Fuck this guy and may he suffer all the karma he deserves.
I’m out of words at this point.
Open thread
by TaMara| 271 Comments
This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity
Fuck this guy and may he suffer all the karma he deserves.
I’m out of words at this point.
Open thread
by David Anderson| 15 Comments
This post is in: Anderson On Health Insurance, COVID-19 Coronavirus
John Graves of Vanderbilt’s health policy group raises an interesting point that I want to expand on:
A uniquely American dynamic to keep tabs on is that as the end of insurance plan years approaches, its well known that people schedule ($$$) elective medical procedures before their deductible resets on Jan 1.
— John Graves (@johngraves9) October 2, 2020
We know that massive amounts of deferrable care was pushed off in March, April and May. Utilization is still down for the year as people aren’t going to the hospital as readily or as quickly even as there are beds open and hospitals are performing a near normal surgery and procedure schedule.
We also know that the 4th Quarter of the year tends to be fairly heavy on elective procedures. The financial incentives are really clear here.
Some people will know that they will hit their deductible and out of pocket spending maximum every year. They know that they are going to have to come up with the cash again in January-February-March of next year. Maxing out their deductibles and out of pocket limits does not change their expected future spending and scheduling a procedure in November instead of March might be a cash flow decision, it might be a decision that the doc that they like is available, it might be a decision that the chunk of cartilage floating in their knee hurts like a son of a bitch or it might be a decision that they have a vacation scheduled in March and want to be up and about for all of it. There are good reasons for people who know that they are always going to max out their spending limits to schedule in one year or another, but the timing won’t change the two year total spending.
However, most people don’t consistently max out their out of pocket spending. Most years, most people barely interact with the medical system. However in some years, some people will max out their cost-sharing. They could have had a baby. They could have broken a leg and needed surgery. They could have had a set of symptoms that required expensive imaging to rule out really bad outcomes and have the symptoms resolve on their own. Who knows what the story would be. But the important part is that these individuals would have a reasonable expectation that the next year won’t be a max-out year.
In that case, timing matters. If there are issues that have been deferred and could be deferred for a while long, timing really matters. A sleep study performed in November and a CPAP machine arriving in December could cost the patient thousands of dollars less than the same exact service and delivery in January. A minor surgery to clean up bone fragments from an untreated ankle injury incurred while refereeing a 2013 soccer game could cost nothing if done in October and $3,000 if done in February.
People who maxed out their deductibles and have a reason to believe that they won’t have large medical expenses in the next contract period will shift services from the future where cost-sharing applies, to the present where cost-sharing is not relevant for a little while.
We know this happens. Actuaries expect it to happen. And actuaries can incorporate past behavior into future projections that account for this behavior. However, it is extremely likely that in 2020 the number of people who are going into the 4th Quarter of the year fully maxed out is less then normal. It is also quite plausible that of the people who are maxed out, the probability of scheduling another procedure is lower than it otherwise would be.
If we assume those two things are true, why does this matter?
In the short run, insurers will make more money as claims will be lower than premiums by a bigger margin than expected. Some of the procedures that we would have expected to happen in November 2020 will occur at some point in 2021 but not all. More importantly, it makes the ability to project the future fuzzier. Actuaries count on the near future to look a lot like the near past. The shock to utilization patterns due to COVID is massive and makes the ability to project 2022 or 2023 from 2020 data very questionable. Projections will either rely on older data, fuzzier data or shorter data spans. If that is the case, good faith professional estimates are likely to have wider error bands for several years going forward until whatever the new normal is stabilized.
Echoes of April in December’s procedures?Post + Comments (15)
This post is in: Biden-Harris 2020, COVID-19 Coronavirus, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republicans in Disarray!
A whopping 65% of Americans agree that “If President Trump had taken coronavirus/COVID-19 more seriously, he probably would not have been infected with the coronavirus/COVID-19” https://t.co/UDBUJEerU2
This was his own damn fault. https://t.co/GFJZV2TQQN pic.twitter.com/wJ2eKHPRXu
— Dan Froomkin/PressWatchers.org (@froomkin) October 4, 2020
Joe Biden leads by 10 points in the presidential race after President Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. A majority of Americans think Trump could have avoided infection if he had taken the virus more seriously https://t.co/j4Iltpvncj pic.twitter.com/3ESEQFHfW9
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 5, 2020
A little schadenfreude, to start the week — from the Washington Post, “Trump’s illness halts campaign just when it needs an October boost”:
… The past seven days have dealt the incumbent one setback after another — the extraordinary revelation in the New York Times that he had paid little to no federal income taxes in recent years; a belligerent debate performance that risked turning off many voters; the arrest of his recently demoted campaign manager in Florida; and finally the president’s hospitalization for covid-19 because of an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in a White House that has made a mockery of public health guidelines and offered contradictory accounts of Trump’s health.
All the while, Biden’s sizable financial advantage has allowed the Democrat to dominate the television airwaves, and some recent polls show his lead over Trump holding steady or even growing.
Despite the rosy prognostications of his physician over the weekend, Trump’s illness has effectively stalled his campaign with just four weeks until Election Day and with voters already casting early ballots in many states…
Trump aides acknowledge that the president’s illness has been unhelpful because it draws national attention to his administration’s handling of the pandemic. They also say that the president being hospitalized undercuts what he views as his main attribute over Biden: That he appears stronger and tougher….
… Trump has a sizable deficit to make up, according to recent public polls. An NBC News-Wall Street Journal survey released Sunday had Biden leading Trump nationally by 14 percentage points among registered voters, 53 percent to 39 percent. The poll showed Biden’s lead nearly doubling after last week’s debate, with an overwhelming majority of voters saying Biden had the better temperament to be president.
Mike Murphy, a GOP strategist and critic of the president who advises Republican Voters Against Trump, said Trump’s electoral problems are compounding.
“He’s falling down the stairs going faster and faster, which makes it harder and harder to regain his footing,” Murphy said. “He really needed a September reset, but instead he was broke and incompetent, and his debate was a disaster. And now he’s in quicksand in October and unable to even work the politics of a serious presidential illness correctly while the clock mercilessly ticks.”…
“It’s like a bad television show, which in fact it is,” Tom Rath, a longtime Republican strategist and elected official in New Hampshire, said in assessing the past week for Trump. “The data suggest that the American people, the public, have just about had enough. Unless [the Trump campaign] significantly change the direction and dynamic of this race — and nothing they have done so far has been able to do it — we are headed towards a pretty significant change in government come November.”
this is just insane levels of karmic energy. the plan was to spend october mocking Biden for taking the pandemic seriously and not recklessly endangering himself and tens of thousands of others. pic.twitter.com/q11xmQT4I9
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 5, 2020
Choose Your Fighter pic.twitter.com/5HTTJkz0Ed
— Scott Lincicome (@scottlincicome) October 5, 2020
Monday Morning Open Thread: A Petard Large Enough to Hoist An Orange… ElephantPost + Comments (287)
This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs
The pandemic in the U.S. has had a free-rider problem, in which we have a bunch of people (me) who have given up seeing friends and family for months in an effort to help delay the pace of infection for other people who want to hug various senators and White House officials.
— Matt Pearce ?? (@mattdpearce) October 2, 2020
I assessed the risk of Trump having infected Biden at the debate, based on what we know about how SARS-CoV-2 spreads, and how long it takes to be infectious or develop symptoms. (Yes, Biden tested negative today but that means little this early.) https://t.co/9TzflosDOk
— Ed Yong (@edyong209) October 2, 2020
Business as usual for another six to eight months—until an effective vaccine is widely available—will send current rates of COVID-19 transmission even higher, @mtosterholm and Mark Olshaker write. What the United States needs is another lockdown.https://t.co/hEiyqvk8Lr
— Foreign Affairs (@ForeignAffairs) October 4, 2020
======
After the first round of ‘shock and awe’ coronavirus economic relief efforts, the world’s biggest economies are taking a narrower and more tactical approach to provide more financial assistance https://t.co/k07J5bG226 pic.twitter.com/cjXJA209FA
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 5, 2020
India's coronavirus infections rise to 6.63 million https://t.co/AQdyQ6uvMT pic.twitter.com/5aQNsfmyY1
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 5, 2020
Students in the Philippines have started classes at home after the coronavirus pandemic forced remote-learning onto an already struggling educational system. https://t.co/G8vj0NNWAm
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 5, 2020
“I went from being a cardiologist to being a covidologist.” https://t.co/e86mCzXrHN
— Meduza in English (@meduza_en) October 2, 2020
The Kremlin has imposed a mandatory two-week quarantine for anyone scheduled to meet President Vladimir Putin in person, the Proekt investigative website reportedhttps://t.co/SuCmhXPEPQ
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) October 4, 2020
Coronavirus: Paris to shut bars and raise alert to maximum https://t.co/8nSZfybH5C
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) October 4, 2020
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson defends his government's virus strategy as new infections soar but admits the nation will have a "bumpy" road through the winter. https://t.co/nSf2zegFls
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) October 4, 2020
UK's vaccine task force head says vaccinating all of UK 'not going to happen' – FT https://t.co/plHbHAJ5W5 pic.twitter.com/OopzTKPO6i
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 5, 2020
Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 2,279 to 299,237: RKI https://t.co/7gm2VBb3L4 pic.twitter.com/tCNbDkOXh4
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 4, 2020
Israel’s Hospitals Are at Brink of Collapse in Devastating Second COVID Wave https://t.co/JGopcZ8liS via @thedailybeast
— Baronian Consulting (@BaronianConsult) October 4, 2020
Saudi Arabia began lifting coronavirus restrictions at Islam’s holiest site in Mecca on Sunday, as a scattering of worshipers performed the umrah pilgrimage for the first time since March.https://t.co/fI2XRr94aC
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 5, 2020
Australia's Victoria state to boost testing on path to easing restrictions https://t.co/bv9BmdE8Go pic.twitter.com/pv0dzGk2CU
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 5, 2020
Coronavirus restrictions in New Zealand’s largest city will be lifted this week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said as she expressed confidence a second wave of COVID-19 infections in Auckland has been almost eliminated https://t.co/DStYX2yXUP pic.twitter.com/Co05NNWU5u
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 5, 2020
Coronavirus in Senegal: Keeping Covid-19 at bay https://t.co/HOFVB86J6g
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) October 4, 2020
These 3 factors are helping the African continent beat early #COVID19 predictions: Timely response; young population; moderate degree of intercontinental travel. Details from the World Economic Forum https://t.co/fdC6qH0ZiV via @wef
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 4, 2020
Mexico reports 3,712 new coronavirus cases, 208 more deaths: health ministry https://t.co/KoLQ8jTYlT pic.twitter.com/Z3Y6lxKTbj
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 5, 2020
======
In the race for a coronavirus vaccine, Russia ramps up its rhetoric to defend Sputnik V, a vax that has been rushed into use without much testing https://t.co/ZV11yezD22 pic.twitter.com/lvQlvLIDWo
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 5, 2020
India's new paper Covid-19 test could be a ‘game changer’ https://t.co/rGnZfFuEpg
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) October 4, 2020
Ending the nightmare A ‘Meduza’ special correspondent joins Russia’s coronavirus vaccine clinical trials and catalogs the experience before and after her shot — Meduza https://t.co/vcC5hVXu2X pic.twitter.com/SHPlZqxl2I
— Igor Os (@igor_os777) October 4, 2020
======
Hospitals feel the squeeze as the coronavirus surges in the Midwest. Some facilities in Wisconsin and North Dakota are running low on space as COVID19 continues to tighten its grip in the American heartland https://t.co/oO8mmg2fqh via @medical_xpress
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 4, 2020
Nine U.S. states have reported record increases in COVID-19 cases over the last seven days, mostly in the upper Midwest and West where chilly weather is forcing more activities indoors https://t.co/jBPyHht6Fm pic.twitter.com/FK2bjixmAo
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 5, 2020
Fearing a 2nd wave, New York City will adopt restrictions in hard-hit areas. The emergency crackdown is intended to impose new restrictions in 20 hot spots in Brooklyn and Queens where rising coronavirus positivity rates have caused concern https://t.co/srT77ZU26U
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 4, 2020
21% of all positive cases yesterday were from 20 hotspot ZIP codes.
NYS will directly enforce state guidance in these areas.
If you live in one of these ZIP codes, treat this seriously.
Wear a mask. Get tested. Wash your hands often. Don't attend large gatherings. pic.twitter.com/CMpbtRUeAb
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) October 4, 2020
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Sunday/Monday, Oct. 4-5Post + Comments (14)
This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Open Threads, Republicans in Disarray!, Trumpery
He has a contagious disease with no known cure. https://t.co/XS7K2C4WvQ
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) October 4, 2020
Trump’s doctors: Here’s a bunch of stuff suggesting he’s quite sick.
Also Trump’s doctors: It’s going great though. https://t.co/7oJkaO1JeD
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) October 4, 2020
There’s a long history of White Houses lying about the president’s health — JFK, FDR, etc. The distinction here is the incompetence.
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) October 4, 2020
Trump's doctor says he didn't admit yesterday that Trump was put on oxygen because he was trying to be publicly upbeat. "I didn't want to give any information that might steer the illness in another direction." pic.twitter.com/luMyDyacZH
— David Mack (@davidmackau) October 4, 2020
Giving the patient a fit of apoplectic rage because you said something he perceived made him be perceived as weak might influence the course of the illness.
— Michael O'Neal (@onealmp) October 4, 2020
Four pieces of information in that briefing: a) Trump's fever was "high" b) Trump's lung scans show "expected findings," unclear what that means but c) Trump is on a steroid the WHO recommends only for "severe and critical" COVID cases and d) Trump's oxygen lvls dropped again Sat
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 4, 2020
Very odd that Dr. Conley said Friday that the key period for covid patients was really Day 7-Day 10, and yet now they’re trying to send the message that Trump’s past the worst of it. Since we haven’t gotten to Day 7 yet, how would anyone know?
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) October 4, 2020
Dexamethasone can cause frank mania, or more severe depressive states. Added to the risk of COVID related neuropsychiatric symptoms/severe delirium the press ought to be asking the medical team how they are formally monitoring his mental status @maggieNYT @jonathanvswan
— Paul Summergrad (@paulsummergrad) October 4, 2020
Dr. Sean Conley asked re chest x-ray/CT:
"We are tracking all of that. There are some expected findings, but nothing of concern."
That's not an answer.
Does @realDonaldTrump have pneumonia? Maybe "expected" but we need to know. Serious implications on his course of illness.
— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) October 4, 2020
2/ We've already had reporting that the President panicked on Thursday night when his symptoms first began. The logical read of Conley's statement is that they're worried about freaking the President out and making him de-compensate and accelerate his illness.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 4, 2020
I also have a sense that all of the analysis may be distorted by Trump demanding, and his doctors not being able to deny, treatments that are inappropriate for his condition, leading to misleading outside assessment.
— NotNecessarilyHat (@Popehat) October 4, 2020
From a thread by a professional:
b/ Biggest news is that T had 2 episodes of hypoxia (down to 93-94% O2 saturation), & Conley evaded whether sat was ever <90. "Never in low 80s" is all he offered.
c/ Re: Chest CT: "There were some expected findings but nothing of concern." What the hell does that mean?…(2/8)
— Bob Wachter (@Bob_Wachter) October 4, 2020
f/ Yes, they could give his last doses of IV remdesivir in WH, but still risky to discharge. In RECOVERY trial (which proved value of dexamethasone), mortality rate in TREATMENT group for pts requiring O2 was 23.3% (vs. 26.2% in usual care). A nearly 1-in-4 risk of death. (6/8)
— Bob Wachter (@Bob_Wachter) October 4, 2020
Bottom line: it seems like Trump is stable, but remains at high risk, given transient hypoxemia, some findings on chest imaging. The happy talk and evasions are clearly at Trump's direction, putting the docs in a terrible position. No way he's ready for discharge tomorrow. (8/8)
— Bob Wachter (@Bob_Wachter) October 4, 2020
This line that Trump was heroically out there serving his people by going to rallies and country club fundraisers seems designed for an audience of one person.
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) October 4, 2020
This wins the internet. ???? pic.twitter.com/5W2AmAAriR
— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) October 4, 2020
Late Night Trumpery Open Thread: Today’s Medical KremlinologyPost + Comments (52)
This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republicans in Disarray!
With hundreds of supporters potentially exposed to coronavirus, the White House has done little to prevent further spread https://t.co/Yx2sHf3veN
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 4, 2020
… Ain’t that just the nicest way of phrasing this mess.
Because I am a devout Cynic, it would not surprise me if lifelong germophobe and hypochondriac Trump mistook a post-bad-debate panic attack (pouring sweat, trembling hands, shortness of breath) for an attack of the ‘Rona. If so, after a few days of ‘medical’ pampering — have you seen the sweet Presidential suite at Walter Reed? — he will emerge as ‘fit’ as ever, and twice as obnoxious, braying about his superior genes.
On the other hand, who knows, maybe he’s really sick! Many emergency doctors have pointed out that frequently the first symptom of a coronavirus among the elderly is not fever, but confusion, anxiety, rage, even hallucinations — much as displayed by the guy standing on the opposite side of the debate platform from Joe Biden last Tuesday.
Either way, his entire administration and the rest of the GOP death cult will continue to lie about it, just as they are lying right now, and have been lying since news of the ‘novel Wuhan-based virus’ arose back in January. Keep the hip boots handy…
wow. would not have guessed an organization whose entire incentive structure pivots around nothing but manipulating fear and favoritism of the leader would collapse instantly on removing the leader https://t.co/syDXSwYWlm
— kilgore trout, acting president (@KT_So_It_Goes) October 4, 2020
Yesterday they said he had a mild case and was only being taken to Walter Reed as a precaution. Today they are saying he has made an "unbelievable improvement from yesterday" and they were "very concerned." They have no credibility. https://t.co/nsxuAKeMgd
— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) October 4, 2020
obviously I don’t know the trajectory of every case of covid but I don’t recall seeing any cases where a patient got to the point of hospitalization trump is at and within a week popped out the other side good as new. it’s always weeks and weeks of climbing out https://t.co/OSTSwibUNO
— kilgore trout, acting president (@KT_So_It_Goes) October 4, 2020
my only point here is “optimistic” in reality based on everything we know is “preserve survival and aiming for quasi-functional in a few weeks”, not “shake this thing off and go back to work next week”. they’re really selling the sizzle here and hiding the ball
— kilgore trout, acting president (@KT_So_It_Goes) October 4, 2020
Sources: Trump had heart palpitations on Friday, a possible negative side effect of Regeneron antibody treatment. His fever reached 103. And a G7 ally wonders if he’ll appoint Ivanka president instead of Pence. My latest:
https://t.co/ND8zVtyodU— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) October 3, 2020
Schadenfreudelicious rumors from a best-selling rumormonger:
… The White House’s shifting chronology and lack of transparency are being driven, in part, by Trump’s desire to conceal the seriousness of his illness from the public. Three sources said Trump argued with his doctors on Friday after they told him he needed to be moved to Walter Reed. “He didn’t want to go to the hospital a month before the election,” a Republican close to Trump told me. Two sources said doctors gave Trump an ultimatum: he could go to the hospital while he could still walk, or doctors would be forced to take him in a wheelchair or on a stretcher at a later point if his health deteriorated. “They told him, ‘You can go now or we’re taking you later and it’s non negotiable,’” a second source close to the White House said. Trump waited to leave for the hospital until the stock market closed on Friday, a source said.
After spending months denying the dangers of COVID-19, Trump is expressing an emotion aides have rarely seen: fear. On Friday, Trump grew visibly anxious as his fever spiked to 103 fahrenheit and he was administered oxygen at the White House, according to three Republicans close to the White House. Two sources told me Trump experienced heart palpitations on Friday night—possible side effects of the experimental antibody treatment he received. Trump has wondered aloud if he could defeat the disease. “Am I going out like Stan Chera?” Trump has asked aides, referring to his friend, New York real-estate developer Stan Chera, who died of COVID in April.
On Saturday, two sources said Trump was feeling better. But it is difficult to assess the information given the White House’s history of lying. According to a source, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has told Republicans that the next few days will be critical to determine the virus’s outcome. “Meadows has said if Trump can get out of the hospital by Tuesday, then he’s gone through the worst of it. But if he’s still there after Tuesday, the worst is yet to come,” the source told me.
Inside Trumpworld, the shock of Trump’s hospitalization is giving way to despair about his prospects in the upcoming election. “They all know it’s over,” a Republican close to the campaign said…
Chill Grey Dawn Open Thread: Clusterf*ck At the Dumpster FirePost + Comments (282)
This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs
The Wisconsin Republican Party treasurer: “If the leader of the free world can get this, I think it’s kind of silly for the rest of us to pretend a $3 handkerchief from Walmart is going to protect us.” https://t.co/bZ3zKrkmSp
— Eugene Scott (@Eugene_Scott) October 4, 2020
??While Trump is hospitalized for #COVID19, these Republicans on Staten Island held a #GOPSuperSpreader rally today. Lots of shouting, few masks. #TrumpVirus #TrumpCovid #COVIDIOTS
pic.twitter.com/SmMdbULlBy— Dr. Dena Grayson (@DrDenaGrayson) October 3, 2020
Our daily update is published.
States reported 976k tests, 48k cases, and 740 deaths.
30k patients are currently reported hospitalized with COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/L7YscYAkkz
— The COVID Tracking Project (@COVID19Tracking) October 3, 2020
The U.S. is at a key moment in the coronavirus pandemic. As President Trump and some of his associates have tested positive for Covid-19, the number of new cases across the country has been slowly rising. https://t.co/GzkKEcN5I1
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 3, 2020
Inadequate US pandemic response cost more American lives than WW I. Analysis from Univ of Oxford found the EU had a 28% lower rate of excess deaths than the US—contrary to Trump's claims. If the US had responded like the EU, 57,800 Americans would be alive https://t.co/7l1PAZf73W
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 3, 2020
======
It's dangerous to politicize a global pandemic. The virus doesn't care where you live or who you are, says Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director General of the World Health Organization. He added that the virus knows no boundaries https://t.co/bulfU7Gd38 pic.twitter.com/7w2ozHQ9ni
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 3, 2020
China had mocked Trump for not taking the pandemic seriously. Now it's very personal. https://t.co/IBBD5LbwPw
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 3, 2020
… Beijing’s leadership has been reticent in its response to Trump’s infection. State-run news agency Xinhua published two lines Saturday saying China’s leader, Xi Jinping, wished the U.S. president and first lady a speedy recovery — a day behind many other heads of state, including North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen…
Within China, state social media monitors allowed an outpouring of mockery over Trump’s diagnosis — a rare level of vitriol against a world leader for Chinese authorities to condone. China’s censors are usually wary of the domestic parallels of allowing its nationals to publicly wish for a world leader’s downfall, even if on the surface it’s a leader of a hostile nation.
But many of the old rules no longer apply. Trump has launched an unprecedented multi-front attack on China since taking office in 2017. He has repeatedly called the coronavirus the “China plague” and “kung flu,” terms seen by many Americans and others to carry racist undertones…
Many Chinese social media users called Trump’s infection a “National Day gift,” coming amid celebrations of the anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s 1949 ascent to power. Some posted, darkly: “I hope something happens to him.”…
Hoping to expose misinformation about masks, doctors and their families ran or walked through a Greek city with covered faces and then had their oxygen saturation levels measured. https://t.co/kLdRkhOgD8
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) October 3, 2020
Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 2,279 to 299,237: RKI https://t.co/5FcHmmuRoV pic.twitter.com/8G6UjNHm5Y
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 4, 2020
#Israelis opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his handling of the #coronavirus pandemic protested around the country despite new restrictions on public assemblyhttps://t.co/broD5dm8S5 pic.twitter.com/C6c2FQrq4r
— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 3, 2020
Tunisian authorities have warned that hospitals are struggling to cope with an influx of Covid-19 patients and urged residents to respect anti-virus measures to avoid another lockdown https://t.co/VTyR7ZOCWW
— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 3, 2020
Russia's new coronavirus cases top 10,000 for first time since mid-May https://t.co/H15CpIUjgR pic.twitter.com/8k6uhSaStd
— Reuters UK (@ReutersUK) October 4, 2020
In Russia, the second wave of the coronavirus epidemic has already begun. Every day, the country is registering approximately 500 more cases than the day before.https://t.co/aJTpl0KPVn
— Scott Rose (@rprose) October 2, 2020
Asia Today: South Korea has reported 64 new cases of the coronavirus, the fourth straight day its increase came below 100, possibly reflecting the fewer number of tests conducted during one of the biggest holidays of the year. https://t.co/DWUxcOXix8
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 4, 2020
Indonesia's Widodo defends COVID-19 record, chides 'polemics' https://t.co/R0dP9bq3Ls pic.twitter.com/zLGGEILz5z
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 4, 2020
Coronavirus: When India's capital became a ghost city https://t.co/KG5jp6twx7
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) October 3, 2020
Australia's COVID-19 hotspot cases inch up, but officials optimistic https://t.co/EXn8FL8KD4 pic.twitter.com/renNWZU5nA
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 4, 2020
As COVID-19 cases surge in their homeland, there are at least some Argentines who feel secure: the scientists and military personnel at South American country’s bases in Antarctica, the only continent without reported cases. https://t.co/tqPEGvwhde
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 3, 2020
Mexico reports 4,863 new coronavirus cases, 388 more deaths: health ministry https://t.co/l9xnpf2PMe pic.twitter.com/tfanRzkFVe
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 4, 2020
The US should join the COVAX vaccine purchasing pool & should donate 10% of its eventual #Covid19 vaccines to @gavi for redistribution to low-income countries, a National Academy of Medicines report on vaccine prioritization released today recommended. https://t.co/CjvkbaBUra
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) October 2, 2020
======
India and South Africa ask the World Trade Organization to waive some provisions in global agreements that regulate intellectual property rights to speed up efforts against COVID-19. https://t.co/PIEBhYQL3L
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 3, 2020
Epidemiologist –
TRUMP got #COVID19 despite using frequent rapid tests.
Does this mean frequent rapid tests failed?
No! To stop outbreaks we must stop onward spread. The frequent tests worked! Now, Trump will not spread to others. The transmission chain is severed. This is public health.
1/x
— Michael Mina (@michaelmina_lab) October 2, 2020
People are suggesting this is a failure – on the contrary this is demonstrating, in real time, how frequent rapid tests can work. Detecting trump early in his infection means we are removing days of him potentially spreading to others and spawning tens or hundreds of new cases.
— Michael Mina (@michaelmina_lab) October 2, 2020
#COVID19 antibodies in donated plasma decline w/in 3 months. Although there's debate about the benefits of COVID suvivors' donated plasma to treat sick patients, new research suggests the earlier it's collected after a donor's recovery, the better https://t.co/XtU5EcbCMn pic.twitter.com/euNlkvSnj9
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 3, 2020
We're not hearing much anymore about a possible protective impact of the live TB vaccine BCG against #Covid19 infection. New analysis from the La Jolla Institute of Immunology throws cold water on the idea. https://t.co/eYgBsH3mD7 pic.twitter.com/os9mzKuz7F
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) October 3, 2020
NEW: A two week long ransomware attack hit and slowed clinical trials as drug makers race to find quick tests, treatments and vaccines for Covid. https://t.co/qXmJwQoMdU
— Nicole Perlroth (@nicoleperlroth) October 3, 2020
EU regulators beginning a safety review of COVID19 drug, remdesivir, the one Trump is receiving. They're concerned about reports of kidney injury in some patients but say it's unclear if the problem is drug-related. Still needs more investigation, they say https://t.co/Qj0ibSPlfj pic.twitter.com/9MNOUetyL7
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 3, 2020
======
The coronavirus pandemic has posed daunting challenges for houses of worship across the U.S., including large financial losses and suspension of in-person services. It also has sparked moments of gratitude and wonder. https://t.co/Vb7ntVj1wM
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 3, 2020
Just to be clear: Rick Scott's office is saying he doesn't have COVID and doesn't understand the difference between "positive" and "negative," which many Floridians will find deeply plausible https://t.co/HHqBzlPVnE
— Adam Weinstein (@AdamWeinstein) October 3, 2020
Perspective: Trump’s refusal to wear face masks turned them into a sad national symbol https://t.co/nQV73WiBxM
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 3, 2020
… Wearing a mask was never a guarantee of protection against the coronavirus. It was not an assurance of invincibility. But when faced with such a stealthy invader, scientific experts said it was one of the best weapons in a sparse arsenal. The mask provided the wearer with some degree of defense, but mostly it served as protection to others — a kindness extended to one’s neighbor and a civic duty among strangers. The president, since this pandemic began, has been loath to wear a mask in deference to those around him. He said it was not necessary because he and those in his inner circle were regularly tested. He said it was not a good look for the leader of the free world. He said he just didn’t want to wear a mask. At worst, that was defined as evidence of his selfish disregard…
But now the mask — or the masklessness — has come to mean so much more. It’s not whether the failure to wear one has laid Trump low. He very well may have become infected despite scrupulous mask use. But the man who inhabits the Oval Office did not put up every possible defense at his disposal to protect the presidency — this country, its people, its ideals — from a clear and omnipresent danger…
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Saturday/Sunday, October 3-4Post + Comments (36)