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solarbirdPandemic going on. There's a pandemic going on. That pandemic? Still going on.
----- 1 -----
Andy Slavitt
twitter.com/ASlavitt
26 July 2020
https://twitter.com/ASlavitt/status/1287524301499965441
[THREAD]
COVID Update July 26: We can virtually eliminate the virus any time we decide to. 1/
[NEXT]
We can be back to a reasonably normal existence: schools, travel, job growth, safer nursing homes & other settings.
And we could do it in a matter of weeks. If we want to. 2/
[NEXT]
Take New Zealand. With its fancy curve and life back to normal. Why can’t we? 3/
[EMBEDDED GRAPH SHOWING COVID CASES BOTTOMING OUT, EMBEDDED IMAGE WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL]
[NEXT]
Not fair you say. It’s an island nation.
OK. What about Germany? Not an island nation, large, growing diversity. 4/
[THREAD CONTINUES AT LINK]
[EMBEDDED GRAPH SHOWING COVID CASES BOTTOMING OUT]
----- 2 -----
'Shut it down now:' U.S. health experts call for 2nd coronavirus shutdown
'There's nothing that's ever been less political than the coronavirus,' one doctor who signed the letter explains
By Amanda del Castillo
Saturday, July 25, 2020
https://6abc.com/health/us-health-experts-call-for-2nd-covid-19-shutdown/6334320/
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- "Shut it down now, and start over" is the message from health experts across the country as COVID-19 cases surge in more than 40 states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. could see 175,000 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths by August 15.
More than 150 doctors endorsed an open letter to lawmakers, urging them to hit the restart button.
The letter, published on the United States Public Interest Research Group's website and penned by its public health campaigns director Matthew Wellington, blames the push to reopen the economy for the country's worsening health crisis and calls for all nonessential businesses to close.
Dr. Travis Porco, an ophthalmological biostatistician and professor at the University of California, San Fransisco, said he signed the letter.
"I believe everybody that signed that endorses that and sees this crisis for what it is -- a crisis that's not gotten any better. It's only gotten worse," he said.
U.S. doctors are urging governments to shut down as coronavirus cases in the nation surge.
The letter came with the warning, "If you don't take these actions, the consequences will be measured in widespread suffering and death."
Dr. Porco added that America's struggle to contain the virus is evident on the world stage.
"I think we've already failed in comparison to many countries," he said. "We've seen many countries act swiftly and efficiently to crush the pandemic. They're reopening and they're doing fine. We didn't. We couldn't do that."
----- 3 -----
Lasting heart damage could be COVID-19's legacy for some non-hospitalized survivors
Disease restructures the heart muscle, according to new research
By Mike Moffitt, SFGATE Published 2:50 pm PDT, Monday, July 27, 2020
https://www.sfgate.com/science/article/COVID-19-damage-of-the-heart-15437575.php
In the early stages of the pandemic, doctors and scientists focused on how COVID-19 — an acute respiratory disease — attacks the lungs. Two new studies out of Germany suggest that even if patients escape hospitalization, the virus can damage the heart.
It’s too soon to determine if the damage is permanent, but the findings are not encouraging.
The first study, published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association Cardiology, looked at the cardiac MRIs of 100 relatively young patients who had recovered from COVID-19 and compared them to MRIs of 100 similar people who had not contracted the disease. Two-thirds of the patients recovered at home.
Two months following their recovery, 78 infected patients were found to have structural changes to their hearts. A biomarker indicating myocardial injury similar to that occurring in heart attacks was found in 76 patients. Sixty patients suffered inflammation of the heart.
The average age of the infected patients was 49. None had previous heart issues or other pre-existing conditions; in fact, many were skiers returning from vacation.
The second study, also published in JAMA Cardiology on Monday, examined autopsy reports from 39 people, 78 to 89 years old, who died in April. Analysis of cardiac tissue revealed the virus had infiltrated the hearts of 24 of the patients.
The studies’ results appeared to validate concerns expressed earlier this month by John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases and vaccinology in the the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program.
“There is evidence now that the virus can directly attack heart muscle cells, and there’s also evidence that the cytokine storm that the virus triggers in the body not only damages the lungs, but can damage the heart,” Swartzberg told Berkeley News. “We don’t know what the long-term effects of that may be, but it could be that we will have a population of people who survive COVID-19 only to go on and have chronic cardiac problems.”
----- 4 -----
Doctor retweeted by Trump has warned of alien DNA, sex with demons
By Marina Pitofsky - 07/28/20
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/509421-doctor-retweeted-by-trump-has-warned-of-alien-dna-sex-with
A Houston doctor who made false statements about the coronavirus in a video that was removed from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube this week has previously made other unfounded claims about medical conditions, sexual contact with spirits, the U.S. government, children's television shows and more.
Stella Immanuel appeared in a video this week published by the right-wing outlet Breitbart News.
The video shows people in white lab coats holding a press conference in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The group calls itself “America’s Frontline Doctors,” and in the video, Immanuel argues that “you don’t need masks” to prevent the spread of COVID-19. She also claims that studies showing that hydroxychloroquine is not effective for treating the disease are “fake science” and sponsored by “fake pharma companies."
President Trump posted versions of the video on Twitter on Monday; they were later removed by the social media site. The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., also tweeted the video, and Twitter announced that it has limited his account for 12 hours.
But Immanuel, who is a licensed physician in Texas, according to the Texas Medical Board, has previously claimed on YouTube and in articles on her website that gynecological problems, such as endometriosis, cysts and infertility, are caused by individuals having sex with demons and witches in their dreams.
Immanuel's claims were first reported by The Daily Beast.
Immanuel has said in sermons on YouTube that widespread gynecological issues are caused by sexual contact with “spirit husbands” and “spirit wives.”
Immanuel said in a 2015 sermon that alien DNA is used in medical treatments. In another 2015 sermon, she claimed that researchers are currently working on a vaccine to prevent individuals from being religious.
In the same 2015 sermon in which she referenced alien DNA, she said the government is run by “reptilians,” not humans.
----- 5 -----
How Quack Doctors And Powerful GOP Operatives Spread Misinformation To Millions
A group calling itself “America’s Frontline Doctors” spread false information about COVID-19 with the help of Facebook, right-wing media and President Trump.
By Nick Robins-Early, Hayley Miller, and Jesselyn Cook
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-quack-doctors-and-powerful-gop-operatives-spread-misinformation-to-millions_n_5f208048c5b66859f1f33148
A seemingly obscure Capitol Hill press conference by a fringe group of self-proclaimed medical experts quickly became on Monday the most widely seen propaganda video about the coronavirus since the pandemic began after Breitbart News livestreamed it on Facebook. The post racked up tens of millions of views across social media in a matter of hours, far surpassing the traffic of the infamous “Plandemic” disinformation video. It grabbed the attention of President Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr., who had his Twitter account partially suspended for sharing a link to the video.
The video featured a string of right-wing talking points that criticized lockdown measures, demonized public health officials, called for schools to reopen and urged Americans not to wear face masks. The speakers, who were all portrayed as doctors, often declared hydroxychloroquine a “cure” for COVID-19. (No legitimate medical organizations have recognized any “cure” for COVID-19, and multiple clinical trials have shown hydroxychloroquine is not beneficial in treating the virus.)
One of the main characters in the clip was a religious minister and pediatrician who has previously warned against having sex with demons — so at first glance, it would be easy to characterize the video as just another random conspiracy crank finding a massive audience thanks to Facebook.
But in fact, a conservative dark-money group was behind the press event that created this viral propaganda moment. The group featured in the video, “America’s Frontline Doctors,” sprang from nowhere only days ago and appears connected to groups involved in the Save Our Country Coalition, which was a driving force behind the “reopen” protests in April that lobbied for America’s rapid reopening, even as death tolls spike in hot spots across the country.
As Donald Trump’s reelection prospects dwindle amid his administration’s disastrous response to the pandemic, right-wing politicians and media figures have aggressively downplayed the threat of the virus and echoed Trump’s disproven claims about the efficacy of hydroxychloriquine, an anti-malarial drug. This week’s episode, bolstered by Republican operatives, recklessly amplified by social media giants and promoted by the president himself, is a flashing warning about their ability to disseminate dangerous propaganda quickly and widely.
- We can virtually eliminate the virus any time we decide to.
- 'Shut it down now:' U.S. health experts call for 2nd coronavirus shutdown
- Lasting heart damage could be COVID-19's legacy for some non-hospitalized survivors
- Doctor retweeted by Trump has warned of alien DNA, sex with demons
- How Quack Doctors And Powerful GOP Operatives Spread Misinformation To Millions
----- 1 -----
Andy Slavitt
twitter.com/ASlavitt
26 July 2020
https://twitter.com/ASlavitt/status/1287524301499965441
[THREAD]
COVID Update July 26: We can virtually eliminate the virus any time we decide to. 1/
[NEXT]
We can be back to a reasonably normal existence: schools, travel, job growth, safer nursing homes & other settings.
And we could do it in a matter of weeks. If we want to. 2/
[NEXT]
Take New Zealand. With its fancy curve and life back to normal. Why can’t we? 3/
[EMBEDDED GRAPH SHOWING COVID CASES BOTTOMING OUT, EMBEDDED IMAGE WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL]
[NEXT]
Not fair you say. It’s an island nation.
OK. What about Germany? Not an island nation, large, growing diversity. 4/
[THREAD CONTINUES AT LINK]
[EMBEDDED GRAPH SHOWING COVID CASES BOTTOMING OUT]
----- 2 -----
'Shut it down now:' U.S. health experts call for 2nd coronavirus shutdown
'There's nothing that's ever been less political than the coronavirus,' one doctor who signed the letter explains
By Amanda del Castillo
Saturday, July 25, 2020
https://6abc.com/health/us-health-experts-call-for-2nd-covid-19-shutdown/6334320/
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- "Shut it down now, and start over" is the message from health experts across the country as COVID-19 cases surge in more than 40 states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. could see 175,000 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths by August 15.
More than 150 doctors endorsed an open letter to lawmakers, urging them to hit the restart button.
The letter, published on the United States Public Interest Research Group's website and penned by its public health campaigns director Matthew Wellington, blames the push to reopen the economy for the country's worsening health crisis and calls for all nonessential businesses to close.
Dr. Travis Porco, an ophthalmological biostatistician and professor at the University of California, San Fransisco, said he signed the letter.
"I believe everybody that signed that endorses that and sees this crisis for what it is -- a crisis that's not gotten any better. It's only gotten worse," he said.
U.S. doctors are urging governments to shut down as coronavirus cases in the nation surge.
The letter came with the warning, "If you don't take these actions, the consequences will be measured in widespread suffering and death."
Dr. Porco added that America's struggle to contain the virus is evident on the world stage.
"I think we've already failed in comparison to many countries," he said. "We've seen many countries act swiftly and efficiently to crush the pandemic. They're reopening and they're doing fine. We didn't. We couldn't do that."
----- 3 -----
Lasting heart damage could be COVID-19's legacy for some non-hospitalized survivors
Disease restructures the heart muscle, according to new research
By Mike Moffitt, SFGATE Published 2:50 pm PDT, Monday, July 27, 2020
https://www.sfgate.com/science/article/COVID-19-damage-of-the-heart-15437575.php
In the early stages of the pandemic, doctors and scientists focused on how COVID-19 — an acute respiratory disease — attacks the lungs. Two new studies out of Germany suggest that even if patients escape hospitalization, the virus can damage the heart.
It’s too soon to determine if the damage is permanent, but the findings are not encouraging.
The first study, published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association Cardiology, looked at the cardiac MRIs of 100 relatively young patients who had recovered from COVID-19 and compared them to MRIs of 100 similar people who had not contracted the disease. Two-thirds of the patients recovered at home.
Two months following their recovery, 78 infected patients were found to have structural changes to their hearts. A biomarker indicating myocardial injury similar to that occurring in heart attacks was found in 76 patients. Sixty patients suffered inflammation of the heart.
The average age of the infected patients was 49. None had previous heart issues or other pre-existing conditions; in fact, many were skiers returning from vacation.
The second study, also published in JAMA Cardiology on Monday, examined autopsy reports from 39 people, 78 to 89 years old, who died in April. Analysis of cardiac tissue revealed the virus had infiltrated the hearts of 24 of the patients.
The studies’ results appeared to validate concerns expressed earlier this month by John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases and vaccinology in the the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program.
“There is evidence now that the virus can directly attack heart muscle cells, and there’s also evidence that the cytokine storm that the virus triggers in the body not only damages the lungs, but can damage the heart,” Swartzberg told Berkeley News. “We don’t know what the long-term effects of that may be, but it could be that we will have a population of people who survive COVID-19 only to go on and have chronic cardiac problems.”
----- 4 -----
Doctor retweeted by Trump has warned of alien DNA, sex with demons
By Marina Pitofsky - 07/28/20
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/509421-doctor-retweeted-by-trump-has-warned-of-alien-dna-sex-with
A Houston doctor who made false statements about the coronavirus in a video that was removed from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube this week has previously made other unfounded claims about medical conditions, sexual contact with spirits, the U.S. government, children's television shows and more.
Stella Immanuel appeared in a video this week published by the right-wing outlet Breitbart News.
The video shows people in white lab coats holding a press conference in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The group calls itself “America’s Frontline Doctors,” and in the video, Immanuel argues that “you don’t need masks” to prevent the spread of COVID-19. She also claims that studies showing that hydroxychloroquine is not effective for treating the disease are “fake science” and sponsored by “fake pharma companies."
President Trump posted versions of the video on Twitter on Monday; they were later removed by the social media site. The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., also tweeted the video, and Twitter announced that it has limited his account for 12 hours.
But Immanuel, who is a licensed physician in Texas, according to the Texas Medical Board, has previously claimed on YouTube and in articles on her website that gynecological problems, such as endometriosis, cysts and infertility, are caused by individuals having sex with demons and witches in their dreams.
Immanuel's claims were first reported by The Daily Beast.
Immanuel has said in sermons on YouTube that widespread gynecological issues are caused by sexual contact with “spirit husbands” and “spirit wives.”
Immanuel said in a 2015 sermon that alien DNA is used in medical treatments. In another 2015 sermon, she claimed that researchers are currently working on a vaccine to prevent individuals from being religious.
In the same 2015 sermon in which she referenced alien DNA, she said the government is run by “reptilians,” not humans.
----- 5 -----
How Quack Doctors And Powerful GOP Operatives Spread Misinformation To Millions
A group calling itself “America’s Frontline Doctors” spread false information about COVID-19 with the help of Facebook, right-wing media and President Trump.
By Nick Robins-Early, Hayley Miller, and Jesselyn Cook
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-quack-doctors-and-powerful-gop-operatives-spread-misinformation-to-millions_n_5f208048c5b66859f1f33148
A seemingly obscure Capitol Hill press conference by a fringe group of self-proclaimed medical experts quickly became on Monday the most widely seen propaganda video about the coronavirus since the pandemic began after Breitbart News livestreamed it on Facebook. The post racked up tens of millions of views across social media in a matter of hours, far surpassing the traffic of the infamous “Plandemic” disinformation video. It grabbed the attention of President Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr., who had his Twitter account partially suspended for sharing a link to the video.
The video featured a string of right-wing talking points that criticized lockdown measures, demonized public health officials, called for schools to reopen and urged Americans not to wear face masks. The speakers, who were all portrayed as doctors, often declared hydroxychloroquine a “cure” for COVID-19. (No legitimate medical organizations have recognized any “cure” for COVID-19, and multiple clinical trials have shown hydroxychloroquine is not beneficial in treating the virus.)
One of the main characters in the clip was a religious minister and pediatrician who has previously warned against having sex with demons — so at first glance, it would be easy to characterize the video as just another random conspiracy crank finding a massive audience thanks to Facebook.
But in fact, a conservative dark-money group was behind the press event that created this viral propaganda moment. The group featured in the video, “America’s Frontline Doctors,” sprang from nowhere only days ago and appears connected to groups involved in the Save Our Country Coalition, which was a driving force behind the “reopen” protests in April that lobbied for America’s rapid reopening, even as death tolls spike in hot spots across the country.
As Donald Trump’s reelection prospects dwindle amid his administration’s disastrous response to the pandemic, right-wing politicians and media figures have aggressively downplayed the threat of the virus and echoed Trump’s disproven claims about the efficacy of hydroxychloriquine, an anti-malarial drug. This week’s episode, bolstered by Republican operatives, recklessly amplified by social media giants and promoted by the president himself, is a flashing warning about their ability to disseminate dangerous propaganda quickly and widely.
