[marvin4242]

LP: you are absolutely correct in that if “herd immunity” was an approach it would be pretty insane specially in any western country with resources. As i wrote before its not an approach, rather what must happen in humans with a novel disease/virus. The herd immunity is best achieved in modern medicine by vaccines, and that is what we have been doing in modern times and most of us take for granted how important it is (with some exceptions I won’t go into).

Right now we will need around one year minimum for vaccine. So the only other way is by exposure. The best scientific approach to minimize deaths is to: 1) Control the infection rate in the non vulnerable population to make sure we don’t overwhelm hospitals, 2) make sure to keep isolated the vulnerable until we have vaccines. Controlled spread is best done with testing and isolation of the exposed to control spread and the tests are not quite ready yet. If they can get the at home antibody tests efficacy up from 50% the plan in UK is to have a test you can order at low cost from Amazon or Boots, an if you shout you already have antibodies then you know you are safe to move around and not spread the disease. The antigen tests can be used to detect new carriers and do contact tracing and isolation to control spread. This combination should work very well until vaccines are ready.

And that is what most countries are doing to various degrees of success. Of course US is not doing anything coordinated, pretended there was no problem for almost 60 days and essentially has dismantled most of the things that would be used as central coordination and knowledge. Even CDC is no longer living up to its previous performance. By contrast S Korea and Singapore had already in place systems read to go from the SARS epidemic and you can see how well they are doin.

[UrsaMajor]

A new Thread needs to be created for this topic please...

[lawprofessor]

Ah, so vaccine is considered part of creating herd immunity?  Rather than as the article indicated a separate approach to creating a group of people with immunity weeding out those who fall.

I have heard nothing about an at home test being developed as you describe.  In the Midwest I don't think that has been reported on widely.  I hear daily complaints from people as to how their rights are being infringed, how this is all a media overblown nonsense to threaten Trump's reelection, how those who disagree are crazy and unpatriotic, un-American.  I go to work and have to notify families of prisoners that their family member is sick or deceased but then answer phone calls from those who wish to file cases about the infringement of their rights to go fishing, to have a party, to run their non-essential business.  And calls complaining that if this were truly a crisis, the list of essential businesses would not be so extensive.  And the last few days the questions are coming on where to get malaria pills because Trump said he would take them perhaps.  And now the cases come from preachers who are demanding their right to hold Easter services since Trump said he was considering allowing services even though the state has already said absolutely not asking if this is religious persecution.

Truthfully, i would say I feel as if I'm back at home country with the propaganda, but then I can honestly say, in the home country at least we didnt/don't actually believe the propaganda even though we could repeat it as necessary.  The claims of my administration is great, I'm doing great, I have no responsibility for negatives, it's all someone else's fault, you must talk nicely to me to get what you want.  All that is familiar propaganda to those from my country, the cult of personality.  What concerns me is that a large number of people seem to believe blindly and have no ability to discern political propaganda.  In my country, as well, there is respect for scientists and professionals.  Here, I do not see that as necessarily true as I watch the tug of war between Trump and Fauci over the message. 

My state county has 42 only positive but we have a low population of humans versus cows out here compared to the city.  Anyway, thank you for the discussion but I must get moving with my day. As always the more I learn the more I find out I really don't know much. 

Lp

[xyzcf]

New thread:

https://mlcforum.theherosspouse.com/index.php?topic=11436.new#new