The Coronavirus Response in America - a Rant
Having a difficult time concentrating on writing, much less working to market my novel. I am at high risk of getting a severe case of the Corona virus because my immune system is compromised due to my TRAPS disorder. I know many on here who also are in the same boat as me because of their age or pre-existing health conditions. I am going to put myself in lock down starting today, leaving house only for essentials such as doctor appointments, or picking up prescriptions.
I urge everyone, no matter where you live, to stay home as much as possible. I understand that is impossible for many of us in the USA because not many people have sick leave, and cannot stop working or they will lose their jobs. Nor can many Americans afford to see the doctor even if they have insurance as most of us have high deductible plans (anywhere from $3000 - $14,000) which require us to pay the deductible amount out of pocket before insurance will pay a single cent. I fear that things will soon get out of control here, and we will see a wave of infections, with the worst cases swamping the hospitals, which don't have enough beds or ICU units to handle a major pandemic.
Our federal government has massively failed us, though the Federal Reserve is spending trillions of $$$ to prop up the stock market by extending 0% loans to big banks and other measures. It's unfortunate that we live in a country that does not value human life as much as it values the profits of banks and major corporations. A bill passed in the House of Representatives, which is still not a law yet, to provide sick leave payments for people. The catch is that even if passed by the Senate and signed into law by Trump, it will only cover 20% of American workers. It exempts all the largest corporations (500 employees or more), such as Amazon, Walmart, Apple, etc. from having to offer sick leave to their employees, and exempts most businesses with less than 50 employees, as well. We are already seeing GoFundme sites created to provide funds for workers already unemployed because the businesses that employ them have been forced to close. This is, to be blunt, an obscenity.
People where I live are panic buying to the extent nothing much is left in many supermarkets. Most medicines and all masks are sold out, and many hospitals are running out of them as well. We are not doing mass testing yet, so we have no clear idea how many people have already contracted the virus and are contagious. It seems that testing is available for the wealthy (see, e.g., testing done for rich NBA athletes in Utah, but no one else, but not many other people. The CDC keeps saying there will be 1.9 million tests available soon, but even that in a country of 350 million is a drop in the bucket. We are all in this on our own.
Stay safe. Don't go out of you can avoid it. Don't expect much from the government. All my best to all of you.
Comments
Best wishes and thanks for the rant
And also wishing luck to at least one of our own and the rest of Trader Joes workers in this effort:
Across the country, cities are shutting down. Trader Joe’s needs to provide workers hazard pay starting right now. Crewmembers are terrified, knowing their job is putting them on the frontlines of a global pandemic. It is not enough to receive PTO only after being proven sick.
The company is making money hand-over-fist with lines into the stores daily.
These companies are terrible
But then so is our government.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
I concur
I will be picking up a prescription and (happy dance) my restored older laptop. Other than that we have been isolated for a couple of weeks now. And, most of the few I do encounter are being very cautious.
Stay alert, safe, and sane.
RIP
Stay safe everyone
PSA
I've just heard that here in Illinois they might be calling out the National Guard
after the Tuesday Election
Whether true or not, I haven't heard, whether that means martial law or just
under curfew, again haven't heard
Went to the grocery store earlier today and many shelves were empty
Good luck and stay safe
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
someone had to do it:
LMAO
Well, I would if it wasn't so predictable.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
What may happen if you get sick
A friend sent me this today. He's been a competitive bicycle racer for the last 30 or so years and coaches other racers. The email came in on his "coaches/trainers" email group and it is from someone who picked up COVID-19 racing in another (unspecified) country and was asymptomatic on his return to the USA. I thought this was interesting because it is a report from someone in excellent physical condition, though I don't know if it is a younger person or someone, like my friend, who races in a "masters" class (50/60 y.o.)
Immunity? Don't bet on that.
There have already been reports of people who have had it getting re-infected. There's also concern that people who have been sick are still able to infect others afterwords.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
How are we to know it is safe to go out again?
Will we ever know?
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
When you hear
something like this:
[video:https://youtu.be/Ztu0M6PXp1g]
I don't expect that is going to happen.
I'm serious. Does it end?
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
in his 2nd clip today
John Campbell suggest we do build immunity when truly well for somewhere from a year to a lifetime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOSwYGhmnwo in the first few min of the 16 min clip.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
When does it end?
Sometime in 2021 there will be a vaccine, probably, generally available. Get that vaccine and you are probably as safe to go about your business as you were three months ago. It might need to be incorporated into the formula for annual flu shots, or maybe we all need an extra shot every year, or maybe it will provide multi-year immunity. We don't know yet.
It also ends when you get it and recover. We don't know how long the immunity lasts. Today's John Campbell video touched on the reports that people have re-acquired the disease, speculating that they had it, became asymptomatic, but had not actually recovered, then relapsed. So it does look like it behaves normally and we will be immune for some period of time.
We also don't have any idea how it will mutate. We need a different formula for flu vaccine every year as new strains come into circulation. Will Covid-19 be the same? Or more like measles? We don't know yet.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
Thanks...
I guess I am trying to figure out how long we are going to be confined. Much more than the "two weeks" that we are planning for here in Arizona.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
I suspect
It will be months. Many months.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
He was lucky they tested him
what with the lack of tests available after Trump and CDC refused to use the WHO tests offered them so they could develop their own damn test.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Good point
I didn't find this personal report any more helpful than what's already out there; most begging more questions than they answer. In this case, he went from a (early morning? unstated) bike ride and feeling great to taking his temperature at 11:00 am. Had he been monitoring his temperature since leaving XXX? If not, what prompted him to do so that Monday morning?
So, he sweats it out for two days before going to ER without a mask and thus, risks infecting others. Sounds as if he was checked more for a heart attack than any form of influenza (not even a quick test for A or B). Sent home with no instructions other than to wait for the CD-19 test?
What I found interesting
was that here's a person in great athletic condition and high aerobic function (as a competitive bicycle racer able to race internationally) who was basically "healthy" as far as he knew, enough to go out and do his usual 2 hour training ride, and then 2 hours later is slammed with the fever and feeling quite sick. There are a lot of us who can't claim to be in that condition (not to mention X decades older), so will it be worse for us? Who knows?
I'm not surprised at the varied treatment taking place (or not) in the early days, especially in the USA where we abhor any kind of central planning as creeping socialism. Unless a local or state health department that has a clue and some enforcement power steps in a lot of what happens is probably up to the individual medical facility. As we know, some of those are quite good, and some have been crappified in the search for profits.
We older people are probably being reasonably cautious. The bicycle racer's story might be good for circulation among the younger "I'm in good health and invincible, I don't need no stinkin' medical advice or distancing" crowd.
In any event, take that report for what it is worth. The person who wrote it and those who shared it before I got it were trying to help get the word out that yes, there is actually a serious medical situation and yes, even people in great health and physical condition can be laid low. I don't think the original writer was intending to write a scientific report ready for peer review, but rather was trying to help encourage people s/he knew to take precautions with their health.
We tend to forget that seemingly very healthy
and fit people under age 50 do in fact experience heart attacks and strokes that kill them. And that a range of diseases strike younger healthy and fit people.
Many viruses and other bugs don't respect the otherwise health and fitness of a host. The 1918 influenza pandemic is an example. This corona virus is behaving more like annual influenza A & B; in general younger people contract it, often become very ill, and recover on their own and older people and those with underlying health issues are more likely to require hospitalization and fewer recover. This anecdotal report is additional confirmation of the meager data we've seen so far on this virus.
People under 50 in France are in the ICU
This is not just a disease for the elderly and people who have underlining health problems. It's affecting every age group and there have been deaths in younger people.
But as I mentioned in another essay here it doesn't help that our media has been lying to us and especially for the last 3 years since Trump became president. Now when they turn to the media to find answers they don't know what to believe. Of course they are bashing Trump every chance they get which just clouds their reporting even more.
Lay down with dawgs wake up with lies. You own this media folks as do the democrats for lying about Russia Gate and why your horrible candidate lost the easiest election in history to a game show host.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
lol..prime example of media lies
Seriously LMAO here. Rachel is on the verge of tears because Mueller charged the 13 Russian trolls and was close to saving the country from Russia. Oh boy. But I'm sure Rachel didn't tell her viewers that a judge told Robert to quit saying that they had ties to the Russian government nor will she tell them that they dropped the charges.
Thanks for posting the tweet.
...still laughing...
..still.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Have deaths, absent underlying health issues,
in younger adults been confirmed or is it rumor?
Of course younger adults are being infected. Many experience mild symptoms, some become very ill, and a few have been hospitalized.
Confirmed
If I find the article again I'll link it. There are two countries where that has happened.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
That's pretty scary.
If we didn't live with my mom I wouldn't worry, but she is 73 now and will refuse to go in if she gets infected. She just won't listen to reason. What can we do?
My dad is in ICU now but stable; they tested him Thursday night and no results yet. They are still not allowing visitors.
This shit is bananas.
Best of luck w/the family health issues!
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
I'm so sorry
Good luck.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
More Tidbits
Canada Closes Borders
I wonder how long the exception for US citizens will continue.
India closes Taj Mahal
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
Inheriting the wind
Once the virus spread overwhelms our neglected health Care facilities, the medical staff will have to make heavy use of triage. Thus will the dreaded Death Panels come to America, ushered in by the sycophants of greed normally known as the GOP and their fellow-travelers, the establishment DINOs. Ironic doesn't cover that nor the fact that in January a member of one of those pestilent groups likely will be POTUS.
Spain
is under lock down now. Here's a comment from today's Dr. John Campbell video (YT comments, take it for what it's worth).
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
Here it is:
From Naomi Klein:
What she doesn't add there is how in all instances fear is ramped up by TPTB, iow exploiting that aspect of a genuine crisis. i.e. 9/11 the actual crisis was over before most people knew about it, but still much of the country shut down for a few days and the 9/11 fearmongering went on for years.
Wasting no time
Here's the exact $54 billion bailout plan that airlines are demanding of the US government as coronavirus wreaks havoc on the industry
And the line behind the airlines is forming fast.
That money needs to go to the health care system FIRST
From Chris Hayes' Twitter
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
“ . . . don’t test on discharged patients” Well there’s your
problem right there. Unless the purpose is to spread the disease. Is it any wonder I think our overlords have it in for us?
"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"
Probably from not having enough tests
is my guess.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
If only the US had taken the test kits offered by the
WHO, things might not be so bad. We import nearly everything, but this time we had to have American test kits this time. Grrr
"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"
Rep. Devin Nunes Disagrees
RIP
He’s just working on that herd immunity. What an
a-hole Nunes is.
"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"
Our children and grandchildren
are going to call this period in American history "The Great Culling".
Yep.
"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"
San Francisco Locked Down
San Francisco area residents ordered to stay home
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
Drone footage shows empty roads in Italy
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVG9uX6yz1c]
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone