Rethinking accountability in the wake of the pandemic.
This event has exposed a lot of shibboleths.
Category Archives: Health
The Millions-Ventilator Myth
How the misinformation spread.
You should really, really, really not want to be put on a ventilator. It’s sort of like ejecting from an aircraft; attempted suicide to avoid certain death.
Are We Using Ventilators Wrong?
Do patients need oxygen rather than pressure? Are we doing more harm than good with the ventilators?
[Via Kate McMillan, who has more]
[Update mid-afternoon]
This didn’t get much attention in comments a few days ago, but let’s try to boost the signal. I just did, on Twitter:
It’s Not A Choice
…between living and the economy.
And no one gets out of here alive.
Crisis
Real and imagined.
Data And Numbers
Where are we really with the virus?
Note that (as is often the case with healthcare statistics) different countries are keeping books differently, making it difficult to compare. I continue to believe that the fatality rate will ultimately end up being far below one percent.
[Update early afternoon]
A lot of links from Instapundit. Things are looking better than the models. One I found of interest is that if we can believe Chinese data, four out of five cases are asymptomatic.
Fingernails
They harbor the virus; keep them short. Makes sense, though it will affect women’s fashion considerably.
The News Media
No other institution has failed the public worse. Which is pretty sad, considering the competition.
[Update mid afternoon]
The media lied, people died. And this was driven purely by Trump derangement. If he said something might be useful, it couldn’t possibly be.
[Update a few minutes later]
Great. It may be that the virus can spread through normal breathing. I don’t know; seems like it would be spreading much faster if that was the case. But we continue to suffer from a lack of data.
The Toilet-Paper Shortage
It’s not about hoarding.
That makes sense. It would imply that places who specialize in supplying businesses, like Smart and Final in LA, would have plenty.
[Update a while later]
It’s disrupting the locavore supply chain as well.
We’re now seeing the fragility of our civilizational infrastructure. It needs to be more robust and resilient.
A Fit Of Sanity
San Francisco (!) has reversed its plastic-bag ban, and instead (finally) banned reusable bags.
Hopefully this won’t be temporary; it was always stupid.
[Update a few minutes later]
Katherine was prescient (as was I).