The Masters with no ‘patrons’

[Bernie Bell]

Thanks Ulrich.  For what it's worth, such offense as I took had less to do with Trump than with the US health care system.  I do not think we are in over our head, I think it will be the American medical and pharmaceutical industry -- much maligned by some both here and abroad -- that will develop the therapies and the vaccine.  Someone, or more likely some teams of hundreds or thousands, will join the likes of Jonas Salk and Norman Borlaug on the lists of modern scientific heroes.  Maybe Anthony Fauci will be on the list twice.  And in the meantime I think we will be able to compassionately handle what is coming in terms of hospital beds and equipment, and COVID will do here for front line health workers what 9/11 did for cops and firefighters.  I'm long the United States.  But I overreacted.  Be well, carry on.

[Terry Lavin]

Bernie,


I’ll add to your praise of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was appointed by President Reagan, back in the proverbial day. He’s a genius, a regular guy and a terrific public speaker. The more we watch him speak, the more we will be properly informed. The heads behind him always nod in assent. Smart, communicative and authoritative.

[Ulrich Mayring]

Bernie, I completely agree with you that in terms of research and development the US health care industry is top notch. They will come up with a vaccine sooner or later, no worries. But I was talking about the entire health care system, of which R&D is only a relatively small part. What I'm concerned with is more the situation in hospitals. There is going to be an onslaught of cases, so there would have to be an oversupply of staff, beds and materials. But for a system that is largely for-profit, an oversupply is rare.

[Bernie Bell]

According to the data I've seen, and I claim no expertise, the US has more critical care beds per capita than any nation on Earth.  Germany is the only country that's even close.  US has more than 5x the number in UK and close to 3x the number in Italy.  And we have incredible military medical resources that can be brought to bear if and as needed (possibly, I understand they're more geared to trauma, and activating reserve military medical units pulls from the ranks of civilian medical personnel, so it's complicated).  Will it be enough?  Time will tell.  But it if we are caught short, and if my info is correct, it won't be because of some failing of the US "for profit" model compared to other "free" models.

[Ulrich Mayring]

I believe that for Corona you need to count critical care beds with ventilators. Perhaps you did already, I am mentioning it because not all critical care beds in Germany have ventilators. And then you need to take into account how many of them are actually available and not already taken up by a non-Corona patient. There are no reliable numbers for Germany at this time or least none that are publically available.

I'm certainly no expert on the US health care system. For example, I don't know what happens if those 28 million uninsured Americans come to the hospital with symptoms? Will they be treated and the hospital worries about the bill later, fully taking into account that these people may never be able to pay? Or perhaps the government will step in and pay those bills out of the relief fund they have announced?

What I find encouraging is that Trump seems to have changed his mind somewhat. If the US can be made to move forcefully and in one direction, that would certainly do the world a whole lot of good.

[Edward Glidewell]

I'm certainly no expert on the US health care system. For example, I don't know what happens if those 28 million uninsured Americans come to the hospital with symptoms? Will they be treated and the hospital worries about the bill later, fully taking into account that these people may never be able to pay? Or perhaps the government will step in and pay those bills out of the relief fund they have announced?

Almost all hospitals in the United States are required to admit and treat anyone that needs emergency medical treatment regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay; it's a federal law. The cost of their care is generally passed on to insured patients (indirectly, of course), but they would not be turned away.

[Pete_Pittock]

The virus is a Democrat hoax, per the Orange One. If it is really a pandemic, it’s Obama’s fault. If there’s been a messaging problem or a test kit delivery problem, Trump bears no responsibility for it. And he’s told he’s been close to several people now diagnosed with the virus and he holds a press conference and shakes every speaker’s hand.

That’s leadership.

I know 2 people, whom i thankfully haven't interacted with personally, who are displaying all the symptoms and were in high risk zones recently, but can't get tested because they aren't in a "at-risk" category.  Fantastic leadership indeed...

I don't understand why. Jared was in charge, and he is much much greater than Hunter Biden.  (willing to delete)

[Ulrich Mayring]

Great to hear that uninsured people will be treated!

The German Health minister was on TV just now and said that 100000 tests were administered in Germany last week and that he believes no country has done more than that. The high number of detected cases coupled with very few deaths seems to support this claim.
Just to give everyone an idea what can be done, if the government is really on it:

Bavaria is starting production of masks and protective suits next week, because apparently the entire world has to buy them in China. Rehabilition, military and educational clinics are repurposed for Corona duties, medical students are graduated early and all non-urgent surgeries are postponed. No beauty procedures anymore and every physician, who has respirators or ventilators in his practice is required to hand them over to the government, who will deploy them across hospitals. Government workers from non-medical areas are transferred to the health ministry to take workload off the health-related personnel. The German police now escorts deliveries, because in Italy two trucks with medical supplies were robbed by highwaymen. Tomorrow you can download a form from a government website to apply for immediate financial aid, if you are a small business, and the money will be paid on Friday. There's a shitload of stuff being worked on including reports that Bayer has a drug already on the market that can kill the Corona virus in a test tube and has been used extensively for treating patients in China.

Finally, if you want to know how serious the situation is in your area, then you should probably look at the number of deaths. The number of cases simply shows the amount of testing.

[Anthony Butler]

Might as well tackle this with a complete lack of rational commentary...


Well done!


Question for you; if your daughter was administered the test today, and it came back positive, what would you do? I suspect it's not one ounce different than what you're already doing to protect her.

A week after the test was done results came back - fellow student and teacher were both negative.

Interestingly enough, HIPAA rules mean no-one is under any obligation to share their test results. So all the people who have tested positive for COVID-19 then gone about their business will not be subject to negative consequences beyond social shaming.

So even though we dodged that particular bullet, we now have to avoid the other 5,000 people wondering around MA who are COVID-19 positive - most of whom have no clue due to lack of available local testing.

It’s a lovely day here in New England and the car park at MinuteMan National Park down the street is overflowing. I don’t plan on visiting to see if everyone is practicing proper #SocialDistancing. Meanwhile, an Australian women who went for a jog around her apartment complex in Beijing arrived back at her front door to find out she is being fired by her employer and deported.

[JESII]

Anthony,


This is certainly great news about your daughter!






Pretty amazing times here in Montgomery County, PA...seemingly the epicenter for the state, although still well ahead (lower numbers) of some of our neighboring states regarding positive cases.


Our 11th grade twins go to a school with ~650 students / grade. One of the teachers that bounces from class to class during the day just tested positive a couple days ago, a week+ after schools closed. This teacher would have had direct contact with hundreds of kids during the week leading up to closing.


I'd expect to see Abington Jefferson Hospital on the sold out list by this coming weekend.

[cary lichtenstein]

I was fortunate enough to play Augusta National with a member and obviously no gallery. Honestly, when I got to the first tee, I did not recognize the golf course, it looked like any other golf course, grass, tees and trees. It wasn't until I got to the 7th green that things looked familiar. The back side was entirely different except for 10. The elevation changes, which I knew and seen a 12 times being there before, were entirely different as a player.


18 from the back tees looked like 800 yards thru the shoot