Cont: The all-new "US Politics and coronavirus" thread pt. 2

[Aridas]

Of course Giroir is onboard with Trumpy's needs:

He also claims:But Fauci said he wasn't involved.

From the CNBC link:

It may be worth noting that Fauci likely did give input on the idea previously and the statement doesn't claim anything about the nature of the input. Giving input that something is an insanely bad idea is still giving input, after all.

 

[Sherkeu]

It's not about money or use of resources. It's about Trump finding ways to cook the books.

But why? Having a lower death rate compared to cases would be a good thing...less scary. Plus you'd find a bunch of healthy plasma donors.

Even school re-openings are on a 'case positive' rate so that more tests would be better if you want the lower number. The total might be larger but the % would be smaller, allowing places to get off of the 'watch lists'

I really just do not understand it.

 

[Aridas]

But why? Having a lower death rate compared to cases would be a good thing...less scary. Plus you'd find a bunch of healthy plasma donors.

It would be good.

Even school re-openings are on a 'case positive' rate so that more tests would be better if you want the lower number. The total might be larger but the % would be smaller, allowing places to get off of the 'watch lists'

I really just do not understand it.

You don't understand Trump wanting to cook the books like that?

Out of curiousity, do you understand the concept of "face?"

 

[varwoche]

Is there even one relevant expert who is not under Trump's thumb who advocates less testing?

That fake admiral dude is one sorry piece of work. He's not like a political employee who might have employment problems if they get the boot for contradicting Dear Leader. Spineless, servile liar.

 

[Delphic Oracle]

The CDC decision makers themselves put this guideline out. Fauci was left out of the loop having his vocal cord surgery.



Oh, and they always get around it by telling people to ask their doctors. While they give the guidelines to doctors that say not to test people.



Here's the CDC wording:

BTW, stay in isolation.



Then there is this. CNN





This, of course is the old guideline warmed over:



First they were covering up for not having have tests available (while they claimed there were millions of tests available, yada yada).



Now they pretend you simply don't need a test because .... well we know the because, Trump made it clear, "So I told my people, slow the testing down. Notice the reference to "my people" like it's his corporate flunkies.



Besides Fauci, I don't think Redfield, head of the CDC was in the loop either.



The Hill: CDC testing guidance change was approved by White House task force



Notice they claim, 'approved by' as opposed to 'directed by'. Pence needs cover.



Of course Giroir is onboard with Trumpy's needs:



He also claims:But Fauci said he wasn't involved.



From the CNBC link:

What does this have to do with my post and the bolded line in it?

 

[lomiller]

Six Feet? I thought it was six meters? Where did I read that?

Two metres or one: what is the evidence for physical distancing in covid-19? by Nicholas R Jones

No, I didn't read it there. Hm. It's late I'll do the hunt for the article tomorrow.

Skimmed it, it mostly seems to knocking down strawmen.

At no point has it been argued that you can’t be infected if you are > 2m away and it’s well understood that the dynamism are far to complicated for a simple rule like > 2m. Nonetheless in terms of public response the rule needs to be simple for people to follow, needs to have leeway because you know they will cheat and still needs to accommodate somewhat normal behavior in in available space. The 2m rule is a compromise to give people a simple actionable guideline that balances issues like this.

 

[Craig4]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-5-15-minute-covid-test-that-avoids-lab-delay

Well, we could have had our lives back. Unfortunately, the administration, you know the one that wants to slow the testing down, bought all 150 million of the Abbot Labs $5 test kits.

 

[Meadmaker]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-5-15-minute-covid-test-that-avoids-lab-delay

Well, we could have had our lives back. Unfortunately, the administration, you know the one that wants to slow the testing down, bought all 150 million of the Abbot Labs $5 test kits.

Paywall on article.

Surely the purpose of purchasing the lab kits is to distribute them to states or health officials to test people.

Right?

 

[newyorkguy]

More mixed signals from the trump administration. he wants to slow down testing, he's buying 150 million test kits. From the Bloomberg article;

The U.S. government is buying almost all of the $5 Covid tests Abbott Laboratories plans to produce this year, purchasing 150 million of the tests that were cleared yesterday and can be run in just 15 minutes...It’s not entirely clear who will receive the initial round of tests. An administration official said they will go first to nursing homes, schools and other high-risk populations, but details were scant. Demand is expected to be high, as they could help guarantee the safety of everything from flights to restaurants to offices. Bloomberg

The article also reports:

The Trump administration has been criticized...for a recent change in guidelines that curbs the testing of people without symptoms.

Public health officials have said repeatedly, it is important to test people without symptoms because those infected without feeling sick are contagious. They continue to lead normal lives and by doing so, infect other people. Finding and quarantining those who are infected without symptoms is an important step in bringing the outbreak under control. But bringing the outbreak under control is something trump has mostly ignored. For trump, testing seems to be solely about numbers, a kind of scorecard. Like on the golf course, trump's inclination seems to be to try and cheat. Do less tests, find fewer infected people, get a lower 'score.' But if you don't test for asymptomatic people, if you don't find them, the virus will be much harder to bring under control. With less testing you may get a lower 'score,' for a while, but you're setting yourself up for an even bigger problem down the road.

trump has always been a 'what's best for me right now' kind of guy. Next week? Forget next week, We'll worry about next week when it happens. Not exactly the kind of thinking you want in a president. At least, not the kind of thinking most people want.

 

[Craig4]

Paywall on article.

Surely the purpose of purchasing the lab kits is to distribute them to states or health officials to test people.

Right?

I'm assuming that's sarcasm.

 

[Minoosh]

Two conversations in 2 days with a conservative brother and a conservative aunt. They both seem to want to vent to me about why they think concerns are overblown. I'm so sick of the way this crisis has been politicized. But it's extra disheartening that they somehow feel a need to argue with me about it. Maybe because they think of me as somewhat liberal and in need of guidance?

With bro yesterday it was about the campus response to the virus which I have no control over. He vents about not being able to see Mom, but when I told him what he needed to say in order to be cleared for a visit, he apparently thought I being facetious. Social visits are not permitted, but you can get an OK if a relative is coming over to provide caregiving etc. So I told my brother he could ask for permission to rearrange my mother's storage closet, freeing up some room which means I could put some belongings away and maybe others he could take to the off-site storage room I rent. That would be a real help. He's big on dropping off cake, balloons and flowers but less enthusiastic about things that would ease the stress on Mom and I, who have a little bit of stir-crazy cabin-fever going on.

My aunt, meanwhile, seemed to want to talk about what she is sure is a concerted effort to blame COVID for a bunch of deaths that probably would have happened anyway. She also passed on an opinion of a friend of hers about masks: They do more harm than good. If I asked her to share the evidence of that with me she probably would not have a clue what I was talking about. But I kinda snapped at her ("Um, I don't think someone is making this all up") and feel bad about that.

To bro I said, look. I don't know if the campus restrictions are correct, but I do know they're not arbitrary. He also complained about a co-worker whose wife is needing surgery (outpatient, I think) and he can't even go into the facility. BFD! What's the hubby going to do, help with the surgery? If not, BFD if he was to wait outside (it's 114 out, but he could also chill at Starbucks or something).

WTF do they feel a need to trigger me and pass on their quackish theories.

We've had 12 deaths on campus and I really don't feel like arguing with my relatives about whether it's all a con job.

Anyway, sorry, /rant but it's awfully disheartening that a public health crisis has become so politicized/polarized. I'd be willing to talk to people in good faith, but what I'm hearing sounds like attempts to troll. It's hard on everyone, I guess.

 

[carlitos]

Hang in there, Minoosh. After reading that, I had to take a couple of deep breaths myself. Be strong and empathetic, but remember that you don’t have to take any nonsense if it’s unhelpful to the situation.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

What does this have to do with my post and the bolded line in it?

You asked, "But I often find myself wondering what "pressure" even means." and I explained what it meant in the case of the CDC being "pressured".

It's not that hard, seriously. Decisions made at the top by Trump installed sycophants are followed down the line because in this country those CDC guidelines are usually trustworthy.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-5-15-minute-covid-test-that-avoids-lab-delay

Well, we could have had our lives back. Unfortunately, the administration, you know the one that wants to slow the testing down, bought all 150 million of the Abbot Labs $5 test kits.

We are sooo burnt toast. Not enough people are paying attention to this Trump driven interference.
Last month when I went to a nursing home for my work, they had lots of PPE. But the DNS (nursing director) told me they didn't have PPE earlier because their order was intercepted by the government.

There's a link somewhere in these discussions of the Trump government confiscating masks intended to be handed out at a BLM protest.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Paywall on article.

Surely the purpose of purchasing the lab kits is to distribute them to states or health officials to test people.

Right?

Because Abbott is incapable, of course.

There are possibilities that deserve consideration.

A decade or so ago when we were experiencing flu vaccine shortages every year, the government stepped in and guaranteed the vaccine manufacturers a consistent market by buying a specific number of vaccines. That way the government covered the loss if the manufacturers produced more vaccine than they could sell.

It's possible (I really need to look deeper into this) that the government gave Abbott money in the first place to develop this test. A purchase guarantee might have been part of the deal.

It's also possible (the most unlikely) that the government is trying to prevent Abbott selling to the highest bidder, or not being selective as to whom they sell to.

As long as daylight is shone on this purchase, the government will have to distribute the tests. If not you can safely bet Trump will drip access to this testing out.

 

[Safe-Keeper]

Paywall on article.

Surely the purpose of purchasing the lab kits is to distribute them to states or health officials to test people.

Right?

Were it any other administration I'd be confident this was their goal.

The Trump regime, though, has outright stated that they're not interested in fighting Covid because it'll hurt Blue states and voters the most. Their actions since then have demonstrated this wasn't just sarcasm meant to trigger the libs -- it's been their policy since the outbreak started, with few exceptions (I view the closing of the Chinese border as more of an anti-China move to pander to his base).

Heck, as evidenced at the rallies, Trump doesn't even care about the lives of their own disicples and staff.

 

[Meadmaker]

Because Abbott is incapable, of course.

There are possibilities that deserve consideration.

A decade or so ago when we were experiencing flu vaccine shortages every year, the government stepped in and guaranteed the vaccine manufacturers a consistent market by buying a specific number of vaccines. That way the government covered the loss if the manufacturers produced more vaccine than they could sell.

It's possible (I really need to look deeper into this) that the government gave Abbott money in the first place to develop this test. A purchase guarantee might have been part of the deal.

It's also possible (the most unlikely) that the government is trying to prevent Abbott selling to the highest bidder, or not being selective as to whom they sell to.

As long as daylight is shone on this purchase, the government will have to distribute the tests. If not you can safely bet Trump will drip access to this testing out.

It is so sad that we even have to consider these possibilities. In a sane world, we would know that it was some variation, as you described, of a purchase guarantee that was intended to make sure that an important product was delivered quickly as part of a coordinated strategy for saving lives and allowing people to safely resume something very much like normal life.

Instead, we have the Trump administration.

 

[Aridas]

We are sooo burnt toast. Not enough people are paying attention to this Trump driven interference.
Last month when I went to a nursing home for my work, they had lots of PPE. But the DNS (nursing director) told me they didn't have PPE earlier because their order was intercepted by the government.

There's a link somewhere in these discussions of the Trump government confiscating masks intended to be handed out at a BLM protest.

Yeah. They apparently did that. Along with multiple cases of confiscating shipments of PPE that had been already paid for by blue states enroute to the states. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

As long as daylight is shone on this purchase, the government will have to distribute the tests. If not you can safely bet Trump will drip access to this testing out.

Sadly, given the Trump Administration, even shining light on it doesn't guarantee even that. It's probably just as likely that they'll distribute them in a brazenly political fashion, if they do, regardless of spotlight.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Yeah. They apparently did that. Along with multiple cases of confiscating shipments of PPE that had been already paid for by blue states enroute to the states. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.



Sadly, given the Trump Administration, even shining light on it doesn't guarantee even that. It's probably just as likely that they'll distribute them in a brazenly political fashion, if they do, regardless of spotlight.

He gets more nervous about his image as the election gets closer. He responds if enough of the news media points out he looks bad.

 

[Minoosh]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-5-15-minute-covid-test-that-avoids-lab-delay

Well, we could have had our lives back. Unfortunately, the administration, you know the one that wants to slow the testing down, bought all 150 million of the Abbot Labs $5 test kits.

Bloomberg or Bezos or Gates someone else should have thought of that and bought up some or all of them. I’m serious. Why do anti-Trump billionaires never seem to anticipate the Trump administration’s maneuvers? A lot of BS could be neutralized with judiciously applied cash.