So many unresolved or partially resolved questions about the coronavirus

[Scuba]

I think a big part comes down to mass testing of who is infected and who is not, which we (USA) don't have a handle on. Only then can true data results be understood. Without that reliable information, as the old saying goes back at w*rk, "garbage in, garbage out" .

Isn’t a test result just one data point? I could test negative tomorrow, go to the grocery store and catch the virus. I’m not understanding why so many people think testing has so much value unless tests will be readministered regularly?

 

[Sunset]

Isn’t a test result just one data point? I could test negative tomorrow, go to the grocery store and catch the virus. I’m not understanding why so many people think testing has so much value unless tests will be readministered regularly?

I don't understand why people would think tests shouldn't be regular and repeated and free.
So we know what % of who have it and how it progresses through the population.

 

[gwraigty]

And I wish people would stop saying that the economy should remain shut down until we have a vaccine. Really?

Isn’t a test result just one data point? I could test negative tomorrow, go to the grocery store and catch the virus. I’m not understanding why so many people think testing has so much value unless tests will be readministered regularly?

+1 on both.

As far as testing, that's why our state health director said widespread testing wouldn't do any good. You could test negative today and catch it 3 days later. Makes sense. Now the call is strong for ramping up testing capability so we can have widespread testing, even though the data point is still valid. She was against it before she was for it. Now they're testing everyone in the Ohio state prisons where there have been outbreaks. But not in nursing homes, where there's been a great call for it for awhile, because there still aren't enough tests. There's too much talking out of both sides of the mouth with this.

 

[Aerides]

And I wish people would stop saying that the economy should remain shut down until we have a vaccine. Really?

I don't know which "people" are saying that exactly, but it's not what I'm mostly seeing/reading. I don't watch any tv news. From my news sources, and feeds, it averages out to "find a balance, proceed with caution."

It's far more likely, IMO, that we'll proceed and reopen long before a vaccine even enters clinical trials, and in some areas that will be dangerous.

 

[ivinsfan]

I don't understand why people would think tests shouldn't be regular and repeated and free.
So we know what % of who have it and how it progresses through the population.

Who is going to administer all these regular, repeated and free tests? I haven't left my home or yard in 6 weeks except for no contact groceries. I live in a rural county that has 2 people test positive. these people tested positive around 3 weeks ago for one and over 2 weeks for the other. Highly possible they lived in the same house. 45K in my county...Being rural, a huge amount of people have essential jobs and are out working as usual. Are there a few random people in the county that have it with no symptoms. maybe. But they don't seem to be spreading it at this point. So maybe we need to run what 120K tests here, how is that even possible and what's the point of it. Our local hospital and regional clinic are sitting empty and will stay empty, how will this work except for a very short time frame?

Not directing this comment directly at you sunset, just wondering if our government and people in general realize the obstacles with testing, et al..

 

[JustCurious]

There is one thing that we know for sure about the common cold.... if you just soldier through and keep doing what you usually do then it takes about a week... if you slow down, drink plenty of fluids, take meds, et al then it takes about seven days.

 

[easysurfer]

Isn’t a test result just one data point? I could test negative tomorrow, go to the grocery store and catch the virus. I’m not understanding why so many people think testing has so much value unless tests will be readministered regularly?

I agree that a person who could test negative, could go to the store and catch the virus (that is, if he hasn't recovered, and is immune .. but that's a whole different discussion).

With the reason that the person could catch the virus the next day, to me, is why testing is that much more important, and why re-opening business before a good test is a false sense of security.

I see testing, being able to identify infected or not as fundamental. Otherwise, that is like mixing dirty and clean clothes in the closet. Or say you buy light bulbs or batteries but there is no way to tell if the bulb or battery is good or bad. The store gives you a box of bulbs and batteries but says, the store has no idea if they are good or bad but you have to pay for all of them. Would you be happy buying? Or say if there is no way to clearly identify if a person is infected or not, there's no way to determine if a vaccine has treated a person who needed treatment or was healthy in the first place and had another condition since we can't separate the two.

 

[aiken]

I have a friend who got tested....he said it hurt like a you know what.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I have a friend who got tested....he said it hurt like a you know what.

From the pictures I’ve seen, many people collecting the samples are aiming too high. They need to go straight back. Go to high and you hit the turbinates and the cribiform plate, which is very sensitive.

 

[Rianne]

Social distancing and sanitation practices are preventing us from getting colds, flu, any other virus and bacterial infections. So it might be a win/win. What I miss most, weekly face to face coffee with my BFF.

 

[tmm99]

Social distancing and sanitation practices are preventing us from getting colds, flu, any other virus and bacterial infections. So it might be a win/win. What I miss most, weekly face to face coffee with my BFF.

Some of my friends are using Zoom to do coffee/wine get-togethers. I have a circle of friends I meet once a week on Zoom to chat. We sometimes play short phone games together too. One friend bought into Zoom, we can talk more than their limited 40-minute free session. (You can set up multiple sessions for free if you'd rather...) If it's just two of you, it's easy to facetime/Skype, etc. also.

 

[Winemaker]

The problem with this virus is that it attacks the upper respiratory system, and it has a separate immune system than the rest of the body, and that immune system is deadly. The body sends fluid to "drown" the virus, which in turn fills the lungs with fluid, hence pneumonia. The URS is also treated like your skin, since it is exposed to the ambient air; very difficult to prevent something from attacking your skin, because it is under constant barrage. But there are folks who do not get poison ivy, so some hope.

 

[travelover]

From the pictures I’ve seen, many people collecting the samples are aiming too high. They need to go straight back. Go to high and you hit the turbinates and the cribiform plate, which is very sensitive.

Bill Gates has stated several times that his foundation did a study and determined the long swabs are not necessary. I'm baffled as to why this hasn't been jumped on, given the swab shortage.

 

[timo2]

OK, I have been curious about how long it would take after exposure to the coronavirus, before someone could get sick.

I had been looking for the same information after an unnerving encounter picking up propane at the local Ace Hardware. All I could find different from you was the following:

"If the new coronavirus has ever made you its host, you are almost certainly guilty of some silent spreading.

Scientists in China have shed new light on how readily the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads unseen from person to person — a form of “cryptic” transmission that can transform a manageable outbreak into an out-of-control epidemic.

People infected with the new coronavirus are almost certainly emitting it for close to 2 ½ days before their first signs of illness appear, the scientists found. In fact, the contagion of an infected person reaches its peak roughly 18 hours before she feels the first blush of fever, notices the first twinge of body ache, or experiences her first bout of coughing.

In short, an infected person can walk around feeling fine for more than two full days while spewing virus into the air, depositing it onto door knobs and handrails, and sowing the seeds for future infections."
https://www.latimes.com/science/sto...XIHG5uOpoIGZDmESl_9nIOUc1Gkbww5zNlMfDKRlNMJ7w

 

[ivinsfan]

I had been looking for the same information after an unnerving encounter picking up propane at the local Ace Hardware. All I could find different from you was the following:

"If the new coronavirus has ever made you its host, you are almost certainly guilty of some silent spreading.

Scientists in China have shed new light on how readily the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads unseen from person to person — a form of “cryptic” transmission that can transform a manageable outbreak into an out-of-control epidemic.

People infected with the new coronavirus are almost certainly emitting it for close to 2 ½ days before their first signs of illness appear, the scientists found. In fact, the contagion of an infected person reaches its peak roughly 18 hours before she feels the first blush of fever, notices the first twinge of body ache, or experiences her first bout of coughing.

In short, an infected person can walk around feeling fine for more than two full days while spewing virus into the air, depositing it onto door knobs and handrails, and sowing the seeds for future infections."
https://www.latimes.com/science/sto...XIHG5uOpoIGZDmESl_9nIOUc1Gkbww5zNlMfDKRlNMJ7w

OK they looked at infected people and then looked at people that they "likely" infected. Doesn't seem like much of a control for scientific paper. With the range in incubation time how does this "data" become useful. I'm not seeing anything concrete here. They had the suggestion you could expand testing find people that test positive with no symptoms and start "treating" them. Treat them with what, there is no standard treatment plus aren't we already worried about flooding the system for treatment with people that are actually sick.

Apparently they don't think you should let your own body have a shot at the virus first.

 

[gwraigty]

"If the new coronavirus has ever made you its host, you are almost certainly guilty of some silent spreading.

<snip>

In fact, the contagion of an infected person reaches its peak roughly 18 hours before she feels the first blush of fever, notices the first twinge of body ache, or experiences her first bout of coughing.

In short, an infected person can walk around feeling fine for more than two full days while spewing virus into the air, depositing it onto door knobs and handrails, and sowing the seeds for future infections."
https://www.latimes.com/science/sto...XIHG5uOpoIGZDmESl_9nIOUc1Gkbww5zNlMfDKRlNMJ7w

I'm not clicking through to the article because the portion quoted is useless and appears to be designed to inflame. I don't think it's right to use the term "guilty" in regards to people who don't even know they have coronavirus, especially when the known symptoms were severely limited to only 3 back in January. Known coronavirus symptoms have since been expanded to include several others way beyond those quoted above. Expanded testing of confined populations are showing larger asymptomatic numbers than previously thought. They're talking about this right now in a live broadcast of the Ohio Economic Recovery Task Force.

 

[audreyh1]

I think the median incubation time is around 5 days, and it must be a narrowish distribution because I’ve also seen that listed as a very typical amount of time. Still, some people develop symptoms in 2 days, and 97.5% within 14 days that is to say if they aren’t completely asymptomatic.

 

[jayanu]

After 100 years there is still no cure for the common cold. Not immediate anyway. It seems to take one and a half to two weeks to get over a cold whether you take anything for it or not.

None of the Coronavirus (SARS, MERS, or snow the novel one SARS-Cov-2) have any vaccination. and likelihood oof finding is elusive. Will just to live with the beast by being on the good behavior every year when it will keep coming back.

 

[Venturer]

I agree that their may never be a vaccine,just like the HIV and the common cold. They may eventually come up with medicine to help symptoms,but no cure.

 

[Rianne]

Thought I'd bring this discussion to a local level. A friend of the family (most of my immediate family live in the area) tested negative to Covid twice. He just tested positive to the antibodies as they are doing massive antibody testing in our area. He did have symptoms early on, got through them and feels fine now.