Coronavirus thread

[RoyGBiv]

After much deliberation and soul searching, we decided to send our youngest off to his Freshman year at UA (Arizona) 2 weeks ago. They did a solid job communicating with us beforehand, having a plan that seems thorough and they seem generally prepared to be nimble should things go sideways. The university is among the leadership effort in the COVID battle for the State. My son has been responsible about good health practices, he and his friends all tested negative before leaving for school or upon arrival. UA tested everyone upon arrival, before they were allowed entry into the dorms. We have a plan to pop smoke and evac should the SHTF (that drive is seriously boring, with nary a scenic overlook along the >900 miles of interstate between here and there), but, the university has reserved dorm space for quarantine should that be necessary.

Forward with caution.

We remain encouraged by the downward trend lines statewide, and relieved that he's at UA and not ASU or the other UA (Bama).

He's certainly not having any kind of traditional Freshman experience, with a mix of online and face-to-face class time, strict limits on gatherings, closed indoor rec facilities, take-out dining, etc. It'll certainly be a year better remembered in retrospect than enjoyed in the moment. There are lots of positives for him, certainly vs being at home doing remote learning, like my sisters kid has been forced to do by his East Coast school. Poor kid is going stir crazy. He's found some outdoor activities to keep active and is making new friends at a solid rate. Hard to ask for more under the circumstances.

Still... Lots of worry.

He had been telling us that UA is testing the wastewater system as part of their COVID monitoring. They had their first hit a few days ago. After narrowing down the source to a specific dorm, they quickly tested every occupant and found 2..... 2 positive cases. Both were quickly quarantined. Story here. I'm impressed with the ability to find COVID in the wastewater of a >300 person dorm with an infection rate of less than 1% (hopefully that number holds).

The wastewater system detected a heavy viral load of the novel coronavirus in one of the samples tested last week from Likins Hall dorm, university president Dr. Robert Robbins said during the press conference. The university is using the wastewater analyzing system to detect the presence of the novel coronavirus on campus, a measure led by Dr. Ian Pepper, the director of the university’s Water and Energy Sustainable Technology Center who used the system worldwide to detect poliovirus.

Joke.

Did you know that insanity is hereditary?
You get it from your kids.

Stay safe out there.

[Dog Guy]

Looks like a probable reinfection case in Reno. Patient was much sicker the second time. https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/new...nfection-study has good details. Excerpt:


"Scientists at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med), led by its Nevada State Public Health Laboratory (NSPHL) are studying a likely case of COVID-19 reinfection.

Forty-eight days after testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 in April 2020 and after testing negative consecutively twice, a Washoe County, Nevada patient tested positive again, in June. The patient had tested negative on two separate occasions in the interim. The genomes of the patient’s virus samples were sequenced in April and June, displaying significant genetic discordance between the two cases, implying the patient was infected twice."

[Doc_Glock]

After much deliberation and soul searching, we decided to send our youngest off to his Freshman year at UA (Arizona) 2 weeks ago....

Forward with caution.

He's certainly not having any kind of traditional Freshman experience, with a mix of online and face-to-face class time, strict limits on gatherings, closed indoor rec facilities, take-out dining, etc. It'll certainly be a year better remembered in retrospect than enjoyed in the moment. There are lots of positives for him, certainly vs being at home doing remote learning, like my sisters kid has been forced to do by his East Coast school. Poor kid is going stir crazy. He's found some outdoor activities to keep active and is making new friends at a solid rate. Hard to ask for more under the circumstances.

Still... Lots of worry.

He had been telling us that UA is testing the wastewater system as part of their COVID monitoring. They had their first hit a few days ago. After narrowing down the source to a specific dorm, they quickly tested every occupant and found 2..... 2 positive cases. Both were quickly quarantined. Story here. I'm impressed with the ability to find COVID in the wastewater of a >300 person dorm with an infection rate of less than 1% (hopefully that number holds).

We did the same with our daughter to a small school in Michigan. They have pretty much the same practices as you described, including testing sewers.

Honestly I have zero worry with a healthy child of college age and this virus. I pretty much feel that for college aged people without co-morbidities, this is the biggest over reaction in history.

[MVS]

We did the same with our daughter to a small school in Michigan. They have pretty much the same practices as you described, including testing sewers.

Honestly I have zero worry with a healthy child of college age and this virus. I pretty much feel that for college aged people without co-morbidities, this is the biggest over reaction in history.

Agreed. It's not that I don't take it seriously, I do, but among that demographic they are more likely to be killed or injured by alcohol related problems than Covid.

[RoyGBiv]

About 2 weeks later than I predicted, but, it's still only first week of September...

CDC tells states to be ready to distribute potential COVID-19 vaccine by Nov. 1

Documents outlining the distribution of two potential vaccines were also sent last week to every state and US territory, along with five major cities, according to the New York Times: New York, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia and San Antonio.

The documents describe two unnamed vaccine candidates, each of which would require two doses spaced a few weeks apart, the Times reported.


Essential workers, national security employees, senior citizens and members of particularly vulnerable racial and ethnic groups would be among those prioritized for the treatments, the documents reportedly said.

[Grey]

About 2 weeks later than I predicted, but, it's still only first week of September...

CDC tells states to be ready to distribute potential COVID-19 vaccine by Nov. 1

Pass - I'll let those folks go be the guinea pigs for now... Let me know how its working in Jan/Feb.

[Wondering Beard]

A Supercomputer Analyzed Covid-19 — and an Interesting New Theory Has Emerged

"Earlier this summer, the Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee set about crunching data on more than 40,000 genes from 17,000 genetic samples in an effort to better understand Covid-19. Summit is the second-fastest computer in the world, but the process — which involved analyzing 2.5 billion genetic combinations — still took more than a week."

"The computer had revealed a new theory about how Covid-19 impacts the body: the bradykinin hypothesis. The hypothesis provides a model that explains many aspects of Covid-19, including some of its most bizarre symptoms. It also suggests 10-plus potential treatments, many of which are already FDA approved. Jacobson’s group published their results in a paper in the journal eLife in early July."

"According to the team’s findings, a Covid-19 infection generally begins when the virus enters the body through ACE2 receptors in the nose, (The receptors, which the virus is known to target, are abundant there.) The virus then proceeds through the body, entering cells in other places where ACE2 is also present: the intestines, kidneys, and heart. "

"According to Jacobson’s group, the data Summit analyzed shows that Covid-19 isn’t content to simply infect cells that already express lots of ACE2 receptors. Instead, it actively hijacks the body’s own systems, tricking it into upregulating ACE2 receptors in places where they’re usually expressed at low or medium levels, including the lungs."

"The end result, the researchers say, is to release a bradykinin storm — a massive, runaway buildup of bradykinin in the body. According to the bradykinin hypothesis, it’s this storm that is ultimately responsible for many of Covid-19’s deadly effects."

"Covid-19 stands out for both the scale of its global impact and the apparent randomness of its many symptoms. Physicians have struggled to understand the disease and come up with a unified theory for how it works. Though as of yet unproven, the bradykinin hypothesis provides such a theory. And like all good hypotheses, it also provides specific, testable predictions — in this case, actual drugs that could provide relief to real patients."

[RoyGBiv]

A Supercomputer Analyzed Covid-19 — and an Interesting New Theory Has Emerged

Vitamin D seems to come up a lot in prevention/mitigation articles...

Interestingly, Jacobson’s team also suggests vitamin D as a potentially useful Covid-19 drug. The vitamin is involved in the RAS system and could prove helpful by reducing levels of another compound, known as REN. Again, this could stop potentially deadly bradykinin storms from forming. The researchers note that vitamin D has already been shown to help those with Covid-19. The vitamin is readily available over the counter, and around 20% of the population is deficient. If indeed the vitamin proves effective at reducing the severity of bradykinin storms, it could be an easy, relatively safe way to reduce the severity of the virus.

[Nephrology]

Vitamin D seems to come up a lot in prevention/mitigation articles...

Vitamin D does everything....

(not really, but it's quite trendy, if poorly founded in evidence)

[ccmdfd]

Vitamin D does everything....

Like Kidney stones! Fun fun.

(not really, but it's quite trendy, if poorly founded in evidence)

Hey, it's 2020! It's all about how you feel. Evidence, facts and the like aren't considered anymore.