SubJeff on 13/11/2020 at 10:58
Why are you bothered by the initial viral load theory? Just don't get it.
Gryzemuis on 13/11/2020 at 11:58
Facemask are not 100% protection. But if the amount of virus-particles does matter, then it is much better if (both) you wear mask. If you can get equally ill even if you get infected with a single particle or with millions of particles, the benefit of masks will be a tad smaller. So I find it interesting to know if it's true.
faetal on 13/11/2020 at 13:56
Lower innoculum (dose of virus particles) does seem to be related to lower severity, so masks are an absolute must, as is avoiding enclosed spaces with other people, and maintaining distance.
As with anything health related, there will always be people who imagine that their gut feel is somehow more likely to be correct versus the consensus of experts.
My current bugbear is armchair experts commenting on low death rate, as if death is the sole negative outcome of illness.
SubJeff on 13/11/2020 at 15:35
It's partly the fault of the media - it's an easy thing to report.
Talk of long term effects is still relegated to more academic discussions.
RE: viral load. I know the theory regarding Covid, I just feel that you should avoid getting it and the risk is lowered with mask wearing so then the viral load lowering aspect is already covered. Just try not to get it.
It's like crashing your car on the motorway. Try not to. You don't try to only have a smallish motorway crash.
faetal on 13/11/2020 at 15:39
For sure, not getting it is the best option. But since you can't eliminate the risk entirely, you'd be foolish not to take (very easy) steps to mitigate. The amount of whining about wearing face masks honestly makes me wonder how any of these people might deal with actual hardship should it ever befall them.
And yes, the media is terrible, particularly in the UK.
SubJeff on 13/11/2020 at 20:51
I don't disagree but the only ways we know of mitigating against catching this are the same as those that would lower the viral load so I don't see focussing on that as helpful.
Simple messages are best.
heywood on 13/11/2020 at 21:50
We had a quiet summer around here with low case numbers and most people were wearing masks in public even without a general mandate. We've now had a month of exponential case growth, the virus is spreading at a faster rate than in the spring, but the number of idiots who won't wear a mask or won't wear one properly is greater than ever. It's beyond frustrating. I'm on the verge of getting angry and going off on somebody about it.
But I don't think there's anything wrong with discussing the death rate. The rate of deaths as a fraction of confirmed cases declined substantially, and it's not just better treatment because the number of people requiring hospitalization also declined. Some suggest that it's due to a shift in the demographics of who is getting infected, but you can control for that. COVID-19 research isn't getting picked up by the media much anymore, so if you folks know of any research into what's behind the declining death rate, I'd be interested.
Another mystery to me is how the present wave manifested itself almost simultaneously all over the Northern hemisphere. I'm guessing it's seasonal in some way, but what's the trigger?
Here in the Northeast US, the weather in October was unusually nice, so most gatherings remained outdoors. There were outbreaks at colleges and universities in late Aug/early Sep, but those died down. We've seen a very small number of clusters in elementary and secondary schools, far less than we anticipated. Also a very small number of clusters in restaurants and bars. The biggest single source of spread in Sep/Oct was youth hockey, but that only accounted for hundreds of cases in the region out of tens of thousands. Across the border in Quebec, the curve looks the same as it does here, even though border travel has been restricted since the spring. Seeing the trend of daily new cases go from flat to exponential in so many different places in just a one month time span begs for an explanation.
Azaran on 14/11/2020 at 00:03
Quote Posted by heywood
so if you folks know of any research into what's behind the declining death rate, I'd be interested.
There's a new drug they're using in ICU which is increasing survival. Conclusive research on vitamin D supplementation is still up in the air, but I suspect the influx of more and more people taking it is also having an effect (especially if they're deficient).
For whatever it's worth, a guy I know was regularly supplementing with zinc and vitamin D for months, and got infected a few weeks ago. He says he got mild symptoms for a day and was back to normal after, even had blood work and a full checkup done afterward, and everything came out clean
Starker on 14/11/2020 at 02:07
On the other hand, aren't people as a whole getting less and less vitamin D from sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere?
I've been seeing more people wear masks. Instead of very rarely seeing a person with one, now I see maybe 2-3 people wearing them in crowded spaces. Meanwhile, there's a record amount of new cases: (
https://koroonakaart.ee/en)
SubJeff on 14/11/2020 at 05:40
Quote Posted by Azaran
There's a new drug they're using in ICU which is increasing survival.
Oh, what's this then? I've not heard of any new drugs. The only thing I can imagine you mean is dexamethasone, which is not new but has been found to be useful.