In the media’s rush to point out the ongoing problems with COVID-19, they seemed to have missed a major story! These are the daily COVID death and hospitalization statistics from the NYC government website. The Hospitalizations (upper panel) peaked before the Deaths (lower panel), which is not surprising because most individuals are sick for someContinue reading “Wonderful News From NYC You Don’t See On TV!”
Author Archives: jbakerjrblog
Biscuit returns, albeit a bit hoarse…
Biscuit and Nindy return to talk about their dumbest COVID-19 ideas of the week. Nindy had to do most of the talking though since Biscuit tried to drink the Lysol. Poor dog just believes everything he hears on TV…. 1) Underestimating COVID-19 infection rates. Infection rates have been remarkably underestimated, which gives people a false senseContinue reading “Biscuit returns, albeit a bit hoarse…”
Whipsawed by Remdesivir
In the last few weeks we have been given bizarrely conflicting information about the use of remdesivir to treat COVID-19 infection. This antiviral drug appeared to have the most promise to treat COVID-19, as it demonstrated a well-defined mechanism of action specific for the virus. It also had shown some efficacy in other, similar viralContinue reading “Whipsawed by Remdesivir”
Thursday night news we might not want…
Two pieces of news tonight. A preliminary Chinese study that was accidentally leaked by the WHO suggested that remdesivir was not effective in treating COVID-19 patients. STAT News found the study on the WHO website , and it undercuts the hope that this antiviral drug might be useful in treating COVID-19. Like many of theContinue reading “Thursday night news we might not want…”
Why COVID-19 antibody assays can be unreliable.
As discussed in the blog post yesterday, the COVID-19, lateral flow antibody test is a remarkably simple, very stable and consistent platform. It requires no machine to run, it can be stored at up to 86°F for up to a year, and as long as the reagents are unused it gives very consistent results. DespiteContinue reading “Why COVID-19 antibody assays can be unreliable.”
How COVID-19 Antibody Tests Work
Most COVID-19 antibody tests available to use outside a laboratory involve “lateral flow assays” named because they use diffusion of serum antibodies laterally in a paper strip. Blood or serum is placed at one end of the strip, and if it binds to a gold nanoparticle coupled to coronavirus proteins the nanoparticle is captured atContinue reading “How COVID-19 Antibody Tests Work”
MORE than half of NYC is COVID infected
On Sunday I said half of NYC was COVID-19 infected. People thought that I was crazy. Looks like I was wrong; may be higher! https://www1.nyc.gov/site/coronavirus/index.page Time to stop dismissing herd immunity as a potential force in suppressing the pandemic in some of these hotspots!
What are COVID-19 antibody tests and why are so many failing……?
Antibody blood proteins may be the key to knowing who has been infected with CORONA-19 virus. They may also identify individuals who have immunity (protection) against viral infection. Many assays for antibodies are currently available, but some don’t work and give false results. Understanding the immune response to COVID-19 and how antibody assays work isContinue reading “What are COVID-19 antibody tests and why are so many failing……?”
R.t — the effective infection rate. Update; changes in social distancing have yet to worsen infectivity.
I am reposting this Blog because I have an update with data from May 26, 2020 at the end. I think it is important 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 the expansion of infections during theContinue reading “R.t — the effective infection rate. Update; changes in social distancing have yet to worsen infectivity.”
Half of NYC Infected With COVID-19.
Antibody studies are now indicating much higher rates of COVID infection A PCR study showed 15% of random NYC woman giving birth were positive for COVID virus by early April Given the timing and limitations of the PCR testing, the percent of random NYC COVID-19 infected is now approaching 50% Last Sunday, for Passover andContinue reading “Half of NYC Infected With COVID-19.”
Pandemic Pondering 