This is my take on the evil, soon to wipe out all of mankind, coronavirus. And I spent the last 20 years as a clinical microbiologist so I am speaking from experience, not just through my butt like so many other "experts" have done. This whole "pandemic" thing is utter nonsense, most especially in this country. To date there have been less than 30 deaths from this virus. Compare and contrast to the Flu A/B virus mortality this year, which is now exceeding TWELVE THOUSAND by the latest CDC estimates. It does not take a masters level microbiologist like myself to figure out which is the far more pressing Public Health Threat. It is pure baseless Chicken Little hysteria.

And this is just my opinion, your may mileage may vary, but had this not been an election year, with huge implications at stake, this "pandemic viral infection" would have been barely mentioned. Regardless of what the talking heads on the Clown News Network tell you, coronavirus is NOT new. It was first isolated 40+ years ago and was most recently (before now) implicated in SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) over 17 years ago as well as MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. And there are numerous strains of coronavirus, the discussion of which is outside the scope of this forum. I could go into great detail but I would probably put myself to sleep. The left are using this "pandemic" as a weapon against President Trump's administration, which for someone who was in healthcare as long as I was, is simply beyond the pale. But never let a good crisis go to waste, even if you have to manufacture one. And much to my disgust, the CDC is falling right in line with it. Treatment of diseases should NEVER be political. The President was quick and decisive in actions to minimize the spread of this infection. President Trump could singlehandedly eradicate cancer in an afternoon and the left and totally disingenuous "media" would still brutally criticize him.

So what to do to minimize infection? First and foremost, use good hand washing technique and wash your hands frequently and use hand sanitizer. This virus can be viable outside the human body for up to 24 hours. If you use the rest room, wash your hands thoroughly and use a paper towel to open the doorknob. Try to keep your hands away from your mouth and nose as much as possible. If you are feeling ill and especially if you are febrile, STAY HOME. If you are sick and must venture out, wear a surgical mask, available at any CVS to contain any and all droplets expelled by coughing or sneezing. This is the main mechanism of spreading it. Maintain at least 8 feet between people who are actively coughing and/or sneezing and look at what they may touch and avoid it. Common sense prevails.

This is my take on the evil, soon to wipe out all of mankind, coronavirus. And I spent the last 20 years as a clinical microbiologist so I am speaking from experience, not just through my butt like so many other "experts" have done. This whole "pandemic" thing is utter nonsense, most especially in this country. To date there have been less than 30 deaths from this virus. Compare and contrast to the Flu A/B virus mortality this year, which is now exceeding TWELVE THOUSAND by the latest CDC estimates. It does not take a masters level microbiologist like myself to figure out which is the far more pressing Public Health Threat. It is pure baseless Chicken Little hysteria.

And this is just my opinion, your may mileage may vary, but had this not been an election year, with huge implications at stake, this "pandemic viral infection" would have been barely mentioned. Regardless of what the talking heads on the Clown News Network tell you, coronavirus is NOT new. It was first isolated 40+ years ago and was most recently (before now) implicated in SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) over 17 years ago as well as MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. And there are numerous strains of coronavirus, the discussion of which is outside the scope of this forum. I could go into great detail but I would probably put myself to sleep. The left are using this "pandemic" as a weapon against President Trump's administration, which for someone who was in healthcare as long as I was, is simply beyond the pale. But never let a good crisis go to waste, even if you have to manufacture one. And much to my disgust, the CDC is falling right in line with it. Treatment of diseases should NEVER be political. The President was quick and decisive in actions to minimize the spread of this infection. President Trump could singlehandedly eradicate cancer in an afternoon and the left and totally disingenuous "media" would still brutally criticize him.

So what to do to minimize infection? First and foremost, use good hand washing technique and wash your hands frequently and use hand sanitizer. This virus can be viable outside the human body for up to 24 hours. If you use the rest room, wash your hands thoroughly and use a paper towel to open the doorknob. Try to keep your hands away from your mouth and nose as much as possible. If you are feeling ill and especially if you are febrile, STAY HOME. If you are sick and must venture out, wear a surgical mask, available at any CVS to contain any and all droplets expelled by coughing or sneezing. This is the main mechanism of spreading it. Maintain at least 8 feet between people who are actively coughing and/or sneezing and look at what they may touch and avoid it. Common sense prevails.

The flu vaccine is also somewhat of a panacea. Right now the current flu vaccine immunizes against 4 strains of flu A and B; 2 of each. It is ignorant to think that these are the only strains out floating around. All viruses undergo something called "antigenic drift" which is a fancy microbiology/genetic term (I was a clinical microbiologist before I retired) for viruses mutating over time. Eventually the capsule/non-capsule antigens (proteins that illicit an immune response) change so a vaccine which was designed to illicit antibody production or other mechanisms of removal, which are outside the scope of this discussion, against the parent strain are no longer effective. Microbiology and bugs engage in a never ending game of "one-up-manship".

I worked for a drug company for many years as a scientist. The responsibility of the FDA is to insure that drugs are both safe and effective. It is up to the company to demonstrate safety and effectiveness. As someone who also worked for the federal government (not FDA), the government position is that all outsiders are lairs and cheats unless proven otherwise. The system is very good at ensuring safety and effectiveness but is not speedy or easy. For a drug that I helped launched, the FDA required a $100 million dollar clinical trial AFTER approval. This could bankrupt a small company.

In my experience big companies don't cheat much as the costs are too great. Smaller companies are more likely to cheat.

I greatly appreciate your professional information (my father was a microbiologist), but attributing a world wide issue to local politics and assigning the US and world’s reaction to some Machiavellian plot to prevent Donald Trump’s re-election is an amazingly right wing piece of imagination and paranoia and just plain silly. Please leave the politics out of this discussion, and just confine the thread to the technical details which you are competent to comment on. Your political comments will send this thread to the attic, and if you want to politicize this illness, that’s where it belongs. Btw, I agree with you about the contrast with influenza and number of deaths, but you have failed to mention the difference in death rate % from each.

No need to respond - I won’t be watching.

I greatly appreciate your professional information (my father was a microbiologist), but attributing a world wide issue to local politics and assigning the US and world’s reaction to some Machiavellian plot to prevent Donald Trump’s re-election is an amazingly right wing piece of imagination and paranoia and just plain silly. Please leave the politics out of this discussion, and just confine the thread to the technical details which you are competent to comment on. Your political comments will send this thread to the attic, and if you want to politicize this illness, that’s where it belongs. Btw, I agree with you about the contrast with influenza and number of deaths, but you have failed to mention the difference in death rate % from each.

No need to respond - I won’t be watching.