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  • Provocative article from a Swiss Immunologist, Beda Stadler who wants to call out the virologists & epidemiologists

    He comes from the reading the data as opposed to models school of thought

    Coronavirus: Why everyone was wrong | Medium | Jul 02 2020

    The immune response to the virus is stronger than everyone thought

    Firstly, it was wrong to claim that this virus was novel.

    Secondly, It was even more wrong to claim that the population would not already have some immunity against this virus.

    Thirdly, it was the crowning of stupidity to claim that someone could have Covid-19 without any symptoms at all or even to pass the disease along without showing any symptoms whatsoever.
    Posted about Ioannidis before..

    A study by John P A Ioannidis of Stanford University — according to the Einstein Foundation in Berlin one of the world’s ten most cited scientists — showed that immunity against Sars-Cov-2, measured in the form of antibodies, is much higher than previously thought.

    Ioannidis is certainly not a conspiracy theorist who just wants to swim against the stream; nontheless he is now being criticised, because the antibody tests used were not extremely precise. With that, his critics admit that they do not have such tests yet.

    And aside, John P A Ioannidis is such a scientific heavy-weight that all German virologists combined are a light-weight in comparison.
    Interview
    Last edited by Double Edge; 17 Jul 20,, 10:01.

    Comment


    • Covid-19: No community spread yet, clarifies Centre

      Yeah, lol. Who are they fooling? 2 days back, in my place, 19 people was found to be Covid-19 positive from the same area, traders mostly. Next day, another 17, from another area. Why do they have to lie when facts say otherwise? Is the government lying so that people don't panic? Don't think so.

      Oh, more -> Almost 1 in 4 Delhiites already Covid-infected: Sero survey
      Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

      Comment




      • Shameful.
        Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

        Comment




        • Illiterates stigmatising people who have Covid-19. It's a damn flu.
          Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

          Comment




          • I had little bodyache some days back. Don't know what happened. Medical collage gave a number where people can message and will be given a Covid-19 test date. Thinking of getting tested just for the fun of it.
            Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

            Comment


            • Coronavirus: Why won't India admit how Covid-19 is spreading?

              Rajesh Kumar, 45, started coughing in early June. Within days, he was running a high fever.

              He didn't get tested for coronavirus. Instead he took anti-fever medication for five days. But the fever persisted, and soon he had difficulty breathing.

              His family asked him to get tested, but he refused. His rationale was that there was no way he could have contracted Covid-19 because he had hardly stepped out of his house in Delhi, and he had not met anybody who had the virus or was even suspected of having it.

              Eight days after the symptoms first appeared, his condition deteriorated. He was rushed to hospital, where he tested positive.

              "I survived, but doctors told me that any more delay in hospitalisation could have cost me my life," he says.

              Mr Kumar hasn't been able to track the source of his infection and is still unsure how he caught it.

              Experts say there are many such cases - proof that "full-blown" community transmission is happening in India.

              But the government refuses to accept that community transmission has begun, saying there is no clear definition of the term, and each country can define it based on local conditions.

              So far, Kerala and West Bengal are the only two states to accept that they have entered this stage.

              But global understanding on the subject is simple: when the source of infection can't be traced in a large number of cases, it's safe to define it as community transmission.

              The WHO's guidelines say the same: "community transmission is evidenced by the inability to relate confirmed cases through chains of transmission for a large number of cases".

              This is certainly happening in India, according to Dr Arvind Kumar, chairman of the Centre for Chest Surgery at Delhi's Sir Gangaram Hospital.

              He says that more and more patients are turning up at hospitals whose source of infection cannot be traced. And, he adds, the rising case numbers support this.
              India has recorded more than 1.2 million cases and nearly 29,000 deaths.

              "These stats don't lie," Dr Kumar says. "You have state after state where infection rates are going up rapidly. There is no point in denying what is right in front of you."

              But the government disagrees. A top doctor from the Indian Medical Association (IMA) recently acknowledged that India was in the community transmission phase, but the IMA retracted the statement two days later, saying it was the doctor's "personal opinion".

              The turnaround baffled many.

              Virologist Dr Shahid Jameel says the government needs to listen to doctors and experts, and acknowledge the evidence.

              There is no denying that the virus is more widespread now than a month ago. More states - such as Andhra Pradesh and Bihar - and more districts beyond dense urban areas are now reporting a surge in cases.

              Many of them were not prepared because they largely relied on quarantining and testing people coming from other states to halt the spread. But they did not take enough steps to curb the spread locally.

              Even the former strategy had gaps, because it's not possible to completely man porous borders between states. And many states also lack the means to track and test each person entering their territory.

              Dr Jameel adds that there was a sense that the virus could be contained within big cities and certain hotspot states, preventing it from reaching other parts of the country.

              "That hasn't happened and now Covid-19 is spreading unchecked," he says.

              The virus is travelling fast, often leaving no trace to establish the chain of transmission.

              Dr Jameel points out that the government's own survey showed that 40% of the respondents who had respiratory illnesses did not know how they got sick.
              "We have enough evidence to accept there is community transmission," he says.

              But experts say this didn't happen overnight. Rather, it happened over several weeks as the government continued to deny it.

              "We had localised community transmission in early stages of the pandemic. But now it's spread across the country, it's there for everybody to see," Dr Kumar says.

              So why is the government so reluctant to accept the obvious?

              Experts say they "can only guess" since the government hasn't said much on the matter, and has not released an official definition of the term to support its stance.
              One reason could be that the government sees accepting the existence of community transmission as a failure of its policies.

              The government can't be blamed for community transmission, argues Dr Jameel, adding that it needs to be more forthright with data and accept what science proves.

              He adds that community transmission is often a possibility with such a highly infectious virus in densely populated countries like India.

              Denials only add more pressure, say experts, and spark an unnecessary debate around the topic.

              And the argument is pointless now, according to leading epidemiologist Dr Lalit Kant, who has worked with the government.

              He says "we have to keep improving our strategy", whether we call it community transmission or not.

              "India is a large country - you may control the virus in one state and then another state will flare up. So, we really don't need a definition to understand the ground reality," he says.

              "It's getting worse, and that is the harsh truth."

              But accepting community transmission may require significant policy changes.

              The WHO says "individual case identification, contact tracing, and quarantining are no longer necessary" in a "large-scale community transmission scenario".

              Instead it advises countries to focus on tracking the geographical spread of the virus through data and deploy healthcare facilities accordingly.

              Dr Kant says it's possible that the government may not want to announce a shift in policy at the moment.

              Possibly because it's taken months for governments - both federal and state - to ramp up testing, and to implement test and trace protocols. The other challenge is that the pandemic is in different stages in different parts of India, which makes it difficult to overhaul the policy altogether.

              "But it still doesn't justify their constant denials. They need to say what their long-term approach is or what their definitions are about community transmission," he adds.

              The public has a right to know, Dr Kant says, and the government should be transparent.
              Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

              Comment


              • Aussies in a bit of trouble. After having controlled this thing pretty well in the earlier months.

                The southern hemisphere is entering winter now : /

                Coronavirus: Victoria declares state of disaster after spike in cases | BBC | Aug 02 2020

                All the measures mentioned have been in force in India.

                The 3,000 Australians who were under police guard at home | BBC | Jul 08 2020

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                Including this one aka containment zone.
                Last edited by Double Edge; 03 Aug 20,, 16:10.

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                • How are India's hotspot cities recovering?

                  1) Low deaths: Kamrup, Bengaluru, Chennai
                  2) High deaths: Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Thane, Pune
                  3) All India CFR = 2.1%

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                  • Corona violations in my city (160k) since ca March:
                    • 600 fines handed out for 250 Euro or more (for "serious violations" - mostly assembling in groups larger than allowed)
                    • 200 fines handed out between 60 and 250 Euro (for "lesser violations" - mostly entering public areas locked down, such as playgrounds)
                    • 150 fines below 60 Euro for minor offenses (for "minor violations" - mostly for not wearing masks on public transport)
                    • 450 cases cancelled for lack of legal basis to prosecute or lack of proper evidence accounting

                    Most of the 600 "assembly" cases seem to stem from the period between March 22nd and May 11th, when city ordinances limited assembly to maximum two people.

                    Estimates by the public transit company are that 98% of passenger observe the requirement to wear a mask, however that leaves an average of around 2,000 people daily on public transit who do not wear one. Response is that since last week we now have police assisting the public transit company's security staff in patrolling trams and busses for offenders, mostly at highly-frequented hubs. Fines are handed out if refusing to put on a mask onboard, now raised to 100 Euro.

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by kato View Post
                      Estimates by the public transit company are that 98% of passenger observe the requirement to wear a mask, however that leaves an average of around 2,000 people daily on public transit who do not wear one.
                      They did a comprehensive test on that last Wednesday - combing tram and bus stops and over 200 public transit vehicles for violators. 890 caught that day.

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                      • I need to do a surgery on my feet. Private nursing home charges have shot through the roof due to Covid. So I went to a Government run hospital yesterday, and the first thing they did is Covid test. The test came out negative, and I was highly disappointed. Was late, so came back home. Will go again today to meet the doc.
                        Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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                        • Okay, so the doctor gave me some blood tests, which I did, then she referred me to Medical College. Had to undergo another Covid test there. Did the surgery beneath my left feet. It was a corn that became painful, so much so that I had to get operated. The local anaesthesia was delivered via an injection directly in my corn, 5-6 times, and the pain was unbearable then. Didn't feel anything during surgery or while the doctor stitched the open wound. It's healing now.

                          One thing to note is that, people who come to these centres to get free treatment, don't follow any rules. They don't stand in queues, they don't maintain distance, some of them even think Covid is a hoax. Mask compliance is, say, 70% at these Government run centres. Covid spread in India is due to these kind of people.
                          Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by Oracle View Post
                            One thing to note is that, people who come to these centres to get free treatment, don't follow any rules. They don't stand in queues, they don't maintain distance, some of them even think Covid is a hoax. Mask compliance is, say, 70% at these Government run centres. Covid spread in India is due to these kind of people.
                            I was at the hospital here a few weeks ago (university hospital, third-largest in the country). Kinda stayed a bit longer too.

                            They have a solution for these kind of people. They kick them out. Physically if necessary. Seen it happen three times in an afternoon. Anyone in the waiting zone stays in full view of the security guards at all times, conveniently posted right behind the entrance and blocking any accesses not going to the waiting zone.

                            The guards will hand you a mask if you don't carry one and make sure you desinfect your hands at the entrance. They also make you fill out a questionnaire at the entrance. If you answer yes to any of the three questions on there you're not going to get past the security guards ("do you have covid symptoms", "have you had contact with a person with covid in the last 14 days" and "have you been in a high-risk zone as defined by RKI in the last 14 days" - which is basically "have you been outside Germany").

                            The only people there without masks are in-patients while they're in their room, and for all in-patients literally the first thing done (if you don't provide a test result from the last 48 hours) is sticking that antigen quicktest down your throat. Without first telling you what they're doing btw.

                            Since mid-September they're effectively no longer allowing visitors to in-patients, unless that in-patient has been there longer than five days or is dying (there are exceptions for people required for communicating with the patient). The five-day rule is because pretty much all emergency stations have standardized care programmes which in-patients run through in four days before they get discharged over to the "common" in-patient stations. Fathers may visit their new-born child and the mother, maximum two hours per day.

                            P.S. If you're infected and there are no medical conflicts to delaying treatment for any condition your treatment will be postponed. If the treatment can't get delayed then infected patients are isolated in the clinic.
                            Last edited by kato; 17 Nov 20,, 15:07.

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                            • Has regular medical procedures, such as cancer screening, resumed? Canada is going to see a lot more cancer deaths in the next few years because this COVID delay caused too late detection.
                              Chimo

                              Comment


                              • Originally posted by Officer of Engineers View Post
                                Has regular medical procedures, such as cancer screening, resumed?
                                In principle yes, although a lot of people postpone non-necessary medical procedures themselves (possibly partly to avoid sitting at some doctor's clinic with possible infected). Saw a report in August that during the first wave about 15% of checkups and screenings were postponed in Germany according to monitoring surveys. However cancer screening attendance is pretty low here anyway, only like one in three people do it normally.

                                I think in the US they still recommend that hospitals postpone screening procedures.

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