Economics, Health, Mathematics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Technology and Society

Herd Immunity

13 Comments

Thoughts from Arnold Kling.

We need to start testing as many as possible as soon as possible.

[Update early afternoon]

Ten ways the Left has politicized the pandemic.

Only ten?

[Update a while later]

The vast majority of spread has been coming from the asymptomatic. We need to start testing early and often.

[Update Tuesday morning]

Chloriquine continues to look promising, particularly if it really can be prophylactic.

Update a few minutes later]

No, China is not our friend. And I agree that media shills for it should be named as enemies of the American people.

[Mid-afternoon update]

I just asked my doctor if she could write a prescription for chloriquine. She couldn’t.

[Update a few minutes later]

Bob Zimmerman: The unwarranted panic.

[Update a while later]

Hitler isn’t happy about being quarantined.

13 thoughts on “Herd Immunity”

  2. This article reminded me of this practice during my childhood:

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pox_party

    Now I had the real chickenpox as a child (no party needed) as did nearly all my peers of my g-g-generation. The practice wasn’t recommended by doctors even at the time because of the risk of complications. Now that there is a vaccine there is definitely no point to it. Assuming there will be a vaccine to SARS-CoV-2 this is probably also just as bad an idea.

      1. In recent memory, a guy-in-the-lab here at the-U bragged about taking his kid to a “pox party.”

        I think this was a hippie anti-vaxxer thing.

  3. I haven’t read anything about when the disease can be detected or how accurate the various tests are. People in the twitter bubble are caught up in a mass hysteria that prevents them from thinking rationally.

    Perhaps people in the “media” need a rule about not using twitter as a source.

      1. Well, if you never “got” Twitter and since there is no vaccine, you are at risk of catching it?

  4. ScienceDirect.com article

    Here, we demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 uses the SARS-CoV receptor ACE2 for entry and the serine protease TMPRSS2 for S protein priming. A TMPRSS2 inhibitor approved for clinical use blocked entry and might constitute a treatment option. Finally, we show that the sera from convalescent SARS patients cross-neutralized SARS-2-S-driven entry. Our results reveal important commonalities between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV infection and identify a potential target for antiviral intervention.

    It seems to work, blocking entry of the virus into lung cells. The drug, Camostat Mesilate, is already used in Japan to treat pancreatitis, and it’s also used for cancer and liver disease. About two-dozen companies there make it under a dozen different brand names, and a bottle of 100 pills (100 mg each) sells for $35.

    But it’s not FDA approved, so some bureaucrat will probably say it won’t be available here until long after the last Covid-19 victim is lowered into the ground.

Comments are closed.