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Coronavirus patients start to overwhelm US hospitals

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Re: Coronavirus patients start to overwhelm US hospitals

#191

Post by circlefavshape »

mapgrep wrote: post #149

I am seeing a lot of comments on this story complaining that it is anecdotal or that New York is extraordinary and thus this is implicitly less important to people outside New York. I live in the city of New York and I think it's important that everyone nationally absorb what is happening right now and the "anecdotes" are important. By anecdotes, I mean, in particular the New York Times story and video published last…

Here's my anecdote - I had to drive my wife to the emergency department yesterday because she was having trouble breathing, and the ambulance service was busy. She's been sick for 2 weeks. 47 years of age. Only for the fact my sister-in-law is staying with us since the lockdown began I'd have had to leave my 2 panicked kids (14 and 11) alone in the house

Wife didn't need to be ventilated, and is home and seems to be improving. We're all still pretty on edge though. We live in Ireland FWIW

Re: Coronavirus patients start to overwhelm US hospitals

#192

Post by Redoubts »

dt3ft wrote: post #77

Is there any data on how many people died which had no pre-existing medical conditions?

This twitter thread had some good info from NYC:

https://twitter.com/ArmstrongDrew/status/1242648015959187456

> Another common trend -- 95% of people who have died so far had an underlying health condition ... BUT

> Keep in mind those underlying health conditions include things like diabetes -- which affects about 10% of the U.S. population. Oh, and hypertension -- 29% of adults. And cancer, heart disease, kidney diseae, etc. That's a LOT of people. Not some tiny, sick fragment.

-e- Direct Source ("Daily Syndromic and Case Data Update"): https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-main.page

Re: Coronavirus patients start to overwhelm US hospitals

#193

Post by DoreenMichele »

chkaloon wrote: post #186
DoreenMichele wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The medical establishment is already encouraging people to stay home and not seek medical care if it isn't overly severe. This is making people very upset, and understandably so, because it boils down to a big fat "fuck you." What we actually need is a list of medically approved home care options to empower people to deal with this on their own to some degree. We mostly aren't getting that. If you don't give people a…

People outside of the healthcare system don't realize that even in non-pandemic times, ERs and hospitals are some of the most dangerous places to spend your time. Doctors won't say that publicly, but the ones I worked with all had that sentiment.

Yes, hospitals actively breed antibiotic resistant infections. They are a primary source.

This is another point I have made in prior discussions that people didn't like hearing.

Re: Coronavirus patients start to overwhelm US hospitals

#194

Post by thomascgalvin »

TomMckenny wrote: post #122

Judging from the comments, explaining the severity of the epidemic is now politically charged. Epidemiologists and the medical field have made it clear we are _under_ reacting. But apparently some politicians want to down play the problem and their obfuscation is echoed in every corner of the web with great zeal and again drowning out reality. It's like the climate change denial phenomenon but at high speed.

The fact that we're more likely to listen to a politician (or a media figure) rather than someone who has spent the better portion of four decades studying a topic is one of the most existential threats we face.

We need to figure out a way to get through the tribal mentality. Right now, a significant plurality (if not an actual majority) of people are more concerned about their side winning points than about effectively dealing with a crisis.

Re: Coronavirus patients start to overwhelm US hospitals

#195

Post by MisterBastahrd »

beepboopbeep wrote: post #10
brenden2 wrote: post #3

While I'm not questioning the truth of these accounts, what annoys me about all these reports is that they seem to be anecdotes rather than hard data. It's really difficult to understand what's actually going on because the data sucks. It's hard to assess just how full hospitals are, which hospitals are at capacity, how many patients are actually testing positive vs. showing up at the hospital because they feel a bit…

81 people died of the virus in NYC yesterday. I think the large number approach of pandemics can almost sanitize the numbers of their humanity. Imagine 81 people died in a bus accident, or a fire, or a mass shooting. This is very serious and we're still at the beginning of it.

It isn't the virus that is sanitizing people of their humanity. They lost their humanity a long time ago, and the virus is simply revealing their nature.

Re: Coronavirus patients start to overwhelm US hospitals

#196

Post by jshaqaw »

js2 wrote: post #16

The 2017-2018 flu season also overwhelmed US hospitals: https://time.com/5107984/hospitals-handling-burden-flu-patie... https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2017-2018.ht... My point isn't that we should take Coronavirus any less seriously this year. Healthcare workers have no vaccine for it. It's on top of the flu. Etc. My point is that we should take the flu more seriously every year. Everyone gets their…

Hopefully people who skip the flu shot because it makes them a little sore realize that increasing herd immunity SAVES THE LIVES OF OTHERS. I'll take a day of sore arm to save a life.

Re: Coronavirus patients start to overwhelm US hospitals

#197

Post by TallGuyShort »

gridlockd wrote: post #135
TallGuyShort wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are probably referring to the immune response. The flu shot does trigger an immune response and other side effects, so having a fever, muscle aches, etc. is not made up. I too have a far more severe reaction every time I get a flu shot than I've ever had from actual flu.

> I too have a far more severe reaction every time I get a flu shot than I've ever had from actual flu. Are you sure you ever had an actual Influenza infection? It's not like a common cold. Even then, let's say you do get Influenza, there's a solid chance you'll get pneumonia, even as an otherwise healthy person. Most diseases to vaccinate against have are mild in the majority of cases. You're vaccinating because of…

I have been diagnosed by a doctor as probably having flu, but they don't always test, and I have had pneumonia, albeit not from influenza. But please understand you're preaching to the choir on vaccinations. I'm just saying that telling people something they actually experienced just isn't real just because it's not infectious is equally incorrect and counterproductive.

Re: Coronavirus patients start to overwhelm US hospitals

#198

Post by DanBC »

drstewart wrote: post #171
DanBC wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A stable 80 deaths per day isn't that many, it's only 29,200 people per year. But with covid-19 the numbers of people dying is doubling every 3 days. 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10,240, 20,480 Potentially Covid-19 would hit that 29200 figure in about 25 days from today.

Keep extrapolating and you'll find 2.5 trillion people will be dead just a week after that.

Look at Italy; look at Spain. These are not unreasonable extrapolations.

Re: Coronavirus patients start to overwhelm US hospitals

#199

Post by MisterBastahrd »

rimliu wrote: post #112
eCa wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the seriousness of the virus itself seems questionable. Half of the world’s population are or have been under some kind if restriction due to this virus. I don’t governments do that if they are uncertain. > I don't think we'll really know what's actually going on for a few more weeks or months I don’t think it is going to happen, but if the US does what Trump wants and ”lets it rip”, that will answer the question a…

Even scientists are uncertain, how can governments be?

Unfounded certainty is a byproduct of abject stupidity

Re: Coronavirus patients start to overwhelm US hospitals

#200

Post by SpicyLemonZest »

luckydata wrote: post #7
brenden2 wrote: post #3

While I'm not questioning the truth of these accounts, what annoys me about all these reports is that they seem to be anecdotes rather than hard data. It's really difficult to understand what's actually going on because the data sucks. It's hard to assess just how full hospitals are, which hospitals are at capacity, how many patients are actually testing positive vs. showing up at the hospital because they feel a bit…

It's kinda hard to get "hard data" in the middle of a shitshow. This comment sounds like someone watching a school shooting live and asking "yeah but what's the % of kids that got shot". Show some humanity dude.

I'm sure we all recognize the tragedy. That deserves to stand in a paragraph alone; it's tragic and my heart goes out to the medical professionals and patients who have to deal with it.

But it's not an isolated tragedy like a school shooting. If the proposed response to school shootings were indefinite social isolation, I would definitely want to know the percentage of kids that got shot and I would be intensely suspicious of a narrative that it's rude or dangerous to ask the question.

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