If COVID Fatalities Were 90.2% Lower, How Would You Feel About Schools Reopening?

D89A61D7-D1C8-4B75-B30E-9DD5D6D7C252

According to the CDC, 101 children age 0 to 14 have died from influenza, while 31 children have died from COVID-19.

No evidence exists to support the theory that children pose a threat to educational professionals in a school or classroom setting, but there is a great deal of evidence to support the safety of in-person education.

According to the CDC, 131,332 Americans have died from pneumonia and 121,374 from COVID-19 as of July 11th, 2020.

Had the CDC used its industry standard, Medical Examiners’ and Coroners’ Handbook on Death Registration and Fetal Death Reporting Revision 2003, as it has for all other causes of death for the last 17 years, the COVID-19 fatality count would be approximately 90.2% lower than it currently is.

Continue reading… “If COVID Fatalities Were 90.2% Lower, How Would You Feel About Schools Reopening?”

0

F.D.A. approves first coronavirus antibody test in U.S.

D87A0681-6C2D-40C4-B5DF-2730AEF651C5

A cell, in greenish brown, heavily infected with coronavirus particles, in pink.

Such a test may help scientists learn how widespread the infection is, and how long people remain immune after recovering.

A cell, in greenish brown, heavily infected with coronavirus particles, in pink.Credit…Niaid, via Reuters

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a new test for coronavirus antibodies, the first for use in the United States.

Currently available tests are designed to find fragments of viral genes indicating an ongoing infection. Doctors swab the nose and throat, and amplify any genetic material from the virus found there.

Continue reading… “F.D.A. approves first coronavirus antibody test in U.S.”

0

Oxford scientists develop new coronavirus test that provides results in just 30 minutes

18885075-7E36-4606-8BCF-C71AC7265D0D

Scientists at the University of Oxford have developed a new coronavirus test that produces results around three times faster than the current fastest testing methods, and that requires only relatively simple technical instrumentation. In addition to these benefits, the researchers behind the test’s development say that it could even help detect patients affected by coronavirus in earlier stages of infection vs. current methods, and that its results can can “read by the naked eye,” which makes it more accessible to a broader range of healthcare facilities and professionals.

The Oxford-developed test can provide results in only half an hour – the fastest current methods that focus on viral RNA, like this one does, produce results in between 1.5 and 2 hours. The new tests have already been validated using real clinical samples of the virus at the Shenzhen Luohou People’s Hospital in China, and though they’ve so far only been used on 16 samples, evenly split between those positive for the virus and those that contain none, they’ve demonstrated a 100% success rate, which is a very reassuring result.

Continue reading… “Oxford scientists develop new coronavirus test that provides results in just 30 minutes”

0