251–260 of 394 posts
I don't think that's what the CDC and others want to get across. Much like (most) AI researchers and partitioners trying to downplay the fear mongering.
As a species we really seem to love Existential crises.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This seems to just be a set of general steps for the dominant culture to downplay dissenters or individuals for whom the system isn't working. It doesn't tell you anything about if the system is actually working or not, or if those individuals are right or wrong. Anyone who disagrees with the system will probably go through similar feelings (maybe not point 4). You could put yourself in the position of someone who gr…
Astute observation. 1 and 2 apply to marginalized communities but 3 and 4 do not.
It's a natural step after point 1 or 2 where the dominant group rebuts with "well it works for me, so it should work for you", and the minority group provides their theories as to what results in them having a different outcome.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think there is a real need to understand how much of a vector our phone screens are. People touch their phones, wash their hands, and then touch their phones again.
Isn't this true for anything that you regularly touch but don't regularly wash? Like your wallet, your keys, your headphones, your car steeringwheel and on and on. Why single out the phone?
https://youtu.be/pqzcCfUglws?t=368 https://youtu.be/pqzcCfUglws?t=1382
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Of all the national emergencies in the US since 2000, Katrina, Sandy, Puerto Rico, etc., does anyone know offhand how many were handled properly? Seems like ~20-40% are handled improperly if not more.
The ones that were properly handled aren't news. You never heard about the lead poisoning that didn't happen.. but you'll hear about Flint Michigan. Try counting all the dams that didn't break and, thus, averted catastrophic floods. Also count the forest fires that didn't happen because of regulation. When something is declared a national emergency it's typically because society have failed to prepare.
Not a great example for this point. Cynically, you heard about Flint because journalists rode the hype train for views and clicks, either failing to do research on other communities or failing to promote those stories to the level of hype required to break into the mainstream. They were close to notifying the public of a widespread public infrastructure and health issue, but for whatever reason fell short and became fodder for anti-"fear-mongering" attitudes.
> . . . The Michigan city doesn't even rank among the most dangerous lead hotspots in America . . .
> In all, Reuters found nearly 3,000 areas with recently recorded lead poisoning rates at least double those in Flint during the peak of that city's contamination crisis. And more than 1,100 of these communities had a rate of elevated blood tests at least four times higher.
> . . .
> Like Flint, many of these localities are plagued by legacy lead: crumbling paint, plumbing, or industrial waste left behind. Unlike Flint, many have received little attention or funding to combat poisoning.
[1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/thousands-of-u-s-...
The article becomes much less edgy if you know what the authorities are actually saying. For example, the American CDC, in USA Today[1]: "Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters Friday that U.S. health officials are preparing for the coronavirus to become a pandemic." "'We’re not seeing community spread here in the United States, yet, but i…
As Hacker News is usually full of people that can provide good advice: What should I personally do to prepare? I'm living alone and have the ability to work remotely once the virus starts spreading here. My guess is mostly stocking up on food, which I've planned to do for a long time - sounds like a good motivation to finally prepare a list and get shopping. Should I bother with a N95 mask? I already have surgical ma…
I heard that viruses can enter the body by contact with the eye... so some mask with goggles might be safer?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sorry, dropped a '0' there. My bad. Edited. Also, 'pandemic' is just about the geographic spread, not about the mortality or the rate of infection.
Normally, yes, but the seasonal flu is excluded from the definition so we don't have to say that there's an annual recurring pandemic. When agencies talk about flu pandemic preparations, they're referring to an outbreak so severe that it no longer counts as just the seasonal flu.
If this thing keeps going like it has for the last couple of weeks then it will make the last H1N1 pandemic look like a walk in the park. The final count on that was 100's of thousands dead in 199 different countries. And it didn't take off nearly as fast as this.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep, I'm on a medication that is commonly abused so they only allow 30 day prescriptions, and you can't pay with cash, it has to go through insurance.
Whats to stop you stockpiling them at home for a year, and then taking them all at once and getting hooked?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The plans the US already has for a flu pandemic should mostly carry over, no? COVID is probably worse than the seasonal flu, but it's not outside the reasonable range of what a flu pandemic could do.
Do 29 year old doctors typically die from the flu?