“It’s so deadly and so awful.”
February 7, 2021 4:08 PM Subscribe
Twelve out of 15 floors at the Royal London are occupied by Covid patients, with two extra floors added to accommodate the overflow. “They have to squish more patients in between others, because there’s not enough space,” says Scott. “And we walk around in these full blue PPE costumes, and all you can see is people’s eyes and their eyebrows.”
The UK’s horrific Covid outbreak, through the eyes of a NZ nurse on the frontlines
Cw: descriptions of what it’s like to work in a Covid ICU. Not gory, but not sugar coated either.
My niece works at San Francisco General. When we zoom, she'll mention cases such as the man dying of Covid who has already lost seven other family members to this disease.
I don't understand the people who dispute the severity, or dispute the infection rates of Covid-19. It's awful, everywhere. That's not a good way to die.
posted by blob at 4:41 PM on February 7, 2021 [26 favorites]
I don't understand the people who dispute the severity, or dispute the infection rates of Covid-19. It's awful, everywhere. That's not a good way to die.
posted by blob at 4:41 PM on February 7, 2021 [26 favorites]
This makes me incredibly thankful that my SO and I don't mind being hermits and that my SO's parents and one of her sisters have already been able to be vaccinated. Said sister works at a hospital that gets vaccine supplies regularly and since a substantial fraction of her co-workers have been unwilling to take them, they're still giving employees early notification of each new round.
At this rate it's pure dumb luck that things aren't ultra fucked here in Miami, merely the same level of fucked they have been since summer. I have been gobsmacked at the number of tourists renting AirBnBs in my neighborhood in the past month. It had been relatively quiet in that sense, but no longer.
posted by wierdo at 4:55 PM on February 7, 2021 [5 favorites]
At this rate it's pure dumb luck that things aren't ultra fucked here in Miami, merely the same level of fucked they have been since summer. I have been gobsmacked at the number of tourists renting AirBnBs in my neighborhood in the past month. It had been relatively quiet in that sense, but no longer.
posted by wierdo at 4:55 PM on February 7, 2021 [5 favorites]
15 or 10% [muscle loss] a day
jiminy god damn tapdancing, eggfrying, fingerbanging christ.
I am so glad her workplace is encouraging everybody to check in with each other about their feelings.
Maybe the rest of the world is saner / better at healthcare than this - I'm in the US - but, like. Are there any studies or recommendations/suggestions going out at an international level to start working on policy and funding for COVID survivors and their ongoing treatment?
posted by snerson at 4:56 PM on February 7, 2021 [8 favorites]
jiminy god damn tapdancing, eggfrying, fingerbanging christ.
I am so glad her workplace is encouraging everybody to check in with each other about their feelings.
Maybe the rest of the world is saner / better at healthcare than this - I'm in the US - but, like. Are there any studies or recommendations/suggestions going out at an international level to start working on policy and funding for COVID survivors and their ongoing treatment?
posted by snerson at 4:56 PM on February 7, 2021 [8 favorites]
At this rate it's pure dumb luck that things aren't ultra fucked here in Miami, merely the same level of fucked they have been since summer. I have been gobsmacked at the number of tourists renting AirBnBs in my neighborhood in the past month. It had been relatively quiet in that sense, but no longer.
The super spreader bowl should fix that right up for Florida by the end of Feb.
posted by srboisvert at 5:31 PM on February 7, 2021 [7 favorites]
The super spreader bowl should fix that right up for Florida by the end of Feb.
posted by srboisvert at 5:31 PM on February 7, 2021 [7 favorites]
And meanwhile, in a demonstration of willful, callous ignorance, the Governor of Iowa has decided now is a great time to be dropping the state's face mask mandate, public health restrictions on businesses, and limits on public gatherings.
posted by PhineasGage at 6:22 PM on February 7, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 6:22 PM on February 7, 2021 [4 favorites]
And meanwhile, in a demonstration of willful, callous ignorance, the Governor of Iowa has decided now is a great time to be dropping the state's face mask mandate, public health restrictions on businesses, and limits on public gatherings.
How do you preemptively hide the complete fuckup of forcing schools to reopen with in school learning with so much active infection going on? Just open the rest of the economy and bury it in the noise.
Kids are going to read all this in the history book and wonder what collective fucking insanity our society was under.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 6:44 PM on February 7, 2021 [9 favorites]
How do you preemptively hide the complete fuckup of forcing schools to reopen with in school learning with so much active infection going on? Just open the rest of the economy and bury it in the noise.
Kids are going to read all this in the history book and wonder what collective fucking insanity our society was under.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 6:44 PM on February 7, 2021 [9 favorites]
Like I can handle being withdrawn from society as long as it takes but what's really wearing my patience down at this point is watching a third of the country operate in complete disregard for another third. So many people who didn't have to die because we forced them to go out in a fucking pandemic and do some job that didn't really need to be done so they could furnish basic human needs to survive.
Society is absolutely fucking broken.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 6:48 PM on February 7, 2021 [54 favorites]
Society is absolutely fucking broken.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 6:48 PM on February 7, 2021 [54 favorites]
Kids are going to read all this in the history book and wonder what collective fucking insanity our society was under.
Sadly, I don't think that's correct. Based on my recollections, American history books compress poor, one term presidencies to a single scandal at best. Even during Wilson's presidency, regarded as a good president in most accounts, featured only a paragraph about the Spanish flu amidst the World War, the founding of the UN, women's suffrage, and prohibition. Whereas all I remember about Harding was Teapot dome, and I had to look that up to know it was him.
I presume then our authors will focus on the Capitol Hill insurrection, as 45's Teapot Dome, covered quickly before moving on to the South China Sea War, Facebook prohibition, and voting rights for uplifted lizardmen in the decade of 2030.
posted by pwnguin at 8:23 PM on February 7, 2021 [11 favorites]
Sadly, I don't think that's correct. Based on my recollections, American history books compress poor, one term presidencies to a single scandal at best. Even during Wilson's presidency, regarded as a good president in most accounts, featured only a paragraph about the Spanish flu amidst the World War, the founding of the UN, women's suffrage, and prohibition. Whereas all I remember about Harding was Teapot dome, and I had to look that up to know it was him.
I presume then our authors will focus on the Capitol Hill insurrection, as 45's Teapot Dome, covered quickly before moving on to the South China Sea War, Facebook prohibition, and voting rights for uplifted lizardmen in the decade of 2030.
posted by pwnguin at 8:23 PM on February 7, 2021 [11 favorites]
"At this rate it's pure dumb luck that things aren't ultra fucked here in Miami, merely the same level of fucked they have been since summer. I have been gobsmacked at the number of tourists renting AirBnBs in my neighborhood in the past month."
Right now Canadian newspapers are full of stories about Canadians who are hell bent on heading south despite 10 months of advice not to travel and new rules that make travel more onerous and expensive. A negative COVID-19 test is currently required before flying back into Canada, and soon (exact date unspecified) there will be mandatory testing on arrival as well, paired with a ~$2,000 stay in a quarantine facility (until their tests comes back negative, or - if they test positive - until 14 days elapses and they've recovered). Testing and quarantine are not yet required for land border entry into Canada, but the American border is closed to Canadians trying to drive south unless they are "essential workers" (eg. healthcare workers with jobs in the U.S., transport truck drivers, etc). So... Canadian vacationers are flying south and having their cars shipped across the border so they can return home by land to dodge the expensive quarantine requirement. It's just blindingly self-centered and entitled.
posted by Secret Sparrow at 8:26 PM on February 7, 2021 [27 favorites]
Right now Canadian newspapers are full of stories about Canadians who are hell bent on heading south despite 10 months of advice not to travel and new rules that make travel more onerous and expensive. A negative COVID-19 test is currently required before flying back into Canada, and soon (exact date unspecified) there will be mandatory testing on arrival as well, paired with a ~$2,000 stay in a quarantine facility (until their tests comes back negative, or - if they test positive - until 14 days elapses and they've recovered). Testing and quarantine are not yet required for land border entry into Canada, but the American border is closed to Canadians trying to drive south unless they are "essential workers" (eg. healthcare workers with jobs in the U.S., transport truck drivers, etc). So... Canadian vacationers are flying south and having their cars shipped across the border so they can return home by land to dodge the expensive quarantine requirement. It's just blindingly self-centered and entitled.
posted by Secret Sparrow at 8:26 PM on February 7, 2021 [27 favorites]
be mandatory testing on arrival as well,
Surely this would be better as arrive, wait two days in quarantine, then test? But it's not like science has been driving much public policy in the world.
posted by benzenedream at 8:57 PM on February 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
Surely this would be better as arrive, wait two days in quarantine, then test? But it's not like science has been driving much public policy in the world.
posted by benzenedream at 8:57 PM on February 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
don't understand the people who dispute the severity, or dispute the infection rates of Covid-19
Governments and media seem have reached an unspoken agreement not to cover parts of this pandemic, which involve showing the afflicted. As a result, people hear or read about x number of dead, treating it an abstract statistic that affects others, mostly, as the scale of it is otherwise too much to make sense of.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 9:46 PM on February 7, 2021 [10 favorites]
Governments and media seem have reached an unspoken agreement not to cover parts of this pandemic, which involve showing the afflicted. As a result, people hear or read about x number of dead, treating it an abstract statistic that affects others, mostly, as the scale of it is otherwise too much to make sense of.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 9:46 PM on February 7, 2021 [10 favorites]
Because she works in ICU, she gets proper PPE. Right now, a year into the pandemic, with a more contagious mutation circulating across the UK, healthcare staff treating people with diagnosed Covid are only given surgical masks, not FFP3s, unless they are doing what are considered "aerosol generating procedures". The guidance has not changed since last March. So healthcare support workers who are washing confused patients who are coughing don't get FFP3s. Nurses putting NG tubes down don't get FFP3s.
And please, as it's happening upthread, don't be fooled into blaming people around you. Yes, there are arseholes and self-centred people. But they exist worldwide, and I don't believe that the percentage of arseholes in countries that have dealt well with the pandemic is any less than anywhere else. Responses to any situation have to take into account human nature, and good ones do this. Governments and media which are mendacious, corrupt and incompetent have killed hundreds of thousands of people. Their actions tell the arseholes that it's ok to be arseholes. That you don't need to take the virus seriously. Put the blame with the mass murderers, not the petty arseholes.
posted by Vortisaur at 12:34 AM on February 8, 2021 [16 favorites]
And please, as it's happening upthread, don't be fooled into blaming people around you. Yes, there are arseholes and self-centred people. But they exist worldwide, and I don't believe that the percentage of arseholes in countries that have dealt well with the pandemic is any less than anywhere else. Responses to any situation have to take into account human nature, and good ones do this. Governments and media which are mendacious, corrupt and incompetent have killed hundreds of thousands of people. Their actions tell the arseholes that it's ok to be arseholes. That you don't need to take the virus seriously. Put the blame with the mass murderers, not the petty arseholes.
posted by Vortisaur at 12:34 AM on February 8, 2021 [16 favorites]
Kids are going to read all this in the history book and wonder what collective fucking insanity our society was under.
I've said since last spring that it appears that a large slice of our society is operating under some kind of death cult. These were the ones telling teachers to "git back to work" while also claiming that mask rules for children were just too onerous to bear.
posted by drstrangelove at 4:25 AM on February 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
I've said since last spring that it appears that a large slice of our society is operating under some kind of death cult. These were the ones telling teachers to "git back to work" while also claiming that mask rules for children were just too onerous to bear.
posted by drstrangelove at 4:25 AM on February 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
I feel like this virus' success is not just in being contagious, but in hijacking a deep human need (to clump together) plus our..propensity to adhere to the demands of our capitalist death cult, I guess?
People violating the ban seem very driven by one or both of those. (Though those forced to work with the public are driven just to eat and have shelter, so that's different.)
I mean, the description upthread about Canadians concocting schemes to fly and ship cars and so on...what is driving that? That's a lot of work just to visit the U.S., not exactly a once in a lifetime exotic vacation.
posted by emjaybee at 6:18 AM on February 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
People violating the ban seem very driven by one or both of those. (Though those forced to work with the public are driven just to eat and have shelter, so that's different.)
I mean, the description upthread about Canadians concocting schemes to fly and ship cars and so on...what is driving that? That's a lot of work just to visit the U.S., not exactly a once in a lifetime exotic vacation.
posted by emjaybee at 6:18 AM on February 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
I mean, the description upthread about Canadians concocting schemes to fly and ship cars and so on...what is driving that?
It's cold outside.
posted by Popular Ethics at 7:01 AM on February 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
It's cold outside.
posted by Popular Ethics at 7:01 AM on February 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
what is driving that?
It's a combination of "the rules don't apply to me" and "I'm smart enough to not catch it and even if I do I'll be OK, it's not that serious" (or "If I catch it I'm old enough anyway and so what if I die, that's my choice").
Of course this way of thinking hardly ever survives any contact with the virus itself, but as long as they manage to avoid any circumstances there is no way to make them change their minds.
posted by jontyjago at 7:49 AM on February 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
It's a combination of "the rules don't apply to me" and "I'm smart enough to not catch it and even if I do I'll be OK, it's not that serious" (or "If I catch it I'm old enough anyway and so what if I die, that's my choice").
Of course this way of thinking hardly ever survives any contact with the virus itself, but as long as they manage to avoid any circumstances there is no way to make them change their minds.
posted by jontyjago at 7:49 AM on February 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
Write to your MPs to close the land travel loophole. If people actually test and quarantine properly on their way in/out, travel all you want. It's mostly people not wanting to spend $4k on quarantine. If you have money to ship your car, you can afford quarantine time.
posted by benzenedream at 8:36 AM on February 8, 2021
posted by benzenedream at 8:36 AM on February 8, 2021
It's only a 3 day quarantine. Even with PCR it's just going to be a false negative factory. Then they're letting potentially infected people back into the community with a pinky swear and a false sense of security that they're not infectious to voluntarily complete the rest of the 14 day quarantine.
Canada's failure in light of a liberal government that supposedly values and listens to science and values people is utterly fucking infuriating.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 9:25 AM on February 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Canada's failure in light of a liberal government that supposedly values and listens to science and values people is utterly fucking infuriating.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 9:25 AM on February 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Not only is the NHS dealing with more Covid patients than ever, but the effects of the virus on the body are changing...the virus is also causing blood clots, more frequently this wave than during the first. “People are getting PEs [pulmonary embolisms, or blood clots in the lungs], but also all through their body, and we’re seeing heaps of amputations because these clots get formed,” says Scott.So, just to emphasize, the new variants are considerably more contagious AND they are more damaging and more deadly.
...
Even those who recover from Covid can continue to suffer. “The muscle loss in intensive care is insane, 15 or 10% a day,” says Scott. “They just wither away because they lose all their muscle. And Covid can cause multiple organ failure; their lungs are severely battered, and their heart, their kidneys. And there’s the emotional, neurological trauma of it all. It would take a long time for these patients to get back to normal life.”
Fuck this fucking fuck FUCK of a thing. Fuck it all.
posted by schadenfrau at 9:56 AM on February 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Like I can handle being withdrawn from society as long as it takes but what's really wearing my patience down at this point is watching a third of the country operate in complete disregard for another third.
Exactly this. I know basically two kinds of people: those who are going about their life with zero regard for covid existing, not wearing masks, not distancing, going to parties, flying recreationally, hanging out with all their friends; and those who are staying home and only going out when there is no other option, and then wearing one or even two masks religiously, keeping their distance, and washing hands like they're removing the top layer of skin.
The first half is living it up with seemingly no consequences, and the more selfishly they act, the longer the second half will have to keep isolating. It makes me so mad I could scream.
posted by fiercecupcake at 11:46 AM on February 8, 2021 [18 favorites]
Exactly this. I know basically two kinds of people: those who are going about their life with zero regard for covid existing, not wearing masks, not distancing, going to parties, flying recreationally, hanging out with all their friends; and those who are staying home and only going out when there is no other option, and then wearing one or even two masks religiously, keeping their distance, and washing hands like they're removing the top layer of skin.
The first half is living it up with seemingly no consequences, and the more selfishly they act, the longer the second half will have to keep isolating. It makes me so mad I could scream.
posted by fiercecupcake at 11:46 AM on February 8, 2021 [18 favorites]
I find it hard to buy the idea that patients are losing 10-15% muscle mass per day. Most bodies contain something like 30-40% muscle mass, more if you're young or male or a weightlifter, less if you're female or older or obese.
Take an average overweight man in their 40's or 50's, the kind that she says are dying. They probably have something roughly like 60 or 80 pounds of muscle on them to start. I cannot imagine the body eliminating 6-12 pounds of muscle per day. I mean, I don't even think that's physically possible.
The most I've seen listed as possible muscle loss per day is a kilogram (2.2 pounds). I just Googled and read a bunch of personal accounts and even the most dramatic of them lost 50 pounds in 57 days in the ICU for Covid, not exclusively muscle of course.
I suppose most people don't care about details like this, but her claim makes me trust her less and I'd like to know how this was calculated or if it was just a tossed-off guess. If indeed people in her ICU are burning through this outrageous amount of muscle, surely there would be all kinds of researchers working on an explanation for that.
posted by Flock of Cynthiabirds at 12:06 PM on February 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Take an average overweight man in their 40's or 50's, the kind that she says are dying. They probably have something roughly like 60 or 80 pounds of muscle on them to start. I cannot imagine the body eliminating 6-12 pounds of muscle per day. I mean, I don't even think that's physically possible.
The most I've seen listed as possible muscle loss per day is a kilogram (2.2 pounds). I just Googled and read a bunch of personal accounts and even the most dramatic of them lost 50 pounds in 57 days in the ICU for Covid, not exclusively muscle of course.
I suppose most people don't care about details like this, but her claim makes me trust her less and I'd like to know how this was calculated or if it was just a tossed-off guess. If indeed people in her ICU are burning through this outrageous amount of muscle, surely there would be all kinds of researchers working on an explanation for that.
posted by Flock of Cynthiabirds at 12:06 PM on February 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
I suppose most people don't care about details like this, but her claim makes me trust her less and I'd like to know how this was calculated or if it was just a tossed-off guess. If indeed people in her ICU are burning through this outrageous amount of muscle, surely there would be all kinds of researchers working on an explanation for that.
*stares*
....Let me get this straight - you are questioning the lived experience of an actual Covid Ward Nurse when it comes to the medical impact on her patients? Based on.....what data?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:54 PM on February 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
*stares*
....Let me get this straight - you are questioning the lived experience of an actual Covid Ward Nurse when it comes to the medical impact on her patients? Based on.....what data?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:54 PM on February 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
I mean, the description upthread about Canadians concocting schemes to fly and ship cars and so on...what is driving that?
In many cases, years of ingrained habit along with the risks for the most part being neither personal or immediate. They've spent the last 15 winters in Florida, so by God they're going to keep doing it. If there were immediate consequences for their actions, the they'd be a lot more likely to reconsider.
As it is, if you get sick here, there is an overwhelming likelihood you'll get an ICU bed if you need one because people have on average been doing exactly enough to keep a tiny bit of slack in the system, but no more. Thus, it looks fairly safe compared to many places yet isn't a total drag to be here.
posted by wierdo at 1:03 PM on February 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
In many cases, years of ingrained habit along with the risks for the most part being neither personal or immediate. They've spent the last 15 winters in Florida, so by God they're going to keep doing it. If there were immediate consequences for their actions, the they'd be a lot more likely to reconsider.
As it is, if you get sick here, there is an overwhelming likelihood you'll get an ICU bed if you need one because people have on average been doing exactly enough to keep a tiny bit of slack in the system, but no more. Thus, it looks fairly safe compared to many places yet isn't a total drag to be here.
posted by wierdo at 1:03 PM on February 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Let me get this straight - you are questioning the lived experience of an actual Covid Ward Nurse when it comes to the medical impact on her patients? Based on.....what data?
Not the poster, but the claim does seem more than a bit exaggerated. Here is a clinical study and actual measurement of loss of muscle in critical illness with multiple organ failures. What they found was a 12.5% decrease in the first 7 days (about 1.8% per day) and a 17.7% decrease by day 10.
I realize that these healthcare workers may be traumatized by their experiences, but unless they are doing actual muscle mass measurements, they are just estimating from what they see.
posted by JackFlash at 1:25 PM on February 8, 2021 [8 favorites]
Not the poster, but the claim does seem more than a bit exaggerated. Here is a clinical study and actual measurement of loss of muscle in critical illness with multiple organ failures. What they found was a 12.5% decrease in the first 7 days (about 1.8% per day) and a 17.7% decrease by day 10.
I realize that these healthcare workers may be traumatized by their experiences, but unless they are doing actual muscle mass measurements, they are just estimating from what they see.
posted by JackFlash at 1:25 PM on February 8, 2021 [8 favorites]
GOP Rep Ron Wright R-Texas dies from COVID the first sitting member of Congress to die from the virus.
posted by Windopaene at 1:39 PM on February 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Windopaene at 1:39 PM on February 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
> These were the ones telling teachers to "git back to work"
If your "git" is meant to imply that it's rural American Southerners who are saying it, that's unpleasant of you. There are jackasses everywhere, with all kinds of accents. But maybe it was a typo.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:15 PM on February 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
If your "git" is meant to imply that it's rural American Southerners who are saying it, that's unpleasant of you. There are jackasses everywhere, with all kinds of accents. But maybe it was a typo.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:15 PM on February 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
you are questioning the lived experience of an actual Covid Ward Nurse when it comes to the medical impact on her patients? Based on.....what data?
I also raised my eyebrows at that. I'm not questioning her experience, but it's pretty much not possible to lose literal kilograms of muscle mass daily without surgical intervention. The study JackFlash links to makes me think that the "guest reporter" presenting her account either dropped a decimal point or wrote "daily" when it should have been "weekly". A compounding daily loss of 1.5% over seven days is very close to a total of 10%, so either of these would be plausible.
Or both: suppose her original statement was “The muscle loss in intensive care is insane, 1.5% a day or 10% weekly”, and the last word got omitted. The statement wouldn't seem to make sense, and I can see a helpful subeditor correcting it by giving us "15 or 10% a day".
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:30 PM on February 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
I also raised my eyebrows at that. I'm not questioning her experience, but it's pretty much not possible to lose literal kilograms of muscle mass daily without surgical intervention. The study JackFlash links to makes me think that the "guest reporter" presenting her account either dropped a decimal point or wrote "daily" when it should have been "weekly". A compounding daily loss of 1.5% over seven days is very close to a total of 10%, so either of these would be plausible.
Or both: suppose her original statement was “The muscle loss in intensive care is insane, 1.5% a day or 10% weekly”, and the last word got omitted. The statement wouldn't seem to make sense, and I can see a helpful subeditor correcting it by giving us "15 or 10% a day".
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:30 PM on February 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
I don't think the important thing is to dwell on what seems to be an incorrect number, for whatever reason. I'm sure what the health workers are seeing is horrific enough without that number.
The important thing is that people do not go around repeating that number. When you cite bad data it damages your credibility. People might be inclined to dismiss all of your arguments about the danger of covid when they detect something isn't right.
posted by JackFlash at 7:58 PM on February 8, 2021
The important thing is that people do not go around repeating that number. When you cite bad data it damages your credibility. People might be inclined to dismiss all of your arguments about the danger of covid when they detect something isn't right.
posted by JackFlash at 7:58 PM on February 8, 2021
The important thing is that people do not go around repeating that number. When you cite bad data it damages your credibility. People might be inclined to dismiss all of your arguments about the danger of covid when they detect something isn't right.
Personally, I'd instead say that the important thing is to take the word of an eye witness who has medical training about the severity of the patients she sees, and to focus on the message she is urgently trying to convey to us about the severity of COVID as opposed to questioning the details she mentions, but I suppose that's just me....
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:27 PM on February 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
Personally, I'd instead say that the important thing is to take the word of an eye witness who has medical training about the severity of the patients she sees, and to focus on the message she is urgently trying to convey to us about the severity of COVID as opposed to questioning the details she mentions, but I suppose that's just me....
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:27 PM on February 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
Sorry, but I don't just "take the word" of anybody I don't know very well. We don't even know if she actually said this or the journalist made a transcription error.
Repeating dubious information is damaging to credibility. Proceed at your own risk.
The only reason I mentioned it is that "OMG! 10% to 15% a day" is just the sort of thing that can blow up and fly around the internet. I'm simply cautioning people to be careful.
posted by JackFlash at 8:52 PM on February 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
Repeating dubious information is damaging to credibility. Proceed at your own risk.
The only reason I mentioned it is that "OMG! 10% to 15% a day" is just the sort of thing that can blow up and fly around the internet. I'm simply cautioning people to be careful.
posted by JackFlash at 8:52 PM on February 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
I think that bikeshedding a single number in the middle of an emotional description of the human toll of a pandemic is a much faster way to destroy your credibility.
posted by zymil at 9:10 PM on February 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by zymil at 9:10 PM on February 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
Mod note: A few deleted. If folks would like to discuss issues with a thread, feel free to start a MetaTalk.
posted by travelingthyme (staff) at 7:25 AM on February 9, 2021
posted by travelingthyme (staff) at 7:25 AM on February 9, 2021
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