Wednesday, April 8, 2020
There is nothing particularly novel in recognizing the irony of celebrating Passover (freedom from oppression, plagues as part of the story) while isolated in my house hiding from a virus. Still, as my family plans on our first ever tele-Seder, this is on my mind. It is challenging to dial-in the right degree of reflection on the "veneer of normalcy wrapping the core of disruption." On the other hand, there is something (more?) authentic about the Seder this evening. The notion of being oppressed by external forces has been, thankfully, something mostly abstract (or at least second-hand) for me. Perhaps it is too melodramatic to couch this virus in terms of oppression? To be sure, both the loss of freedom and health concerns are real. Either way, this night will surely be different from many other nights.
--------------
Latest from FT.
Daily Confirmed cases are falling, but mortality not.
https://www.ft.com/coronavirus-latest
Here is a twitter discussion about this kind of discrepancy.
https://twitter.com/cmyeaton/status/1247701342770081792
In follow up to our Phys Exp. Team COVID Q&A from 4/6, here are some articles on using convalescent plasma. Remember these are small studies, designed as demonstration projects using a hard to scale technology.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/07/plasma-from-coronavirus-survivors-found-to-help-severely-ill-patients
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2763983?guestAccessKey=74708c98-751a-40f1-a047-17c34f7d18ec&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social_jama&utm_term=3230728525&utm_campaign=article_alert&linkId=85235233
Likewise, scaling any process or technology is usually one of the most significant hurdles in mass production and mass care delivery. Here is an example of all the issues in COVID testing. Our most sensitive and specific test, the PCR testing, is dependent on many materials that are in short supply. While I am not confident as to the impact this might have, the discussion of bottlenecks in PCR testing is enlightening.
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/irish-scientists-develop-breakthrough-formula-to-ease-global-coronavirus-test-shortages-39110090.html
A few people have reached out to me with articles and questions around COVID-related cardiac events. There were reports out of China 8-10 weeks ago. NY and NJ cardiologists are seeing these impacts too. Here is an overview of the knowns, the unknowns, and the unknown unknowns.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/health-struggle-covid-19-patients-heart-failure/story?id=70002186
I am thrilled that the Governor of Maryland instituted strike teams to respond to nursing home COVID outbreaks.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/maryland-forms-strike-teams-to-combat-nursing-home-coronavirus-outbreaks-in/2020/04/07/0792b312-78f5-11ea-a130-df573469f094_story.html
Here is why - data from a Seattle nursing home indicating a 34% case fatality rate for infected nursing home residents.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2005412?query=featured_home
Humans can be awesome.
https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/unprecedented-demand-for-children-s-coronavirus-information-book-by-nosy-crow-downloaded-over-100-000-times-in-24-hours-publishers-around-the-world-request-rights-in-14-languages-800034741.html
I now know more about toilet paper production than I ever wanted to know. Well written: check. Infographics: Check. Lots of detailed facts on TP production: check. Exotic feel due to coverage of European TP use: Check. Here is my favorite article of the day. And there is not ONE hint of irony or satire. This is hard-core reporting on the European pulp market and the problems of free trade in a pandemic.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-toilet-paper-focus-idUSKBN21Q0HF
---------Bonus Round - Veneer of Normalcy edition
Daniel J. Boorstin was a historian and the Librarian of Congress from 1975 to 1987. His books on the evolution of human thoughts and ideas are fantastic. His writings on the impact of mass media, marketing, and communication technology are prescient. He coined the term "pseudo-event" and anticipated the notion of "fake news." His books opened the world of history beyond facts to me.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_J._Boorstin
His books https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10378.Daniel_J_Boorstin
An Atlantic article from 2016
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/12/the-image-in-the-age-of-pseudo-reality/509135/
James Loewen also opened my eyes. He is a retired sociology professor who wrote Lies My Teacher Told Me. His books taught me that bias is expressed by overt acts and by acts of omission; that cultural norms, politics, and editorial choices shape any information presented. And, most importantly, it is the reader's responsibility to understand that bias. I highly recommend reviewing his work as a means of opening up critical thinking and fact-checking. Everybody has an agenda, doubly so when money is involved.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_W._Loewen
https://sundown.tougaloo.edu/
Clean hands and sharp minds.
-AW
There is nothing particularly novel in recognizing the irony of celebrating Passover (freedom from oppression, plagues as part of the story) while isolated in my house hiding from a virus. Still, as my family plans on our first ever tele-Seder, this is on my mind. It is challenging to dial-in the right degree of reflection on the "veneer of normalcy wrapping the core of disruption." On the other hand, there is something (more?) authentic about the Seder this evening. The notion of being oppressed by external forces has been, thankfully, something mostly abstract (or at least second-hand) for me. Perhaps it is too melodramatic to couch this virus in terms of oppression? To be sure, both the loss of freedom and health concerns are real. Either way, this night will surely be different from many other nights.
--------------
Latest from FT.
Daily Confirmed cases are falling, but mortality not.
https://www.ft.com/coronavirus-latest
Here is a twitter discussion about this kind of discrepancy.
https://twitter.com/cmyeaton/status/1247701342770081792
In follow up to our Phys Exp. Team COVID Q&A from 4/6, here are some articles on using convalescent plasma. Remember these are small studies, designed as demonstration projects using a hard to scale technology.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/07/plasma-from-coronavirus-survivors-found-to-help-severely-ill-patients
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2763983?guestAccessKey=74708c98-751a-40f1-a047-17c34f7d18ec&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social_jama&utm_term=3230728525&utm_campaign=article_alert&linkId=85235233
Likewise, scaling any process or technology is usually one of the most significant hurdles in mass production and mass care delivery. Here is an example of all the issues in COVID testing. Our most sensitive and specific test, the PCR testing, is dependent on many materials that are in short supply. While I am not confident as to the impact this might have, the discussion of bottlenecks in PCR testing is enlightening.
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/irish-scientists-develop-breakthrough-formula-to-ease-global-coronavirus-test-shortages-39110090.html
A few people have reached out to me with articles and questions around COVID-related cardiac events. There were reports out of China 8-10 weeks ago. NY and NJ cardiologists are seeing these impacts too. Here is an overview of the knowns, the unknowns, and the unknown unknowns.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/health-struggle-covid-19-patients-heart-failure/story?id=70002186
I am thrilled that the Governor of Maryland instituted strike teams to respond to nursing home COVID outbreaks.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/maryland-forms-strike-teams-to-combat-nursing-home-coronavirus-outbreaks-in/2020/04/07/0792b312-78f5-11ea-a130-df573469f094_story.html
Here is why - data from a Seattle nursing home indicating a 34% case fatality rate for infected nursing home residents.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2005412?query=featured_home
Humans can be awesome.
https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/unprecedented-demand-for-children-s-coronavirus-information-book-by-nosy-crow-downloaded-over-100-000-times-in-24-hours-publishers-around-the-world-request-rights-in-14-languages-800034741.html
I now know more about toilet paper production than I ever wanted to know. Well written: check. Infographics: Check. Lots of detailed facts on TP production: check. Exotic feel due to coverage of European TP use: Check. Here is my favorite article of the day. And there is not ONE hint of irony or satire. This is hard-core reporting on the European pulp market and the problems of free trade in a pandemic.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-toilet-paper-focus-idUSKBN21Q0HF
---------Bonus Round - Veneer of Normalcy edition
Daniel J. Boorstin was a historian and the Librarian of Congress from 1975 to 1987. His books on the evolution of human thoughts and ideas are fantastic. His writings on the impact of mass media, marketing, and communication technology are prescient. He coined the term "pseudo-event" and anticipated the notion of "fake news." His books opened the world of history beyond facts to me.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_J._Boorstin
His books https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10378.Daniel_J_Boorstin
An Atlantic article from 2016
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/12/the-image-in-the-age-of-pseudo-reality/509135/
James Loewen also opened my eyes. He is a retired sociology professor who wrote Lies My Teacher Told Me. His books taught me that bias is expressed by overt acts and by acts of omission; that cultural norms, politics, and editorial choices shape any information presented. And, most importantly, it is the reader's responsibility to understand that bias. I highly recommend reviewing his work as a means of opening up critical thinking and fact-checking. Everybody has an agenda, doubly so when money is involved.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_W._Loewen
https://sundown.tougaloo.edu/
Clean hands and sharp minds.
-AW
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