jbakerjrblog

Everyone take a time out!

Saturday is usually the day I write a somewhat lighthearted blog post giving my dog’s perspective on the COVID crisis. However, given what’s happening in the country right now I don’t feel much like levity. While the rioting that’s occurring is not directly the result of the COVID pandemic, I believe that social distancing andContinue reading “Everyone take a time out!”

The next wave won’t happen, but clusters of infection will. The K factor tells the story!

The K factor is an estimate of the dissemination of a particular infection. In day to day use, it gives an idea of how closely a disease clusters vs. disperses throughout the population. This could be a result of how easily it infects people or how much an infectious agent, like a virus, is scatteredContinue reading “The next wave won’t happen, but clusters of infection will. The K factor tells the story!”

R.t. Update; changes in social distancing have yet to expand infectivity.

I am reposting this Blog because I have an important update with data from May 26, 2020 at the end. I think it is crucial to examine this statistic given the reductions in stay at home orders and violations of social distancing observed over Memorial Day weekend. “R.t” is a commonly used measure to describe theContinue reading “R.t. Update; changes in social distancing have yet to expand infectivity.”

Antigen Assays: a third type of test for COVID infections.

A third type of coronavirus test has recently been introduced. This test is somewhat like the swab or PCR test, because it directly looks for the presence of COVID-19. Rather than looking for viral RNA like the PCR assay, this test looks for viral proteins (antigens). The antigen test as it is called involves theContinue reading “Antigen Assays: a third type of test for COVID infections.”

Should we go with the Pflow?

A bit of a side discussion tonight as I’d like to talk about one of the more interesting topics of last week; Phlow Corporation and Dr. Eric Edwards. Phlow is a new company formed in Richmond Virginia that recently received a very large grant (potentially $812M) from the Federal agency BARDA (Biodefense Advanced Research DevelopmentContinue reading “Should we go with the Pflow?”

Biscuit honors Memorial Day with a nap.

Biscuit is back with his Memorial Day worst COVID-19 (or SARS-CoV-2) ideas of the week. For most of us Memorial Day weekend has a solemn nature remembering those that we have lost in wars and other conflicts. This is an especially appropriate thing to do this year. For Biscuit, it just means the beginning ofContinue reading “Biscuit honors Memorial Day with a nap.”

Hospitals do make mistakes, and you still can’t trust your COVID antibody test!

Two brief follow-ups before the weekend starts. First, an interesting op ed was published today in the New York Times (you might remember them from yesterday when I found fault with their declaration of “ 36,000 lost souls” based on an unreviewed computer projection). Today they did publish a very nice opinion piece by Dr. DanielleContinue reading “Hospitals do make mistakes, and you still can’t trust your COVID antibody test!”

Did Lockdown Delays Cost at Least 36,000 Lives? The NYT claims data show it!

The front-page headline in the New York Times today stated that “Lockdown delays cost at least 36,000 lives, data show.” The central thesis of this article was that a delay of “two weeks” in implementing stay at home orders and social distancing cost 36,000 lives nationwide. I had to question whether this article was accurateContinue reading “Did Lockdown Delays Cost at Least 36,000 Lives? The NYT claims data show it!”