wgscott

tds101

I wonder if this is the problem:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/18/h...ntibodies.html

tds101 

I actually went well within the timeframe for antibodies to be present. Still, I haven't bothered to be retested. I've been too busy. Thank you for the info.

wgscott

Just read this guy's account: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/...e-15341786.php

tds101 

I decided to get retested for antibodies last week (7/1/2020), and it came back as positive. As for immunity? Who the hell knows,...

wgscott

Don't go out testing the hypothesis.

tds101 

Mask and social distancing are still in effect,...

tds101 

I've been "recovering" since sometime in April. Where I work I'm constantly exposed to individuals who refuse to wear masks, and they have a hard time understanding the concept of "social distancing". Staying healthy is a bit of a crapshoot.

mech986 

TDS, any update on how you have been doing? I hope things have been a bit better for you, your co-workers, and NYC. Out here in California its been an inexorable steady climb, partly because of our large population and specific urban density in the hardest hit areas.

Here's my take on the antibody issues. What is important to remember is we just don't have much real experience yet with this disease, its immunological effects on so many different kinds of people (race, age, blood type, immunologic status, prior exposure (if any) immune response, degree and amount of viral load, specific body system damage, and probably a whole host of other factors) and what antibody response really portends for the future, and of course, the question of how long antibody response, if any, lasts and how effective or ineffective it is for the next infection.

So far the medical research has suggested that the Coronavirus continues to slowly, randomly, change or mutate over time and across various hosts as it spreads. It is not known whether this alters the virus enough to where prior antibodies or even a specific vaccine, may be effective or ineffective the second time around or on repeat exposure. That is why testing and antibody testing is aimed at what is thought to be the most stable and prevalent parts of the virus (that which if lost would render the virus less infective or markedly different) - the attachment spike, parts of the viral envelope or wall, etc. Testing also depends on thresholds of viral pieces which react with the specific test's targets which is a proxy for viral particles or viral antibodies.

The biggest issue we have is the relative lack of full test studies to truly prove effectiveness of the testing being done. This is normally something that is done in many rounds of testing, certification, and approval but has been, of necessity, bypassed for expedient and expanded testing. But we have seen, as shown early in the pandemic, that tests "showed up" from many domestic and international sources, that were wholly unreliable and in some cases, simply fraudulent, in order to capitalize and steal monies meant for bona fide tests based on real immunological science and manufacturing. This has certainly caused confusion and some distrust as testing systems and testing expansion have evolved over the past 4 months in the US and elsewhere. One would hope that now in August 2020, fully 7 months after the US portion of the pandemic took hold, we would have some level of consistency in test capability, test reliability, and test accuracy. It is not clear these objectives have been met yet, but certainly in most (?) areas of the country, each locale, region, or state should be striving for that in order to serve the people, the population who are at risk.

The really hard part to remember is this is literally evolving in real time as we continue to deal with this pandemic. Science and research takes real time to get some level of accuracy and knowledge to move to next steps. Its almost a Manhattan Project if you will, where despite some knowledge, there is a level of the unknown that must be overcome at considerable risk, and there is a time pressure too. But make no mistake, there are thousands if not millions of people working here and internationally on testing solutions, treatment options, and hopefully vaccine options for the near future. As to whether they will be truly effective short or long term, only the clinical experience, research into responses, and then refinement over and over will we know over the next 6-24 months.

Meanwhile, IMO, assume the worst and hope for the best - assume you can get infected, assume you may get infected more than once (by possibly variants of the CV as it comes around more than once in your community), assume you can make a difference by following social distancing, hand washing, and mask wearing protocols, and that encouragement of others to do the same may help the overall community weather this pandemic with the least number of infections, serious illnesses, and major health effects or deaths.

NB: I played a family doctor in my past professional career for 27 years, although I have not been asked to play one on TV, YouTube, or on a streaming channel. Although retired, I remain plugged in to current research and literature and valued scientific sources. I am 65 as is my wife, my mom is 86, and I have a 29 y/o handicapped daughter - all of us are at major risk if Covid were to get into our households or family, so we remain very vigilant and consistent in our exposure management. Please be safe out there and take appropriate precautions for yourself, your family, and your community. Sorry if this was too long, there is just so much to deal with out there.

Hondo Gravel

Yup, I guess in El Paso they hired actors to be frozen dead bodies posing inside the trucks.

FBOATSB 

Yup, us non science types can learn stuff right here every day:
Coof

Hondo Gravel

Sarcasm you COOF! Now I have something to call Bubba and Bubbette when I see them at Walmart.

cb400bill

grizzly907la, leave this thread.

CycleryNorth81

South Dakota ER nurse recalls how dying coronavirus patients spend last minutes insisting virus isn't real

https://www.yahoo.com/news/south-dak...151800579.html

blacknbluebikes 

It is completely unnecessary to share reality. Everyone can have their own.

Hondo Gravel

I was around a bunch of them a few days ago. They were pouting and crying and acting like fools. My AC/DC t-shirt and KISS mask enraged a few of them. Barging into and out of the feed store with their invisible lats and chicken breast chests sticking out with suspenders to hold up their basketball guts . Most people here are being cool and doing the right thing for themselves and everyone else. But they are few that have never been off the back 40 for generations so there you go.

cb400bill

Thread closed for moderator review.

EDIT: Thread now reopened.

cb400bill

Thread now really reopened. Sorry about the oversight.

wgscott

Thanks for opening it up again. I think this has been an extremely valuable thread and resource, and TDS really has made a major contribution to our collective understanding of the reality of this disease, and he has stood up to quite a bit of gratuitous flack in the process.

Hopefully someday when this is all over, I will get a change to buy the guy a beer.

tds101 

I hope to someday take you up on the offer. Thank you.

cloud

looks promising

Immunity to the Coronavirus May Last Years, New Data Hint

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/med...dwt?li=BBnb7Kz

tds101 

Now my wife's aunts husband is in icu,... No preexisting conditions. Hopefully he'll make it. It was his mother who recently passed away.

Biker395 

Just found out that a friend (he had a spinal stroke a couple of years ago and tragically, as been a complete quad since), has contracted COVID.

Hondo Gravel

I don’t know what to say.

Mad Honk 

TDS,
Things are like lightning strikes around me. Nephew and two kids both got it in August, his mom got it three weeks later. And today my wife tells me her sister got it at a Curves site. No masks around but she went anyway. For me it seems stupid does as stupid is. I just don't get the mental state that allows this to keep going on. Smiles, MH

cloud

Hope your SIL is ok. I had friends that got the virus and they were anal about wearing their masks and washing their hands . They both since recovered . I had it and was lucky no one else in my family got it.