“WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF.” Trump said

[billy.pilgrim]

https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/ ... =TNY_Daily


If I had never heard of trump, this would be the most all full of himself bullshit I have ever heard.


"According to the Washington Post, “Conservatives close to Trump and numerous administration officials have been circulating an article by Richard A. Epstein of the Hoover Institution"

"You wrote last week, “In the United States, if the total death toll increases at about the same rate, the current 67 deaths should translate into about 500 deaths at the end.” We are currently at eight hundred deaths—over eight hundred deaths. [This was true when we spoke; the number is now over two thousand.]"

Dumdass hoover guy said ... "But I was not so much interested in explaining why my number was right. I was interested in explaining why the other projections were wrong."

"O.K., but your number was surpassed in about a week, and now we’re already—"

Dumbass hoover guy said, ... "And so I am truly sorry about that [five hundred] number. I regard it as the single worst public-relations gaffe I’ve made in my entire life."


"O.K. Let me ask you this question. This is an important point, so I want us to come to some sort of resolution on this, because I think it gets to the crux of what you’re saying. You write, “Moreover, it is unlikely that the healthcare system in the United States will be compromised in the same fashion as the Italian healthcare system in the wake of its quick viral spread. The amount of voluntary and forced separation in the United States has gotten very extensive very quickly, which should influence rates of infection sooner rather than later.” Here is what confused me. Are you saying we are overreacting, which seems to be the tone of the rest of the article, or are you saying that the measures we are taking are going to prevent an Italy-like disaster, in which case, why the complaints about the overwhelming response?"

Dumbass all full of himself Hoover guy answers, "Well, I think the answer is all of the above."

[neoplacebo]

trump said. trump IS the problem. And the cult gushes in awe.

[Vrede too]

Well, I think Epstein may be right in that this CV19 virus may well mutate as it is debated. And that such mutation is a natural phenomenon. I view it as an opportunistic case: the goal of the virus (assuming it could have a goal) isn't to kill people. It is to self-replicate as much as possible. If it kills too many people, it can't self-replicate as much or be spread as much. I go back to my basic definition of what a virus is: a collection of biochemical processes forming an infectious agent that exists because it can exist. A virus with 100% lethality will eradicate its hosts and itself soon cease to exist. A virus with no ill effects likely will not produce reactions in its hosts that foster its spread (coughing, sneezing, etc), and will also die out. A virus has no goals; it just is.

There's an awful lot of room between 0 and 100%. I don't know at what point a virus kills enough people quickly enough to be self-limiting, but mortality of 50, 25, or even 10% is an unimaginable catastrophe.

Spanish flu

... Lasting from January 1918 to December 1920, it infected 500 million people—about a quarter of the world's population at the time. The death toll is estimated to have been anywhere from 17 million to 50 million, and possibly as high as 100 million, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in human history....

Mortality

... In the U.S., about 28% of the population of 105 million became infected, and 500,000 to 675,000 died (0.48 to 0.64 percent of the population)....

End of the pandemic

... Another theory holds that the 1918 virus mutated extremely rapidly to a less lethal strain. This is a common occurrence with influenza viruses: there is a tendency for pathogenic viruses to become less lethal with time, as the hosts of more dangerous strains tend to die out (see also "Deadly Second Wave", above)....

If we learn that survivors become immune, that changes the whole ball game in favor of rapid "herd Immunity". If not . . .