Covid-19

[Muskie in dayton]

Sure, there’s just so much junk on Twitter and other sites that it is impossible trying to fact check everything. For instance, let’s say we were going to try and fact check everything Lou posts. It could take hours, and at the end of the day nobody is changing their mind. As a scientist, you should know that peer reviewed journals and controlled clinical trials are the gold standard to decision making and not a Twitter thread, no matter how accurate.

First, everything can be fact-checked, and it typically doesn't take much effort. Just apply some critical thought, and dig a bit further. I fact-check content before I post here, and consider the XavierHoops community to be a "peer review". Note I've had a great time "peer reviewing" some of the garbage certain folks like to post from sources worse than Twitter. I welcome a peer review of the seasonality demonstration I posted. But that can't be "because it was on Twitter", or "because the author has an agenda". That by itself is weak. Yes, a source bias is a reason to look even more critically at something, but not reason to dismiss it.

And yes, I'm well aware that peer-reviewed CRTs are the gold standard (I don't think it takes a scientist to know that). But that doesn't mean other information can automatically be dismissed. I'll go so far as to say that I'd have more faith in CV19 content posted by a scientist/data analyst/medical professional on Twitter, than I do of content on commercial media written by a Journalist.

[XU_Lou]

Research from France: "Covid-19 Mortality: A Matter of Vulnerability Among Nations Facing Limited Margins of Adaptation"

"Main Findings: This analysis shows that higher Covid-19 mortality rates are mostly found in countries experiencing higher life expectancies and showing a recent slowdown of this progression. Most of these developed and aging societies are latitudinally located over the 25° parallel. They also have higher GDP and chronic diseases levels (e.g., CVD and cancer) associated with major metabolic risk factors (e.g., inactive lifestyle, sedentarity, and obesity). High temperature and UV levels are associated with low death rates such that northern and western countries pay the most severe toll to Covid-19.

In the PCA (Principal Component Analysis), the first axis shows a strong correlation between Covid-19 death rates and countries inside the [25/65°] latitudinal strip, while the third axis reveals two correlations with Covid-19 death rates: one with longitude, a second one with obesity. This suggests that states in the Americas plagued with frequent inactive lifestyle and higher obesity rates than Asian countries experienced a higher death toll.

This is consistent with the hypothesis of an optimal human development niche, that has aggregated favorable health, demographic, environment, and economic parameters (1). However, though previously positive, they now expose populations to higher vulnerabilities to both infectious (Covid-19) or physical constraints (heat waves). Regarding government's actions (i.e., containment and stringency index), no association was found with the outcome, suggesting that the other studied factors were more important in the Covid-19 mortality than political measures implemented to fight the virus, except for the economic support index. It may however be important to decipher this positive relation in a plausible chronological order: it does not seem that a higher economic support would induce a higher Covid-19 mortality, but rather that a higher death toll rate provoked a larger societal reaction, including a higher amount of economic measures, when available."

"Conclusion: Countries that already experienced a stagnation or regression of life expectancy, with high income and NCD rates, had the highest price to pay. This burden was not alleviated by more stringent public decisions. Inherent factors have predetermined the Covid-19 mortality: understanding them may improve prevention strategies by increasing population resilience through better physical fitness and immunity."

* Once again, we have another study stating that lockdowns do not work.

* Not on this board, but I have been questioning why our health and government officials hardly ever emphasize physical fitness as a remedy to help fight the severity of covid, while promoting policies that reduce the abilities of Americans to exercise, such as the closure of gyms and stay-at-home mandates. Additionally, I don't recall ever hearing health or government officials promoting ways to boost your immune system with a healthy diet, taking vitamins, and spending time in the sun. Why would Fauci, etc. not take this obvious step?

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles...20.604339/full

[bobbiemcgee]

The longer this goes on, the more my Bullshit Detector is going off.

This is the first illness in my lifetime where you aren't sick, but "sick".

It'll magically be all over the day after the election.

BS detector going off yet?

[paulxu]

Yes I read it. It was like reading the progressive left manifesto....it mentioned about every social justice cause possible and blamed trump for everything. Just typical partisan bs.

Although it did comment on Trump's lack of leadership, it was overall a review of our challenges in the health care system, and responses to pandemics.

[bobbiemcgee]

“Covid is over in Sweden. People have gone back to their normal lives and barely anyone is getting infected any more. I am willing to bet that the countries that have shut down completely will see rates spike when they open up."
]

The King has no clothes:
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world...se/ar-BB1c0fKe

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ev...ed-11608220615

[xu82]

Frankly, I was just hoping someone would appreciate an 80s movie reference

I absolutely did. It’s been playing for a week on one of my obscure movie channels I recently made a favorite. It seems to be the ONLY series of movies they play!

[XU_Lou]

The King has no clothes:
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world...se/ar-BB1c0fKe

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ev...ed-11608220615

Congrats Boobie, I guess you and the King of Sweden have something in common: neither of you have nothing to lose because of lockdowns!

* Employment rates have rebounded to pre-COVID-19 levels for high-wage workers, they remain significantly lower for low-wage workers: https://tracktherecovery.org/

* "So far, more than 110,000 restaurants across the country have closed their doors, either permanently or long term. 'Based upon our most recent forecast, we are now estimating $215 billion in lost revenue which is just staggering,' Mike Whatley with the National Restaurant Association told CBN News Wednesday.": https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2020...aurants-closed

* "David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), warned of alarming global hunger and food insecurity, with the number of people “marching towards starvation” spiking from 135 million to 270 million as the pandemic unfolded. He stressed that 2021 will be catastrophic. 'Famine is literally on the horizon and we are talking about the next few months,' he said. Noting how the WFP stepped in to deliver aid when the global airline industry shut down at the start of the pandemic, he warned anew that 2021 risks becoming the worst humanitarian crisis year since the founding of the United Nations": https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/ga12294.doc.htm

Qu'ils mangent de la brioche!, right Boobie?

Anyone who advocates for lockdown probably needs to visit a confessional.

Any politician who votes for a lockdown should be tried for crimes against humanity.

[Lloyd Braun]

First, everything can be fact-checked, and it typically doesn't take much effort. Just apply some critical thought, and dig a bit further. I fact-check content before I post here, and consider the XavierHoops community to be a "peer review". Note I've had a great time "peer reviewing" some of the garbage certain folks like to post from sources worse than Twitter. I welcome a peer review of the seasonality demonstration I posted. But that can't be "because it was on Twitter", or "because the author has an agenda". That by itself is weak. Yes, a source bias is a reason to look even more critically at something, but not reason to dismiss it.

And yes, I'm well aware that peer-reviewed CRTs are the gold standard (I don't think it takes a scientist to know that). But that doesn't mean other information can automatically be dismissed. I'll go so far as to say that I'd have more faith in CV19 content posted by a scientist/data analyst/medical professional on Twitter, than I do of content on commercial media written by a Journalist.

Seasonality has not really been debatable has it? We know it is a respiratory virus, which usually means increased transmissibility indoors and with dry air. This affects policy when people fail to recognize this and have indoor close gatherings. There was the study from Korea that showed indoor transmission through ventilation system. This is a valuable piece of information. A Twitter feed with cases regionally doesn’t prove a lot. It does however leave a lot of room for inference. You may interpret that data as the virus being seasonal causing policies and lockdowns to be detrimental because it forces people indoors. I interpret that as people are not changing their habits and instead of meeting outdoors (summer) they are meeting indoors (winter). If we cannot adhere to guidelines, the government feels pressure to make restricted policy.

Inherently our (Americans) habits allow for easy transmission. IMO there’s not enough public service announcements and widespread advertising of home important it is to take proper distancing precautions if we are going to gather. My parents are old and whenever I see them everyone has masks and we distance inside. This seemed normal to me but it turns out that many people don’t do this. I was at the gym the other day and I was the only person exercising with a face covering. If it gets wet I put on a new one and typically go through 4-5 in 30 minutes. I keep my distance and when it gets “crowded” I peace out. I had one guy ask me how I could possibly run and lift weights with a mask on. I politely responded to him that it’s really not that big of a deal and he should try it sometime. He basically responded with “f that, no way” .... Ok to each their own but I don’t want to be around meatheads breathing all over me without a mask.

Because policy is involved it should be a political issue. But I don’t understand why it is so partisan with the general public. In the medical community the vast majority of professionals tend to agree on the recommendations the CDC recommends. There is hard data to back it up and we see in real life outcomes that the recommendations are appropriate. Over time as we learn more about the virus and transmission we have seen that full lockdowns are not ideal and cause a lot problems. There are few places now that implore full lockdowns. But until everyone can be considerate of others and realize they can transmit the virus to others when not presenting with symptoms this will continue to hold us down. Same goes for the vaccine... As I wrote months ago, eradication and herd immunity will only occur with an effective and safe vaccine. We have that now, and I fear we have too much skepticism and mistrust.

[bobbiemcgee]

I guess you and the King of Sweden have something in common: neither of you have nothing to lose because of lockdowns!

I didn't say anything about lockdowns and neither did the King. Just responded to your stupid ass comment that "Covid is over in Sweden". Lying Lou as usual.

[XU_Lou]

I didn't say anything about lockdowns and neither did the King. Just responded to your stupid ass comment that "Covid is over in Sweden". Lying Lou as usual.

I guess you didn't even read your links... or comprehend what the king was inferring. wow....