I guess enough time has passed since the start of the great COVID-19 epidemic of 2020 that I can stop and assess what I may have learned and how I may have changed, for better or worse, as a result of this unprecedented disruption of our national life.
A lot of the changes, for me, have been surprisingly positive. I would not have expected this when the whole thing started. And I'm certainly not trying to downplay the inconvenience, frustration, and – at times – depressing nature of the lockdowns. Still, I seem to have come out a little bit better for it in some ways.
For one thing, I'm doing a lot more writing than I did before. With less to distract me and fewer excuses to procrastinate, and driven in part by simple boredom, I made it my business to work on a writing project for at least a half hour every day. A half hour doesn't sound like much, and it isn't, but once I got started, I usually would go much longer than 30 minutes. I found that getting just a little bit into the project was often enough to fire my interest. I was able to write a 20,000 word novella much faster than I normally would have, merely by making a point of working on it every single day. And I'm still doing this on my new project, with good results.
the novella I wrote – a historical fantasy
Another positive change is that I found myself going back to paranormal literature and either reading new books or rereading old ones. I really hadn't done much of this in the last few years, and I feel that it does help to "raise my vibrations" and put me in a more upbeat frame of mind. I can actually feel the daily headlines and Twitter posts dragging me down in energy, focus, and willpower, while concentrating on spiritual subjects has the opposite effect. I think politics in general attracts low-vibration people who are often motivated by the "will to power" and who are happy to lie, cheat, and intimidate in order to get it. Getting too deeply involved in that area of life can be soul-deadening. This is a lesson I had probably learned before, but not quite so vividly.
Finally, I think – probably like many other people – I now have a renewed appreciation for some of the simpler things in life. Just going to a restaurant, even if I have to dine outdoors (indoor dining is not yet permitted in my state), now seems like an exciting change of pace. I'm impressed by the resilience of shopkeepers who found a way to maintain their businesses by offering curbside pickup services or, in the case of restaurateurs, setting up tents to serve customers. In some cases, these improvised outdoor dining areas are nicer than the indoor dining they've replaced – although I doubt this will remain true when the weather turns cold.
In fairness, I have to balance these positive changes with some that are not so positive. I admit I've become more cynical and less trusting of my fellow human beings, especially my fellow Americans. People seem awfully quick to accept government mandates delivered by the unilateral edict of a mayor or governor. Worse, many law enforcement officers are awfully keen to enforce these mandates in an unthinking "I'm only following orders" way. I used to think Americans would instinctively resist tyranny. Now I'm not so sure.
And I can't help but feel that a lot of people are good at sabotaging their own lives. They were remarkably quick to cast aside one of the strongest economies we've had in the last 50 years for the sake of temporarily beefed-up unemployment checks. I have the strong impression that a lot of folks just don't think very far ahead, which may explain why they don't get very far in life. And I'll confess that, while in the past I've given pretty generously to charity, more than maxing out my federal tax deduction for charitable contributions several years in a row, this year I have not been inclined to give anything at all to charity, because I'm not sure it really helps. If people are dead set on short-term thinking and self-sabotage, I doubt there's anything that I or anyone else can do for them.
The "novel coronavirus" is not likely to be the last infectious disease to hit our shores, and I wonder if this kind of extreme overreaction will become the new normal. If it does, it will be exceedingly hard to maintain our standard of living and the civil liberties we've historically taken for granted. I also wonder if our friends in Isis and Al Qaeda have noticed our growing national germophobia and are planning to take advantage of it in their own way.
So my final report is mixed. Some of what I learned from our not-yet-completed plague year has been positive and uplifting, while some other lessons have been less edifying.
How about you? Has the pandemic made you a different person? If so, on balance, has the change been for better – or worse?
Life goes on. My younger sister told me recently that she is making more money now than she was before the pandemic. It is because she is considered an essential worker and was also being paid hazard pay, but I'm not sure if she still is? Other than wearing a mask to work every day her life hasn't really changed that much other than larger paychecks.
Our preacher called me about a month ago to see how I was doing and we talked and he said it was amazing how unaffected I was by the whole corvid 19 pandemic thing. My life hasn't really changed that much other than not going to church {grin}. We were never really going out to eat people anyway. I like to cook and since the pandemic started we haven't eaten out once. I still like to eat so I get excited when I find something delicious that is on sale. That gets my attention real quick. When I find a big bargain then I get excited.
When I grocery shop I wear a mask, which my older sister made for me, and even though I feel ridiculous wearing it I wear it because I guess it makes my sisters happy and now I think it's mandatory, although to be honest I don't watch the news and don't really keep up with all that. I like to play along like I'm part of what's going on around me. I have a difficult time understanding why people care so much though? {smile}
I'm not a political kind of guy. I don't follow politics and the only time I hear about it is when other people bring it up or the TV is on and my wife is watching the news or something? I'll be honest at this stage of my life I'm a whole lot more interested in what happens on the other side than I am on what happens here.
Posted by: Arthur Riechert | July 29, 2020 at 11:54 PM
Physically, not much has changed for me. As a grocery store worker, I'm fortunate and grateful to have a steady job, and while it was unnerving to realize that I could die by going to work, that feeling went away after a few weeks (it's still baffling how people literally went insane trying to get toilet paper).
Emotionally, things have been rough. Like you, Michael, I've become more cynical and less trusting of my fellow Americans after seeing so many refusing to wear masks or follow common-sense safety procedures to try and slow the spread of the virus. In my opinion, we need to all be coming together to fight a common enemy and adopt a cooperative mindset instead of saying, 'F*** you, I do what I want, and I want to get haircuts and party!" And that's before even getting into politics; like you, I'm trying to avoid it, as there are days where it just drags my spirit down and makes me wish I could hibernate until all this is over.
Spiritually, though, this year has been a wreck. I can't remember the NDE, but I remember how God once asked an experiencer, after feeling His love for her, if she could love others the same way. I've tried to see this pandemic as an opportunity to do so, but as someone who's on the center-left of the political spectrum, it's been excruciatingly difficult to feel tolerant or accepting towards people to the far right (and I don't mean moderates; I mean QAnon believers, people cheering at unmarked federal agents putting protesters in unmarked vans, any personality on Fox News, and especially evangelicals.). Loving your neighbor is easy in practice, but hard to do when - in your opinion - they're embracing fascism with open arms. It's so much easier (and emotionally satisfying) to be angry, frustrated, and even hateful, but for everyone's sake we must try.
Posted by: Ian | July 30, 2020 at 04:27 AM
"We were never really going out to eat people anyway." Arthur Reichert
Me either...they're a rare delicacy and not always on the menu anyway. Lol!
(Yes, I realize that was typo or omission of a word or two, but I have to say it gave me a hardy belly laugh. Thank you!)
Michael, I liked your candid post. I've been thinking a lot lately of the very things you wrote about. I think I commented before that I am a bit of a recluse. Fortunately my life hasn't been turned on its head. This whole pandemic thing has opened my eyes to how good I really have it. I live on a modest income but I own my own home, live close to the places where I usually shop and have family nearby. My husband made his transition three years ago and I adjusted to this solitary life quite well I think, so the C19 boogeyman hasn't affected me much.
But like you, I've noticed there's a change in the air when I go out. Sometimes you can detect the angst in the eyes of those people peering out above their masked faces. It must be terrible to be frightened by this unknown spectre that's intruded upon their lives. Then I have to stop and realize I don't know what their situation is. This new world might have created a future for them that they never anticipated. It could spell disaster for them, so who am I to judge.
My 93-year-old mother lives alone in her home about a minute's walk from mine. When I asked her if she was at all frightened by any of this, she said "Nope. We'll muddle through this one, too."
I'm gonna take her at her word.
Posted by: Joan of Darby | July 30, 2020 at 10:18 PM
"Another positive change is that I found myself going back to paranormal literature and either reading new books or rereading old ones. I really hadn't done much of this in the last few years, and I feel that it does help to "raise my vibrations" and put me in a more upbeat frame of mind"
Same here. For example, I just finished re-reading Michael Tymn's "Dead Men Talking" the other day and I got a lot more out of it than I did the first time through. I really thought about some of the ramifications. Very uplifting.
"Finally, I think – probably like many other people – I now have a renewed appreciation for some of the simpler things in life...."
Absolutely true for me too. Just one example - our local grocery store used to have a decent butcher section, but since the virus, the prices have doubled and the best cuts of meat are like eating an old shoe. I asked a friend who has lived his entire life in the city 30 miles North of my place, and who likes to cook, where quality meat can be found and he recommended a butcher shop that supplies to all of the best restaurants. So my wife and I took a drive up there and found the shop clean, friendly and stocked with some excellent product at reasonable prices. We're planning another trip up there tomorrow. We're both really looking forward to it. I used to hate shopping. Now it's fun. I'm also getting into cooking. Thinking about different recipes, etc. I've lost a lot of weight by not eating out all of the time.
We also grew a garden that is much larger than any we've ever attempted before. We've got beats, broccoli, lettuce, cabbage, peas, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, onions, garlic all kind of herbs. Every evening we go out and pick what is ready and incorporate it into the meal. Delicious! We're already making plans for an even bigger and improved garden for next Spring. I'm actually looking forward to it. I would have never been excited about gardening in the past.
I used to be in a big hurry to get out of the house, go play music with friends and/open mics, meet new people, have some drinks - now I'm pretty happy to just go for a quiet walk and stay at home relating to my wife. Our relationship has always been good, but I find it even deeper and more meaningful now that we spend more time together talking about everything and how we feel about it, each other and what we will do in the future.
Work hasn't really changed for me because I've been working from home for the most part for a few years. I haven't traveled on business since February. It's all video conferencing now, but I prefer that to the trains, planes and hotels.
Generally, I find myself appreciating my own little paradise on my quiet little horse farm with my wife and our gardens. I tune into the "news" less and less these days. As you say, it's a low vibrational sphere and I can feel myself being sucked into that muck. I can't resist sometimes, but I'm getting increasingly better at doing so.
My attitude toward the destruction of the country waxes and wanes. Over all, if the worst happens and there is some kind of civil war or fascist govt take-over and it comes to my home, I'm ready to fight and die - I will not surrender or appease. There is a certain deep peace that comes with that decision and it relates back to re-reading "Dead Men Talking". Otherwise, monkey brained fools gonna do what monkey brained fools do.
Finally, I've also gotten back into meditation practices which have contributed to my sense of living a deeper richer life apart from society, but closer to the soul.
In conclusion, covid has been an instigator or inspiration for developing a simpler more spiritual life-style and outlook and has been a good thing for my wife and I. The inconveniences have been minor once I get past my emotional response to the idiocy of the panic and all of the political opportunism.
Posted by: Eric Newhill | July 31, 2020 at 09:14 AM
First, great post as always, Michael. We've seen your monster armatures as well, and we approve. :)
I have been working in Mobile, Alabama, during most of this time. Since October 2019, actually, so I have had the somewhat surreal experience of being in an entirely new environment and seeing this whole thing happen here. Some thoughts on that:
1. The whole Blue/Red State thing means less to me than ever. People here seem like people everywhere. We need to ditch this divided mentality--it's serving no one. (This statement shall not be construed as anything in the way of approval of Republican politicians.)
2. It's quite odd driving on the same interstate (I-65) as I drove on all the time in Indianapolis.
3. Alabama shut down a bit less and a bit later than other places, but I don't think it's been all that different in Mobile than other places. The city shut down restaurants, etc., sometime in March, and later there was a curfew.
4. I kept going to work. My time going to the factory to interpret was cut, but life has remained somewhat normal for me.
5. I have not equaled Michael in productivity, but in my increased spare time I *did* write a 16,586-word novelette. If any would like to read it, please let me know! :)
And I do wish to read yours, Michael!
Posted by: Matt Rouge | August 05, 2020 at 06:53 PM
Thanks for all the comments so far!
Matt wrote, "The whole Blue/Red State thing means less to me than ever. People here seem like people everywhere. We need to ditch this divided mentality--it's serving no one."
I suspect November will tell a different tale. Worst-case scenario: Mail-in balloting delays the vote-counting by months, resulting in conspiracy theories, lawsuits, and massive civil unrest. The final outcome, if there is one, is immediately declared illegitimate by half the country. Total chaos ensues.
It may not happen. But I'm sufficiently paranoid that I looked into Swiss bank accounts as a place to stash some money, before deciding that there's probably no safe haven.
Maybe my imagination is running wild, but everything feels very unstable to me, like we're about to hit a tipping point. I mainly blame social media. I think it has widened the national divide and made political differences more personal. It also seems to undercut critical thinking. Twitter posts aren't valued for their cogency but for their emotional impact.
I hope it turns out I'm wrong, but I sense an unraveling underway.
Posted by: Michael Prescott | August 07, 2020 at 03:15 PM
\\"I mainly blame social media." - Michael Prescott//
--------------
The internet and social media are just new ways for us to experience more duality and separation. I'm not surprised at all that is what happened after the internet was invented. That is pretty much what happens with everything in this life. More duality and separation, i.e. "business as usual."
Posted by: Art | August 08, 2020 at 12:48 AM
We've been having a pretty smooth ride. We enjoy working at home and have been taking care of ourselves. I'm lucky that my life is structured so that we can do this easily. The one thing that's been a bummer is the realization of how many people in this culture view taking care of others to be some sort of fascist abridgment of their personal freedom, selfishly and brazenly resisting the efforts that have been so effective throughout the rest of the world, declaring that there are many different points of view (there really are not, as much as they try to convince themselves by quoting dodgy self-serving sources), then selecting the least responsible options. Shame on them.
Posted by: Michael D | August 19, 2020 at 11:13 AM
Michael D. wrote, "declaring that there are many different points of view (there really are not ...)"
I think there are, but the media are not reporting any viewpoint that runs contrary to their narrative, thus encouraging people to believe that there is only one "responsible" opinion. Social media giants like Facebook and YouTube are actively suppressing alternative views.
For instance, the major media continue to dismiss hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID. You would think, from media reports, that all studies done on HCQ have been negative. In fact, the opposite is true, as an opinion piece by a virologist points out:
//There are now 53 studies that show positive results of hydroxychloroquine in COVID infections. There are 14 global studies that show neutral or negative results — and 10 of them were of patients in very late stages of COVID-19, where no antiviral drug can be expected to have much effect. Of the remaining four studies, two come from the same University of Minnesota author. The other two are from the faulty Brazil paper, which should be retracted, and the fake Lancet paper, which was.//
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/08/04/an_effective_covid_treatment_the_media_continues_to_besmirch_143875.html
The "faulty Brazil paper" involved a study in which patients were given lethal overdoses of HCQ. The "fake Lancet paper" was determined to be fraudulent and retracted.
The author goes on to argue that HCQ in combination with two other drugs can, when administered in low doses early in the COVID infection, produce significantly better outcomes. There is little risk, and the generic drug is very cheap — only about $4 for a complete course of treatment.
By contrast, experts like Dr. Fauci downplayed HCQ and hyped remdesivir as a treatment. Remdesivir costs more than $5,000 for a full course of infusions. It has now been shown to be useless against COVID.
So there are, at least, two viewpoints about a subject as fundamental as the best way to treat COVID in its early stages. The public deserves to hear both sides, yet most people are hearing only the Fauci-approved view. This is like limiting approved opinions on the paranormal to the writings of James Randi and Michael Shermer.
Posted by: Michael Prescott | August 19, 2020 at 09:45 PM
Michael, are you wearing a mask when you go out?
Posted by: Michael D | August 21, 2020 at 09:45 AM
Where I live, masks are required by law when entering a store. So I have to wear one. The one I use came from a box of twenty masks that sold for $2. It fits loosely, and I frequently pull it down because it fogs my glasses. It's obviously useless. But it's all theater anyway.
Pretty much everyone around here knows masks are useless. They've become a joke. People will walk in with a scarf tied around their chin; hey, it's a "facial covering." Even a nurse in a clinic was wearing her mask below her nose; she said she hasn't seen any serious COVID cases in months. But there are a few misguided souls who still seem to take masking seriously. I've seen people driving a car, alone, windows rolled up — and masked. Or walking their dog or jogging (alone) — and masked. Not sure if they're virtue-signaling, germaphobic, or just poorly informed.
If the law didn't require it, no, I wouldn't wear one. But I'm not interested in causing a scene over something so silly. Life has enough difficulties without going out of my way to make more.
Posted by: Michael Prescott | August 21, 2020 at 12:44 PM
There's no link to any data in that 'realclearpolitics' piece. Just a biased opinion. No reason to trust the authors opinion over that of Dr. Fauci.
Correlating low (reported) fatality rates in developing countries with possible HCQ treatment and taking no other variables into account comes across as a joke.
I think that piece was written to discredit Dr. Fauci and nothing else.
Posted by: sbu | August 21, 2020 at 03:42 PM
Seeing so many young people now dying from Covid 19 I am taking this pandemic more seriously than before. I wear masks as they are mandatory here in every store or restaurant etc I go too. I have gotten used to wearing masks, sure they seem like a inconvenience but they are to protect you and others. Interesting times ahead for sure as things like Universal Basic Income are finally being taken more seriously. As it should be, I am all for it as it has worked in other countries. You are more likely to better yourself and better your education without having to take out big student loans you may never be able to cover. At least with a Universal Basic Income you will be able to pay for that education leading to a good job.
Posted by: Leo MacDonald | August 21, 2020 at 10:23 PM
\\"If the law didn't require it, no, I wouldn't wear one." - Michael Prescott"//
-------------------
My sister made my wife and I quite a few masks out of leftover pieces of material. They are quite beautiful, like works of art. My favorite is red plaid with a centerpiece that has "Georgia" (my alma mater) in large letters on it. I sort of like wearing it just because I think it's beautiful.
To be honest I'm not all that afraid of covid 19 for myself... because I am a big believer in life after death but I wear it because it makes other people happy, people I love and care about. I do a lot of things in life for others when the truth is that if it were just me myself I sort of agree with what Roger Ebert said to his wife as he was leaving this life, ....
"But the day before he passed away, he wrote me a note: "This is all an elaborate hoax." I asked him, "What's a hoax?" And he was talking about this world, this place. He said it was all an illusion." https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/news/a26606/roger-ebert-final-moments/
I know the death of my physical body is inevitable and regardless of what I do that one day it will happen, and it has already happened to quite a few members of my family, and since I am a big fan of deathbed vision stories and find them so comforting and uplifting I full expect to be met by my deceased loved ones when it comes my turn to shed this body and transition into the Light.
Deathbed vision thread from the allnurses.com message board,
https://allnurses.com/deathbed-visions-updated-t401686/
And by the way I plan on voting and for the same reason I wear a mask, for the people I love who believe it's important. It will make them happy and that's good enough for me. We don't live for just ourselves but instead we are connected to a lot of people and I want them to be happy. So if wearing a mask and voting makes them happy it's a small price to pay for having them in my life.
Posted by: Arthur Riechert | August 21, 2020 at 10:55 PM
"No reason to trust the author's opinion over that of Dr. Fauci."
Well, the author, Steven Hatfill, is one of the leading virologists in the world. I'd heard of him even before COVID. So his opinion carries at least some weight, I'd say.
"There's no link to any data in that 'realclearpolitics' piece."
There are some links, though not to the 53 studies. But he gives enough info that anyone can find some of the papers online. For instance, he writes, "Two recent, large, early-use clinical trials have been conducted by the Henry Ford Health System and at Mount Sinai showing a 51% and 47% lower mortality, respectively, in hospitalized patients given hydroxychloroquine."
It's easy to find more information on these papers just by Googling the relevant terms.
https://www.henryford.com/news/2020/07/hydro-treatment-study
https://thinkpol.ca/2020/07/03/ny-study-finds-hydroxychloroquine-may-have-saved-covid-19-patients-lives/
Posted by: Michael Prescott | August 22, 2020 at 02:20 PM
These are some of the key points made in the first study paper.
What I would like to know is what difference would double blinding and making the study prospective rather than retrospective make in the decision whether to use hydrochloroquine early in the disease progression with patients in the high risk group. An example it seems of excessive caution considering the plight of these patients.
Posted by: David Magnan | August 23, 2020 at 03:41 PM
Leo,
Where is it that "so many" young people are dying from the virus?
It certainly isn't in the US.
Posted by: Eric Newhill | August 24, 2020 at 07:28 PM
Eric, I think people get this impression because CNN etc highlights every case of a young person listed as a COVID fatality. Many of these people had multiple comorbidities or died of other causes (one died in a motorcycle accident), and in some cases they weren’t actually young. The media went crazy with the story of a 9-year-old COVID victim, until it came out that the death report contained a typo; the deceased was actually 109. (They put the wrong century in the date of birth entry.)
Polls show that a huge number of Americans overestimate COVID risks to younger people by a very large factor. The media aren’t interested in correcting this error.
Posted by: Michael Prescott | August 27, 2020 at 03:10 PM
I don't think any of the posted articles provides evidence justifying touting hydroxychloroquine as an effective COVID-19 treatment especially against a laypeople audience.
To cite the Mount Sinai study:
"Due to the inherent limitations of our retrospective study design, there was no conclusive determination on the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients with COVID-19. More robust studies such as randomized clinical trials are needed."
It's in fact quite obvious hydroxychloroquine has been a political subject rather than a scientific.
Posted by: Steen Bundgaard | August 28, 2020 at 02:25 AM
Well, remember what I wrote about trying to love others who are on a different side of the political spectrum? Turns out it's hellishly difficult to feel any compassion for people who are - in your opinion - supporting a would-be tyrant and relish his cruelty, bullying, and lies. Coupled with feeling like you're watching the end of a democratic society that you live in, and I began to feel hate towards Trump's followers. Not anger. Not displeasure. Hate; the kind where you want to see people suffer. I knew it wasn't healthy, beneficial, or anywhere near spiritual, but I didn't care.
Then, one night while at work, I decided to try a little thought experiment: I mentally asked Jesus how I could get over this hate. Almost immediately, I suddenly had a mental image appear in my mind's eye; here's how it went:
I saw a man (let's call him Mark) in a canoe paddling across an ocean, with one side being the land where Mark was born, and the other side being Heaven, with the ocean being life itself. Mark's journey was mostly peaceful, with lots of other people in their own canoes all around him.
Suddenly, someone else did something that made Mark so angry that he was consumed with hate hated the other person. Immediately, a giant anchor chained itself to both Mark and his canoe, dragging him under the surface. While unable to drown, Mark didn't seem aware that he was sinking into the dark depths of the ocean, stewing in his hate and rage towards the canoer above him.
Then, realizing how far down he was going, Mark decided to forgive the person who had offended him. Immediately, he had a pair of bolt cutters in his hand, and he cut the anchor's chain. Mark shot back up to the surface, and was able to resume paddling.
Was that scene really downloaded into my mind by Jesus? There's no way of knowing, but ever since I got it, I've found that I don't have any hate towards Trump's supporters. I'm still angry with them, and baffled in equal measure, but whenever the hate starts to build again, all I have to do is remember the canoe and the anchor, and it becomes easy to snuff out the hate before it takes hold.
Posted by: Ian | August 29, 2020 at 04:51 AM
Great comment, Ian. Thanks for sharing.
We definitely need to get the runaway hate in our world under control. Nobody is immune to it, and nobody really benefits from it.
Posted by: Michael Prescott | August 29, 2020 at 01:27 PM
\\"Well, remember what I wrote about trying to love others who are on a different side of the political spectrum?" Ian//
-----------------
I don't understand why anyone cares? This place we are living in is only temporary and every piece of evidence I've read says it's just an illusion? Why get your panties in a twist over something that it is more than likely just a cleverly designed trick to teach us a few simple lessons? Like the first noble truth of Buddhism says "all life is suffering, and the 2nd noble truth is that suffering is caused by attachment.
"Everything we call real is made out of things that can't be considered as real." Niels Bohr, founding father of modern quantum physics.
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." Albert Einstein
Just taking care of myself is about all I can handle anyway? I can't be responsible for the whole world. I find it difficult to ignore but the truth is I'm more concerned about what I'm going to have for lunch than all the crazy stuff going on "someplace else."
People take this life way too seriously. It's temporary and free will is probably an illusion anyway so why blame the people who are all just playing the parts they were born into?
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/free-will-could-all-be-illusion-scientists-suggest-after-study-shows-choice-could-just-be-brain-tricking-itself-a7008181.html
I just try and remember that our whole universe and this Earth life is just an illusion. A cleverly designed "dream in itself" (from Michelle M's NDE), or a "hoax or illusion" (from Roger Ebert's final moments with his wife), or "As the religions of the East have long upheld, the material world is Maya, an illusion, and although we may think we are physical beings moving through a physical world, this too is an illusion." (from the Universe as a hologram.)
http://www.earthportals.com/hologram.html
Consilience says that when a whole bunch of disparate sources all agree with one another it is more than likely true? Just put the pieces of the puzzle together? The big picture is obvious.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consilience
"It taught me that everyone, everything, is in its right place. Always will be, no matter how much we try to change, or try to destroy, or try to create, we're simply doing exactly what was planned. The meaning of life, as I felt it to be, is simply to live." James E's NDE description,
https://www.nderf.org/Experiences/1james_e_nde.html
https://www.nderf.org/Experiences/1michelle_m_nde.html
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/news/a26606/roger-ebert-final-moments/
Posted by: Art | August 29, 2020 at 03:19 PM
Steen, I'd say the Henry Ford study offers good reason to think that HCQ is effective. Of course, any paper is going to include caveats to the effect that further study is needed. That's just boilerplate.
//In a large-scale retrospective analysis of 2,541 patients hospitalized between March 10 and May 2, 2020, across the system’s six hospitals, the study found 13% of those treated with hydroxychloroquine alone died compared to 26.4% not treated with hydroxychloroquine.
“Considered in the context of current studies on the use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19, our results suggest that the drug may have an important role to play in reducing COVID-19 mortality,” [said the study's coauthor].
“Our analysis shows that using hydroxychloroquine helped save lives,” said neurosurgeon Dr. Steven Kalkanis ... “The data here is clear that there was benefit to using the drug as a treatment for sick, hospitalized patients.”//
https://www.henryford.com/news/2020/07/hydro-treatment-study
Posted by: Michael Prescott | August 29, 2020 at 07:12 PM
Dr John Anderson, who has a daily blog update on Covid-19, cites new (8/24) pro-HCQ study:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uzXHnUViro&feature=share
Belgium Low-dose Hydroxychloroquine Therapy and Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19: A Nationwide Observational Study of 8075 Participants (International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, 24 August)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924857920303423
Dr. John claims no-effect studies used too high a dose.
The Belgian study didn't employ zinc. If it had, maybe its results would have been better.
Posted by: Roger Knights | August 29, 2020 at 09:01 PM
PS:
Results
8075 patients with complete discharge data
HCQ group, n = 4,542
Deaths, 804, (17.7%)
no-HCQ group, n = 3,533
Deaths, 957 (27.1%)
Multivariable analysis
Mortality was lower in the HCQ group compared to the no-HCQ group
Hazard ratio = 0.684
Estimated direct-adjusted mortality at 40 days
19.1% with HCQ alone
26.5% with supportive care only
Mortality in the HCQ group was reduced
Both in patients diagnosed in less than 5 days and more than 5 days
Conclusions
Compared to supportive care only, low-dose HCQ monotherapy was independently associated with lower mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 diagnosed and treated early or later after symptom onset.
Posted by: Roger Knights | August 29, 2020 at 09:09 PM
Good news: masks means more asymptomatic infections and less severe ones
It appears people who wear masks are much less likely to get severe infections. This will make some heads spin.
]Lots of supporting text, plus many comments]
http://joannenova.com.au/2020/09/good-news-more-masks-means-more-asymptomatic-infections-and-less-severe-ones/
Posted by: Roger Knights | September 10, 2020 at 09:15 PM
PS:
"Although the filtration efficiencies for various fabrics when a single layer was used ranged from 5 to 80% and 5 to 95% for particle sizes of <300 nm and >300 nm, respectively, the efficiencies improved when multiple layers were used and when using a specific combination of different fabrics. Filtration efficiencies of the hybrids (such as cotton–silk, cotton–chiffon, cotton–flannel) was >80% (for particles <300 nm) and >90% (for particles >300 nm). We speculate that the enhanced performance of the hybrids is likely due to the combined effect of mechanical and electrostatic-based filtration.“
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7185834/
Posted by: Roger Knights | September 10, 2020 at 09:36 PM
Here's a 37-minute YouTube video by Ivor Cummins that makes some powerful points. Here’s a rough summary:
It looks at graphs of key statistics.
The Gompowitz (sp?) curve of fatalities seen in other epidemics is being followed, meaning there was little reason to panic at its height, and that it would fade without lockdowns.
This is because most of the population has existing resistance / immunity to infections.
Sweden’s death toll from flu in 2019 was much lower than that of its Nordic neighbors, providing more “dry tinder” (frail, vulnerable people who’d otherwise have died in the prior year) for Covid-19. Supporting this, countries that had had MORE severe 2019 flu seasons had lower impacts from Covid-19. (A very strong argument IMO.)
The second wave in the U.S. is in the South, which reflects the geographic difference between temperate and tropical zones, which peak at different times. (A weak argument IMO.)
Also contributing to the illusion of a second wave is a “casedemic” due to over-sensitive testing that detects fragments, not true cases (hospitalizations).
This fake second wave was seen before in the Swine Flu epidemic—when what drove alarm about it was alarmism and media frenzy.
Also, a likely seasonal effect.
And the second wave might be due to Autumn flu, in part, being mis-counted as Covid-19.
And the second wave is minor in size.
Lockdowns are causing deaths from deferred elective testing and surgeries. Plus causing other social negatives.
Lockdowns slow herd immunity, making infections in the fall more deadly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UvFhIFzaac
Posted by: Roger Knights | September 11, 2020 at 11:17 AM
Roger, the blame game is running in Sweden for their incompetent handling of the Pandemic (relative to the other Scandinavian countries). Anders Tegnell who is often branded as the ‘architect’ of Sweden’s covid-19 response has made the presupposition that the high covid-19 death toll in Sweden is due to a mild 2019 flu season which is what you reference above. This has however also been completely debunked by now as reported in this article in a swedish newspaper: https://www.svd.se/tegnells-forklaring-om-hoga-dodstal-ifragasatts
The other nordic countries had a similar mild flu season 2019.
Swedens economy has also decreased just as much as for example the danish. In our globalized world it’s limited what individual countries can do to protect themselves from the ecomomic fallout from this kind of events just like the Lehman brother crisis in 2008. I believe this is true even for the US.
Posted by: sbu | September 18, 2020 at 04:17 PM