Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[viper37]

So is it possible the real numbers are not published? Or is it normal to declare a flu that kills 180 elderly in a city of 11 million an international emergency?

It's the explosive growth in numbers and geographic spread that is freaking people out.

Let's say a third of Americans contract the disease. 110 million. This is the same percentage as caught the Spanish flu.

Furthermore let's say 90% of those people barely notice it and only 10% are bad enough off to go to the hospital and get treatment. That's still going to result in hundreds of thousands dead if 2-3% of that 11 million die.

Well, with the new limitations on medicare spending authorized by Trump, lots of people could die due to lack of decent healthcare.  I fear those jobs coming back from China will never find a taker in the US.

[viper37]

Everyone posting here got their flu shot this year, right? Just checking.

yes, and I got the flu, one of the strains we aren't protected from.  I've been at home sick for the last month.

[viper37]

Everyone posting here got their flu shot this year, right? Just checking.

You'd have to be crazy not get a flu shot.  That being said, I still got one.

Generally speaking, young healthy people do not require the flu shot.  It's advised for children, elderlies and people with fragile health.

[DGuller]

Everyone posting here got their flu shot this year, right? Just checking.

You'd have to be crazy not get a flu shot.  That being said, I still got one.

Generally speaking, young healthy people do not require the flu shot.  It's advised for children, elderlies and people with fragile health.

What if those young healthy people hang out with the children and the elderlies?

[crazy canuck]

Generally speaking, young healthy people do not require the flu shot.  It's advised for children, elderlies and people with fragile health.

This is one of the most dangerous myths going.  One of the main benefits is herd immunity.  If young health adults don't care about contributing the death of the young and elderly then they should follow your advice.

edit: DGuller beat me to the punch.

[viper37]

Coronavirus outbreak from Whuan earlier than we thought

The first infections probably came around October.  And not from the sea food market we originally thought.

Interesting read.

[jimmy olsen]

 

https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1223397804313382912

Coronavirus update:
- 11,948 confirmed cases worldwide
- 17,988 suspected cases
- 259 fatalities
- 1,795 in serious/critical condition
- 260 treated and released
- All parts of China reporting cases
- 24 countries reporting cases

[jimmy olsen]

We're in trouble

[Eddie Teach]

That virus has been around longer than 11 days. 

[Legbiter]

This new virus is highly contagious with a reproductive rate R0 of around 2.6 or thereabouts, carriers can be asymptomatic for up to 10 days and the mortality rate is around 2.5%. Once the spread in China overwhelms the Chinese health authorities with regard to specialist care and contact tracing only change in social behaviour will be sufficient to snuff out this pandemic. Much better to overreact now when it's relatively early than 2 weeks from now when it's too late.

New England Journal of Medicine has an article on the first human-to-human infection in Germany.

A 33-year-old otherwise healthy German businessman (Patient 1) became ill with a sore throat, chills, and myalgias on January 24, 2020. The following day, a fever of 39.1°C (102.4°F) developed, along with a productive cough. By the evening of the next day, he started feeling better and went back to work on January 27.

Before the onset of symptoms, he had attended meetings with a Chinese business partner at his company near Munich on January 20 and 21. The business partner, a Shanghai resident, had visited Germany between Jan. 19 and 22. During her stay, she had been well with no signs or symptoms of infection but had become ill on her flight back to China, where she tested positive for 2019-nCoV on January 26 (index patient in Figure 1).

On January 27, she informed the company about her illness. Contact tracing was started, and the above-mentioned colleague was sent to the Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine in Munich for further assessment. At presentation, he was afebrile and well. He reported no previous or chronic illnesses and had no history of foreign travel within 14 days before the onset of symptoms.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2001468?query=featured_coronavirus

[Josquius]

Generally speaking, young healthy people do not require the flu shot.  It's advised for children, elderlies and people with fragile health.

This is one of the most dangerous myths going.  One of the main benefits is herd immunity.  If young health adults don't care about contributing the death of the young and elderly then they should follow your advice.

edit: DGuller beat me to the punch.

There are only a finite amount of flu vaccines available.
Unless you're in an at risk group like being a school teacher you don't need it.

[Habbaku]

There are only a finite amount of flu vaccines available.
Unless you're in an at risk group like being a school teacher you don't need it.

This is completely false. Only when there is a vaccine shortage should you not get it, despite not being in a "risk group".

[Valmy]

Yeah get the flu vaccine every year, it could save your life and the people around you and costs next to nothing, even for Americans.

[Tamas]

If you have a little kid or elderly family members around you then sure, but otherwise why would a young guy like Habs bother? There is an off chance he will feel shitty for a week or two, so what.

[garbon]

Those are the only young and elderly people he would come across?