The Covid-19 Thread: News, Preparation Tips, Etc

dancinstallion

Well-Known Member
No bueno :nono:

Take home points:
- once infected, one can shed the virus up to 6 weeks from initial symptoms (was a small sample size though)
- those more likely to shed longer are those older or with underlying health issues
- 14 day isolation post infection isn't enough (the 14 day isolation should only apply to those who have been exposed to see if symptoms will appear)

Viral Shedding Continues Up to 6 Weeks After Coronavirus Symptom Onset

By Marilynn Larkin

April 28, 2020


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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients may continue to shed the SARS-CoV-2 virus for up to six weeks after symptoms emerge, a small study of recovered COVID-19 patients suggests.

"In the convalescence period, a trace of virus may still be detected," Dr. Sheng Zhang of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan told Reuters Health by email. "However, similar to other virus infections, this is not indicative of the transmission ability of the infected individual."

Dr. Zhang and colleagues summarized their experience with 56 COVID-19 patients (median age 55; 61% men) admitted to Tongi Hospital in Wuhan in January and February. Throat or deep nasal cavity swab samples were collected on different dates after symptom onset. SARS-CoV-2 was diagnosed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays All patients had mild-moderate infection.

As reported in Clinical Infectious Diseases, 299 RT-PCR assays were performed (about five tests per patient). The longest duration between symptom onset and an RT-PCR test was 42 days, whereas the median duration was 24 days.


In the first three weeks after symptom onset, the majority of RT-PCR results were positive for SARS-CoV-2. From week three onward, negative results increased. All tests were negative at week six after symptom onset.

The rate of positive results was highest at week one (100%), followed by 89.3%, 66.1%, 32.1%, 5.4% and 0% at weeks two, three, four, five and six, respectively.

Patients were further divided into non-prolonged and prolonged shedding groups based on nucleic acid conversion time (up to or more than 24 days). Patients with longer viral shedding tended to be older and were more likely to have comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension.

No patients were transferred to an intensive care unit; all recovered and were discharged from the hospital.

Dr. Zhang said, "I would suggest three consecutive negative RT-PCR results to safely discharge, due to high false-negative rate" of nasal or throat swabs.

From a public health perspective, he added, "I need to emphasize that the public should not be scared by those seemingly 'prolonged' positive cases. It is way harder to prove 'no transmission ability' than 'potentially transmissible.'"

Dr. Jack Lipton, Chair of the Department of Translational Neuroscience at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in Ann Arbor commented in an email to Reuters Health, "The study demonstrates that repeated testing is absolutely necessary. In our clinical trial of university personnel at MSU, we have a young healthy subject with mild symptoms who has tested positive five times over four weeks. People need to realize that a 14-day isolation is appropriate for seeing whether one will develop symptoms after a known exposure to an infected person. Fourteen days is not a sufficient amount of time to be infected, recover and then be virus free."

Dr. Robert Quigley, Senior Vice President and Regional Medical Director of International SOS, noted in an email to Reuters Health, "The question that remains is how great does the viral load need to be to infect another person if in fact the viral load actually decreases over time. Regardless, until this virologic feature is defined, it is clear that infected healthcare professionals (HCPs) should have two consecutive negative tests before returning to the healthcare arena where they could potentially infect a fragile patient."


"It is unclear when non-HCPs can return to the workplace after testing positive for COVID-19," he added. "This study implies that the absence of symptoms may not eliminate the risk of transmission to co-workers for up to 42 days post the onset of symptoms. Such conclusions could clearly impact our present practices of quarantine and isolation."


Dr. Taylor Heald-Sargent, an infectious diseases fellow at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago who studied coronaviruses for her PhD, commented by email that the study "confirms other reports that older patients with other medical issues are more at risk for severe disease. This could mean that this patient population has immune systems that are unable to efficiently clear infection. However, more research is needed to explore that hypothesis."


"One limitation is that (the study) focused on one geographic location," she told Reuters Health. "However, it seems likely that these results would be similar to other countries, including the United States."

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticl...429_MSCPEDIT&uac=117087MK&impID=2363843&faf=1

I knew the virus stays in your body for more than two weeks so I didnt understand the two week quarantine. Remember some celebrity tested positive about four weeks after initial symptoms so I calculated it was about 5+ weeks that she had the virus. Plus the patients in the hospital are not recovering in two weeks. So now it makes better sense that the two week quarantine is to see if you have symptoms but what if the person is asymptomatic? It is confirmed that many people are asymptomatic so are they still shedding the virus 3 weeks later? We dont know.
:(
 
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Kanky

Well-Known Member
So don't trust the information on CDC? Who do we trust?
The information from the CDC is all filtered through the Trump administration. One of the first things that Trump did in this crisis was order the CDC to run all press releases by Pence's office first. That was because someone who worked for the CDC gave an early warning about the coronavirus and the stock market took a huge dip.

The information that the CDC shares is also to promote the wellbeing of the general public, not necessarily your personal best interests. This is why we get mixed messages like "Masks don't protect you from coronavirus and the healthcare workers need the masks to protect themselves from coronavirus." It was in our individual best interests to buy and wear masks, but if we'd all done so then the hospital shortages would've been even worse. After the supply increased they changed their recommendations.

I am not saying that they are an untrustworthy source of information. They are the best we've got at the moment. But obviously we have to use our own judgment and consider their motives. Skepticism is healthy.
 

ThirdEyeBeauty

Well-Known Member
I support the quarantine measures that are in effect in my state (business and school closures, recommended face masks during limited trips to essential services). I also support consequences for people who flagrantly violate the recommendations.
I appreciate your views. What type of consequence do you support that you feel is appropriate?
 

Jmartjrmd

Well-Known Member
My Sister got the test done ... they went deeeeeeep, she said it is so painful. I believe I read somewhere they don’t need to go so deep.
Yeah I read they were allowing people to do their own front of the nose test to cut down on the amount of PPE needed. . I also read the most accurate results come from that deep swab because that area has shown to have the highest concentration of virus. I'm just trying to think about reasons for negatives when someone is symptomatic and probably positive.
I couldnt personally do a deep swab. When they tried to put a feeding tube, then a camera down my nose it was a firm nope! I almost had to fight my nurse cause I said no and she tried to continue with it. no means no lol
 
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ThirdEyeBeauty

Well-Known Member
Jail, because they have space after releasing inmates for fear of spreading covid 19
Jail? :eek:

So if I walk outside my yard right now, police should arrest me and send me to jail?

Oh you mean arrest for activities such as a house party, right or protest? What about funerals and walking in groups to get exercise?
 

Jmartjrmd

Well-Known Member
Experimental treatment for virus

An experimental drug for the coronavirus has a proven benefit, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"The data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery," Fauci said at the White House on Wednesday. The data he referred to is from a large study of more than 1,000 patients from multiple sites around the world. Patients either received the drug, called remdesivir, or a placebo.

Results from clinical trials are typically published in medical journals after review from outside experts. That hasn't happened yet with this latest study, but Fauci said that the results were so promising, there is "an ethical obligation to immediately let the placebo group know so they can have access" to the drug.

Fauci said the remdesivir study group was able to be discharged from the hospital within 11 days, on average, compared to 15 days in the placebo group.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

"What it has proven is that a drug can block this virus," Fauci said.

There were indications the drug led to fewer deaths, but that part of the analysis is still under review.

Fauci, who is normally measured in tone, expressed genuine excitement over the results, calling them "reminiscent of 34 years ago in 1986 when we were struggling for drugs for HIV."

Fauci's team uncovered the first drug to show a modest impact on the virus that causes AIDS — research that was built upon over subsequent years to find HIV drug cocktails.

Dr. Michael Saag, associate dean for global health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said the results seemed promising. Antiviral drugs such as remdesivir tend to work earlier in the course of an illness, so "the thing that I think is important in this study is the patients had advanced disease," said Saag, who is not involved with any remdesivir trials.

"I think they were trying to give it the toughest test they could."

The study raised questions about whether the Food and Drug Administration would issue emergency use authorization for remdesivir, a move that would expand doctors' ability to use it.

In a statement to NBC News, an FDA official said, "the agency has been engaged in sustained and ongoing discussions with Gilead Sciences regarding making remdesivir available to patients as quickly as possible, as appropriate." It was unclear whether the FDA would take immediate action.

Meanwhile, information on two other remdesivir studies released Wednesday provided seemingly conflicting outcomes.

But both studies had flaws, making results difficult to interpret in the absence of more research.

The first study, from Gilead Sciences, found that patients who were given a 10-day treatment course of the drug "achieved similar improvement in clinical status compared with those taking a 5-day treatment course," the company, which makes the drug, said in a press release Wednesday.

The other study, published in The Lancet, found remdesivir had no effect on reducing COVID-19 death rates, or even on making people feel better faster.

Gilead has not yet released enough information from its trial to show what that "improvement" means for patients. The company said full results would be published "in the coming weeks."

The analysis did not compare remdesivir to a placebo, so it's impossible to determine whether any benefits were due to the drug or whether patients would have improved on their own.

Separately, The Lancet study's conclusion was muddied because the research was stopped early, because the investigators in Wuhan, China, were only able to recruit half of the patients they'd planned to study.

"This is not the outcome we hoped for," Bin Cao, the study's author and a professor at China-Japan Friendship Hospital and Capital Medical University in China, said in a press release. "We are mindful that we were only able to enroll 237 of the target 453 patients because the COVID-19 outbreak was brought under control in Wuhan."

Download the NBC News app for full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

The Gilead research was meant to determine how long hospitalized patients would need to be on the drug for a potential clinical benefit. If patients only need five days of treatment, rather than 10, it would mean Gilead could double the number of people treated.

"This is particularly important in the setting of a pandemic," Dr. Merdad Parsey, Gilead's chief medical officer, said in the press release.

Remdesivir is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and has not been proven as an effective treatment for patients with the coronavirus. Results from other trials are expected in the coming weeks.

Follow NBC HEALTH on Twitter & Facebook.
 

Jmartjrmd

Well-Known Member


  • Dozens of bodies found in U-Haul trucks outside NYC funeral home
    By Larry Celona, Elizabeth Rosner and Vincent Barone

    April 29, 2020 | 7:14pm


    Investigators outside the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral HomePaul Martinka
    Sign up for our special edition newsletter to get a daily update on the coronavirus pandemic.

    Police found dozens of bodies being stored in unrefrigerated trucks outside a Brooklyn funeral home and lying on the facility’s floor Wednesday, law enforcement sources told The Post.

    Between 40 to 60 bodies were discovered either stacked up in U-Haul box trucks outside Andrew Cleckley Funeral Services in Flatlands or on the building’s floor, after neighbors reported a foul odor around the property, sources said.

    NYPD detectives were joined by several other city agencies investigating the trucks at the Utica Avenue facility Wednesday evening, with the section of the street closed off to the public.

    John DiPietro, who owns a neighboring property, said he had observed cadavers being stored in the trucks for at least several weeks during the coronavirus pandemic.

    “You don’t respect the dead that way. That could have been my father, my brother,” said DiPietro.

    View Gallery
    Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams was on the scene, but could not confirm any details of the storage. Adams said the city needed to ramp up staff for a “bereavement committee” to deal with the surging deaths due to the coronavirus.

    “We need to bring in funeral directors, morgues, [medical examiners], clergies … when you find bodies in trucks like this throughout our city, treating them in an undignified manner, that’s unacceptable.”

    Police called in the state Department of Health. A spokesman at the agency said the department is actively looking into the matter, but couldn’t comment further.

    In addition to the two U-Hauls holding corpses, the facility had two more refrigerated trucks also storing bodies and a third box truck of empty caskets, police sources said.

    The funeral home told officers that the bodies were supposed to be going to a crematorium but they didn’t come and pick them up, sources told the Post.

    The owner of Pemco supplies, a kitchen appliance parts supplier nearby the funeral home, called the situation a “disaster.”

    “They were storing them in U-Haul trucks; we knew what was going on but not the extent,” the owner said.

    “One thing to be [killed] by the coronavirus, another to be treated inhumanly.”

    Calls to the funeral company, went unanswered Wednesday.
 

meka72

Well-Known Member
But you walking outside in your yard is not a violation of quarantine. You having a cookout with 50 people would probably be a violation of the quarantine and would suggest reckless behavior.

Jail? :eek:

So if I walk outside my yard right now, police should arrest me and send me to jail?

Oh you mean arrest for activities such as a house party, right or protest? What about funerals and walking in groups to get exercise?
 

UmSumayyah

Well-Known Member
Jail? :eek:

So if I walk outside my yard right now, police should arrest me and send me to jail?

Oh you mean arrest for activities such as a house party, right or protest? What about funerals and walking in groups to get exercise?
Jail! Several cities have space vacated by criminals.

If popo catch you shooting hoops alonecat sunset or sitting in a parked car for drive in church, clearly you are a larger threat to society than Convict Carl.
 

Jmartjrmd

Well-Known Member
Doctor takes to streets to help black communities get tested for COVID-19
2 hrs ago





a man and a woman taking a selfie in a car: Dr. Ala Stanford leans into car to test an unidentified patient for COVID-19 in Philadelphia.

‘Hallelujah that God made a way,” said Gwen Carter as she waited to be tested for COVID-19 at Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ in Philadelphia on Friday.

Stanford has tested more than 1,500 deeply appreciative residents in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. She does not charge a dime.

In her hometown of Philadelphia, blacks make up the majority of the population, and nearly half of the coronavirus cases.


Amid concerns in the health care community about the disproportionate impact COVID-19 is having on black and brown communities, Stanford decided to take action.

“ I just couldn't be part of another town hall meeting or watch another webinar or talk about how pervasive the social determinants of health are and not do anything,” she told ABC News Live Anchor Linsey Davis.

As a pediatric surgeon in a private practice, she had access to some tests and PPE. She rented a van and loaded it up. Her husband got in the driver's seat and they hit the streets, making ‘house calls’ to residents who badly needed tests.

“We got our team together... it took literally 48 hours to get it together,” she said.

Just like that the “Black Doctors COVID19 Consortium” was born-- a group of medical professionals who assemble in church parking lots with protective gear, and highly-coveted coronavirus tests.

“We basically set up like a triage unit... every time we go we pack up everything it comes out of the van, we put everything up, we have a registration,” Stanford said.

By car, by foot, any way they can. Hundreds and hundreds show up.

They wait while socially distanced-- hoping they will be the lucky ones to get a test.

“The need is great... It just confirms to us that we’re exactly where we need to be testing these communities,” Stanford added.

They’ve hit more than half a dozen Philadelphia area churches, and Stanford and her team of volunteers don’t plan to stop any time soon.

Philadelphia is the birthplace of America, and home to the Liberty Bell-- but the city is also the poorest big city in the country-- according to the latest U.S. Census numbers, 24.9% of the city’s nearly 1.6 million residents live in poverty.

And those in poverty-- are having a significantly harder time getting access to tests.

Epidemiologist Dr. Usama Bilal is tracking who is getting tested by zip code.
Shortage of black blood donors
And now, the Red Cross flagging a new concern for blacks, a lack of blood donors.

The Red Cross tells ABC News prior to this pandemic blood donations from African Americans accounted for four percent of overall donations. But now-- the Red Cross is facing a dire shortage of donations from black donors.

Donations have dropped by 50 percent since the pandemic began, now accounting for just two percent of donations.

“People may be more concerned about going in to donate blood. And this is particularly problematic where in urban areas you're worried that you might be exposed to COVID-19 going in to donate blood,” Dr. Kimberly Whitley, chairwoman of the Sickle Cell Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia told ABC News.

Those donations are especially critical for those with sickle cell disease.

“African-American donors really need to come out and donate for children and adults living with sickle cell disease because their red cell units are going to be more likely to match those individuals who need the transfusions,” Dr. Whitley added.

Some 98% of those diagnosed with sickle cell disease are black. Many patients require blood transfusions once a month for their entire life-- that can’t be put on hold during the pandemic.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is one of the country’s largest comprehensive sickle cell centers, and they are donating thousands of masks and hand sanitizers to the families of young people with the disease.

Sickle cell disease patients have weaker immune systems-- making the importance of testing everyone who interacts with them for COVID-19 critical.

As it is well documented, not every COVID-19 patient has symptoms.

Pastor Alyn Waller, who leads Philadelphia’s largest church, Enon Tabernacle, was one of those.

Waller invited Stanford to test at his church, hoping to spread awareness of the importance of being tested.

© Pastor Marshall Mitchell via Black Doctors Covid19 Consortium Dr. Ala Stanford leans into car to test an unidentified patient for COVID-19 in Philadelphia.
“I was just doing it not expecting to be positive. But, expecting to just show people that it really doesn’t hurt when it goes up your nose and so the last thing I expected.. Was to get a positive result,” Pastor Waller told ABC News. That day at Enon-- Dr. Stanford and her team tested 350 people. Their positive rate has been hovering between 18-20%.

“Now I think I’m on assignment, because I don’t feel bad and I can speak up for people that may not feel good enough to speak up,” Pastor Waller added. He believes the region, and the country needs more testing.


“Had I not taken that test, I would have been walking around shedding, and potentially infecting someone who would have worse experience with the same virus,” Waller added.

He is now preaching from home to his congregation of more than 12,000 people.

His message-- the black community must take responsibility for their own health.

“We know that when America catches a cold the black community has pneumonia. And so we have to take extra steps to make sure that the message gets out... it's a challenge to the system to recognize that disparities exist already. It's a challenge to our community to recognize that this is real, and we have to take responsibility for our own health,”
Stanford says she’ll continue to test until she feels like Philadelphia officials are doing enough testing. She hopes doctors in other cities see what she’s doing, and get out there to help.
“For my doctors and friends in other cities, you can do this, you know you can do this, and hopefully you have the support of your local and state government. But if you don't, you can do it. It takes one doctor to decide that their practice is going to be about COVID-19, and you just do it,” Stanford said.

© Pastor Marshall Mitchell via Black Doctors Covid19 Consortium Dr. Ala Stanford stands on street with a colleague.
Stanford believes the government could set up a better testing infrastructure to help black communities in as little as a week, “I don’t see the resources, I don’t even see the cash, or the move into getting people tested,” she said.

Philadelphia Congressman Dwight Evans has noticed what Dr. Stanford is doing, he tells ABC News he is ‘very impressed that she took it upon herself to get this done. I needed to help push this to the city's officials. This needs to happen. She deserves the help,” he said.


Until the help comes, it’s Dr. Stanford to the rescue, with a quick tilt of their head, and a five second swab of the nose.

Further proof that in these challenging times, superheroes really don’t need capes, just a mask and a dream.
 

Lylddlebit

Well-Known Member
I don't understand why people resist the shelter in place --- I'm in the epicenter of the epicenter and I only go out for necessities --- NO ONE BOTHERS ME. This is all voluntary for the greater good. No body locked me into my apt.


That's the answer though. People consider what they want to do a necessity, whether it actually is or not. People are going to continue to justify doing what they want to do. In which case, it's most efficient to remove their access to you(used generally).
 
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MomofThreeBoys

Well-Known Member
I don't understand why people resist the shelter in place --- I'm in the epicenter of the epicenter and I only go out for necessities --- NO ONE BOTHERS ME. This is all voluntary for the greater good. No body locked me into my apt.
I don’t get it either. I have a white colleague in Georgia and when they opened the barbershops and hair salons on Friday he proudly announced on Twitter how great it felt to get a haircut. A-hole. He’s a republican so I know he was trying to prove a point. I read somewhere some how this pandemic has turned public health into a progressive issue and economic health into a conservative issue. I have a vested interest in both as should every American.​
 
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Ivonnovi

Well-Known Member
Regarding this promising vaccine. In the past when our nation approved products without thorough testing it caused major health problems. As if that's not bad enough, our Nation's leader's denied these problems for decades and years.

Vietnam: Agent Orange, sprayed from above to kill plants in the jungle during the War: Here's a very polite Vet talking about his experience post exposure and the denial.

Morning Sickness relief? Thalidomide was prescribed during pregnancy to ease morning sickness before it was withdrawn in 1961 because it was causing birth defects.

Gulf war Anti-Nerve Agent pill: Pyridostigmine bromide (PB). Side effects included: muscle cramps, & diarrhea; within hours. I can also attest to having watery menses and frequent urgent need to piss......a mess!

Need Birth Control? Norplants
(I was part of this lawsuit(1990's_) I bled like a stuck pig every 2 weeks...for 18 months.....

Post 2011 and the Antrhax Vaccine. ....and it's problems. << that they are calling "Bad Batches"...... I ducked this round of vaccinations as much as I could and not get kicked out.
ETA: Let's not forget that while the surviving families of the rich got big $ for their pain & suffering; many of the FIRST RESPONDERS GOT C.R.U.M.B.S. if anything and most had to fight for the crumbs; some are still living with illness and haven't be adequately compensated or taken care of.


I list these as food for thought. Stay healthy and don't jump in line for any new "promising vaccines".....Please!
 
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naturalgyrl5199

Well-Known Member
No. Lol. I am just providing the information from CDC.

I am in a damned if I do, damned if I don't situation.
Got it. You gotta be patient. We just don't know whats going to happen. I promise you. I'd rather have my oldest at regular school, not a day care---so she can see her friends, talk with her favorite teacher, see her Coach and other adults in her life that have impacted her greatly. My oldest daughter JUST started Kindergarten and I swear she was MADE for it...she finally has a teacher who understand her, who I really like. I wish I could keep her teacher for every single year she is in school. Homeschooling has been extremely stressful for me....I'd rather not wear a stuffy N95 or deal with clients remotely. I don't love working from home...but I can't take any chances with my kids. I watched my oldest almost die several times. She was on a ventilator the 1st 2 months of her life, only to be put back on when she was 3 mos old. She lived the first 7 months of her life in a hospital. I'm not entirely sure my kid would survive being vented again. I wouldn't survive seeing it. It was the absolute lowest part of my life to this day. I am not willing to take any chances for the sake of "trying it out and seeing." I really need some better guarantees. It doesn't mean I'm living in FEAR. It just means I'm doing my job as a parent to ensure her safety...unlike Dr. Oz who'd sacrifice 2-3% of kids for the sake of resuming school. Or this President who is all over the place.

Also understand that those stats are based on regular flu. We can't extrapolate previous data to the current situation. Its really a false equivalent and dismisses the severity of the situation. Its great that kids haven't been impacted as much...but if your kid was 1 of the 100 who died, out of the say 100000 that contracted it...stats mean nothing ya know? Your world would end right then and there per se.

We've only been actually dealing with this for 6-7 weeks. March 1st---ppl were still shrugging their shoulders.
 

naturalgyrl5199

Well-Known Member
Doctor takes to streets to help black communities get tested for COVID-19
2 hrs ago





a man and a woman taking a selfie in a car: Dr. Ala Stanford leans into car to test an unidentified patient for COVID-19 in Philadelphia.

‘Hallelujah that God made a way,” said Gwen Carter as she waited to be tested for COVID-19 at Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ in Philadelphia on Friday.

Stanford has tested more than 1,500 deeply appreciative residents in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. She does not charge a dime.

In her hometown of Philadelphia, blacks make up the majority of the population, and nearly half of the coronavirus cases.


Amid concerns in the health care community about the disproportionate impact COVID-19 is having on black and brown communities, Stanford decided to take action.

“ I just couldn't be part of another town hall meeting or watch another webinar or talk about how pervasive the social determinants of health are and not do anything,” she told ABC News Live Anchor Linsey Davis.

As a pediatric surgeon in a private practice, she had access to some tests and PPE. She rented a van and loaded it up. Her husband got in the driver's seat and they hit the streets, making ‘house calls’ to residents who badly needed tests.

“We got our team together... it took literally 48 hours to get it together,” she said.

Just like that the “Black Doctors COVID19 Consortium” was born-- a group of medical professionals who assemble in church parking lots with protective gear, and highly-coveted coronavirus tests.

“We basically set up like a triage unit... every time we go we pack up everything it comes out of the van, we put everything up, we have a registration,” Stanford said.

By car, by foot, any way they can. Hundreds and hundreds show up.

They wait while socially distanced-- hoping they will be the lucky ones to get a test.

“The need is great... It just confirms to us that we’re exactly where we need to be testing these communities,” Stanford added.

They’ve hit more than half a dozen Philadelphia area churches, and Stanford and her team of volunteers don’t plan to stop any time soon.

Philadelphia is the birthplace of America, and home to the Liberty Bell-- but the city is also the poorest big city in the country-- according to the latest U.S. Census numbers, 24.9% of the city’s nearly 1.6 million residents live in poverty.

And those in poverty-- are having a significantly harder time getting access to tests.

Epidemiologist Dr. Usama Bilal is tracking who is getting tested by zip code.
Shortage of black blood donors
And now, the Red Cross flagging a new concern for blacks, a lack of blood donors.

The Red Cross tells ABC News prior to this pandemic blood donations from African Americans accounted for four percent of overall donations. But now-- the Red Cross is facing a dire shortage of donations from black donors.

Donations have dropped by 50 percent since the pandemic began, now accounting for just two percent of donations.

“People may be more concerned about going in to donate blood. And this is particularly problematic where in urban areas you're worried that you might be exposed to COVID-19 going in to donate blood,” Dr. Kimberly Whitley, chairwoman of the Sickle Cell Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia told ABC News.

Those donations are especially critical for those with sickle cell disease.

“African-American donors really need to come out and donate for children and adults living with sickle cell disease because their red cell units are going to be more likely to match those individuals who need the transfusions,” Dr. Whitley added.

Some 98% of those diagnosed with sickle cell disease are black. Many patients require blood transfusions once a month for their entire life-- that can’t be put on hold during the pandemic.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is one of the country’s largest comprehensive sickle cell centers, and they are donating thousands of masks and hand sanitizers to the families of young people with the disease.

Sickle cell disease patients have weaker immune systems-- making the importance of testing everyone who interacts with them for COVID-19 critical.

As it is well documented, not every COVID-19 patient has symptoms.

Pastor Alyn Waller, who leads Philadelphia’s largest church, Enon Tabernacle, was one of those.

Waller invited Stanford to test at his church, hoping to spread awareness of the importance of being tested.

© Pastor Marshall Mitchell via Black Doctors Covid19 Consortium Dr. Ala Stanford leans into car to test an unidentified patient for COVID-19 in Philadelphia.
“I was just doing it not expecting to be positive. But, expecting to just show people that it really doesn’t hurt when it goes up your nose and so the last thing I expected.. Was to get a positive result,” Pastor Waller told ABC News. That day at Enon-- Dr. Stanford and her team tested 350 people. Their positive rate has been hovering between 18-20%.

“Now I think I’m on assignment, because I don’t feel bad and I can speak up for people that may not feel good enough to speak up,” Pastor Waller added. He believes the region, and the country needs more testing.


“Had I not taken that test, I would have been walking around shedding, and potentially infecting someone who would have worse experience with the same virus,” Waller added.

He is now preaching from home to his congregation of more than 12,000 people.

His message-- the black community must take responsibility for their own health.

“We know that when America catches a cold the black community has pneumonia. And so we have to take extra steps to make sure that the message gets out... it's a challenge to the system to recognize that disparities exist already. It's a challenge to our community to recognize that this is real, and we have to take responsibility for our own health,”
Stanford says she’ll continue to test until she feels like Philadelphia officials are doing enough testing. She hopes doctors in other cities see what she’s doing, and get out there to help.
“For my doctors and friends in other cities, you can do this, you know you can do this, and hopefully you have the support of your local and state government. But if you don't, you can do it. It takes one doctor to decide that their practice is going to be about COVID-19, and you just do it,” Stanford said.

© Pastor Marshall Mitchell via Black Doctors Covid19 Consortium Dr. Ala Stanford stands on street with a colleague.
Stanford believes the government could set up a better testing infrastructure to help black communities in as little as a week, “I don’t see the resources, I don’t even see the cash, or the move into getting people tested,” she said.

Philadelphia Congressman Dwight Evans has noticed what Dr. Stanford is doing, he tells ABC News he is ‘very impressed that she took it upon herself to get this done. I needed to help push this to the city's officials. This needs to happen. She deserves the help,” he said.


Until the help comes, it’s Dr. Stanford to the rescue, with a quick tilt of their head, and a five second swab of the nose.

Further proof that in these challenging times, superheroes really don’t need capes, just a mask and a dream.

In countries like India, with over 1B humans living there, and as much as the entire state of Florida living in one smaller state...doctors do this in very very poor areas of the communities. I mean we have poor areas which may have public housing....but we are talking about what looks like Favelas and true slums. If there is an outbreak like Flu or SARS, they have been known to mask up, full on PPE and offer testing, flu vaccine if the family wants it, and screening and they offer ways to isolate or hospital stay for those who are sick. Sometimes they find out someone is going to have a baby--soon, or has other medical issues like stroke or at have had a mild heart attack that very day and is going down. This would be great but poorer members of the community, many black folk don't trust anyone going door to door. However in this particular climate, people would accept it.
 

naturalgyrl5199

Well-Known Member
So don't trust the information on CDC? Who do we trust?
Do we trust to have forced vaccinations?

Like they said up thread...trust your own common sense for one. I have a clinical and science background. But this climate and administration....eww. They don't even let Dr. Fauci get up there with Trump anymore...They don't believe in science because it doesn't jive with their agenda.
They can't force vaccines. They will run into issues mandating it for work and I don't see Labor Unions or Private industry supporting it if they were to mandate it like school vaccines. I don't think the schools will mandate this particular vaccine either. People think they will "back into" mandating it in other ways. I am pro-vaccine but based on my experience with clinical work, I am not convinced the first round will be worth it. What they are not telling ppl is that it takes 4 years to validate a good vaccine. The 18 months is "over promising" for true validation of safety. Completion and preliminary trials? Yes....but first round...tricky. Doesn't mean it will be a crap product....just an untested one. I didn't start getting a flu vaccine until it was over 10 years old.
 

King of Sorrow

Well-Known Member
NYC News

Soure: NY Times

Subway service will halt between 1 and 5 a.m. so trains can be disinfected.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Thursday that the New York City subway would halt service from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. each night so trains could be disinfected.

Mr. Cuomo said that shuttle buses, dollar vans and even for-hire vehicles would provide what he called an “essential connector” during those hours to transport workers who needed to get to their jobs.

“This is as ambitious as anything we’ve ever undertaken,” the governor said. New York’s subway is one of the few in the world that rounds round the clock. The subway is operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a state agency that Mr. Cuomo effectively controls.

The announcement comes after days of building tension over homeless people using subway trains as an alternative form of shelter and creating what many felt were unsanitary conditions on trains. On Tuesday, Mr. Cuomo had declared the situation “disgusting.”

He said that Mayor Bill de Blasio would help lead the effort to coordinate transportation during the nightly halt and praised the mayor for his cooperation.

“It’s a heck of an undertaking by the mayor and I applaud him for his ambition here in stepping up and taking this on,” Mr. Cuomo said.

Mr. de Blasio, appearing at the briefing, said that the effort would be a way to help homeless people, whose life on the subways he called “an unacceptable reality.”

The M.T.A. had rolled out new measures to address the use of the subway by the homeless on Wednesday.

Riders will not be allowed to remain in a station for more than an hour, and large wheeled carts, like shopping or grocery carts, have been banned from the system, officials said.

As long as the public health emergency continues, riders will also not be allowed to remain on a train or platform after an announcement that a train is being taken out of service.

“I want to be clear the status quo has been completely unacceptable,” said Sarah Feinberg, the interim president of New York City Transit, which operates the subway and buses. “It’s my job to make sure everyone who rides our system feels safe and secure and that our work force feels safe and secure.”

With the subway carrying less than 10 percent of its usual riders and running fewer trains, the number of homeless people who are effectively living on the subway has come into sharper focus in the past two months.

Advocates for the homeless say that many homeless people are avoiding shelters for fear of getting sick there, especially in dormitory-style shelters where the virus has spread quickly and killed dozens of people.

Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea said on “Good Day New York” Thursday morning that the police have been ejecting many more people from the transit system lately — about 180 per day in the last three weeks, up from 50 or 60 a week in January.
 

meka72

Well-Known Member
Tupac Shakur really did file for unemployment in Kentucky | Lexington Herald Leader
By

April 28, 2020 11:27 AM
Tupac Malik Shakur, 46, goes by Malik. He lives in Lexington and worked as a cook at Alfalfa’s and Lynagh’s in Lexington before they closed to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

On March 13, the first day he could, he applied for unemployment insurance. On March 17, he got his monetary determination letter. He has been waiting on his unemployment money ever since.

“I’ve been struggling for like the last month trying to figure out how to pay the bills,” Shakur said.

Shakur said he’s been calling Frankfort frequently to try and figure out why his claim didn’t go through. He said he’s been wondering why it was being held up, but never would have guessed it’s because the education and workforce development cabinet thought it was a joke.

“I’m hurt, I’m really embarrassed and I’m shocked,” Shakur said. “He needs to apologize. That’s just my name.”

Beshear’s office originally said the state could not verify the identity on the application they received from a person named Tupac Shakur. The Herald-Leader gave the governor’s office Shakur’s phone number Monday night and the state is now working to resolve the claim.

Beshear called Shakur personally to apologize Tuesday morning.

Shakur said he appreciated the call and that he forgave Beshear for the error.

“I understand, he’s dealing with a lot,” Shakur said. “Mistakes happen.”

A record number of people have filed for unemployment in Kentucky — close to 24 percent of the state’s workforce. Beshear said Monday that the state processed 150,000 claims that were being held up Sunday night and that another 70,000 claims for people who applied for unemployment in March were being released.

So far, that hasn’t included Shakur.

Shakur hasn’t always been Tupac Malik Shakur. His father practiced Islam and after he died in the early 90s, Shakur took up the faith. Shakur said he had his name legally changed around 1998 and that he chose the last name because it means “thankful to God” in Arabic. The rapper Tupac Shakur died in 1996.

Shakur said people sometimes laugh about it or think it’s cool, but he never expected it would prevent him from being able to collect unemployment.

Jeb Messer, whose wife Amy owns Alfalfa’s and Lynagh’s, said he was frustrated by the fact that Shakur’s name would prevent him from being able to collect unemployment.

“We just assumed everyone was getting it,” Messer said. “That may have been a bad assumption on my part.”

Messer said he didn’t understand why the state didn’t try harder to verify Shakur’s identity.

“Something this minor shouldn’t hold up a system that’s ensuring the well-being of this many people right now,” Messer said.
 

UmSumayyah

Well-Known Member
I don't understand why people resist the shelter in place --- I'm in the epicenter of the epicenter and I only go out for necessities --- NO ONE BOTHERS ME. This is all voluntary for the greater good. No body locked me into my apt.
Some things people are doing, like playing outsiders with their children, away from others or even alone poses no risk of spreading infection

People attending a drive in church service or drive in movie do not risk spreading covid

Obama was apparently out golfing while his wife is telling everyone else to stay home unless they are going for food or medical care.

Clearly golfing is a great activity for social distancing. It's out in the fresh air and sunshine with lots of space. He's not risking spreading infection by hitting the green.

But if regular people's social distancing outings are nonessential and they need to be lectured about staying home, then prominent figures should do the same.

It's not cool for the mayor of Chicago to tell people to forgo root touch ups, and then go get her hair cut.

It's not okay for Pence to stroll in visiting patients without a mask or for that Texas mayor to get her nails done.

I have enough space and seating to have friends over to my yard to hang out. I can put lounge chairs 7 feet apart, disinfect them and everyone can bring their own food and drink.

But it's "nonessential" and not allowed by government decree, even though it's less risky than a trip for takeout or picking up groceries.

Directives need to make sense and certainly should apply to everyone.
 

shelli4018

Well-Known Member
We don’t have a national lockdown with one set of rules. Instead we have each state/city doing their own thing. If regular folk have the same access to quality healthcare as some random public figure then take yourselves outside. I don’t know what Obama’s golfing habits or Christina Cuomo’s bathing habits have to do with anything. Just take care of yourselves and don’t put others at risk.

Why are y’all looking for something extra to be mad about? Seems you’d have your hands full just taking care of your own household and learning as much as you can.

Mike Pence is an idiot. I ain’t about to go to a medical facility without a mask. Lol!
 
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