It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Wednesday, April 01, 2020
‘I am scared and enraged’: Pandemic expert says CDC reaction under Trump ‘super different’ from Obama March 31, 2020 By David Edwards
Pandemic expert Theresa MacPhail of the Stevens Institute of Technology said this week that she “couldn’t have been more wrong” about the way the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) handled the novel coronavirus outbreak. MacPhail told Vice that she expected the CDC to have a more “robust” response to the virus than China had. “I just assumed that the U.S. system would be a little bit better, would be a little bit more robust and do more testing and containment than China was able to do, and I just couldn’t have been more wrong,” she lamented. According to MacPhail, something changed at the CDC after President Barack Obama left office. “One thing that’s super different is that the CDC in 2009 provided central leadership,” she said of the H1N1 outbreak. “They were proactively reaching out to state, regional, and local health officials saying, ‘Here’s what you need to be doing. Here’s what this should look like.’ And people did it.”
“I am scared and enraged because there’s no central authority here,” MacPhail added. “I don’t understand what’s going on.The CDC isn’t giving press briefings. They’re just absent. And that could be because the administration is muzzling them. Or it could mean that there’s disarray inside the CDC. And I guess all of that will come out.” Read the entire interview from Vice.
Ex-Trump health advisor cornered on CNN for administration’s failure to heed warnings in pandemic briefing book
March 31, 2020 By Tom Boggioni POPPY HARLEY CNN KATY TALENTO
A former health adviser to Donald Trump was grilled on CNN Tuesday morning over the fact that the current administration was handed a briefing book on possible pandemic scenarios back in 2016 and but did not follow it, with the host emphasizing, “doctors are dying.”
Speaking with Poppy Harlow, infectious disease epidemiologist Katy Talento was attempting to make the case that there will be time later to figure out what went wrong with the response to the COVID-19 pandemic under the president’s stewardship when the CNN host brought up the briefing book that outlined actions that government could take to stem such an event.
“As someone who advised the president and his team on health issues and who has the background that you have, what do you think the impact has been of the president for weeks until recently downplaying the magnitude of this pandemic and saying things like just in mid-march, he said it is something nobody expected when we now know there was this 69-page briefing book put together by the NSC that played out what happens in a pandemic and asks questions like is there sufficient personal protective equipment for healthcare workers who are providing medical care?” host Harlow asked. “I ask this of all the doctors out there, the ones in Brownsville, Brooklyn, who told us yesterday they’re going to Home Depot, some of them, to buy protective gear.”
“That guidance in 2016 was not taken by the administration, what can we learn from it going forward?” she pressed.
“I think the president isn’t always briefed on every single preparedness activity that is going on at the staff level and I’m actually encouraged that those plans and those conversations were going on. I know that the global health team both –,” Talento attempted before being cut off.
“They didn’t heed the advice and the president is saying no one thought anything like this could happen, but they did,” Harlow reminded her.
“A lot of people in the White House and in all the agencies of course did think something like this could happen. The fact that there is a briefing book shows you that everyone was thinking about this — just six months prior to this event the president signed an executive order on pandemic flu preparedness,” Talento parried
“But, Katy, why — my question is it is great to have a briefing book,” the CNN host shot back. “But if it is not utilized, and if there are doctors dying right now, and nurses dying right now, and first responders without the proper gear, I’m asking what lessons can be learned and applied for the future?”
“It is a good question,” the CNN guest conceded. “I think that’s probably one of the most important lessons is the role of our state partners. I will say that the states are an integral essential part of our pandemic preparedness efforts over the past years and years and those essential partners really have the freedom to stockpile things for their own people and not be at the mercy of the federal government.”
Watch below:
‘Utter train wreck’: Brutal report outlines how many things the federal government got wrong about the coronavirus pandemic
“You’d be forgiven, in this time of trouble and distress, for wondering whether your federal government has a handle on this pandemic, or if it’s a complete and utter train wreck,” the publication wrote before proceeding to dissect multiple Trump administration falsehoods about the spread of the disease.
“First they told us they had the coronavirus under control; now they tell us hundreds of thousands of people could die,” Politico writes. “First they told us tests are available, plentiful and easy to get; now we hear stories almost daily about how some people can’t get tested, and if they can, many are waiting weeks for results. We’ve heard some grim stories about people dying before their results are in.”
The report went on to document how Trump made false claims about the availability of the Google coronavirus testing website, as well as bogus projections about the country being ready to reopen by Easter.
Most damning, however, was the president’s lies about New York not really needing the tens of thousands of ventilators it has been requesting.
“Now, in New York — one of the world’s most important cities — a top hospital is telling doctors to ‘think more critically’ about who to give assistive air to,” Politico writes.
Trump supporters are already questioning coronavirus death toll to make the president look good
March 31, 2020 By Brad Reed Some prominent Trump-supporting media personalities are already trying to defend the president’s response to the coronavirus pandemic by questioning the official number of people who have died after being infected.
As documented by Media Matters researcher Jason Campbell, right-wing radio host Mark Levin this week suggested that the official coronavirus body count tallies shouldn’t be taken at face value because there’s no way of knowing whether someone who died shortly after getting infected really died from the virus.
“I cannot find anywhere the definition of what it means to die from this virus,” Levin said on Monday. “In other words, if I got into the hospital, and I already have a very, very bad heart, and I’m not given a lot of time, and I have this virus and it puts me over the edge, does that count as dying from heart failure, heart disease, or a heart attack — or the virus? I don’t know!”
Levin wasn’t alone, however, as Campbell also found that Trump-loving Fox Nation hosts Diamond and Silk also said this week that the death toll is being exaggerated to damage Trump politically.
“In a matter of two weeks, a thousand people supposedly died from the coronavirus,” Rochelle “Silk” Richardson said this week. “But it took 39 days, from January up until February… for the first person to die!”
Richardson then said that the media deliberately made the number of COVID-19 deaths go up after Trump announced that he wanted to see the country reopened by Easter “to make him look bad.”
In reality, the increase in deaths from the virus was projected by scientific models to increase between now and Easter, so it’s not surprising that the number of deaths skyrocketed shortly after Trump made his since-retracted announcement about reopening the country by April 12th.
Mark Levin says coronavirus numbers are misleading, claiming “I cannot find anywhere the definition of what it means to die from this virus” pic.twitter.com/hYFlL2m1NU — Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) March 31, 2020
Diamond & Silk are speculating coronavirus deaths are being inflated to make Trump look bad pic.twitter.com/hBnB7422UP — Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) March 30, 2020
‘You are useless!’ Americans rage as Trump admits he’s watching cable news amid the coronavirus pandemic
President Donald Trump spent Tuesday morning watching television and commenting on what he watched, as doctors and nurses beg for more supplies to battle the coronavirus pandemic.
The president reacted at 7:27 a.m. to thanks from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which Fox News reported shortly after 6 a.m., and he then tweeted out a response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who gave a lengthy interview to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that began shortly after 8 a.m.
“New York Governor Cuomo says President Trump has been “very helpful.” @foxandfriends Thank you, everybody is working very hard! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 31, 2020
I watched a portion of low rated (very) Morning Psycho (Joe) this Morning in order to see what Nancy Pelosi had to say, & what moves she was planning to further hurt our Country. Actually, other than her usual complaining that I’m a terrible person, she wasn’t bad. Still praying! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 31, 2020 The president’s tweets prompted some to wonder whether he ought to get to work.
When Pelosi was asked on Morning Joe about the fact that she & Trump haven't talked in months, she said they talk thru TV appearances like that one, that he'd be watching. Sure enuf, he was But she probably didn't expect to be accused of "planning to further hurt our Country." https://t.co/cTTaRXNJyh — Jackie Calmes (@jackiekcalmes) March 31, 2020
You are a terrible person. — Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) March 31, 2020
Well, she was
correct that the only way to communicate with you is through television. God help us all. — Jack Laffey (@laffeylaw) March 31, 2020
Looks like this deadly virus hasn't changed your routine one bit. Still hate-watching certain shows. And getting policy advice from Fox & Friends. — Leonbergers (@leonbergers) March 31, 2020
Trump would like you to know he has time to watch television and throw insults on social media. Working hard for the people. — Troy Dignon (@troydignon) March 31, 2020
The president is sitting around watching TV again! Resign already! — JschllN (@jschlln) March 31, 2020
Why the hell are you sitting around just watching tv???? People around country are working 24/7 to slow the spread of this virus and you are live tweeting tv shows and rage tweeting. You are useless! — franklyscarlet Stay the F@@k Home (@pjp195501) March 31, 2020
We know you spend more time watching tv than working. — StormKitty (@StormKitty4) March 31, 2020
Jerry Falwell Jr seems to want credit from Trump for drinking his coronavirus Kool-Aid: op-ed March 31, 2020 By Sky Palma
Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. has reopened the school’s campus in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, according to a report from the New York Times, “nearly a dozen” students at the evangelical school have developed symptoms similar to those of COVID-19 as of this Friday, with at least one student testing positive for the virus.
Falwell, an avid Trump supporter, has consistently downplayed the severity of the pandemic, even insisting at one point that attempts to control its spread are nothing more than a plot to undermine Donald Trump’s presidency. Writing in the Washington Post this Monday, Michael Gerson contends Falwell Jr’s response to the crisis “indicates the staggering level of ignorance” that informs his leadership skills, as evidenced by the “constant churn of mixed messages that Falwell has contributed to our national debate.” “Who is Falwell serving instead of students, parents, staff, his board and the Lynchburg, Va., community?” Gerson writes. “Let’s see. Falwell has contempt for the weak. He is dismissive of experts. He traffics in conspiracy theories. He attacks his critics with infantile putdowns and demeaning names. And he refuses to admit when he is dangerously wrong.”
“Falwell has laid down the cross to follow Trump,” he concludes.
Marriott says new data breach affects 5.2 million guests
by Dee-Ann Durbin
This April 20, 2011 file photo shows Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront in Portland, Ore. Marriott says guests' names, loyalty account information and other personal details may have been accessed in the second major data breach to hit the company in less than two years. The world's largest hotel company says on Tuesday, March 31, 2020, approximately 5.2 million guests may have been affected. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
Marriott says guests' names, loyalty account information and other personal details may have been accessed in the second major data breach to hit the company in less than two years.
Marriott said Tuesday approximately 5.2 million guests worldwide may have been affected. The information taken may have included names, addresses, phone numbers, birthdays, loyalty information for linked companies like airlines and room preferences. Marriott said it's still investigating but it doesn't believe credit card information, passport numbers or driver's license information was accessed.
Marriott said it noticed an unexpected amount of guest information was accessed at the end of February using the login credentials of two employees at a franchised property. The company said it believes the activity began in mid-January.
Marriott has disabled those logins and is assisting authorities in their investigation. The company didn't say whether the employees whose logins were used were suspected.
In November 2018, Marriott announced a massive data breach in which hackers accessed information on as many as 383 million guests. In that case, Marriott said unencrypted passport numbers for at least 5.25 million guests were accessed, as well as credit card information for 8.6 million guests. The affected hotel brands were operated by Starwood before it was acquired by Marriott in 2016.
The FBI led the investigation of that data theft, and investigators suspected the hackers were working on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security, the rough equivalent of the CIA.
Marriott said Tuesday it has informed guests of the new data breach. The Bethesda, Maryland-based company is offering affected guests free enrollment in a personal information monitoring service for up to one year.
"Marriott also remains committed to further strengthening its protections to detect and remediate incidents such as this in the future," the company said in a statement.
Phage shell docks on and inhibits the influenza virus. Credit: Barth van Rossum / FMP
A new approach brings the hope of new therapeutic options for suppressing seasonal influenza and avian flu. On the basis of an empty and therefore non-infectious shell of a phage virus, researchers from Berlin have developed a chemically modified phage capsid that stifles influenza viruses.
Influenza viruses are still highly dangerous. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that flu is responsible for up to 650,000 deaths per year worldwide. Current antiviral drugs are only partially effective because they attack the influenza virus after lung cells have been infected. It would be desirable—and much more effective—to prevent infection in the first place.
This is exactly what the new approach from Berlin promises. The phage capsid, developed by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, envelops flu viruses so perfectly that they can no longer infect cells. "Pre-clinical trials show that we are able to render harmless both seasonal influenza viruses and avian flu viruses with our chemically modified phage shell," explained Professor Dr. Christian Hackenberger, Head of the Department Chemical Biology at the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) and Leibniz Humboldt Professor for Chemical Biology at HU Berlin. "It is a major success that offers entirely new perspectives for the development of innovative antiviral drugs."
Multiple bonds fit like Velcro
The new inhibitor makes use of trivalent receptors on the surface of the influenza virus, referred to as hemagglutinin protein, that attach to sugar molecules (sialic acids) on the cell surfaces of lung tissue. In the case of infection, viruses hook into their victim—in this case, lung cells—like a hook-and-loop fastener. The core principle is that these interactions occur due to multiple bonds, rather than single bonds.
It was the surface structure of flu viruses that inspired the researchers to ask the following initial question more than six years ago: Would it not be possible to develop an inhibitor that binds to trivalent receptors with a perfect fit, simulating the surface of lung tissue cells?
They found that this is indeed possible with the help of a harmless intestinal inhabitant: The Q-beta phage has the ideal surface properties and is excellently suited to equip it with ligands—in this case, sugar molecules—as "bait." An empty phage shell does the job perfectly. "Our multivalent scaffold molecule is not infectious, and comprises 180 identical proteins that are spaced out exactly as the trivalent receptors of the hemagglutinin on the surface of the virus," explained Dr. Daniel Lauster, a former Ph.D. student in the Group of Molecular Biophysics (HU) and now a postdoc at Freie Universität Berlin. "It therefore has the ideal starting conditions to deceive the influenza virus—or, to be more precise, to attach to it with a perfect spatial fit. In other words, we use a phage virus to disable the influenza virus!"
To enable the Q-beta scaffold to fulfill the desired function, it must first be chemically modified. Produced from E. coli bacteria at TU Berlin, Professor Hackenberger's research group at FMP and HU Berlin use synthetic chemistry to attach sugar molecules to the defined positions of the virus shell.
The results are supported by structural proof by FU scientists from the Research Center of Electron Microscopy (FZEM): High-resolution cryo-electron microscopy and cryo-electron microscopy show directly and spatially that the inhibitor completely encapsulates the virus. In addition, mathematical-physical models were used to simulate the interaction between influenza viruses and the phage capsid on the computer. "Our computer-assisted calculations show that the rationally designed inhibitor does indeed attach to the hemagglutinin, and completely envelops the influenza virus," confirmed Dr. Susanne Liese from the AG Netz of Freie Universität Berlin. "It was therefore also possible to describe and explain the high bond strength mathematically."
Therapeutic potential requires further research
These findings must now be followed up by more preclinical studies. It is not yet known, for example, whether the phage capsid provokes an immune response in mammals. Ideally, this response could even enhance the effect of the inhibitor. However, it could also be the case that an immune response reduces the efficacy of phage capsids in the case of repeated-dose exposure, or that flu viruses develop resistances. And, of course, it has yet to be proven that the inhibitor is also effective in humans.
Nonetheless, the alliance of Berlin researchers is certain that the approach has great potential. "Our rationally developed, three-dimensional, multivalent inhibitor points to a new direction in the development of structurally adaptable influenzavirus binders. This is the first achievement of its kind in multivalency research," emphasized Professor Hackenberger. The chemist believes that this approach, which is biodegradable, non-toxic and non-immunogenic in cell culture studies, can in principle also be applied to other viruses, and possibly also to bacteria. It is evident that the authors regard the application of their approach to the current coronavirus as one of their new challenges. The idea is to develop a drug that prevents coronaviruses from binding to host cells located in the throat and subsequent airways, thus preventing infection.
More information: Daniel Lauster et al, Phage capsid nanoparticles with defined ligand arrangement block influenza virus entry, Nature Nanotechnology (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41565-020-0660-2
By its very definition, essential means "something necessary, indispensable, or unavoidable".
When it comes to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, there are no recent precedents for governments. There is no pre-determined list in place on what is an essential service. Instead, "essential" appears a moving beast that is constantly evolving and that can be confusing.
Confused messages
On March 22 the Victorian premier Daniel Andrews called for "a shutdown of all non-essential activity" within 48 hours. Supermarkets, banks and pharmacies were some of the things he said were essential but he did not provide an exhaustive list of what was considered an essential service.
Naturally confusion reigned. For example, in the rural Victorian town of Ballan, some stores closed while others remained open.
We've now seen a number of retailers decide to voluntarily shutter stores for the safety of their workers and the public, considering their businesses "non-essential".
On Sunday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a meeting of the national cabinet had agreed to a raft of new restrictions, such as limiting "shopping for what you need, food and other essential supplies".
But he also described his wife's recent purchase of a number of jigsaw puzzles for the family as "absolutely essential". While toy and hobby retailers may find comfort in this statement, in reality such businesses may not be considered "essential".
Guns and pastries, essential?
There are differences too overseas in what people consider essential as part of any COVID-19 restrictions.
Is the United States, it's recommended employees of gun stores and gun manufacturers should be seen as "essential" workers, according to a memo from the Department of Homeland Security.
While in Europe, "necessities" are said to include Belgian Fries, French Baguettes and Dutch Cannabis. In France, it's also shops specialising in pastries, wine and cheese reportedly declared essential businesses.
In Ireland, reports say the government there has issued a detailed list of what it considers "essential workers". As for essential retailers, they include pharmacies, fuel stations and pet stores, but not opticians, motor repair and bicycle repair outlets.
The essential essentials
Here in Australia there is broad agreement supermarkets, service stations, allied health (pharmacy, chiropractic, physiotherapy, psychology, dental) and banks are essential business and services.
Similarly freight, logistics and home delivery are also considered essential. Australia Post says posties and delivery drivers continue but some posts offices are temporarily closed.
Some bottle shops can stay open but many are now imposing restrictions on how much people can buy.
The government has moved to progressively add more business, services and activities to its "non-essential services" list.
Others remain convoluted, such as outdoor and indoor markets (farmers markets), which are a decision for each state and territory.
In and out of work
In reality, no worker should ever be considered, or consider themselves, as "non-essential".
But due to how the restrictions have been broadly applied, some workers in one industry may now find themselves out of a job, while others in that same industry remain fully employed.
Take for example chefs. Due to bans on restaurants and licensed clubs, chefs there are being stood down, but chefs inside hotels can continue to cook and provide room service meals.
While we have seen many businesses reduce their operations and several retailers voluntarily close their doors, many are standing by waiting for further announcements to potentially close all "non-essential" services.
What should the government consider before deciding what is and isn't regarded as essential?
Some decisions are easy: we need health workers, police, fire fighters and other emergency services workers, and we need those who maintain services to the public such as food supply, clean water, sewerage and so on.
But we also need those services required to keep these people functioning. The military describe this as tooth to tail ratio: the number of people required to keep any soldier on the battlefield (estimated up to three for every soldier).
In the civilian context this includes those responsible for the supply of consumables, personal protection equipment, transport, power, fuel, computer systems, and someone to look after their families while they do the heavy lifting. Luxembourg imposes more virus restrictions Provided by The Conversation
