which would be a great outcome no matter what political team you are on. That said, those that ignore or dismiss it, without having some plan or prevention measures in place would be foolish.
The threat, as I see it is our medical system is profit based. When people eventually catch this "Flu", a good % of them will likely NOT go to the doctor to avoid the cost/copay for the visit and simply try to ride it out with Nyquil and Sudafed for a few days, there by spreading it to family, friends and coworkers (because nobody likes taking sick days). As symptoms get worse they'll eventually go to the doctor and potentially the hospital, but will have unavoidably infected others to some degree.
Add in the fact that "non-profit" hospitals are run ruthlessly efficient in terms of capacity (empty beds/rooms don't make money so most modern hospitals have significantly less) these facilities are at a very high risk of being quickly overrun.
Wash your hands, yes, and by all means if you have insurance and can afford the co-pays and your employer provides for sick days, see a doctor.
ReplyDeleteMedicare for all, is now a legit national security issue.
Don Jr. is right, this is a deep sate democratic plot to embarrass his father. The democrat's want millions to die in order to win the election as reported on Fox News. It is shameful.
ReplyDeleteThank god VP Pence has been put on charge of the effort. He will pray to away!