Archive for 2020

I SAW EARLIER THAT THE SURVIVAL RATE FOR NHS PATIENTS ON VENTILATORS WAS SURPRISINGLY HIGH, BUT MAYBE IT’S NOT SO SURPRISING IN LIGHT OF THIS: Intensive care for coronavirus patients now limited to those ‘reasonably certain’ to survive, NHS London Trust concedes. “A department head at Imperial College Healthcare revealed on Sunday that fewer and fewer marginal patients are being selected for ventilator treatment because so many serious cases require a fortnight on the machines.”

GEORGE CREEL IS ALIVE AND WELL IN TODAY’S MEDIA: Never heard of Creel? James Carville has and he loves Woodrow Wilson’s fascistic Committee on Public Information, which progressive journalist Creel ran. Nothing good can come of this.

OPEN THREAD: Make this one yours.

PROGRESS: FDA issues emergency authorization of anti-malaria drug for coronavirus care.

Politico says there’s “scant evidence,” but that’s ignoring multiple French studies. It’s journalistic malpractice — which is to say, journalism as usual in the age of Trump — to pretend that there’s “scant evidence.” Politico’s Dan Diamond doesn’t even mention the French studies.

Related: Italy and France are now prescribing hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine as treatments for coronavirus patients. Politico’s Dan Diamond doesn’t mention this either, preferring to treat it as purely a hare-brained Trump scheme.

I thought the press usually wanted us to be more like Europe.

UPDATE: “Scant evidence.” Novartis CEO says Malaria drug is biggest hope against coronavirus.

Novartis Chief Executive Vas Narasimhan said his Sandoz generics unit’s malaria, lupus and arthritis drug hydroxychloroquine is the company’s biggest hope against the coronavirus, Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported on Sunday.

Novartis has pledged to donate 130 million doses and is supporting clinical trials needed before the medicine, which U.S. President Donald Trump also has been promoting, can be approved for use against the coronavirus.

Other companies including Bayer and Teva have also agreed to donate hydroxychloroquine or similar drugs, while Gilead Sciences is testing its experimental drug remdesivir against coronavirus.

“Pre-clinical studies in animals as well as the first data from clinical studies show that hydroxychloroquine kills the coronavirus,” Narasimhan told the newspaper.

I mean, you might disagree, or say it’s early days yet, but “scant evidence?” This is why people think the press is garbage. Because it keeps being garbage.

COMRADE DEBLASIO TEARS UP FIRST AMENDMENT IN NYC: Religious congregations are warned that failing to heed his orders could result in their buildings being permanently shuttered:

https://youtu.be/Qpt2OBqQVns

INDEED:

Anyway, it’s a strange matter to compare Trump and Biden on coronavirus. Trump is actively engaged in solving the problem, and we’ve got to be hoping he’ll be effective, though I suspect there are some Americans who care more about installing the Democratic Party into power for the next 4 years than they care about getting us out of this jam. But the idea of Biden stepping in… that’s not even something that can happen for 10 months. Who can think about Biden somehow doing better than Trump 10 months from now?!

Noboy with a brain.

A MYSTERIOUS GAS IS ESCAPING URANUS.