Live data from Hacker News

A (possible) solution to Covid-19

tillett.info

581–585 of 585 posts

Re: A (possible) solution to Covid-19

#581
post #513

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe in this context, making a "hard choice" is accepting that something like 0.3% of the world population dies? Historically we saw worse and recovered, while trying to engineer something with no guarantee it won't be massively worse, using an unprecedented and more or less unstoppable strategy, might not be the most prudent thing to do. Looks like a good movie plot though.

We don't have that option, unfortunately. In real life we're dealing with hospitals permanently jammed and new covid patients keep dying every 6 months, plus the huge economic costs from keeping hospitals _at_ capacity as opposed to 10x over capacity.

If the total cost is under $6 trillion, I think the Fed can swing it.

Re: A (possible) solution to Covid-19

#582

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes we use the scientific method of epidemiology - has been working since John Snow used it to determine that there was a cholera problem with the Broad Street Pump [1]. I am not encouraging anyone to do anything other than look for a natural attenuated strain. This point seems to be missed time and time again. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1854_Broad_Street_cholera_outb...

If you're proposing an investment of effort to find new information, it's absolutely fair game to ask what we will do with that information--how we will benefit from it. a) We find a naturally attenuated strain and do nothing to promote or spread it. b) We find such a strain and treat it like a vaccine candidate with all the testing. c) We find such a strain and treat it like a vaccine candidate but without all the t…

No matter what is done or not done there is risk. This is the nature of this problem. I am of the belief that the more options you have the better. If there is an attenuated strain out that has infected a large number of people we should look for it. What we do with it if we find it is a political question, not a scientific one.

Re: A (possible) solution to Covid-19

#585

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In which case, we need to think about Medical Ethics. Do we start experimenting with you and your loved ones?

Nobody is being experimented on or proposed to be experimented on. The proposal is to go and look for an attenuated strain and then decide what to do with it if we find one.

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/0...
Post reply on HN