Last week, week one of the US shutdown, President Trump expressed hope that the American economy could be open for business by April 12, Easter Sunday this year.
Those hopes were dashed by predictions that cases and US deaths from the coronavirus will be peaking at that time. The new target date to reopen the economy is April 30.
Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, warned that even if the US does everything right, we could still be looking at 200,000 dead.
Testing, antibodies, and numbers
The US now has the most reported cases of coronavirus of any country on the planet, but that might be because we have done the most testing of any country so far. As of today, one million people have been tested in the US. The latest testing development is an Abbot Labarotory POC, point of care test, that produces results within 5 to 15 minutes. The test received emergency authorization from the FDA.
The other test being developed is the antibody test. Several labs, the Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota, and others are working on antibody tests. The entire town of Telluride, Colorado is being tested with an antibody test right now.
Antibody tests can identify who has been exposed to COVID-19 and has either been asymptomatic or had a mild case of the virus and now has immunity. Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota explained the significance of knowing whether someone has been exposed and has immunity: “Identifying people with immunity to the virus “gives us the ability [to know] who wouldn’t need to be quarantined, who could be out and not infecting others.”
Knowing who has immunity could set a significant number of the US population free and help areas of the country that aren’t experiencing high rates of infection to get back to work.
According to STAT:
The “serological” tests — which rely on drawn blood, not a nasal or throat swab — can identify people who were infected and have already recovered from Covid-19, including those who were never diagnosed, either because they didn’t feel particularly sick or they couldn’t get an initial test. Scientists expect those individuals will be safe from another infection for at least some time — so the tests could signal who could be prioritized to return to work or serve as a frontline health worker.
Antibody testing can also help scientists to develop a treatment using blood plasma from coronavirus survivors. This type of treatment has been used in the past during the 1918 Spanish Flu, the Ebola crisis, and Avian Flu.
Again, according to STAT:
Patients who have recovered from a disease have permanent antibodies generated by the immune system floating in their blood plasma, the liquid component of blood. To turn that into a drug, the plasma is harvested, tested for safety, and purified to isolate those protective antibodies. When injected into a new patient, the “plasma-derived therapy” — also known as convalescent plasma — provides “passive immunity” until the patient’s immune system can generate its own antibodies.
Antibody testing is also important for scientists who need numbers and data to be able to assess the true impact of Covid-19 here in the US. With a truer number of cases, scientists can more accurately calculate the actual death rate which so far has been difficult to do.
Rachel Maddow eats crow
Rachel Maddow had to eat crow as the USNS Comfort arrived in New York today. She said that it wasn’t possible for the ship to make it to New York for weeks.
For your enjoyment, watch:
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2020
532 Responses
You are a very bright individual!
A big thank you for your article post.Much thanks again. Awesome.
Major thanks for the post.Much thanks again. Want more.
I am so grateful for your blog post.Thanks Again. Great.
Very neat article post.Really looking forward to read more. Much obliged.
I want to get across my gratitude for your generosity in support of all those that must have help on in this study. Your personal dedication to getting the solution all through became extraordinarily valuable and have constantly enabled regular people much like me to achieve their objectives. Your entire informative information denotes a whole lot a person like me and still more to my office colleagues. Many thanks; from all of us.
Enjoyed every bit of your article post.Really thank you! Cool.
Thank you ever so for you post.Really looking forward to read more. Want more.
Major thankies for the blog post.
Appreciate you sharing, great article.Thanks Again. Fantastic.
Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic post.Really looking forward to read more. Great.
This is one awesome post.Really thank you! Want more.
Really enjoyed this post. Cool.
Major thanks for the blog article.Thanks Again. Keep writing.
Great, thanks for sharing this post.Really thank you! Really Great.
Thanks so much for the article post.Thanks Again. Keep writing.
Appreciate you sharing, great blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Really Cool.
Really informative post.Really looking forward to read more. Really Cool.
Hi, Neat post. There’s a problem with your website in internet explorer, would test this IE still is the market leader and a huge portion of people will miss your magnificent writing because of this problem.
Major thankies for the blog.Thanks Again. Keep writing.
Pretty portion of content. I simply stumbled upon your weblog and in accession capital to claim that I acquire in fact enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I will be subscribing on your augment and even I fulfillment you get entry to constantly quickly.
Thanks-a-mundo for the blog.Much thanks again.
I appreciate you sharing this article post.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.
Today, while I was at work, my cousin stole my iPad and tested to see if it can survive a twenty five foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My apple ipad is now broken and she has 83 views. I know this is entirely off topic but I had to share it with someone!
Hi there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any problems with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing months of hard work due to no data backup. Do you have any methods to stop hackers?
Very nice post and straight to the point. I don’t know if this is in fact the best place to ask but do you guys have any ideea where to get some professional writers? Thanks 🙂
Wow, great blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Really Cool.
Spot on with this write-up, I really suppose this web site wants far more consideration. Ill in all probability be once more to learn rather more, thanks for that info.
Thanks for the blog post.Really thank you! Will read on…
Muchos Gracias for your article post.Thanks Again. Want more.
Enjoyed every bit of your blog.Really thank you! Really Cool.
Major thanks for the article.Really looking forward to read more. Great.
Great blog.Thanks Again. Fantastic.
Thank you ever so for you blog post.Thanks Again. Great.
Enjoyed every bit of your blog post. Really Great.
Very good blog post.Thanks Again. Much obliged.
Major thankies for the article post.Thanks Again. Keep writing.
Thanks a lot for the post.
Wow, great blog. Will read on…
Your home is valueble for me. Thanks!