It’s Saturday and time for Biscuit’s truly bad coronavirus ideas of the week. Unfortunately, Biscuit is basking in his notoriety and tried to negotiate for compensation to use his likeness. I overcame this by including his friend Nindy, who is willing to do this service for free. Nindy is more interested in social consciousness thanContinue reading “Biscuit’s bad COVID ideas return, with a friend to help!”
Author Archives: jbakerjrblog
Chloroquine flatlines?
Chloroquine is a drug that has a poorly defined mechanism of antiviral action It also has significant toxicity It is unlikely to be a therapeutic option for COVID-19. Given the good news about remdesivir, I thought it would be an appropriate time to review the status of chloroquine, the other drug that initially was reportedContinue reading “Chloroquine flatlines?”
Over Halfway Home.
I normally write about science, but this is an important time to reflect. All the numbers on the COVID-19 pandemic are headed in the right direction. The first wave of infections has crested, hospitalizations are waning, and first responders are catching a breath. But I want to focus for just a moment on the havocContinue reading “Over Halfway Home.”
Remdesivir Rises!
I called out the potential of remdesivir on Monday, only to watch it drop 3% on Tuesday. Today, on literally a whisper that the drug might work for COVID-19, the stock was up 16% after a report that one of the Phase III studies was positive. The report suggested that very ill COVID-19 patients recoveredContinue reading “Remdesivir Rises!”
It Truly Is Getting Better (and the US is not worse than the rest of the world!)….
Today I have received a great deal of concern that the pandemic is not improving, especially in the US. The reasons for this are, in part, due to confusing and contradictory dialogues in the news. Some also have used graphics showing total death numbers to suggest the US is doing worse than the rest ofContinue reading “It Truly Is Getting Better (and the US is not worse than the rest of the world!)….”
Remdesivir Update
Less than 12 hours after I reported positive news about remdesivir, Gilead stock took a hit because the company terminated a COVID-19 trial of remdesivir in China due to lack of enrollment. As first noted on Endpoints News, this does not mean the drug didn’t work, just that they were not able to enroll adequateContinue reading “Remdesivir Update”
Remdesivir to the Rescue?
I have been hoping for a rational drug treatment for COVID based on science, not wishful thinking. One may be at hand! Remdesivir is one of the first drugs that appears to be useful to treat Coronavirus infection. It is an antiviral drug, which means it specifically inhibits an activity that allows the virus toContinue reading “Remdesivir to the Rescue?”
Feedback on “Moses” Post
Some gave comments that the case fatality rate (CFR) used to calculate the percent of infected individuals in yesterday’s post is too low The CFR, which was initially thought to be very high (two people dying for every 100 people infected or 2.0%) has dropped as testing for the virus becomes more widespread. With theContinue reading “Feedback on “Moses” Post”
100 million COVID Infected Americans are the “Moses” that Will Deliver Us Beyond the Pandemic
Summary The toll of this pandemic has been horrific throughout the world. Remarkable sacrifices have been made that have limited its impact Moving forward we need to understand how many people have been infected If estimates are correct, we have significant immunity to COVID-19 Immunity will allow us to move forward from this pandemic SinceContinue reading “100 million COVID Infected Americans are the “Moses” that Will Deliver Us Beyond the Pandemic”
Biscuit is Back with this Week’s Worst Coronavirus Ideas.
It’s Saturday so Biscuit is back with his worst coronavirus ideas of the week. See if you agree. 1) Mega church services with everyone in attendance. Not only are the parishioners at risk, but several of the pastors have died from coronavirus. God helps those who help themselves! We will miss Easter, but will beContinue reading “Biscuit is Back with this Week’s Worst Coronavirus Ideas.”
Pandemic Pondering 