Drug shortages: saline solution: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/drug-shortages . The FDA makes drug shortage information available at this site. Saline has been in short supply for most of the last 5 years, even triggering an antitrust probe closed in 2019.Bloomberg is reporting that despite Baxter’s investment of $1 billion in its supply chain, most of the product is still manufactured in Puerto Rico and remains under threat as an active hurricane season is underway this year: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-16/hurricane-season-could-threaten-saline-solution-production. Here is more background on the problem from NEJM: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1800347 .
A smell test for COVID-19: https://www.statnews.com/2020/07/02/smell-tests-temperature-checks-covid19/ . And loss of smell may indicate a milder case of COVID-19: https://health.ucsd.edu/news/releases/Pages/2020-04-27-loss-of-smell-associated-with-milder-clinical-course-in-covid-19.aspx . Since the same researcher is behind both results, maybe she can make some “sense” out of them.
Lingering COVID-19 symptoms: https://bestlifeonline.com/continue-suffer-symptoms/ (link replaced 9/5/21).
Georgia falsifying COVID-19 data again: There is an article on Bloomberg which I don’t show here because a subscription is required. Here is another article on the same topic, indicating Georgia is backdating cases in order to underreport each day: https://www.thestreet.com/mishtalk/economics/georgias-covid-improvement-was-a-big-lie-by-the-governor . The link in the article, titled “Manipulated Data”, is to the Bloomberg article. Again, distortion of data puts people’s lives at risk.
Texas infants caught in pandemic: 85 cases in one county: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/18/texas-babies-coronavirus-nueces-county/ (link replaced 9/5/21). I heard on the news that one of the babies has died. I personally would not send a child to school in September, we clearly don’t know enough about this disease.
The next relief package: https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/trump-administration-seeks-to-block-money-for-testing-tracing-cdc-in-upcoming-virus-relief-bill/ (link replaced 9/5/21). Wait, strip the CDC of funding to build a new FBI building? Could we focus on the pandemic, please? Pooled testing: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/fda-issues-first-emergency-authorization-for-sample-pooling (link replaced 9/5/21). This makes no sense unless pooled testing is restricted to areas in which there is a very low level of virus (like China, cited in the article). As we have areas where positive tests are running 20%+, in those areas pooling 4 people in a test is a waste of testing resources, not a saving. And of course we’re in this problem after months of failing to develop anything approaching adequate testing.
WSJ: Blood bank donations: https://www.wsj.com/articles/blood-banks-face-a-generation-gap-in-giving-11594993713 . Because the nature of capitalism is to cut everything as close as possible to maximize profits, we need more effective surge planning in many areas (not just healthcare) to make the supply chain more robust and responsive in emergencies. By the way, ever seen a bag of platelets? Looks like a bag of orange juice – all blood components are not red.
WSJ: CVS testing delays: https://www.wsj.com/articles/cvs-covid-19-test-results-are-taking-longer-than-customers-have-been-told-11595007356 . And the value of results that are more than a week old is …
WSJ: Court allows sale of non-ACA-compliant health plans: https://www.wsj.com/articles/appeals-court-upholds-rule-expanding-short-term-health-plans-11595004994 .
WSJ: Mnuchin favors PPP automatic forgiveness: https://www.wsj.com/articles/mnuchin-suggests-automatic-forgiveness-of-paycheck-protection-program-loans-11595000522 . What has happened to oversight? There’s $140 billion involved here (27% of $520 billion).
WSJ: US coronavirus aid package: https://www.wsj.com/articles/q-a-congress-returns-to-work-on-new-coronavirus-aid-package-11595011556 .
WSJ: EU coronavirus aid package: https://www.wsj.com/articles/european-leaders-seek-historic-virus-bailout-deal-at-first-gathering-in-months-11594972953 .
WSJ: UK re-opening and aid package: https://www.wsj.com/articles/boris-johnson-accelerates-plan-for-easing-lockdown-11595014092 .
WSJ: Portland: https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-portland-protests-continue-and-federal-agents-arrive-raising-tensions-11595019411 . Interesting to contrast this with my previous comments on the situation here. If you Google “wsj Portland protests”, as I did to find the above link, you’ll find that WSJ has regularly reported on “the leftist mob”, “anarchy”, and “Antifa” activities here. Not too close to the local view. Here is a link to a letter sent to DOJ and Homeland Security cosigned by our two Senators and the two House members representing Portland, demanding the removal of federal agents from Portland: https://blumenauer.house.gov/sites/blumenauer.house.gov/files/20.07.17%20Letter%20to%20DOJ%20DHS%20PDX%20FINAL.pdf . Update: The Oregon Attorney General is suing the federal government over the detentions, which involve officers in plain clothes hauling “suspects” away in unmarked vans, reportedly without probable cause: https://www.npr.org/2020/07/18/892617402/oregon-to-sue-federal-agencies-over-protest-enforcement . Update 2: The US Attorney for Oregon has called for a federal investigation of the federal agents’ behavior: https://www.opb.org/news/article/us-attorney-oregon-investigation-portland-protester-arrests/ . The request, quite properly, is to the Inspector General of the Homeland Security Department.
More on McClatchy: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/07/12/mcclatchy-bankruptcy-auction-chantham-asset-management-chapter-11/5424077002/ . Turns out that Chatham, owner of the National Enquirer from 2010 to 2019, gained control of the Canadian chain Postmedia in 2019, and has since closed 30 newspapers and laid off 1,600 employees (reported by NY Times). See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmedia_Network#:~:text=In%20November%202019%2C%20Postmedia%20announced,ties%20to%20the%20Republican%20party. And: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Media,_Inc. McClatchy owns the Miami Herald, the Kansas City Star, the Sacramento Bee, and many other US newspapers. There is considerable fear in media circles that substantial reduction of these newsrooms is coming. In turn, this may reduce the availability of online resources needed to support the type of research presented here.
Some uplifting items to close today:
More on my comment yesterday on John Lewis: there is a petition to sign asking the Governor of Alabama to rename the bridge. The link is: https://www.change.org/p/governor-of-alabama-rename-the-edmund-pettus-bridge-after-rep-john-lewis . The petition had 100,000 signatures as of Monday night; with Lewis’ death on Friday, and a goal of 500,000 signatures, by Saturday at 7:30 pm there were over 440,000 signatures (including mine). By the way, Selma has a black mayor and its population of 20,000 is 80% black. The bridge renaming is the right thing to do, turning a monument to oppression into a monument to courage.
WSJ: Ron Graham: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ron-graham-dazzled-admirers-with-math-and-juggling-feats-11594994403 . Mathematicians can lead interesting lives. Conversational Mongolian?