Coronavirus Special Coverage

A collection of news posted throughout the week for those that want signal, not noise.

  • Previous coverage - all of our posts in this ongoing series.
  • Coronavirus status page - learn how to prepare for possible spread to your area. Scenarios, shopping lists, background info and everything else you need, all in one place.

COVID-19: key developments for Wednesday, June 3, 2020

There are over 6.5 million global cases.  The US has over 1.9 million of those cases. There have been over 386,000 deaths around the world from the pandemic virus. Brazil has overtaken the US in daily cases growth at over 27,000 cases.

Gilead is working on various formulations of remdesivir, including: dry powder inhalation version, a subcutaneous injection, and a nebulized liquid. Gilead is also investigating drug combinations and whether earlier administration in the COVID-19 disease process could be helpful.

We’ve mentioned this before but it’s worth mentioning again: Sweden’s top epidemiologist regrets the herd-immunity strategy. Sweden’s rate of death is extremely high compared to other European countries and is among the highest in the world. Although Sweden’s economy was initially thought to have been spared, new analysis shows it’s GDP is contracting just as much as European countries that initiated much more stringent pandemic-fighting strategies.

Cases are growing alarmingly in California. Cases are growing in Texas and Arizona as well:

Rural hospitals are going broke, and they were suffering before the pandemic hit. People are staying home and are not seeking care or scheduling surgeries because of COVID-19. The ridiculous degree to which health care organizations rely on elective surgeries has also been laid bare, and it’s a patent failing of America’s pay-to-play health care system. Telehealth services are not bridging the financial gap, and we may face the loss of many desperately-needed rural health care facilities.

The CDC bungled its response to the pandemic. But why? Isn’t this what the CDC is for? Factors that are implicated are many and varied, as are the mistakes that were made. Infected travelers into the country weren’t tracked well or sometimes at all. Sentinel testing never got off the ground, and the tests issues by the CDC were flawed. Pandemic metrics were not reported punctually. Risks were underestimated. Issued guidance was confusing at times. Systemic issues of old technology, red tape, and administrative disagreements are blamed. Given the gravity of its failings, I’d wager a fair bit of incompetence is to be blames as well, but I can’t speak to where in the ranks it’s occurring.

Global health organizations and government agencies around the world based policy decisions on data from Surgisphere. The data were flawed and the providence of the data is being questioned. Scholarly articles in well-esteemed journals are now having to be retracted or scrutinized.

Corrections inmates and staff are fodder for COVID-19. What metrics should we use when considering corrections releases?

ICUs are filling up:

Tear gas can render the epithelia of your eyes and your mucosal membranes more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 attack and other infections as well.


  • 1 Comment

    • Hardened

      > Global health organizations and government agencies around the world based policy decisions on data from Surgisphere. The data were flawed and the providence of the data is being questioned. Scholarly articles in well-esteemed journals are now having to be retracted or scrutinized.

      Cynthia Parker (what happened to you?), you are vindicated in your skepticism about the official story on hydroxychloroquine!

      3 |