Get on with your lives! Professor says as coronavirus 'not as deadly as first thought'

Express ^ | 23 Aug, 2020 | LUCY JOHNSTON

[MtnClimber]

CORONAVIRUS is not as deadly as was thought and the public fear that is stopping the country returning to normal is unfounded, a leading expert says. Carl Heneghan, Professor of Evidence-based medicine at Oxford University, called for the government to intervene and "proactively reassure the population".

He said exaggerated fears of Covid have led to "people going about their daily lives misunderstanding and overestimating their risk”.

And he said introducing local lockdowns could do more harm than good by forcing people into their homes, potentially infecting other vulnerable people that live with them.

Professor Heneghan - whose work led to a lowering of the official death toll after he revealed Covid deaths were being counted even if someone had subsequently died of other causes - spoke as he released new data revealing the infection fatality rate had fallen from 2-3 per cent in the height of the pandemic to 0.3.

He said if the downward trend continues the pandemic may end up no worse than a bad flu season.

Reasons for the fall, he said, could not only be down to the consequences of lockdown because cases are continuing to drop despite society opening up.

[FamiliarFace]

Love it.

[2aProtectsTheRest]

The Infection Fatality Rate for COVID-19 has been calculated to be between 0.64% and 0.66% for several months now. No study that I’ve seen has suggested anything outside that range since at least late May. The CDC currently has its best estimate set right in the middle of that at 0.65%: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/planning-scenarios.html

[2aProtectsTheRest]

"If Covid is SO contagious… Why do you need to have an 8-inch Q-tip stuck way up your nose for Covid testing?"

To collect the type and volume of sample required to produce a reliable result given the tests we have available. A rapid saliva based test was recently given approval by the FDA (https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-issues-emergency-use-authorization-yale-school-public-health). Each test works in a specific way. If you don't like how a test works, then go design a different one yourself, prove that it works reliably, and then submit it for FDA approval.

"Why can’t you test by breathing on a microscope slide if you could contaminate and infect others within 6 feet?"

There would be a significant amount of opportunity for outside contamination under those sorts of testing conditions and that's not how the testing protocol we've been primarily using in the US works. If you want a different test, design one that works reliably and sell it.

"Why must you “social distance” beyond the length of an 8-inch Q-tip?"

Because respiratory droplets travel farther than 8 inches but generally less than six feet. Respiratory droplets are larger and heavier than aerosols, so they quickly fall to the ground. But they aren't lead bricks that drop to the ground instantly; they travel a small distance first. Remaining outside that distance reduces your chance of infection.

"Why must you wear a mask if it is farther away than where a Q-tip tickles your brain?"

Because respiratory droplets are expelled from your mouth and nose when you talk, cough, sneeze, sing, yell, or otherwise do any sort of forced exhalation. A properly worn multi-layer mask traps most of those respiratory droplets, preventing them from carrying SARS-CoV-2 to others. It doesn't stop everything, but it significantly reduces the volume of respiratory droplets expelled and the range they travel as shown here:

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7301882/

"If the invasive Q-tip test is accurate, then masks and social distancing do nothing to protect people."

Complete nonsense. That's like saying that if the flu test is accurate, then staying home when you're sick does nothing to protect people. Since when does testing have anything to do with reducing the risk of infecting others? And are all of us getting tested every day now? I know I'm not. So if you haven't yet developed noticeable symptoms, how would you even know you're infected?

"If Covid is SO deadly… Why aren’t hearses waiting in line for their turn to offload the dead at funeral homes?"

Well they've had to resort to using refrigerated trucks in New York, Chicago, Texas, Arizona, and other places to store all the dead bodies once the morgues completely filled up. A lot of funeral homes refused to take people who died from COVID-19. https://abc7chicago.com/covid-deaths-coronavirus-covid-19-refrigerated-warehouse/6097909/ https://www.fox6now.com/news/refrigerated-trucks-requested-in-arizona-texas-as-morgues-reach-capacity-amid-covid-19-surge https://time.com/5812569/covid-19-new-york-morgues/

"Why hasn’t the government specified the exact medically approved masks which must be worn? Why are masks from cheesecloth or sewing material OK with the government? Why hasn’t the government dictated that every mask must be worn only once before disposing of it?"

Because as we've known for generations on the right, the government is terrible at its job.

"Why hasn’t the government provided to every home, HazMat Disposal Containers for disposal of masks?"

Unnecessary. The primary purpose of the mask is to protect others from the mask's wearer. If you're already infected, you don't get double infected by taking your mask off yourself and throwing it in the trash. And fomites as a source of transmission is purely theoretical. The CDC acknowledged this several months ago: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/s0522-cdc-updates-covid-transmission.html

These aren't impossible to answer gotcha questions. These are questions you can answer with 10 minutes and Google and a little bit of background knowledge. There's nothing new here and no vexing questions remaining.

[chopperk]

Simple solution to the pandemic,,,,Make HCQ and Azithromycin OTC drugs so anyone who develops a cough and/or fever can go the nearest drug store and self medicate with the drugs along with Zinc Sulfate with correct dosage within 48 hours of symptoms and pandemic over.,,,,,instead of waiting a few days to get tested and 5 days for the results,,,,if over 60 years of age,,,,you’re dead.

[El Cid]

Re: 6

I absolutely agree. I don't think it was nefariously pre-planned in collusion with the Chicoms (although maybe it was), but I think the Dems saw the opportunity once the shutdown was proposed, and the Dem leaders war-gamed their strategy with their Media stooges - and they have run with it ever since.

Once the genie was let out of the bag (at the prodding of the bureaucratic 'doctors' Fauci and Brix) - and the hysteria was allowed to get traction - its been nearly impossible for President Trump to slam on the brakes to this insanity. We 'suicided' our economy and destroyed many more lives - than were saved - by taking our approach.

[Obadiah]

So, what is Dr. Heneghan’s FReeper handle? Because most of us knew this was largely a hoax. Did some get sick? Yeah. Did some die? Yeah. Were some precautions necessary? Yeah?

But this whole COVID thing got high-jacked by the Left as a means to derail Trump. And then we kept hearing the Left’s insufferable platitude, “Listen to the science”, garbage. Well, the empirical data, available to anyone, scientifically proves that COVID has been not much different in mortality than your average flu season. That's the science.

[Fledermaus]

J was shocked at how many sheep we have.

[Fledermaus]

Freak her out...ask her if she wants to contract Covid. When she says “no”, ask her “Don’t you know what a vaccine is”?

[Fledermaus]

All BS. And if you buy every search result on Google then Google “bridges for sale “ and you’ll get my website.

[2aProtectsTheRest]

Thank you for the well researched, highly thought out response. I see you’re adding a lot of value here in providing people with facts and information they can really use to make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing. /s

[2aProtectsTheRest]

Why yes, let’s lie to people in order to scare them.

What is this, CNN?

[Fledermaus]

Whats a CNN?

[LucyT]

###############

PING

Check out # 6.

[FamiliarFace]

Good one. That might work.

[FamiliarFace]

I am still shocked at how many sheep we still have.

[Trump Girl Kit Cat]

MM all VERY GOOD POINTS!! This has been the biggest HOAX ever hoisted on the American people!! The counts have been BS and we KNEW from the very outset how dangerous this was to the elderly YET blue states did not protect them, we LEARNED how dangerous this was to the diabetics AND obese BUT I guess it was just to PC to tell the obese they were in danger OR to even mention the word obese!!! It seems that EVERY damn time we start taking steps forward such as opening schools NOW OMG after 6 months kids are just NOW in danger, danger, danger!! I firmly believe that there is something nefarious going on with these tests AND the death counts are rigged to count EVERYTHING a CV19 death!!

[TigersEye]

They had to withhold simple cures to get it even that high.

And shove people with Covid-19 into long term care facilities. If they did those two things with seasonal flu patients they could jack up the death rates for that too.

[Right Brigade]

What a tome of horse pucky

[TigersEye]

Why hasn’t the government specified the exact medically approved masks which must be worn?

Those are all good but that was the best IMO.

It makes zero sense to mandate masks yet not mandate exactly what kind and no other. It totally exposes the mask mandates as frauds.

[AndyJackson]

'not as deadly as first thought'

Oh, I don't think he understands. It's very deadly. Trump needed to shut down the economy and because he ducked his responsibility Joe is going to have to do it. That will be very deadly indeed.