Tracker

As healthcare providers across the U.S. desperately attempt to treat a rapidly growing number of patients with the coronavirus, a pharmaceutical company with ties to the Trump administration has been granted exclusive status for a drug it is developing to treat the illness—a potential windfall for the company that could put the medication out of reach for many Americans. As The Intercept reported Monday, the Food and Drug Administration granted Gilead Sciences “orphan” drug status for remdesivir, one of several drugs being tested as potential treatments for the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19. The designation is generally reserved for drugs that treat rare illnesses affecting fewer than 200,000 Americans—but companies can be eligible if the designation, as in this case of a rapidly spreading virus, is made before a disease spreads beyond that limit.

Does a guy named Homer work there?

It has been speculated that there are at least two strains extant now and possibly as many as 5.

Or, someone from there could log on here...

That, and voter suppression.

Today in his Fox interview Trump outright lied twice, once horribly. First he denied ever saying that he said that the testing was "perfect" (he was recorded saying exactly that). Then when confronted with his lack of action in ordering more ventilators, he regurgitated a scurrilous website posting that New York state chose to use money to establish death panels and a lottery instead of buying ventilators.

These stats can be easily manipulated- if you test in small amounts or in low-risk areas, then your stats will improve. Then there is the issue of how you define the cause of death- in Viet Nam and again in Iraq/Afghanistan, the medics were/are instructed to keep the wounded physically/technically alive until they were out of the battlefield and pronounce them only when they were transported. Johnson's reaction to the pandemic was not prevention but to let it run its course in the UK and treat only the critically ill.

This would be perfect for fans of Infowars and OANN.

Apparently doctors and pharmacists are stockpiling this stuff for themselves. Lemings.

The source is not very credible.

Considering Boris Johnson's cavalier attitude towards the pandemic, I am not sure how much I trust this. Johnson is a slightly smarter version of Trump.

FYI: Canadian Blood Services is running short of blood and its components. You are invited to join me on William Avenue Thursday afternoon.

We already have. Trump the president has conducted himself in exactly the same way as Trump the husband and businessman. QED.

"What's past is prologue"

Awesome · 1 Elon Musk Has Delivered 1,000 Ventilators To Help California Hospitals Treat Covid-19 Patients

As opposed to voting for the alternative- Trump? A man who has declared bankruptcy 4 times, has five children with 4 different women and cheated on each of them, has had 24 sexual assault allegations leveled against him, and praised neo-nazis as "fine people"? Not to mention that he has been documented as lying some 15,000 times since being in office?

An example of a Trump supporter- a bit older but still relevant.

You could have saved time by simply posting a picture of Trump.

Cuomo is one of the people that Trump is resentful of and furious with for upstaging him, and for good reason. Cuomo is caring, intelligent and well-spoken, doing what needs to be done without braggadocio. Everything Trump ought to be be has no idea or inclination to be.

India is uniquely vulnerable- high population density, and a minimal public heathcare system.

As crappy as this is for the patient and his SO's, we are doing very well, particularly compared to our neighbour to the west.

119 During an interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News this Monday, Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick said that he’s willing to bet there’s plenty of senior citizens in America who would be willing to risk contracting COVID-19 if it meant getting the economy back on track. Patrick said that he, as a senior citizen himself, would be “willing to take a chance” on his survival “in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves” for his children and grandchildren, adding that people he’s talked to say the same thing. The interview went viral and plenty of critics weighed in with reactions, including former FBI Special Agent Ali H. Soufan, who suggested Patrick’s sentiment isn’t unlike the “suicidal death cults” he’s dealt with in the past. “I dealt with suicidal cults before,” he tweeted. “I encountered people who are willing to die for their faith, ideology, race, etc. But, I never encountered anyone who is willing to die for someone else’s 401k. This is a whole new level of craziness.”

50 Dan Patrick, the Republican lieutenant governor of Texas, told Fox News‘ disproportionately older audience Monday night that he and other American seniors would be willing to risk dying from the coronavirus in order to ensure that the economy doesn’t slide into a serious recession. “If you asked my kids if they would rather have more stuff or have their Grandpa and Nanna, they would choose their grandparents with no hesitation. This statement is repulsive.” —Texas state Rep. Gene Wu “If that’s the exchange, I’m all in,” Patrick said of the choice between risking infection and protecting the economy by returning people to work. “I’ve talked to hundreds of people… making calls all the time, and everyone says pretty much the same thing: That we can’t lose our whole country, we’re having an economic collapse.” “My message is: Let’s get back to work,” said Patrick, who emphasized that he is a grandparent. “Those of us who are 70-plus, we’ll take care of ourselves, but don’t sacrifice the country. Don’t do that. Don’t ruin this great American dream.” “You’re basically saying that this disease could take your life, but that’s not the scariest thing to you,” replied Fox News host Tucker Carlson. “There’s something that would be worse than dying.”

Trump is probably having wet dreams thinking about having free access to all that money.