COVID-19/Coronavirus Information and Support Thread (see OP for useful links)

[TexRex]

Mancy? Wasn't Mike?

 

[Danoff]

I'm also well aware that social distance is the only solution.

Well it's a solution. Seems to be the one all of the nations of the world have fallen on. Not sure it's the only solution. It's the one we're apparently going with.

 

[Danoff]

According to data from New York, if you could effectively quarantine everyone over 70 years old, you'd cut the death count to less than half. If you could do it for everyone over 50, you'd cut the death count by 93%.

 

[HenrySwanson]

According to data from New York, if you could effectively quarantine everyone over 70 years old, you'd cut the death count to less than half. If you could do it for everyone over 50, you'd cut the death count by 93%.

Would really like to know why hypertension is a bad prognostic indicator with this. I'm aware it's partly (mostly?) a numbers game since much of the elderly population will have it diagnosed but would be interested as to the other reason

 

[Scaff]

Would really like to know why hypertension is a bad prognostic indicator with this. I'm aware it's partly (mostly?) a numbers game since much of the elderly population will have it diagnosed but would be interested as to the other reason

Breathing difficulties puts extra stress on the heart if you have hypertension (as I do) the combination of both can cause heart failure.

 

[Danoff]

Would really like to know why hypertension is a bad prognostic indicator with this. I'm aware it's partly (mostly?) a numbers game since much of the elderly population will have it diagnosed but would be interested as to the other reason

I wonder how effective it would be to take some of those underlying conditions, identify everyone over 50 with those conditions (presumably those were previously diagnosed conditions), and quarantine only those people. Would it be similarly effective?

I keep looking for ways to narrow the scope of quarantine because the hamfisted version is ruining just about everything.

 

[Scaff]

I wonder how effective it would be to take some of those underlying conditions, identify everyone over 50 with those conditions (presumably those were previously diagnosed conditions), and quarantine only those people. Would it be similarly effective?

I keep looking for ways to narrow the scope of quarantine because the hamfisted version is ruining just about everything.

One problem with that is most people with, for example, Hypertension may not be at an elevated risk if they are taking their meds and BP is in the normal range (assuming no muscle thickening), while the CDC estimate that around 11 million people in the US have undiagnosed hypertension.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6729a2.htm

 

[strela]

Well it's a solution. Seems to be the one all of the nations of the world have fallen on. Not sure it's the only solution. It's the one we're apparently going with.

Well you don't have a vaccine and most important limited number of beds for IC. If you run out of beds what will you do?Yes, right now is the only solution.

 

[01GTP]

UCL study shows that school closures are having little impact on the coronavirus outbreak...

.

Basically closing the schools alone has little impact but with the other practices on limiting the spread of the virus it is effective. As stated the effect is small but it is not negated.
From article

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, welcomed the study but said it did not warrant any change of policy. “The review indicates that school closures are effective as part of a combination of tactics of social distancing and testing. This is the evidence from China, from Hong Kong, and from a modelling study carried out in the UK,” he said.

So carry on with the school closings.

#StayhomeStaysafe

EDIT
Treed like a forest,sorry

 

[Danoff]

Well you don't have a vaccine and most important limited number of beds for IC. If you run out of beds what will you do?Yes, right now is the only solution.

Citation needed.

It is a solution. There is absolutely no reason to think it is the only one.

One problem with that is most people with, for example, Hypertension may not be at an elevated risk if they are taking their meds and BP is in the normal range (assuming no muscle thickening), while the CDC estimate that around 11 million people in the US have undiagnosed hypertension.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6729a2.htm

I'm just playing a statistics game. Undiagnosed hypertension is not what's being correlated with COVID deaths. Diagnosed hypertension is, probably pre diagnosed hypertension, because I find it unlikely that they're diagnosing hypertension for the first time in a COVID patient.

I agree that quarantining only people with diagnosed underlying conditions shown to be correlated with COVID deaths doesn't catch everyone. But it would apparently drastically improve the numbers.

Basically closing the schools alone has little impact but with the other practices on limiting the spread of the virus it is effective. As stated the effect is small but it is not negated.
From article

So carry on with the school closings.

#StayhomeStaysafe

Uh... what are you basing this on? It's effect is small but not negated? The cost is huge! If the effect is small, and the cost is huge... let's stop.

There is some reason to think that the effect really is small too. Like... actual data based on COVID cases. That's not to say it's necessarily sufficient evidence, but it is evidence.

 

[Jezza819]

One problem with that is most people with, for example, Hypertension may not be at an elevated risk if they are taking their meds and BP is in the normal range (assuming no muscle thickening), while the CDC estimate that around 11 million people in the US have undiagnosed hypertension.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6729a2.htm

That's what's happening with me. Mine was only slightly elevated enough to the point that my physician put me on a very low dose of a medication and now my blood pressure is back down in the normal range but I still have to take that medication every day. The other problem with this medication however is the side effect of a dry cough several times per day.

 

[strela]

It is a solution. There is absolutely no reason to think it is the only one.

If a limited number of beds is not a valid reason then I guess there's no reason.

 

[ryzno]

Just need to vent that Georgia’s governor is a complete 🤬 imbecile. He thought it would be a great idea to reopen the state’s beaches, and this is after he claimed of not knowing that COVID-19 can spread without someone showing symptoms. And to think the CDC’s headquarters are located here.

I really wish I was joking.

It's not like it really makes a difference.
The state is on lock down... No one should be on the beach or driving to it.
That said, as a GA native, I've been down there before, not really worth the 4 hour trip from Atlanta IMO.

 

[01GTP]

One problem with that is most people with, for example, Hypertension may not be at an elevated risk if they are taking their meds and BP is in the normal range (assuming no muscle thickening), while the CDC estimate that around 11 million people in the US have undiagnosed hypertension.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6729a2.htm

Found this on those meds some are/may be taking. Theory.......... LINK

A weaker immune system is one reason people with high blood pressure and other health problems are at higher risk for coronavirus. Long-term health conditions and aging weaken your immune system so it's less able to fight off the virus. Nearly two-thirds of people over 60 have high blood pressure.

Another possibility is that the higher risk comes not from high blood pressure itself, but from certain drugs used to treat it -- ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). This is just a theory, since there's no research yet on what impact, if any, these medications might have on COVID-19.

The theory is based on the fact that ACE inhibitors and ARBs raise levels of an enzyme called ACE2 in your body. And to infect cells, the COVID-19 virus must attach itself to ACE2.

While pneumonia is the most common complication of the virus, it can also damage the cardiovascular system. That’s why people with high blood pressure, heart disease, and heart failure are at risk.
Coronavirus can also damage the heart directly, which can be especially risky if your heart is already weakened by the effects of high blood pressure. The virus may cause inflammation of the heart muscle called myocarditis, which makes it harder for the heart to pump.

"It does not make a lot of sense that if somebody is otherwise healthy and young and they have hypertension alone, that they should be at increased risk," says Dr. Mariell Jessup, chief science and medical officer at the American Heart Association.

 

[HenrySwanson]

Breathing difficulties puts extra stress on the heart if you have hypertension (as I do) the combination of both can cause heart failure.

That's definitely plausible, and makes sense when you consider this:

The review in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, published online on March 30, notes a report issued by the Italian Ministry of Health on March 20 showed the most common comorbidities in a cohort of 481 patients who died with COVID-19 were hypertension (74%), diabetes (34%), ischemic cardiopathy (30%), and atrial fibrillation (22%).

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/927952#vp_2 I.e. the top comorbidities all have effects on the cardiovascular system.

Reading up a bit more and it seems there's debate on the role of certain constituents of the RAS (renin angiotensin system), with some scientists having opposing theories, more specifically on the role of anti-hypertensive treatments as brought up here:

Found this on those meds some are/may be taking. Theory.......... LINK

From what I can make out the debate is raging on about if elevated ACE-2 levels are good or bad, with arguments saying that because it is the attachment point for the virus it is bad whereas others saying that because it reduces levels of a substance that causes lung damage it is good.

Whatever the truth, it would be a good idea to separate discussion of ACEI and ARB drugs as suggested by one of the letters cited in the link.

That's what's happening with me. Mine was only slightly elevated enough to the point that my physician put me on a very low dose of a medication and now my blood pressure is back down in the normal range but I still have to take that medication every day. The other problem with this medication however is the side effect of a dry cough several times per day.

I'm guessing you're on an ACEI (something like ramipiril, lisonopril etc).

Probably best to go to the doctor to see if they recommend either carrying on or switching to another class of drug.

 

[Scaff]

That's what's happening with me. Mine was only slightly elevated enough to the point that my physician put me on a very low dose of a medication and now my blood pressure is back down in the normal range but I still have to take that medication every day. The other problem with this medication however is the side effect of a dry cough several times per day.

That's definitely plausible, and makes sense when you consider this:

The review in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, published online on March 30, notes a report issued by the Italian Ministry of Health on March 20 showed the most common comorbidities in a cohort of 481 patients who died with COVID-19 were hypertension (74%), diabetes (34%), ischemic cardiopathy (30%), and atrial fibrillation (22%).

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/927952#vp_2 I.e. the top comorbidities all have effects on the cardiovascular system.

Reading up a bit more and it seems there's debate on the role of certain constituents of the RAS (renin angiotensin system), with some scientists having opposing theories, more specifically on the role of anti-hypertensive treatments as brought up here:


From what I can make out the debate is raging on about if elevated ACE-2 levels are good or bad, with arguments saying that because it is the attachment point for the virus it is bad whereas others saying that because it reduces levels of a substance that causes lung damage it is good.

Whatever the truth, it would be a good idea to separate discussion of ACEI and ARB drugs as suggested by one of the letters cited in the link.


I'm guessing you're on an ACEI (something like ramipiril, lisonopril etc).

Probably best to go to the doctor to see if they recommend either carrying on or switching to another class of drug.

I'm on Ramipril, no dry cough side affect however.

 

[Jezza819]

I'm guessing you're on an ACEI (something like ramipiril, lisonopril etc).

Probably best to go to the doctor to see if they recommend either carrying on or switching to another class of drug.

I'm on Ramipril, no dry cough side affect however.

They first started me on Lisonopril and the cough was much worse plus I had a bad reaction to it that made my tongue swell up and it was very painful so they determined I'm allergic to it. As far as I know it's the only thing I am allergic to.

Now they have me on Norvasc. I've been on it for close to 2 years. The cough just a few times a day and maybe only one or two coughs but nowadays I don't want it misunderstood for something much worse.

 

[Lizard]

I'm on Ramipril, no dry cough side affect however.

Same, although it did kill my kidney function from 95% to 60, but at the same time it can protect your kidneys too my GP said. I will wait to see the specialist to get the full breakdown on what it does. Having polycystic kidneys I was going to see my kidneys fail over time anyway.

Anyway I came here to offer something.

If you want to help beat this more than just isolating then consider running this. https://foldingathome.org/ it's kind of like bitcoin mining but it's running simulations for medical research instead and you don't get paid. @Touring Mars kindly explained how it works in a pm to me.

 

[Danoff]

If a limited number of beds is not a valid reason then I guess there's no reason.

What?

I said it is a solution, not clearly the only solution. I do not say that something you said was not a valid reason.

 

[Joey D]

If a limited number of beds is not a valid reason then I guess there's no reason.

Not every place is experiencing a bed shortage. In Utah, we're projecting to have more than enough beds and ventilators. We can't be the only state that's projecting this either since there's nothing really special about Utah other than we're in the top 5 states in the number of tests per capita. We're not even in a state-mandated lockdown like 41 other states are and many people are still going about their lives.

 

[Boston77]

I swear I am not spreading fake news about pets and Covid in my earlier posts.
I’m just trying to get the information out as quickly to those here as we in the Veterinary world do.

Things change weekly. Sometimes daily.

This is the latest pet news I have.

Again, I sincerely apologize if my earlier posts led people in the wrong direction.

 

[DesertPenguin]

I swear I am not spreading fake news about pets and Covid in my earlier posts.
I’m just trying to get the information out as quickly to those here as we in the Veterinary world do.

Things change weekly. Sometimes daily.

This is the latest pet news I have.

Again, I sincerely apologize if my earlier posts led people in the wrong direction.
View attachment 907269

Tiger King meme is inescapable lol

 

[Joey D]

I swear I am not spreading fake news about pets and Covid in my earlier posts.
I’m just trying to get the information out as quickly to those here as we in the Veterinary world do.

I think most of us get that pretty much everything COVID-19 is rapidly changing. And while I don't have a dog anymore, I certainly appreciate that someone is providing info about pets. I know just by looking at my Facebook feed, there are several people that I know who are worried about their animals. I have to imagine that's the same everywhere.

 

[gnomefromnome]

2018 2019

 

[Joey D]

Here's a great example of why the kick the can method @Danoff keeps talking about is so bad.

Salt Lake County mayor considers extending stay home order to Memorial Day or longer

Right now our current stay at home order is through April 13th, which is probably too soon since the peak will hit April 23rd. However, extending it out to Memorial Day is ridiculous and it's even more ridiculous to think we should extend it even further out. Nevermind that the state does not have a stay home order and other counties and cities have differing ideas of what they should do. So now we are being left in limbo and wondering if the order will be lived on the 13th, the end of May, or whenever the mayor feels like she wants to lift it. Meanwhile, something like 700,000 people are out of work and attempting to live off unemployment in an area that has an extremely high cost for housing and no plan on how to fix it.

It's worth noting that our mayor is actually a mayor for the county, not just the city, so this affects 1.13 million or roughly 1/3 of the state.

 

[FerrariF1GT]

I have to vent about how this pandemic has affected me:

Here in Wisconsin, we have elections today. The GOP legislature, state supreme court, and SCOTUS went against the health and safety of all voters, no matter where they align politically, and ruled that the election had to go on, ballots couldn't be all mail-in, and the deadline for absentee ballots couldn't be extended. Due to the (understandable) lack of poll workers, polling places had to be consolidated. Milwaukee went from about 200 polling places to just five - and that's just Milwaukee. Green Bay has two polling places instead of 30. Appleton has just one. Think the lines aren't long?

Not my photo.

There were some pretty nasty storms in some areas, too.

I live in a rural town, so my case isn't nearly as chaotic (I already voted absentee last week anyway), but, boy, I feel really sorry for all Wisconsinites because their leaders thought it was a good idea to not postpone the elections as other states have in this health crisis. It sucks that people have to choose between staying healthy and their right to vote, and I don't care if they're liberal, conservative, moderate, libertarian, socialist, or whatever. I wouldn't be shocked if cases and deaths spike here in the coming weeks. Hopefully our hospitals are preparing. I can at least respect that (most) people waiting in line are keeping distance and wearing PPE.

 

[Danoff]

I have to vent about how this pandemic has affected me:

Here in Wisconsin, we have elections today. The GOP legislature, state supreme court, and SCOTUS went against the health and safety of all voters, no matter where they align politically, and ruled that the election had to go on, ballots couldn't be all mail-in, and the deadline for absentee ballots couldn't be extended. Due to the (understandable) lack of poll workers, polling places had to be consolidated. Milwaukee went from about 200 polling places to just five - and that's just Milwaukee. Green Bay has two polling places instead of 30. Appleton has just one. Think the lines aren't long?

Not my photo.

There were some pretty nasty storms in some areas, too.

I live in a rural town, so my case isn't nearly as chaotic (I already voted absentee last week anyway), but, boy, I feel really sorry for all Wisconsinites because their leaders thought it was a good idea to not postpone the elections as other states have in this health crisis. It sucks that people have to choose between staying healthy and their right to vote, and I don't care if they're liberal, conservative, moderate, libertarian, socialist, or whatever. I wouldn't be shocked if cases and deaths spike here in the coming weeks. Hopefully our hospitals are preparing. I can at least respect that (most) people waiting in line are keeping distance and wearing PPE.

It's especially ridiculous in light of the fact that other states, like Colorado, are entirely mail-in. And it's wonderful and has no drawbacks.

 

[Jezza819]

Singer John Prine dies from complications of Covid-19

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/07/entertainment/john-prine-singer-songwriter-dead-73/index.html

 

[DesertPenguin]

Singer John Prine dies from complications of Covid-19

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/07/entertainment/john-prine-singer-songwriter-dead-73/index.html

I didn't want to see this happen but I was pretty sure it would. This really sucks...

 

[TexRex]

It's especially ridiculous in light of the fact that other states, like Colorado, are entirely mail-in. And it's wonderful and has no drawbacks.

"Hurr durr, but what about the, uh...er...um, voter fraud?"

There's a push in Texas to permit absentee voting for everyone in light of current events, instead of just the elderly, disabled and/or differently located for whom the option presently exists.