Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19) and Tinnitus

What are you talking about? If the mortality rate is 2-3%, it is the same as the mortality of 1918 flu epidemic, and that was a major pandemic. For this pandemic, 5-10% require a ventilator, and eventually (once enough people are sick at the same time) they aren't going to be able to get one. Also 20% need to be hospitalized, so eventually many of those people as well as patients suffering from the other diseases will have to be turned away. So this has the potential of being worse than 1918 flu epidemic.

Another factor is the authorities' lack of desire of containing it. Nobody is even checking the temperature of the people disembarking flights from Italy. They could have followed China and stopped travel between states. If a city doesn't have any cases, don't let anyone in. If a city has cases, don't let people out. I guess they are thrilled about a chance to reduce their pension obligations.

It is pathetic that the media isn't making a bigger deal out of it.

 

This is how capitalism works - by pursuing their personal goals, people end up doing "the right thing".

 

Ventilators aren't going to stop it. As @MRItechssuck said in his post, people have so many bad habits that they simply can't change in such a short amount of time. Most probably aren't motivated enough either.

As not enough care to adopt a certain preventive approach, we're all fucked anyway.
And that's my problem with what I see on the media. It's about the sensation, not education. Some shocking stories about deaths, some statistics...
So much trivial stuff too. Who cares which people in the parliament still shake hands and who adopted the Wuhan-shake?

Personally, I check WHO's website. It's factual. It's what you need to know and nothing more nothing less.

 

I guess these measures aren't feasible without unchaining a mass hysteria. Checking temperature would not contain it well enough as people can be spreading the virus while still being relatively asymptomatic. Not saying Italy hasn't been lazy in their approach. That's what you get for letting nations make their own decisions. My money was on Italy anyway

 

It's ok to be scared of things that could result in one's loved ones who are older dying. Conversely, under the circumstances, it isn't ok to be nonchalant. So any policy that promotes the latter is a good policy.

I wasn't talking about respirators. I was talking about the equipment that helps sick people breathe. Something like 5% of those who get infected need one. If there are more sick people than there are ventilators, we might see the mortality rate going up.

 

Stephen King just won 2020.

 

Absolutely. I was just venting over the fact that one can watch the news for an hour and still be none the wiser.

My bad. Yeah that could be a problem. If the hospitals get overflowed this will be only one of the many...

 

Why is everyone so freaked out about coronavirus?

It's just another virus...

Mortality rate before the age of 40 is 0,2% and the contagion is less than the commun flu.

Oh and the common flu kills 300k to 600k per year in the world, while this has killed... 3,5k so far?

People really need to chill. And the media needs to stop overselling it.

 

Cite your sources, epidemiologists don't agree with you:

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/02/study-72000-covid-19-patients-finds-23-death-rate

Also you can't compare death rate "so far" to a virus that hasn't even begun to peak.

 

I don't think people should panic but comparison to the flu is just so wrong:

https://v.redd.it/9qt92vogb9l41

 

True, and our planet is also overpopulated. It might actually be a really good thing if half the population or so was eliminated. It's very unlikely to happen, modern medicine and healthcare has just gotten too advanced.

 

I thought you were supposed to be flying the plane?

A people watching, severe tinnitus suffering, pilot.

 

What a weird and unhelpful thing to say.

 

That must be why we're still suffering from tinnitus in 2020.

 

People behave in strange ways, but it’s largely driven by the mainstream media. Here in the UK, we can no longer buy toilet rolls, and various other toiletries, medicines, and foods, because shops are selling out as people continue to panic buy and empty shelves all over the place. It is getting ridiculous now.

I agree with this post that went viral on Facebook for what it’s worth:

I'm a doctor and an Infectious Diseases Specialist. I've been at this for more than 20 years seeing sick patients on a daily basis. I have worked in inner city hospitals and in the poorest slums of Africa. HIV-AIDS, Hepatitis,TB, SARS, Measles, Shingles, Whooping cough, Diphtheria...there is little I haven't been exposed to in my profession. And with notable exception of SARS, very little has left me feeling vulnerable, overwhelmed or downright scared.

I am not scared of Covid-19. I am concerned about the implications of a novel infectious agent that has spread the world over and continues to find new footholds in different soil. I am rightly concerned for the welfare of those who are elderly, in frail health or disenfranchised who stand to suffer mostly, and disproportionately, at the hands of this new scourge. But I am not scared of Covid-19.

What I am scared about is the loss of reason and wave of fear that has induced the masses of society into a spellbinding spiral of panic, stockpiling obscene quantities of anything that could fill a bomb shelter adequately in a post-apocalyptic world. I am scared of the N95 masks that are stolen from hospitals and urgent care clinics where they are actually needed for front line healthcare providers and instead are being donned in airports, malls, and coffee lounges, perpetuating even more fear and suspicion of others. I am scared that our hospitals will be overwhelmed with anyone who thinks they " probably don't have it but may as well get checked out no matter what because you just never know..." and those with heart failure, emphysema, pneumonia and strokes will pay the price for overfilled ER waiting rooms with only so many doctors and nurses to assess.

I am scared that travel restrictions will become so far reaching that weddings will be canceled, graduations missed and family reunions will not materialize. And well, even that big party called the Olympic Games...that could be kyboshed too. Can you evenimagine?

I'm scared those same epidemic fears will limit trade, harm partnerships in multiple sectors, business and otherwise and ultimately culminate in a global recession.

But mostly, I'm scared about what message we are telling our kids when faced with a threat. Instead of reason, rationality, openmindedness and altruism, we are telling them to panic, be fearful, suspicious, reactionary and self-interested.

Covid-19 is nowhere near over. It will be coming to a city, a hospital, a friend, even a family member near you at some point. Expect it. Stop waiting to be surprised further. The fact is the virus itself will not likely do much harm when it arrives. But our own behaviors and "fight for yourself above all else" attitude could prove disastrous.

I implore you all. Temper fear with reason, panic with patience and uncertainty with education. We have an opportunity to learn a great deal about health hygiene and limiting the spread of innumerable transmissible diseases in our society. Let's meet this challenge together in the best spirit of compassion for others, patience, and above all, an unfailing effort to seek truth, facts and knowledge as opposed to conjecture, speculation and catastrophizing.

Facts not fear. Clean hands. Open hearts.
Our children will thank us for it.

This mass hysteria is not helping matters.

Many believe the death rate to be somewhere around 1.4% but they also reckon it will likely fall to a fraction of this as cases are currently underreported. The 3.4% figure is a direct calculation of the current known cases, but many experts believe this is too high and doesn’t represent the real value.

I suppose time will tell.

 

Another good post, albeit old, by the same guy on Facebook:

Important Co-vid 19 updates:

1. FACT: As you can see from the graphic below, the virus continues to spread quite rapidly and we are now seeing an expanded list of countries affected well beyond SE Asia.

REACT: Stay informed. Use credible sites/sources to get your info. (WHO, Wuhanvirus.com, CDC, not the guy on YouTube posting about apocalyptic zombies eating your children)

2. FACT: The case fatality rate remains consistently lower than other more lethal variants of the Coronavirus family, and is tracking at 3% for confirmed cases. The actual case fatality rate is likely even lower than this considering a larger pool of mildly infected or minimally symptomatic people who have not been tested and confirmed as positive.

REACT: Stay calm. There are still greater threats to you and your family including other circulating viruses, namely Influenza. If you have not, go get your flu shot and get one for everyone you know like it's a Black Friday deal you can't miss.

3. FACT: It is concerning that there are emerging cases in countries such as Iran where there does not appear to be an epidemiologic link to Wuhan, or anywhere in SE Asia. This suggests that the virus may have more than one obvious mode of transmission and will likely continue to spread well beyond China.

REACT: Please re-consider travel plans to ANY affected country carefully and defer anything that is not work related or essential for other reasons, at least until this pandemic starts to run out of steam, and this does not appear to be soon at this point in time. That backpacking trip to Thailand or Orangutan tour of Borneo can wait.

4. FACT: There is increasing concern that the virus may be transmitted not only by aerosolization (respiratory droplets from coughing/sneezing) but by fecal-oral route.

REACT: This means hand hygiene is even more critical than before … please keep hand rinse handy! …. in entrances to your home, in your car, your purse, on your desk or anywhere it helps to keep your hands clean. Try to wash your hands with soap and water regularly as well, especially before and after meals and using the washroom...this is obvious enough but don't let your guard down. And please try to disinfect your mobile devices regularly - chances are there are more coliforms on your iPhone or Galaxy S10 than in a well maintained outhouse (not kidding) and if you use it as often as most people do, you should keep it clean!

5. FACT: There are real consequences to fear-mongering and targeting of any ethnic community. The Chinese community in many parts of the world is suffering dearly as businesses go bankrupt, children are bullied at schools and homes are vandalized. This is unacceptable.

REACT: Support ALL members of your community. Please do not avoid China town or Asian business establishments and VISIT to show your support! Speak out against expressions of racism and intolerance.

6. FACT: The world is not ending.
REACT: It's ok to write post-dated cheques, buy green bananas and start watching Game of Thrones. Inhale. Exhale. Repeat. Stay safe. Stay tuned.

Thank you!

 

The problem seems to be mostly between the two extremes. One who thinks getting information and posting sobering statistics is "panicking" and the other who is buying all the toilet paper in the Amazon warehouse (this is actually starting to happen).

It's an evolving situation, stay informed and please don't think because you are young and healthy it is ok to be careless with the health of others. This is very much a "herd health" situation and that's why the epidemiologists are reacting with way more urgency than individual infectious disease doctors.

 

It is rational and reasonable to be self-interested. People who want you to think otherwise are doing it either to take advantage of you or because of irrational faith/religion.

When presented with a threat (e.g. a wild tiger) it is rational and reasonable to fearful (e.g., make sure that you are not anywhere near the tiger) and suspicious (e.g., don't come up to the tiger to admire it, unless you made sure that the tiger can't get to you/make sure tiger's cage is locked). Since whether or not we get infected largely depends on other people (e.g., the authorities who haven't been attempting to stop the spread of this virus), and is not fully under our own control, the analogy to a tiger is appropriate.

Panicking is a valid reaction once one realizes that nothing is being done to stop the spread of the virus.

Paranoid losers are panicking about this runaway train barreling towards at 100 miles per hour, but how many people has it killed so far? Zero! Checkmate!

 

@Ed209, just to clarify I didn't mean you personally, I meant flippant people. You are clearly trying to get information.

 

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=it&tl=en&u=https://www.lastampa.it/cronaca/2020/03/05/news/coronavirus-in-terapia-intensiva-i-letti-sono-finiti-il-sistema-sanitario-e-al-collasso-1.38550946
In the north of Italy the healthcare system is collapsing - they are running out of ICU beds.

 

Containment is now impossible, though, so there’s very little that can be done other than to tell people to wash their hands regularly as the horse has well and truly left the stable. Covid 19 will become endemic so the mass hysteria needs to calm down as it is making the situation much worse. The news headlines on the front of our tabloids are absolutely milking the situation for all it’s worth at the moment.

I agree with those posts I saw on Facebook. We now have a situation where more deaths are likely to be caused by other means due to the public’s reaction, which is largely media-driven.

 

I find it interesting to watch the continuing "dramatic" tally of news organizations as they report the virus has now spread to "such and such" number of states, or "such and such number of countries. Sure, those things are of interest, but do they really need to "dramatize" it.? -- The way I look at it, the coronavirus virus is affecting one planet, and will mostly likely eventually reach just about every little niche and cranny of it before it's all over. It seems pretty inevitable to me.

I myself have a compromised immune system (I have CFS, which used to be referred to as CFIDS, which stands for Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome). But I really don't have a fear of the coronavirus. In fact, I think there's a relatively good chance I may eventually contract it--though I would prefer not to. The reason I don't fear it is because of the extensive research I've done regarding my own health issues for the past several decades, and my knowledge of how IV Vitamin C can easily eradicate most viral infections in pretty short order.

Most people don't know that just before Jonas Salk came out with his polio vaccine in the early 1950's, a definitive scientific paper had already been published on something like 63 of 63 children being completely cured of polio using IV Vit. C. Some of those children were even in the advanced stages and headed toward the "iron lung" machines of the time. The same rural doctor who had this experience and published this paper said he used IV Vit. C for just about every other viral and bacterial disease as well, almost always invariably getting excellent results.

Recently (couple years ago or so), 60 Minutes Australia did a segment on a man infected with the H1N1 virus, whose lungs had virtually quit working, was in a coma, on life support, and whose doctors were telling the family it was time to, in a sense, "let him go". The family then heard about IV Vitamin C, and asked the doctors to try it. They wouldn't, because there was no "scientific evidence" to prove it efficacy. The family sued to have it administered, and won. Lots more resistance by the medical profession, but long story short, this man made a miraculous recovery, and today does his best to try to get the word out about how most viral infections can be cured with IV Vit. C.

IV Vit. C has a utilization rate of virtually 100%, as compared to oral Vit. C, which is about 15-20%. One way to get around having to do IV Vit. C, would be to use liposomal Vit. C., which has an absorption rate of around 90%. There are also many other natural antivirals that can be used in conjunction with Vit. C. In addition, various body therapies, such as Far Infrared Sauna (known to boost immune function), various kinds of detoxification baths, ozone and/or oxygen therapies, etc. can all be very helpful. I'm familiar with most of these modalities, and would be able to incorporate them quite quickly into my own self-treatment in the event I were to become infected. Which is why I'm really not overly concerned about the coronavirus.

I actually think this pandemic presents certain opportunities for the planet. In short, I've long thought that Vitamin C therapy should be widely incorporated into our health care systems. I have good company with that thinking, as two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling felt the same way. In an earlier POST I made on this thread, there was information on how the Chinese are now doing some IV Vit. C experiments with the coronavirus. Perhaps if these are successful, it will create a whole new health care paradigm, one in which serious infections diseases of all kinds would first be treated with Vit. C, and only use various other antiviral drugs and antibiotics for those situations as necessary.

The main reason I can see for this not happening, is that there will likely be a mighty resistance to low-cost, safe and effective therapies that could cut world-wide health care costs running anywhere from hundreds of billions, to even trillions of dollars/euros. -- @Star64

 

Bill, what’s the point in panicking? Panicking leads to people losing their shit which in turn creates an even bigger problem. Not only does it not help, but some of the stuff that is happening is directly affecting other people who need treatment. What we need is a cool more level-headed approach. Covid 19 is here to stay now until a vaccine is found which could take years.

The best advice right now is to accept that most of us are likely to get it at some point in the near future and to prepare for that eventuality. Those at risk need to be really careful, and this includes all of our friends and relatives as they come into contact with us. Washing hands and personal hygiene needs to be high on everyone’s agenda.

 

I was thinking of flying to the UK in a few months from Moscow, but that doesn't look like a good idea right now.
Russia has implemented a 14 day self-isolation regime for people returning to Moscow from some of the worst-affected countries, including the UK. Not sure how they enforce this.

What surprises me is that Russia only has 17 confirmed cases, which considering Russia has a 2900 mile/4200km border with China seems very low. However, the government here could be telling porkies, but I hope not. But who knows!

 

I had a very interesting conversation with a Medical practitioner over eight months ago regarding the benefits of IV Vitamin C. He informed me of many cases where high doses of IV Vitamin C administered under medical supervision had been successful in treating patients with different forms of cancer.

When I questioned him why is it not used more widely as a therapy, he said because of two words BIG PHARMA!!!

He had worked in the profession over 40 years, he said he was retiring from his profession disillusioned. He said he was very outspoken throughout his career on alternative safe treatments but unfortunately this often saw him being treated as an "outcast" by his colleagues.

 

We might be using different definitions for the word "panicking". To me "overwhelming fear" is equivalent to becoming aware of the danger one is in. Fear is what keeps us safe. Once one becomes fully aware of one's situation, the rational thing to do is to be levelheaded and doing what one can to lower one's chances of being hurt.

 

I think getting people to work from home and to avoid public places and stopping all nonessential travel might still go a long way to reduce the number of people who get it.

Could you please give us an example of what might happen?

 

Hi @Star64 -- Yep, BIG PHARMA, one of the most immoral forces on the planet (and they have a LOT of competition!).

Regarding cancer, I heard of a doctor in Oklahoma who began treating his cancer patients with a novel DMSO therapy, apparently with great success. DMSO (super cheap, super safe, and extensively researched) apparently has an affinity for cancer cells, and will immediately migrate to them when it enters the body. So the doctor got the idea of binding the DMSO to the cancer drugs he normally used.

Because it was much more efficient at directing the chemotherapy to cancer cells, he was able to reduce the amount of chemotherapy a patient needed by 90%, and still get similar results to those that took the full doses of chemotherapy without DMSO. -- As I recall, he was hounded relentlessly by the medical authorities, and may have even been suspended for his "unscientific" practices--never mind that they were overwhelmingly successful. -- Lots of similarities of big pharma suppression between the Vitamin C and DMSO stories.

 

Face Touching Government Officials tell us NOT...