tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post3940669193706407141..comments2024-03-19T07:10:27.303-07:00Comments on Quark Soup by David Appell: Second Warmest March, Fourth Warmest MonthDavid Appellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03318269033139447591noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post-67326510960318313432020-04-24T03:34:48.765-07:002020-04-24T03:34:48.765-07:00The head of the US agency in charge of developing ...<a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/director-of-us-agency-for-coronavirus-vaccine-says-he-was-removed-for-opposing-chloroquine" rel="nofollow">The head of the US agency in charge of developing a vaccine against coronavirus said Wednesday that he was removed from his job for opposing the chloroquine treatment promoted by President Donald Trump.</a>Layzejhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11346550512734519728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post-68392580599573704832020-04-21T14:21:41.433-07:002020-04-21T14:21:41.433-07:00That's too bad. Maybe this canine worms treat...That's too bad. Maybe this <a href="https://www.stevedalepetworld.com/blog/ivermectin-a-common-veterinary-anti-parasitic-holds-promise-to-treat-covid-19/" rel="nofollow">canine worms treatment</a> is the miracle cure?Layzejhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11346550512734519728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post-55384539229497976992020-04-21T11:08:49.653-07:002020-04-21T11:08:49.653-07:00More evidence that hydroxychloroquine is not effec...More evidence that hydroxychloroquine is not effective for Covid-19:<br /><br /><b><a href="https://apnews.com/a5077c7227b8eb8b0dc23423c0bbe2b2" rel="nofollow">More deaths, no benefit from malaria drug in VA virus study</a></b><br /><br /><i>A malaria drug widely touted by President Donald Trump for treating the new coronavirus showed no benefit in a large analysis of its use in U.S. veterans hospitals. There were more deaths among those given hydroxychloroquine versus standard care, researchers reported.<br /><br />The nationwide study was not a rigorous experiment. But with 368 patients, it’s the largest look so far of hydroxychloroquine with or without the antibiotic azithromycin for COVID-19</i><br /><br />Oops.Nedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09266537661797164304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post-10727176060638653922020-04-17T08:53:21.998-07:002020-04-17T08:53:21.998-07:00Last week he said: "One thing that we do see ...Last week he said: "One thing that we do see is that people are not gonna die from it. So if somebody is in trouble, you take it, I think. I would."<br />Layzejhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11346550512734519728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post-70321640740659506922020-04-17T05:33:56.161-07:002020-04-17T05:33:56.161-07:00Five weeks ago (on March 9), David in Cal wrote: ...Five weeks ago (on March 9), David in Cal wrote: "the number of testing kits is rapidly growing into the millions. This problem is rapidly disappearing."<br /><br />Five weeks later, the total number of tests administered in the USA has finally crept up to 3 million (not 3 million per day, which is on the low end of what we will need in order to re-open the country safely ... 3 million total in five weeks).<br /><br />Over the last 2 weeks, the number of tests per day has increased only 27%. The number of deaths per day has increased 96%.<br /><br />The good news is that the number of new cases per day seems to have stabilized, so the number of cases is growing only linearly, not exponentially.<br /><br />We cannot re-open the country without either (a) a widely available vaccine, or (b) a program of <b>massive</b> testing and tracing & isolation of people who test positive.<br /><br />That means millions of tests <b>per day</b> so that people who are going out in public can <b>all</b> be tested, and people who are working in public-facing jobs can be re-tested frequently.<br /><br />The Trump Administration has <b>no plan</b> for this. What they are actually doing is:<br /><br />* Coast along with Trump gaslighting the country on TV every night in the hopes that the people will blame someone else for the state of the nation;<br /><br />* Try to get credit for *wanting* to re-open the country, while pushing the responsibility for doing so off onto the governors.<br /><br />They are rhetorically demanding that the country be re-opened without doing the work needed to re-open it.Nedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09266537661797164304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post-42012043767898932822020-04-17T05:03:35.252-07:002020-04-17T05:03:35.252-07:00Is he still pushing it? I haven't heard so muc...Is he still pushing it? I haven't heard so much this week, but I haven't bothered watching his press rantings.<br /><br />I think he was pushing it for really obvious reasons. Here's the chain of emotions involved:<br /><br />(1) He hates bad news and doesn't know how to handle it. <br /><br />(2) Coronavirus is bad news for him. <br /><br />(3) For as long as possible he simply denied the risk at all (which was counterproductive in that it made things worse, but denial made him feel better at the time.)<br /><br />(4) When it became impossible to deny, he started casting about for (a) people to blame [China, Democratic governors, the media, etc.] but also (b) anything he could latch on to as a sign of hope<br /><br />(5) HCQ initially seemed like a sign of hope - he could make himself feel better by imagining that it would be a miracle drug that would cure CV-19 quickly, bring the economy roaring back, and he would look like a great leader for identifying himself with it<br /><br />(6) Now HCQ no longer looks like it will save him so he's back to not knowing what to do and blaming others.Nedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09266537661797164304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post-14508685640990743782020-04-16T21:55:35.547-07:002020-04-16T21:55:35.547-07:00Why is Trump pushing that drug so aggressively? Why is Trump pushing that drug so aggressively? Layzejhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11346550512734519728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post-29443015179373664542020-04-16T17:01:24.823-07:002020-04-16T17:01:24.823-07:00Last month, "David in Cal" was repeatedl...Last month, "David in Cal" was repeatedly posting here about the "promising" HCQ treatment for Covid-19. All of that "promise" was based on anecdotal evidence and tiny, non-randomized studies.<br /><br />There are finally starting to be actual results from randomized controlled trials, and unfortunately the initial results suggest that<br /><br /><b><a href="https://www.techtimes.com/articles/248879/20200415/studies-show-that-anti-malaria-drug-hydroxychloroquine-shows-no-improvements-in-recovery-against-covid-19.htm" rel="nofollow">Anti-Malaria Drug 'Hydroxychloroquine' Shows No Improvements in Recovery Against COVID-19</a></b><br /><br />One study compared outcomes for 75 patients treated with HCQ and 75 not treated. No difference was found in recovery rate.<br /><br />Another study found that HCQ, which can produce heart arrythmias, can be dangerous for patients with Covid-19, due to its interaction with effects of the virus itself, which causes heart damage in nearly 20% of patients. <br /><br />President Trump encouraged people to take HCQ, saying "what do you have to lose?" These early results suggest that there is little if anything to <i>gain</i>, and if you actually do have Covid-19 and it damages your heart tissue, taking HCQ could kill you.Nedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09266537661797164304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post-33914777948984551302020-04-14T06:36:15.205-07:002020-04-14T06:36:15.205-07:00That cold spot is remarkably persistent.That cold spot is remarkably persistent.Nedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09266537661797164304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post-24667068306276427932020-04-13T17:07:20.371-07:002020-04-13T17:07:20.371-07:00I see that the Atlantic cold spot is back.I see that the Atlantic cold spot is back.Entropic manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08924031505275303068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28837843.post-35116345154256688912020-04-13T12:11:21.460-07:002020-04-13T12:11:21.460-07:00Thanks for posting this. It took me by surprise, b...Thanks for posting this. It took me by surprise, because I'd been watching the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis temperature anomaly at Nick Stokes's place ... and in the reanalysis, March was quite a bit cooler.<br /><br />The reanalysis is seductive because it's generated daily, but the reliability is only marginal. I should probably stop watching it and just wait for the actual data each month.Nedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09266537661797164304noreply@blogger.com