are numbers mounting? OR nothing to see here

A word about hydroxychloroquine/azithromycin usage to treat symptoms of COVID-19.
The initial study that has caused the sudden furor about using them in clinical settings was the study that Dr. Fauci cautioned everyone had an extremely small subset of patients (n = 26 and they lost 6 patients during the study) and requires a randomized, double-blind study in order to prove it's efficacy and safety. Be wary of anything touted as a "cure" that hasn't been proven properly, and always investigate who's making those claims.

Kenn White:

In fact there were originally 26 patients in the treatment group, but 3 were dropped because they got worse, 1 died, 1 quit, and 1 couldn't tolerate the drug. It's possible HCQ actually *increased* mortality, but simply inadequate data to draw conclusions.

The lead French investigator and team behind that non-randomized chloroquine paper has a history of faking data and being banned from journal publications. But there's more...the lead investigator of the study that was published in the "peer reviewed" journal (after one day of review) is also… the Editor in Chief of that journal.

Chloroquine genius Didier Raoult to save the world from COVID-19
Science journalism by Leonid Schneider, on research integrity and academic publishing in life sciences and biomedicine
March 26, 2020

Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is about to be stopped by a stroke of a French “genius” with a history of publishing manipulated data.

To prove that, Raoult treated 26 patients at his institution with the derivative hydroxychloroquine, alone and in combination with the antibiotic (meaning antibacterial!) drug azithromycine. The study was not randomised, ethically approved only after it already began, and it was not really controlled: the 16 control patients were treated in different clinics.

After some adjustments (patients removed, data points guessed), a preprint was published simultaneously with a paper in a peer reviewed journal Raoult basically controls.

Lots of good points and links at this one, although it is a blog and not a scientific study or news media article.
An observational study without a control group
Science Integrity Digest: A blog about science integrity, by Elisabeth Bik, for Harbers-Bik LLC
March 30, 2020

Why is it important to conduct randomized, double-blind studies on potential drug therapies? To remove biases, conscious and unconscious, from both the investigators and the participants. It's also important to make sure it's safe. There are reports that some COVID-19 patients are dying of cardiac arrest, and these drugs are known to cause that. It's imperative to ensure the cure isn't worse than the disease (fingers crossed it is helpful, absolutely).

Urgent guidance, approach to identify patients at risk of drug-induced sudden cardiac death from use of off-label COVID-19 treatments
Science Daily from the Mayo Clinic | March 25, 2020

Summary:
Some of the medications being used to treat COVID-19 are known to cause drug-induced prolongation of the QTc of some people. Patients with a dangerously prolonged QTc are at increased risk for potentially life-threatening ventricular rhythm abnormalities that can culminate in sudden cardiac death. A new study details more information about potential dangers and the application of QTc monitoring to guide treatment when using drugs that can cause heart rhythm changes.

I want to share just some of the things our former Elk Creek Fire Chief Bill McLaughlin has posted lately. Why, might you ask? Because I think it's important to put this pandemic into perspective. It's not just about absolute numbers, but about available resources, and how those who serve our communities are fighting to handle this and provide the best care to those whom they serve. It's about the fact that though we keep hearing that this primarily affects the oldest in our population,younger adults and our children are not immune. Take this seriously, stay home and stay safe; our scientists and our leaders are not over-reacting.

March 23rd

Some of you still think this is the flu. Right now I'm listening to my crews instead of sleeping. I have 3 ambulances transporting covid patients right now. We normally get 3 ambulance calls a day, not 3 at a time. Our hospital has been evacuated and the patients have to be transported 1.5 hours away. The hospital is shut down because 25 % of the staff is sick. One of the patients right now is 2 years old. Others today have been in their 30s and 40s. In the morning I am requesting 2 more ambulances from Boise. That will make 10 ambulances running in a county of 25,000 people.

When the next hospital goes on divert, our travel times will be 3 hours each way. If you need a ventilator, and the two at our hospital are being used, you may get an EMT to squeeze a bag valve mask for 3 hours in a mask and gown. Or not.

It won't be old people who overload the hospitals. If you're old and immunocompromised, you dont last long. If you're young and get pneumonia, you might hog that bed for 20 days. Yes, young people get sick. And some of them die.

Make that 4 ambulances out at once. It's going to be a long night.

Were a small town. Think about that. And every 2 days the number of sick people doubles.

More than 5 dozen Idaho residents confirmed to have COVID-19
Idaho News | March 23, 2020
Sun Valley, Idaho: 'No One Should Come Here'
Kirk Siegler, NPR | March 27, 2020

March 31st

Another way you can help...call your neighbors. If you have neighbors that live alone, call and check up on them. We had a person who has been calling his sick neighbor every few days. When he didn't answer yesterday, he called us. His neighbor is now in the hospital and has a chance. If the person had not called, he would not have made it until today.

All hands on deck in Blaine County as COVID-19 takes heavy toll
Author: Kim Fields, KTVB7 | April 1, 2020
Why an Idaho Ski Destination Has One of the Highest COVID-19 Infection Rates in the Nation
By Michael Ames, The New Yorker | April 3, 2020
April 5th

The crew is out right now picking up a 4 year old with severe COVID symptoms right now. Yes, if you're under 50 you may be tough enough to power through. You may also kill your grandmother, your aunt or even your little sister.

April 8th

So, I know I have posted a few tough things over the past month. In a time full of bad news, you all have been great about sharing things other than the hard times. Keep them coming.

To date we are still the hardest hit county in the country per capita, although many NY counties are now catching up. It has been a long month.

Today, I have much better news to share. A few minutes ago, we announced a study to measure serum antibody levels in the general public. This will be one of the first in the country to measure how many people developed antibodies from exposure to the coronavirus but weren't tested. Instead of guessing about how many people develop the virus but never show symptoms, we'll be able to answer that with data. We should be able to show what the curve looks like and better predict when restrictions on business and travel can begin to be lifted.

It feels good to be helping fight back instead of just picking up the pieces.

Here's that study: Ketchum to participate in COVID-19 study

White House Coronavirus Task Force Members Testify on Coronavirus Response and Reopening Phases
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Robert Redfield and other members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force testified on the response and reopening phases before the Senate Health Committee.
www.c-span.org/video/?471837-1/white-hou...eopening-phases&live