Posted on 03/14/2020 5:16:11 AM PDT by Little Pig
In 1918, there were no ICUs or ventilators. They didn’t even know what a virus was yet, only the effect of “flu.”
Today, we can save at least 97% of the infected if we keep the wave low, “flattening the curve.”
But as Italy shows, and now Spain and France, once the hospitals are overrun, and ICUs and ventilators are all in use, many many more will die.
In Italy, with gasping patients waiting in hallways, the death rate is over 6%, some say over 8%. And not only the elderly are dying. The weaker elderly just come in first, and overwhelmed the system. Then the younger are infected, and there are no ICU spaces left for them. (A patient may need THREE WEEKS in ICU, while more cases are being brought in every hour.)
And even when the young “recover,” their lungs may be wrecked by the scarring of pneumonia. This means young, formerly healthy firefighters, paramedics, nurses and cops (first-responders are hit very hard) will be disabled and unable to work at their old jobs ever again. They will be semi-invalids for life.
The “just the flu” crowd seriously needs to read the two articles I linked above.
I don’t know what this is, honestly. But I do have eyes. And right now I don’t know if I’m more concerned about the virus or people’s reactions to it. I’ve told more than one coworker that the veneer of civilization is miles wide and half an inch deep.
Some things I’ve seen in the last week:
Freeze dried food section at Cabelas picked clean by ONE GUY! He had two carts stuffed full. He must have spent over $2,000 on it.
This particular store is in Cook County, IL. There’s a nickel a round tax on all center fire ammunition. Saw another guy put 2,000 rounds of .223 ammo in his cart. That’s $100 in Cook County tax alone!
Did I mention there’s another large gun dealer 5 miles away across the county line who also sells bulk ammo with no Cook County tax? Idiot.
Meanwhile the reloading component aisle was well stocked. Plenty of .45 projectiles, a very decent selection of powders, and an adequate supply of primers. I was the only one in it. (I will find some damned Bullseye sometime soon!) In the meantime I’ve got enough components to load thousands of rounds.
I did grab a couple cases of 12 gauge trap ammo at Wally World. $22 a hundred for Winchester #8. Not bad. Mrs L has a nice Franchi O/U she likes to feed so...
A buddy of mine manages a store for a large local grocery chain. He said there were 2 fights over TP yesterday. 4 guys in jail. Good news is the County lockup has plenty. Enjoy your weekend, gentlemen. Bond court opens at 9am.
On Monday.
It sure doesn’t take much for the stupid to float to the top of the tank anymore.
L
So far they've not been cancelling 'elective' surgeries, but my spidey sense keeps whispering that it might be a good idea to postpone it awhile . . .
It just goes to show you, it's always something.
If it's not one thing, it's another
R.Roseannadanna
;-)
Dont postpone, move it up if you can! Next week!
Godspeed on a successful procedure and fast recovery!
That’s the earliest they can get me in, but I thank you very much just the same.
This is an unnatural pathogen
Manmade and designed to rapidly infect, debilitate and kill using components of multiple viruses including flu, SARS and HIV
Thats why there is zero natural immunity and such a difficult effort to try to develop a vaccine
Sorry to ruin your day
The military has more restrictions than most civilians are aware of - not a huge number but when certain situations arise, military folks are “put on leashes” whether for safety, being available “just in case” and combinations...this isn’t a hug and series thing - but some will use it to feed their panic when it should actually reassure them.
Are you a doctor? I am not so I do not claim any expertise. However, my limited understanding of how antibodies are generated to fight off antigens is that if the receptor/key to a virus is similar or identical to a previous virus that the body had developed antibodies to fight off can induce the same response in the immune system. And so the time required for the body to mount a defense (build a defense in antibodies), is reduced or eliminated.
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