# Covid has hit home for me



## alloy (Jul 3, 2020)

We have an old guy (older than me if you can believe that) that walks his little dog past our place all the time. 

Last night there were two ambulances at his place and the neighbor said he was taken in for covid. Thats just two houses down from me.

I know its all around,  but I didn't think it was that close.


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## savarin (Jul 3, 2020)

Its everywhere, until we get an effective vaccine it will remain with us for a very long time.
IF we get an effective vaccine it will still be with us form all the brain dead anti vaxers around.
We have a very low infective rate in Aus probably due to our closures and social distancing measures but it will not die out from the vast numbers refusing to take the test. 
Take care and wear a GOOD quality mask irrespective of what a lot of tossers think is a conspiracy.


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## darkzero (Jul 3, 2020)

I feel you. We hear of it all over the news yet I have only heard of one person I know test positive for it who didn't have major issues & recovered already. He retested & came up negative. Other than that luckily I haven't heard of any of my family or friends getting it.

I picked up an order from MSC yesterday & my sales guy was telling me that the owner of a local deburring place that he dealt with for a long time just passed away from Covid, 60 yrs old.


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## mickri (Jul 4, 2020)

Covid is a very nasty form of pneumonia.  There is no doubt about that.  But from what I have been able to decipher it is nowhere near as bad as it is being made out to be.  I have been all over this because I take care of my elderly mother.  She will be 102 years old in August and is in excellent health for her age.

Nobody that I know has tested positive for Covid.

There is more misinformation out there than you can shake a stick at.  Even the CDC has different numbers in different places on their website.  I found a page on the CDC's website that is based on the listed cause of death on death certificates.  It is updated daily. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm  Even the info on that page is convoluted due to double counting.  You would think that the numbers should add up but they don't.  It took awhile for me to figure out how the numbers were being manipulated.  Here are today's numbers as recorded by the CDC from death certificates with the double counting removed.  Even these numbers are suspect because in the fine print and footnotes the Covid-19 numbers include "presumed" Covid-19 deaths.  No breakdown on actual and presumed Covid-19 deaths.  In all likely hood the Covid-19 deaths are slightly overstated.
Covid-19                          62,989
Pneumonia                      74,405
Influenza                            5,540
Covid-19 & pneumonia   48,772
Covid-19 & influenza           939  This number is not listed and was calculated so the numbers would add up to the total
Total                               192,645

The wearing of masks is a false sense of security.  Again from what I have been able to determine is that wearing a mask doesn't prevent you from being infected.  The masks help to prevent a person who is infected from spreading Covid-19.  According to testing of large groups 50% of the people who test positive never show any symptoms and never get sick yet can still spread the virus.  I wear a mask whenever I am out in public places.  So does my elderly mother.


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## FOMOGO (Jul 4, 2020)

Have recently had a friend die of covid. Went into the hospital for a minor heart issue, and never came out. I'm afraid Savarin is right on point. This thing is going to be around for longer than any of us would like, and it will kill you if you don't pay attention. I would normally be going back to the Caribbean in November, but no plane rides for me this year. Should help me get caught up on all my shop projects. Mike


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## mattthemuppet2 (Jul 4, 2020)

alloy - I hope your neighbour is ok.

mickri - the best way to get a sense of how many deaths there are from Covid-19 itself, complications from it or even indirect deaths (not getting cancer treatment due to overwhelmed hospitals) is to look at the "excess deaths" statistic. Looking back over a number of years gives us a pretty accurate idea of how many deaths occur normally in any given time period. Anything over that are "excess deaths". Here's a good explanation and user configerable graphic:






						Excess Deaths Associated with COVID-19
					

Figures present excess deaths associated with COVID-19 at the national and state levels.




					www.cdc.gov
				




As you put so well yourself, wearing a mask is to *reduce transmission to others*. It's an altruistic care-for-thy-brother deal. There's plenty of data out there showing how mask wearing reduces transmission, much of it case studies and anecdotal as there's no way to ethically run a proper trial. Mask wearing can also reduce the risk of becoming infected - not as much as they reduce the risk of infecting someone else if you're infected (20-30% vs. 60-80%) but it all helps. Mask wearing is a no brainer - uncomfortable, irritating and absolutely essential to controlling this disease.


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## RJSakowski (Jul 4, 2020)

Getting COVID-19 is a matter of probabilities.  The only way to have zero probability is total isolation.  Anything other than that adds to the risk of contracting the virus.  Wearing a mask doesn't absolutely protect one from the virus.  It reduces the probability.  The N95 mask itself only claims to filter out 95% of a 5 micron or greater airborne particle.  Initially, homade masks were discouraged as they were not as effective as the N95 masks.  Now they are recommended because any barrier to an invading virus is better than no barrier.


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## RandyWilson (Jul 4, 2020)

I know/knew two people directly that have died of COVID. Unfortunately every bit of COVIUD news, stats, and advice is now fully and completely politicized.  By the rules, this is a non-political forum... one of the reasons I've been hanging here more lately. I get bombarded with the "news', crap, and outright lies from both sides every place I turn on the web. I will not stand for someone spouting off one side and calling the other side derogatory names here. Doesn't matter if I agree or not. *savarin, * congrats on being the first on my block list.


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## aliva (Jul 4, 2020)

All I know is that I use so much hand sanitizer that very time I pee I disinfect the toilet bowl


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## 7milesup (Jul 4, 2020)

RandyWilson said:


> I know/knew two people directly that have died of COVID. Unfortunately every bit of COVIUD news, stats, and advice is now fully and completely politicized.  By the rules, this is a non-political forum... one of the reasons I've been hanging here more lately. I get bombarded with the "news', crap, and outright lies from both sides every place I turn on the web. I will not stand for someone spouting off one side and calling the other side derogatory names here. Doesn't matter if I agree or not. *savarin, * congrats on being the first on my block list.



LOL.  Savarin didn't have any political comments in his post.  He was merely stating facts.  And he is correct about the anti-vaccine folks.  If they had their way, polio would begin running rampant again.


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## 7milesup (Jul 4, 2020)

Social distancing, wearing masks and other measures are not going to stop Covid.  They are, however, in place to slow the spread to prevent the health care system from being overwhelmed.  
Some of the lowest death rate numbers I have seen for Covid are around 3%.  The death rate for the flu is .01%.   When people say this is no worse than the flu, I ask them when was the last flu season where they parked refrigerated trailers outside of hospitals to receive the dead.

Alloy.... I hope you neighbor pulls through this.  Statistics mean nothing when someone you know is in the fight of their life.  My wife and I had a distant family member pass away from Covid.  Yes, they were in a nursing home but most likely would have lived a few more years if it wasn't for COVID.


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## kb58 (Jul 4, 2020)

I work for a company of around 10,000 employees, and have so far have had 36 onsite infections. It may well be worse than that though, because that number doesn't include those working from home who may also have it.

What's extremely frustrating is that the health and privacy laws prevent the company from posting the names. As a result, the company has to ask the infected person "tell us every room in every building you visited over the last week and every person you've been around." Oh yeah, no chance of forgetting a room or person. The RIGHT way is to post the name of the person and ask whether anyone had contact with them. Nope, and it's pretty obvious that these privacy laws never considered the case of a pandemic.


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## RJSakowski (Jul 4, 2020)

kb58 said:


> I work for a company of around 10,000 employees, and have so far have had 36 onsite infections. It may well be worse than that though, because that number doesn't include those working from home who may also have it.
> 
> What's extremely frustrating is that the health and privacy laws prevent the company from posting the names. As a result, the company has to ask the infected person "tell us every room in every building you visited over the last week and every person you've been around." Oh yeah, no chance of forgetting a room or person. The RIGHT way is to post the name of the person and ask whether anyone had contact with them. Nope, and it's pretty obvious that these privacy laws never considered the case of a pandemic.


If I am not mistaken, privacy laws pertain to release of that information without the authorization of the individual concerned.  Every time I visit the doctor, I sign away HIPAA rights.


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## kb58 (Jul 4, 2020)

Right, and HIPAA is exactly the wrong approach to deal with a pandemic, but at least this way, there won't be any lawsuits - no facepalm emoticon...


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## mmcmdl (Jul 4, 2020)

One of our departments shut down yesterday because someone tested positive . Every mechanic goes thru that department 20 times a day .


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## Janderso (Jul 4, 2020)

Yes, the numbers are all over the map. Hopefully with test kits more plentiful we will begin to see a more accurate accounting.
Every time I run the numbers for infections and related deaths, I come up with .0—-%.
To me that is very good news. I don’t see why they compare this to the 1918-1919 Spanish flu as the death toll world wide was around 20%. Yes it’s very contagious but not nearly as deadly thank God.


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## Old Mud (Jul 5, 2020)

RandyWilson said:


> I know/knew two people directly that have died of COVID. Unfortunately every bit of COVIUD news, stats, and advice is now fully and completely politicized.  By the rules, this is a non-political forum... one of the reasons I've been hanging here more lately. I get bombarded with the "news', crap, and outright lies from both sides every place I turn on the web. I will not stand for someone spouting off one side and calling the other side derogatory names here. Doesn't matter if I agree or not. *savarin, * congrats on being the first on my block list.



  Guess i don't get it. I went back and read his post and saw nothing about politics in there at all. Should I be reading between the lines ??

  It's a tough time and yes people have different opinions. the beauty is everyone is entitled to their own.


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## ddickey (Jul 5, 2020)

From what I understand it is easily spread like the flu but not highly contagious like the measles.


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## vocatexas (Jul 5, 2020)

I just wish we could get good reliable information. The number fixing is even going on at the county level. I found out our county judge was asking his friends who showed no signs of infection to go get tested because more negative tests looks good on the paperwork he files for the state.

I also found out from a friend of mine, who is a firefigher in another district, that they had a person killed in a motor vehicle accident. The autopsy showed they were infected, so it went down as a corvid death, even though that wasn't what killed the person.

It makes it really hard for anybody to make sense out of what's going on when you have this level of idiocy.

I'm the fire chief of my community's VFD. I've told my guys to limit exposure to anyone at a call, and to stay as far from the county EMS personnel as possible.


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## Reddinr (Jul 5, 2020)

This discussion is probably the most respectful back and forth about covid that I've come across on the wild web.  Another reason to keep coming back here.  I don't agree with everything that has been said but at least it was said well and with some thought put into it and without insulting anyone.  For the anecdotal cases that would make me think that the numbers are too high or too low, I personally just come up with a factor in my head that cuts through the noise.  My reasoning is that even if X%-Y% of the cases are "they were going to die anyway" or "politically motivated" or "economically motivated", well we still have a problem.  It is easy to get caught up in the news.  The viruses?  They don't watch the news.


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## Old Mud (Jul 5, 2020)

RandyWilson said:


> I know/knew two people directly that have died of COVID. Unfortunately every bit of COVIUD news, stats, and advice is now fully and completely politicized.  By the rules, this is a non-political forum... one of the reasons I've been hanging here more lately. I get bombarded with the "news', crap, and outright lies from both sides every place I turn on the web. I will not stand for someone spouting off one side and calling the other side derogatory names here. Doesn't matter if I agree or not. *savarin, * congrats on being the first on my block list.




   Hi Randy, you know just to be fair in case you didn't know. Savarin is from  Townsville  Australia so any Political reference he may have made (If their was one) Would NOT have been for  Virginia or the USA. I don't know savarin or you, in fact i have never net anyone on this site and am not bias in any way, just trying to see folks get treated fairly. 

  Don


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## randyjaco (Jul 5, 2020)

I really don't understand why we tend to think that there's going to be a vaccine for COVID 19 in the near or distant future. It's just wishful thinking. What virus vaccines exist today? Where's the vaccine for the common cold or for influenza? If they were possible, they would have been developed long ago. The best we have is annual flu shots, not a vaccine. From what I have read so far, individuals' immunity is currently only lasting for a couple of months. I do hope that we come up with something, but I don't think that a vaccine is going to be the answer for a long time. I am not trying to be a defeatist, but I think we should be seeking alternative avenues and getting real.
Randy


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## Reddinr (Jul 5, 2020)

> ...What virus vaccines exist today? ...



So I'm going a little outside my area of expertise but I have done a bit of reading over the years about this.  The flu shot is a vaccine.  It is not a long lasting vaccine like measles or polio etc. though.  The C.D.C. / W.H.O.? /Others do the job of trying to look ahead a year or more to determine which variants of the flu will most likely be out there and put together a vaccine to battle those predicted ones. It is not perfect but it lowers the number of cases drastically if enough people actually get the shot.  It is done to lower economic costs and deaths due to sometimes bad outcomes of flu.

The common cold doesn't have common causes.  There are many rhinoviruses and corona-viruses and others that can cause cold symptoms.  My recollection is that it is not very often a serious affliction so developing vaccines each year isn't done.  Probably not enough money in it.  Maybe hard to keep up with the variants each year.  Not sure about those reasons though.

[EDIT:
I forgot to also say that I agree with you Randy that developing the vaccine is not a slam dunk.  But, because it is just a few related strains of corona, there is apparently a reasonably good chance of that happening...at some point in the future.  I suppose it could eventually be combined with the annual flu concoction but I'm certainly at the edge of my knowledge with that.  The other thing that will likely happen is that the virus mutates over time to become less of a serious problem for susceptible people.  Or vice versa I guess. ]

This is an interesting quick read on a few diseases, many viral, we don't worry about so much anymore due to vaccines.

*"Diseases You Almost Forgot About (Thanks to Vaccines)"*
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/diseases/forgot-14-diseases.html


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## BGHansen (Jul 6, 2020)

Guess I should be taking it a little more seriously.  Frankly, been taking the approach that it's a variation on the flu/common cold bug, albeit a serious one.  Wife and I wear a mask in public, and we do go out.  I frequently visit my 81-year old mom who is in the "at risk" group.  We don't wear masks but do socially distance when with mom.  Especially since I work at an auto assembly plant and can be exposed by any one of the hundreds of folks I work with daily.  We had one guy in our engineering group test positive in April (plant was closed on March 20).  He was hospitalized and was on oxygen for a few days.  He's 62 and a former smoker, commented he was struggling to get air with every breath.  His doctor treated a dozen cases and didn't ventilate anyone, just put them on O2 with no fatalities.

Google "Hong Kong Flu 1968".  Guess that could have been categorized as a pandemic with 1-4 Millions deaths across the world (no good numbers from China where it likely started, 1 million confirmed deaths from the rest of the countries who reported numbers). 

HK flu hit Hong Kong around July 1968 from China.  Spread across southeast Asia and made its way to California through returning Vietnam troops in September 1968.  It spread across the globe and was a killer for 2 years.  Got so bad in West Germany that bodies were being stacked in subway tunnels and garbage collectors were burying people as the undertakers were overwhelmed. 

Average death age for HK flu, 65.  Average death age for Corona, 80.  Difference is likely from the social distancing and mask wearing.  Masks aren't 100% but do offer some protection from people who "spray it instead of say it".  Entry points are your eyes, nose, and mouth.  It cannot be absorbed through the skin.  But frequent hand washing with alcohol/soap (which washes away Covid's fatty outer layer - it dies quickly in UV light) lessens your chance of transferring it to yourself through inadvertent face touching.

We're starting to see some push-back in MI from the "not at risk" age groups who want their lives to get back to normal.  They quote that we have a constitutional right to assemble.  They see it as a harsh seasonal flu that will weed out just the weak and maybe a few of the strong.  Seems like they're banking on catching it, getting over it, having some immunity to a second helping and getting on with life.  Easy to say if you're a healthy 20-30 year old with no pre-existing conditions.  I wonder what they'd say if they passed it on to one of their grandparents who aren't so healthy.

Bruce


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## Old Mud (Jul 6, 2020)

Holy Mackrel Bruce, i'm as old as your Mom.


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## mickri (Jul 6, 2020)

My mom's got you all beat.  She'll be 102 in August.  She lives with me.  We both like being at home and even before the covid we only left to get necessities.


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## Barncat (Jul 6, 2020)

This hit home for me on April 11, when my uncle died from it. My mom's good friend died shortly thereafter. It becomes more real when it is someone you know. I have a feeling that by this time next year most of us will know someone that has died from it. 
On a more positive note, the hospitals here aren't overwhelmed anymore, and the refrigerated morgue semi trailers my department had to help build aren't being used currently. Also, back in March when it was hitting the fan here, I talked to my friend who is a doctor, and a co-worker who is also a paid on call firefighter/EMT. The doctor said they were prohibited from performing CPR on anyone, because of the expulsion of droplets would coat the room and it took too long to sanitize and they needed the room for the next person. The EMT said the hospitals weren't taking anyone who they had already been working on for more than ten minutes. So if from the time they got to someone and put paddles on them or did cpr to when they got to the hospital was longer than ten minutes, the hospital didn't even try their "advanced tactics and drugs", they just sent them to the morgue. He said make sure not to get in a car wreck, and that a lot of the OD's weren't making it when before the hospital was able to bring them back. I think both of these orders have been rescinded now by the hospitals since it has calmed down here.


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## BGHansen (Jul 6, 2020)

Barncat said:


> This hit home for me on April 11, when my uncle died from it. My mom's good friend died shortly thereafter. It becomes more real when it is someone you know. I have a feeling that by this time next year most of us will know someone that has died from it.
> On a more positive note, the hospitals here aren't overwhelmed anymore, and the refrigerated morgue semi trailers my department had to help build aren't being used currently. Also, back in March when it was hitting the fan here, I talked to my friend who is a doctor, and a co-worker who is also a paid on call firefighter/EMT. The doctor said they were prohibited from performing CPR on anyone, because of the expulsion of droplets would coat the room and it took too long to sanitize and they needed the room for the next person. The EMT said the hospitals weren't taking anyone who they had already been working on for more than ten minutes. So if from the time they got to someone and put paddles on them or did cpr to when they got to the hospital was longer than ten minutes, the hospital didn't even try their "advanced tactics and drugs", they just sent them to the morgue. He said make sure not to get in a car wreck, and that a lot of the OD's weren't making it when before the hospital was able to bring them back. I think both of these orders have been rescinded now by the hospitals since it has calmed down here.


Ditto in the Lansing, MI area.  Harper's Bar opened for business and has over 150 cases from patrons.  No hospitalizations from any of those cases at the time of this writing.  Seems like the initial wave took out the most susceptible as we weren't shut-ins at the time.

Bruce


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## matthewsx (Jul 7, 2020)

mickri said:


> My mom's got you all beat.  She'll be 102 in August.  She lives with me.  We both like being at home and even before the covid we only left to get necessities.



My mom is only 89 and also lives with me. She is healthy and only has one prescription medication (eye drops for glaucoma) but it's hard not being able to go to senior exercise class or anything else. My friends dad did get it but recovered thankfully.

One thing I did was to install an outdoor handwashing sink, I've let my guard down a little though in the past few weeks but will be more careful now that numbers are going up.


John


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## savarin (Jul 7, 2020)

We are seeing a huge jump in cases in Victoria (where my kids live)
Up here in Queensland we only had a few cases so most of us have been very lax of late.
Two days ago a plane load of Victorians landed at our local airport so I expect our number to start increasing very soon.


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## middle.road (Jul 7, 2020)

Hospitals down in Texas are getting overwhelmed.
My son is in Dallas, Stepson is in Austin. 
Austin is saying they have 10 days to go until capacity of their ICU Beds.
I can't seem to find a reports out of the D/FW Metroplex area.   

As @Barncat mentions above, other cases are taking a backseat.
What if Fates Forbid I were to have another heart attack? 
What is the level of care I would receive in an ER at this time?

I had to run to Walmart to get a battery the other day, quick in and out the side door by automotive. so I had thought.
As I was finishing checkout and stuffing the receipt in my pocket this lady had walked up behind me face stuck in her phone.
I was picking the battery up off the counter and she kept creeping closer. At two feet I said something along the lines of 'six foot please!'
She looked up from her phone bewildered muttered something, turned around to back up and ran into a guy behind her.
She had a mask crammed into her purse. 
Marks on the floor, signs on the doors, an associate sitting there at a table with sanitizer and towels and yet... (Can't fix stupid.)

If there is even the slightest chance of slowing this virus down by everyone wearing a mask then it is a no-brainer as Matt mentioned above.
If it will improve my odds against catching it and keeping me out of a hospital - I'm all for it.
It is not that tough to wear a mask.


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## Chipsky (Jul 7, 2020)

I live in Florida and i'm sure you've seen reporting that our cases are growing quickly.  Our family wears masks and doesn't go out much... I figure it's a small price to pay and am pretty risk averse. I also realize that many people cannot take the same steps that we can.  That said, i have a few friends who have contracted it.  They go from minor symptoms to hospitalization (mid-40's). Another friend is now on the recovered list, but is having respiratory and heart issues.  

As we learn more, I'm wary of the long term health issues that could be associated with it.


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## 7milesup (Jul 7, 2020)

They just profiled a young gal on ABC world news the other night.  She was in her 30's I think, a runner and overall very healthy.  She contracted Covid and did recover after a 2 week stint in the hospital but now she has asthma, which she did not have before.  The docs think that she might have that the rest of her life.  
My nephew, whom is also my God son, is getting married this Friday.  We are not going because all of his friends think this Covid thing is just overblown hype or a hoax.  I can't/won't take the risk.


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## kb58 (Jul 7, 2020)

7milesup said:


> ...We are not going because all of his friends think this Covid thing is just overblown hype or a hoax.  I can't/won't take the risk.


My brother is/was getting married this Fall, and acted like he had the whole virus thing figured out ("not that big a deal, easy to avoid, etc"). He finally got the message after everyone said they would not be attending. At the time, he wouldn't consider putting it off (again, because he's got it figured out), but has since postponed it. Why he was in such a hurry we don't know, but is besides the point


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## urbomb (Jul 9, 2020)

I am fortunate to be in a state (Nebraska) where the new cases are stable at this time and have not spiked.  My wife and I also own a restaurant which has been closed for about 3 months and doing curbside for 3 weeks.  Both of us are in our 60's and don't know what to do as far as reopening.  Much of our business is from out of town, and we are not really amenable to take out, since it is really a steak house.  There have been a total of 11 cases in our small county, and even the sheriff and emergency responders are not told who tests positive due to HIIPA rules.  Many of the locals act like nothing is going on, but I wear a mask any time I am in public, and I have only been to Walmart one time since February and was super nervous that time.
Seems to me that each of us, as an individual, can only make small contributions in the effort to blunt the impact of this virus, but that it is incumbent upon each of us to make whatever effort we can in order to secure the safety of others in our society.  Granted, we may have to give up some personal liberties, and maybe take actions which run contrary to our own personal beliefs, but in the end, if it saves the next 50 citizens next to us, it is worth it.

Kevin


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## SLK001 (Jul 9, 2020)

Covid-19 is an RNA virus, so unless there is a major breakthrough in vaccine technology, any vaccine is only going to be as effective as the seasonal flu vaccine.  For MOST people (those without any co-morbidity conditions) getting Covid-19 is a non-event.  You probably won't even know you have it.  I had it in February (before the lockdown) and wouldn't have even known it if I didn't run.  During a run, it made my heart race like it wasn't getting enough oxygen (which it wasn't).  It felt like it was going to burst.  The doctor told me that Covid-19 affects the lungs ability to absorb oxygen, which is why I felt like I couldn't breath.  It took until May for my lungs to finally start repairing the damage.  I didn't stop running - I felt fine, I just didn't "push thru the pain", but stopped and walked until my O2 saturation recovered enough to continue.


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## middle.road (Jul 9, 2020)

Kevin, those last two sentences were spot on and express the situation eloquently.  
Permission to quote you Sir?



urbomb said:


> I am fortunate to be in a state (Nebraska) where the new cases are stable at this time and have not spiked.  My wife and I also own a restaurant which has been closed for about 3 months and doing curbside for 3 weeks.  Both of us are in our 60's and don't know what to do as far as reopening.  Much of our business is from out of town, and we are not really amenable to take out, since it is really a steak house.  There have been a total of 11 cases in our small county, and even the sheriff and emergency responders are not told who tests positive due to HIIPA rules.  Many of the locals act like nothing is going on, but I wear a mask any time I am in public, and I have only been to Walmart one time since February and was super nervous that time.
> Seems to me that each of us, as an individual, can only make small contributions in the effort to blunt the impact of this virus, but that it is incumbent upon each of us to make whatever effort we can in order to secure the safety of others in our society.  Granted, we may have to give up some personal liberties, and maybe take actions which run contrary to our own personal beliefs, but in the end, if it saves the next 50 citizens next to us, it is worth it.
> 
> Kevin


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## randyjaco (Jul 12, 2020)

This is worth listening to




The idea that we need to shut down the Country until a Covid vaccine is developed has always seemed ludicrous to me since we have yet to have developed vaccines for the common cold, AIDS and the flu. Here's a Texas doctor that seems to have a rational solution. You might want to discuss it with your doctor.


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## Eddyde (Jul 12, 2020)

Having had and recovered from COVID 19 I can assure you all that it is not a "variation of the Flu or Pneumonia", It is not like any other illnesses I ever experienced. That being said, I was lucky to have a relatively mild case, despite being elevated risk (asthmatic). My wife had it too, a little worse than me but also made it thorough pretty much unscathed. My 89yo mother was living in the house with us the whole time and either didn't contract it or remains asymptomatic, We did maintain a high level of separation and cleanliness, but the main thing I attribute to our success, is mega-dosing Vitamin D-3. It was already part of our daily regimen at normal doses but when my wife first got symptoms her dad, a PhD organic chemist, advised we to up it to 10-12,000 iu a day. We also took Vitamins B12, C and Zinc. Subsequently, I found a bunch of studies on the web attesting to D-3s effectiveness on the Rona...


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## Aaron_W (Jul 13, 2020)

urbomb said:


> Granted, we may have to give up some personal liberties, and maybe take actions which run contrary to our own personal beliefs, but in the end, if it saves the next 50 citizens next to us, it is worth it.
> 
> Kevin




This is the frustrating part to me. Wearing a cloth mask does little to protect the wearer, but it is pretty effective at keeping the wearer from spreading it if infected. This only works if everybody does their part, wears a mask in public and maintains some distance from others around them. 

I have no problem wearing a mask if others do the same. I will make an effort not to get you sick, so please show me the courtesy by doing the same. Where I am it is a county requirement to wear a mask indoors and at other times where it is hard to maintain distance. Most people are being pretty good about this, but I do run into a few here and there.  

My wife and I are making lemonade from the situation and having a little fun with the masks, treating them as a new fashion accessory.   

I got this set about a month ago, it is Devo approved, no piracy involved.





My wife works in a hospital so she has been wearing masks from the beginning of this and as a result now has about 10 different ones, from simple to wild, she even has one that lights up with fiber optics.


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## Aaron_W (Jul 13, 2020)

Janderso said:


> Yes, the numbers are all over the map. Hopefully with test kits more plentiful we will begin to see a more accurate accounting.
> Every time I run the numbers for infections and related deaths, I come up with .0—-%.
> To me that is very good news. I don’t see why they compare this to the 1918-1919 Spanish flu as the death toll world wide was around 20%. Yes it’s very contagious but not nearly as deadly thank God.




In the US there are 3.37 million identified cases with 137,000 deaths, that is 4.06%. Even if there was a 10-1 ratio of unidentified infected the mortality rate would still be higher than the flu which is around 0.2%.

We are in the early stages still, only 5-6 months in. The 1918 influenza killed 200,000 Americans in 1918, but another 500,000 in 1919. With modern medicine we are still quickly closing in on the 1918 mortality numbers. 


The History Guy has done a couple of videos on the 1918 "Spanish" flu, the first one is 2 years old so from before the current situation. The second one is 3 months old, he basically did a sequel due to the interest generated by current events.


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