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posted by martyb on Thursday February 27 2020, @03:46PM   Printer-friendly

Clinical trials of remdesivir, an experimental drug to treat COVID-19, have begun at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha. More detail is provided in an article posted by the National Institutes of Health. The initial trial will involve 400 patients and will be conducted internationally but is beginning in Nebraska. There are currently 15 patients being monitored at UNMC, 13 of whom have tested positive for COVID-19. According to the daily update from UNMC, all of the 15 patients are now in the National Quarantine Unit, which has 20 beds. Previously, some of the patients had been in the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, which is the largest facility of its kind in the country and had previously been used to treat ebola patients.

Note: The February 25 edition of the daily update mentioned the clinical trial, so there's a good possibility that additional updates will be posted in UNMC's daily update. The additional discussion may help explain why the trial is beginning in Nebraska even though there haven't been any cases that reported there -- all of the COVID-19 patients at UNMC were either sent there originally or were previously quarantined at Camp Ashland or were transported there from elsewhere.

Australia has activated its emergency response plan for global pandemics as the coronavirus spreads rapidly outside of China. The plan to deal with a large scale coronovirus outbreak is named "The COVID-19 plan". The plan notes that there are three levels of outbreak to consider, with a "high" outbreak being comparable to the extreme 1918 "Spanish flu" which infected one third of Australians and killed between 50 to 100 million people globally.

As the potential for the coronavirus to break out into a pandemic increases, people are flocking to stores for hand sanitizer with shelves in Australia and other countries out of stock of the items.

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by slinches on Thursday February 27 2020, @04:40PM (24 children)

    by slinches (5049) on Thursday February 27 2020, @04:40PM (#963583)

    Would you rather the President came out in a full hazmat suit and told everyone to go full doomsday prep and lock themselves inside because their neighbors are a potential threat of infection?

    While Coronavirus is a serious issue, the level of panic that has been spreading throughout the world and being fanned by media reports isn't warranted (or helpful, even if it was). The bigger risk right now is panicked overreactions like hoarding of resources, closure of public services and fear of anyone who appears sick. The way I see it, the leader of our country downplaying the severity somewhat while recognizing that there is a concern, requesting additional funding and appointing the VP to execute emergency planning are all the right thing to do to minimize the negative outcomes overall.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @04:42PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @04:42PM (#963586)

    Would you rather the President came out in a full hazmat suit and told everyone to go full doomsday prep and lock themselves inside because their neighbors are a potential threat of infection?

    No, I want more time to grab supplies before everyone else does.

  • (Score: 5, Funny) by DannyB on Thursday February 27 2020, @04:56PM (3 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday February 27 2020, @04:56PM (#963598) Journal

    We can just build a wall to keep Coronavirus out. Call it a national emergency. Steal funds from children's school lunch programs to pay for it.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 2) by slinches on Thursday February 27 2020, @05:12PM

      by slinches (5049) on Thursday February 27 2020, @05:12PM (#963610)

      Good point, Trump is really blowing it passing up on this opportunity to push his agenda. As Obama's Chief of Staff said "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste."

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @08:26PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @08:26PM (#963717)

      Build the wall. Keep the Corona virus out of our domestic beer.

    • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday February 27 2020, @09:32PM

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Thursday February 27 2020, @09:32PM (#963765) Journal

      We can just build a wall to keep Coronavirus out. Call it a national emergency. Steal funds from children's school lunch programs to pay for it.

      Way ahead of you, man. He got that shit built, like, 5000 years ago. Even called it the "Great Wall of China" to fool those guys into paying for it.

      Obama was a 3-dimensional chess player, Trump's a 4-dimensional chess player.

      --
      Washington DC delenda est.
  • (Score: 4, Touché) by DeathMonkey on Thursday February 27 2020, @06:55PM

    by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday February 27 2020, @06:55PM (#963650) Journal

    Would you rather the President came out in a full hazmat suit and told everyone to go full doomsday prep and lock themselves inside because their neighbors are a potential threat of infection?

    You mean how he reacted to Ebola when Obama was President?

    Yes, I'd prefer he NOT give us a sequel.

  • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Thursday February 27 2020, @07:14PM (11 children)

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Thursday February 27 2020, @07:14PM (#963666) Journal

    Our biggest risks right now comes from a for profit medical system that will make testing and treatment largely unaffordable to most people. There seems to be no attempt to make any of it freely available in the US.

    --
    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
    • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday February 27 2020, @07:33PM (10 children)

      by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday February 27 2020, @07:33PM (#963680) Journal

      Bernie Sanders IS the attempt.

      • (Score: 1, Disagree) by fustakrakich on Thursday February 27 2020, @07:43PM (9 children)

        by fustakrakich (6150) on Thursday February 27 2020, @07:43PM (#963691) Journal

        "Nobody likes him"!

        --
        La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
        • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday February 27 2020, @07:54PM

          by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday February 27 2020, @07:54PM (#963699) Journal
        • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @08:43PM (7 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @08:43PM (#963728)

          You are really outing yourself as a shill or an incel sitting in an Alabama basement. You have to actively ignore the news to think Sanders isn't popular. He is the most popular candidate around by far, and that is pretty easy to tell even with the MSM's attempts to hide the fact.

          So, are you a shill or just ignorant? Because an honest person would acknowledge reality and say they support Trump or Bloomberg because they reflect the grubby little light of greed that warms their heart.

          • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Thursday February 27 2020, @09:02PM

            by fustakrakich (6150) on Thursday February 27 2020, @09:02PM (#963742) Journal

            :-) Self-righteous indignation noted, mr. funnyman

            Please, do try to keep up... [google.com]

            --
            La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
          • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday February 27 2020, @09:38PM (4 children)

            by Phoenix666 (552) on Thursday February 27 2020, @09:38PM (#963772) Journal

            It is true Sanders is popular with Sanders supporters. The other half of the Democratic party fears and despises him/them. He fares less well with Independents and Republicans.

            I like Bernie, but if he becomes the nominee Trump is going to slaughter him.

            --
            Washington DC delenda est.
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @09:44PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @09:44PM (#963777)

              I like Bernie, but if he becomes the nominee Trump is going to slaughter him.

              Like last time, when they picked Hillary so she could slaughter Trump?

            • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Thursday February 27 2020, @09:45PM (2 children)

              by fustakrakich (6150) on Thursday February 27 2020, @09:45PM (#963780) Journal

              if he becomes the nominee Trump is going to slaughter him.

              Or maybe the non voters will step in. We'll see if they feel differently about him than the rest. I hope they remember to help elect a congress to back him up, or it's a wasted effort if they want to undo the last 50 years.

              --
              La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
              • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday February 27 2020, @10:16PM (1 child)

                by Phoenix666 (552) on Thursday February 27 2020, @10:16PM (#963816) Journal

                Baby Boomers are not going to vote for a candidate that praises Cuba and the Soviet Union. Millennials would, but so far the youth turnout is lower than 2016.

                Also, Bernie is old and has already suffered a heart attack on the campaign trail. If he got the nomination and did something monumentally stupid like choosing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a running mate he'd be more than slaughtered. Those things always matter a lot to some voters.

                You are also right on about his needing a Congress to back him up. He would certainly not have that, because every Republican and half the Democratic members would absolutely blockade anything and everything he'd want to do. He'd be a lame duck from Day 1.

                I would like real national healthcare and a green new deal, but we'll never get it with Bernie. I honestly think we'll get to a carbon neutral civilization faster and more effectively with guys like Elon Musk doing it as a profit-making activity than we will through Bernie's socialist approach.

                --
                Washington DC delenda est.
                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 28 2020, @07:20AM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 28 2020, @07:20AM (#964015)

                  I'm GenX. I don't care about the Democrat Party's direction, nor whether Sanders finds favor with some things in Cuba or the Soviet Union.
                  If I get to vote for common people politics under Sanders, I will vote for him. Otherwise I'll vote for Trump.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 28 2020, @07:22PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 28 2020, @07:22PM (#964287)

            Alabama doesn't have basements. They have root cellars. The incels are living in the root cellars with all the other fruits and nuts.

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 28 2020, @01:30AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 28 2020, @01:30AM (#963892)

    1) Trump was pretty incoherent during his briefing. He wasn't just stumbling over big scientific words. He was stumbling over reading basic policy details from the teleprompter. That suggests a degree of unfamiliarity with what he's discussing and raises questions about how carefully he's considered what the response should be.

    2) Trump's wishy-washy comments about funding about whether Congress should approve 2.5 or 8.5 billion dollars is a problem. There hasn't been adequate consideration given to the appropriate federal response and the necessary funding to implement it. The implementation of many of the containment and mitigation strategies will need to happen at the state and local levels. They don't have enough money to carry out those measures on their own so federal assistance will be needed. Even Richard Shelby, who is loyal to Trump, has been harshly critical of the administration.

    3) Trump's messaging is quite a bit different from what top scientists are saying. It's a big problem when Trump gives a speech about this and contradicts the experts. He needs to be reinforcing what the experts are saying, not contradicting them.

    4) Pence is the wrong person to lead the coronavirus response. His failures in responding to HIV in Indiana should disqualify him. he put his personal philosophy and beliefs ahead of the guidance from experts. Pence got it wrong then. Trump praised how Pence handled the situation in Indiana, which is disingenuous. Pence cannot be trusted to make good decisions about responding to the virus. Trump should have delegated the responsibility to someone who has a background in science and has experience with the federal bureaucracy.

    5) Why does the response team include Steve Mnuchin and Larry Kudlow? I question whether Mnuchin should be involved, but Kudlow should be disqualified just like Pence. Kudlow directly contracted statements coming from the CDC, almost certainly to influence the stock market at the expense of providing accurate and consistent information to the people. The presence of Mnuchin and Kudlow on the task force suggests that Trump is still more concerned about the economy than the actual impacts of the virus.

    6) Trump should have immediately amended his budget request to Congress to remove the requested budget cuts to CDC. It is unthinkable that Trump is proposing to cut funding to CDC, including their infectious disease containment and mitigation programs, while in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. That's unacceptable.

    7) Not directly related to the briefing, but it's very concerning that Pence wants to approve the messaging from any federal officials about the virus. I absolutely understand the need to ensure consistent messaging but there are ample reasons to distrust Pence. The administration has a history of contradicting scientists and demanding to control statements about other crises like Hurricane Dorian. The requirement that officials, apparently including those at CDC and NIH, get Pence's approval is extremely concerning because of the potential to order the scientists to provide inaccurate information, especially when there is a significant chance of it affecting the stock market.

    8) Trump didn't outline an actual plan for responding to the coronavirus. He spent most of the time downplaying the threat, patting himself on the back, and saying "I told you so" about the travel restrictions. He was happy to list off a ranking of the most prepared countries for a pandemic. But there was little information about future plans when the virus starts spreading more in the US. This goes back to to the disorganization, mixed messaging, and general appearance that the administration is unprepared.

    Trump needed to reassure people that they should trust the guidance of CDC and NIH. The experts have said it's a matter of time before there is community spreading of the virus. Trump should have affirmed this rather than casting uncertainty on the analysis from top scientists. Trump needed to make it clear that the administration wasn't going to lowball the request for funding. He needed to make it clear that there are well-defined plans in place for when the virus starts spreading more widely in the US. The briefing wasn't reassuring at all. In fact, it reinforced the idea that the administration really doesn't have a plan in place and hasn't given sufficient consideration to various levels of response depending on how the disease spreads in the US. Yes, Trump needs to reassure people about the situation. You do that by coherently providing the facts and making it clear that the administration is well-prepared for the range of situations that may arise.

    • (Score: 2) by Coward, Anonymous on Friday February 28 2020, @03:52PM

      by Coward, Anonymous (7017) on Friday February 28 2020, @03:52PM (#964140) Journal

      The experts have said it's a matter of time before there is community spreading of the virus.

      The US has not been testing for community spread [statnews.com], so it's wrong to say that it's not occurring. The diagnostic data to make an appropriate public health response (e.g. close schools, ban large meetings) do not exist in the US. The US should not be a straggler country when it comes to testing.

  • (Score: 3, Touché) by ilPapa on Friday February 28 2020, @03:39AM (3 children)

    by ilPapa (2366) on Friday February 28 2020, @03:39AM (#963937) Journal

    Would you rather the President came out in a full hazmat suit and told everyone to go full doomsday prep and lock themselves inside because their neighbors are a potential threat of infection?

    No, I would rather the President found someone infected with a bad case of the coronavirus and french-kissed them.

    --
    You are still welcome on my lawn.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 28 2020, @07:31PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 28 2020, @07:31PM (#964289)

      Trump is a germaphobe so I imagine the coronavirus is driving him crazyier.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 28 2020, @07:51PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 28 2020, @07:51PM (#964297)

        Hope someone is coughing during a cabinet meeting.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 28 2020, @08:11PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 28 2020, @08:11PM (#964309)

          And coughing during his rallies.