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Posted on 01/02/2021 8:45:05 AM PST by Hojczyk
Epidemiologist Knut Wittkowski thinks he can answer the riddle.
"Influenza has been renamed COVID in large part," said the former head of biostatistics, epidemiology and research design at Rockefeller University.
"There may be quite a number of influenza cases included in the 'presumed COVID' category of people who have COVID symptoms (which Influenza symptoms can be mistaken for), but are not tested for SARS RNA," Wittkowski told Just the News on Thursday.
Those patients, he argued, "also may have some SARS RNA sitting in their nose while being infected with Influenza, in which case the influenza would be 'confirmed' to be COVID."
Holden Maecker, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University, echoed that assessment. "I feel pretty confident that the COVID-19 mitigation measures have caused the reduction in flu cases this year," he said. "Masks, social distancing, and hand washing are all effective counter-measures against colds and flu."
Speculating on why COVID levels have continued to soar if those measures have been so effective at stopping the flu, Maecker said: "I think it's because (1) there is less pre-existing immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in the population, whereas most of us have had vaccines and/or previous bouts with flu; and (2) the SARS-CoV-2 virus seems to spread more easily than influenza, including more aerosol transmission and 'super-spreader' events. Flu transmission is almost entirely close-range droplets and hand-to-nose or eyes contact."
(Excerpt) Read more at justthenews.com ...
I suspect there are a lot of reasons. First it is still early for flu season sometimes it does not. peak too feb or march
second more people may have gotten the flu shot this year because of covid
Third those who are ill but not seriously ill with influenza may be avoiding ERs and urgent cares oit of fear of getting covid
I’m sure there are other factors as well
Thanks for sharing this reality.
They seem to be universally disgusted by the current situation and very willing to share their observations. I have no idea about the rest of the country, but in Washington State it seems to be. And why not? The hospitals are not doing it for free. They charge several hundred dollars for a $10 C-collar...
Who knows how much they are marking up the cost of a Covid test. If it costs them $50, my guess would be that the emergency room will charge you $500 or more. It is an easy way to make up for being empty and losing tons of money because of people being afraid to go near them after all of the hype.
Other whispers say follow the money. Big money in doing tests for hospitals/Clinics. So, they do them for the fees.
My better half and smarter one, my wife the retired RN, said that doing Covid tests on anyone being admitted/treated after the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks might be a wise move.
The big FP practice, where she was the lead RN saw most of their real flu cases a week after Thanksgiving to about Valentine day. Our area flu advice at that time was to start giving the flu shots the first week in December.
Sorry, I forgot to ask how your sister is doing.
Hopefully, she is in a good recovery.
re:”Data reveals total deaths from all causes in 2020 is about what is is for the past several years. Why??
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Someone is being less than honest
“But last year before the political weaponization of Covid. Same exact thing. Lots of sick lungs. No influenza. It was January right around this time. Lots of us scratching the head.”
About this time last year, I had finally gotten on the recovery side of whatever I had since about Thanksgiving. It was never diagnosed. Our HMO ran basically every test known to mankind on me with no findings.
I apparently passed it on at Christmas to a 50 year old son who had it for weeks and lost 35 #’s which he didn’t need to lose.
Our son has the same FP that I do. He told my son, “You apparently have/had the same crud as your Dad, and we don’t know what he or you had.”
A college 19 year old grandson had a minor form for about a
week after Christmas.
None of the women in our family had anything beside sniffles.
Thanks for your reply and info.
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Thanks for your insight and replies.
Abridged from The science of soap – here’s how it kills the coronavirus...
Most viruses consist of three key building blocks: ribonucleic acid (RNA), proteins and lipids. The weakest link is the lipid (fatty) bilayer. Soap dissolves the fat membrane, the virus falls apart, and becomes inactive. Critically, there are no strong covalent bonds holding the viral units together, which means you do not necessarily need harsh chemicals to split those units apart.
Human skin is an ideal surface for a virus. It is “organic” and the proteins and fatty acids in the dead cells on the surface interact with the virus. Washing the virus off with water alone helps, but water is not good at competing with the strong, glue-like interactions between the skin and the virus.
Water isn’t enough. Soapy water is totally different. Soap contains fat-like substances known as amphiphiles, some of which are structurally very similar to the lipids in the virus membrane. The soap molecules “compete” with the lipids in the virus membrane. This is more or less how soap also removes normal dirt from the skin. The soap not only loosens the “glue” between the virus and the skin but also the Velcro-like interactions that hold the proteins, lipids and RNA in the virus together.
thank you!
That's a rather disparaging remark to make about him. For a relatively young guy he's got well over 100 publications and thousands of citations. He is very bright and has the backbone to say things that irritate the hell out of liberals and quite a few academics.
That may all be true but if he does not know the difference between covid and influenza he is not much of an epidemiologist
See the WA State Local page:
Steve_Seattle 11/11/2020 4:20:16 PM PST
Regarding the doctor's statement about the absence of flu so far this fall, maybe it isn't so much that flu cases are being classified as covid cases, but that covid is more contagious than the flu and is “elbowing it out.”
boop 11/11/2020 2:56:40 PM PST
I'm a doctor in Seattle.
Guess what we're not seeing this year?
The FLU.
We're not even testing for it.
But this is knee-deep in the time that the flu starts.
I'll wager that when all is said and done, that these corona spikes are actually flu cases.
The sheer numbers would be about right for this time of year.
Also on the Facebook Issquah Highlands page, a medical professional from the Swedish hospital (a Covid treatment center) said the same things.
Hope that helps.
You are one of the most considerate and polite persons on the forum. I compliment you for being an example for all to follow.
My sister was a mess before the accident, now she is a banged up mess. She lost control of her car because she was having some type of episode. She has been taking about 20 250mg ibuprofen or more every day for her arthritis for years. This is a recipe for liver damage especially. She is also on blood pressure meds. I believe she is beginning to suffer the long term consequences from medications and lack of physical activity.
90% of the people who get a positive result back from these “manditory” Covid tests for travel, hospital admission, or employment were not experiencing any or only very light symptoms. 70% or more of the people under the age of 65 who had no symptoms when they tested positive never develop symptoms. The tests were not designed for diagnosing well people, they were meant to assist a physician to diagnose sick people. The tests are being abused for political purposes.
Thank you very much for sharing your professional perspective. It mirrors what I am being told by my former co-workers on the fire department that I retired from. 90% of our calls are EMS, people having resperatory distress and requiring transport typically are our bread and butter. Since this started around here the call volume has spiked because of all the panicked people not because the actual serious cases have increased.
Stop calling them “masks” and call them “Faucis”. “No entry unless wearing a Fauci”.
North central TX. That’s what we are experiencing. Anyone who is diagnosed positive and feels a bit off is calling for emergency transport. Runs per shift have doubled. The hospitals and waiting rooms are packed. All CPAP, BiPAP and ventilators are in use. I know some nurses getting north of $100/hr to come in and work.
“Someone is being less than honest”
It seems to be the sign of our times. Dishonesty is coming at us from every direction.
Thanks!
90% of the people who get a positive result back from these “manditory” Covid tests for travel, hospital admission, or employment were not experiencing any or only very light symptoms.
70% or more of the people under the age of 65 who had no symptoms when they tested positive never develop symptoms. The tests were not designed for diagnosing well people, they were meant to assist a physician to diagnose sick people. The tests are being abused for political purposes.”
Sorry to hear about you sister. Arthritis may be one of the worst progressive diseases. You sister is lucky she didn’t do her stomach or intestines in with those doses or stroke out.
My wife has severe Arthritis, and she takes the max of Celebrex each day and rubs some Voltaren gel at night and rubs some of the topical herb stuff on to her neck. She gets an injection into her neck about every year. The last one was 13 March of last year the D Day before this pandemic.
We wish your sister, better times, and thanks for your data on Covid in your area.
Stop calling them “masks” and call them “Faucis”. “No entry unless wearing a Fauci”.
BOL!
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