Last week on 60 Minutes President Biden announced “The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lot of work on it.” Many people were surprised by this statement, especially since US had just rolled out new COVID vaccine boosters. I would like to address two specific issues; whetherContinue reading “Is the pandemic over?”
Category Archives: Scientific Explanations
Why do elderly people have a higher likelihood of dying from COVID-19?
One of the most fascinating and heart wrenching outcomes of this pandemic is the almost random way that some individuals become horribly ill from COVID-19. In younger people, it was clear early on that some had genetic errors in their immune systems that made them susceptible to more severe infection with COVID-19. These genetic errorsContinue reading “Why do elderly people have a higher likelihood of dying from COVID-19?”
More news on COVID antibody screening
Three interesting articles came out concerning antibody testing in COVID-19. The first was a prepublication on antibody testing from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. The study was conducted from March 26 to April 10, 2020 and looked at 1,343 mildly symptomatic outpatient subjects (only 3% had been ill enough to be seen in the emergency department).Continue reading “More news on COVID antibody screening”
The L.A. Times imagines a new strain of COVID-19 that most scientists do not believe exists.
Yesterday my daughter told me how there was a “new and more deadly strain of COVID-19 out there.” I also had a potential business colleague ask me if the “new strain of COVID would be detected by current antibody assays?” While random genetic (nucleotide base) changes have been used to follow the COVID geographic migration,Continue reading “The L.A. Times imagines a new strain of COVID-19 that most scientists do not believe exists.”
A modest proposal: how to totally normalize life in America and still prevent excess mortality from COVID-19.
We need a plan to move the country forward and need one now. I am tired of hearing arguments based on “breaking news,” supercomputer modeling or economic formulas. I am therefore proposing this simple way to allow most people to lead normal lives while avoiding most (94%) deaths from COVID-19. There is now a significantContinue reading “A modest proposal: how to totally normalize life in America and still prevent excess mortality from COVID-19.”
A flurry of “reports” of Kawasaki disease in COVID-19.
Reports dominated the news channels tonight about a “new” complication from COVID-19 infection in children — Kawasaki disease. Dramatic pictures of children on ventilators were displayed across the screen with warnings from grieving parents. Since Kawasaki disease is a suspected complication of many viral infections, I wondered what the evidence of this disease was inContinue reading “A flurry of “reports” of Kawasaki disease in COVID-19.”
IN REALITY, WHO GETS SICK FROM COVID?
Summary: Almost everyone hospitalized with COVID-19 has a pre-existing health problem! One of the things I find most frustrating is how the news media has not accurately portrayed the health risks from COVID-19. It seems there is an ongoing effort to scare the general population about their risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19.Continue reading “IN REALITY, WHO GETS SICK FROM COVID?”
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”
Why Do Young Healthy People Die-Continued.
There are several articles out today on the evolving finding that coronavirus infection appears to result in a binary outcome in otherwise healthy young people; you are either well with minimal symptoms or (in a minority) you get life-threatening disease. I’ve written about this topic before, but articles from Science Magazine and on CNN reinforceContinue reading “Why Do Young Healthy People Die-Continued.”
Pandemic Pondering 