Public Health: Tips and information on how to prepare for the epidemic, avoid illness and protect our communities.

[DIY-HP-LED]

Here are the preliminary results of a small pilot trial using blood plasma from recovered covid-19 patients, results were very promising 5 for 5.
This is an old technique and can leverage the large scale blood collection and plasma making infrastructure already in place for blood donations. It's scalable, doable and highly effective, this treatment has the potential to lower mortality rates to that of the flu. Lowering mortality rates will reduce public fear and fear is what will kill the economy. Using this method alone we can have a huge impact on mortality rates and the need for mechanical ventilation. This is just the beginning of a larger study though, to get much better answers and establish treatment protocols. Larger scale studies are underway now in many countries, but the method is a tried and true one.

Avoid getting this bug for the next few months in a developed country (or anyone with a blood donation program) and your odds of survival will most likely be dramatically improved.
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Treatment of Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19 With Convalescent Plasma

This case series describes clinical outcomes in 5 Chinese patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, ARDS, and high viral loads despite antiviral treatment who were given human plasma with SARS-CoV-2 antibodies obtained from previously infected and recovered patients.

jamanetwork.com

Treatment of 5 Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19 With Convalescent Plasma

Key Points
Question Could administration of convalescent plasma transfusion be beneficial in the treatment of critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)?

Findings In this uncontrolled case series of 5 critically ill patients with COVID-19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), administration of convalescent plasma containing neutralizing antibody was followed by an improvement in clinical status.

Meaning These preliminary findings raise the possibility that convalescent plasma transfusion may be helpful in the treatment of critically ill patients with COVID-19 and ARDS, but this approach requires evaluation in randomized clinical trials.

Abstract
Importance Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic with no specific therapeutic agents and substantial mortality. It is critical to find new treatments.

Objective To determine whether convalescent plasma transfusion may be beneficial in the treatment of critically ill patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

Design, Setting, and Participants Case series of 5 critically ill patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) who met the following criteria: severe pneumonia with rapid progression and continuously high viral load despite antiviral treatment; Pao2/Fio2 <300; and mechanical ventilation. All 5 were treated with convalescent plasma transfusion. The study was conducted at the infectious disease department, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital in Shenzhen, China, from January 20, 2020, to March 25, 2020; final date of follow-up was March 25, 2020. Clinical outcomes were compared before and after convalescent plasma transfusion.

Exposures Patients received transfusion with convalescent plasma with a SARS-CoV-2–specific antibody (IgG) binding titer greater than 1:1000 (end point dilution titer, by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]) and a neutralization titer greater than 40 (end point dilution titer) that had been obtained from 5 patients who recovered from COVID-19. Convalescent plasma was administered between 10 and 22 days after admission.

Main Outcomes and Measures Changes of body temperature, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score (range 0-24, with higher scores indicating more severe illness), Pao2/Fio2, viral load, serum antibody titer, routine blood biochemical index, ARDS, and ventilatory and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) supports before and after convalescent plasma transfusion.

Results All 5 patients (age range, 36-65 years; 2 women) were receiving mechanical ventilation at the time of treatment and all had received antiviral agents and methylprednisolone. Following plasma transfusion, body temperature normalized within 3 days in 4 of 5 patients, the SOFA score decreased, and Pao2/Fio2 increased within 12 days (range, 172-276 before and 284-366 after). Viral loads also decreased and became negative within 12 days after the transfusion, and SARS-CoV-2–specific ELISA and neutralizing antibody titers increased following the transfusion (range, 40-60 before and 80-320 on day 7). ARDS resolved in 4 patients at 12 days after transfusion, and 3 patients were weaned from mechanical ventilation within 2 weeks of treatment. Of the 5 patients, 3 have been discharged from the hospital (length of stay: 53, 51, and 55 days), and 2 are in stable condition at 37 days after transfusion.

Conclusions and Relevance In this preliminary uncontrolled case series of 5 critically ill patients with COVID-19 and ARDS, administration of convalescent plasma containing neutralizing antibody was followed by improvement in their clinical status. The limited sample size and study design preclude a definitive statement about the potential effectiveness of this treatment, and these observations require evaluation in clinical trials.
more...

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

In Canada we have a blood donation agency, plasma will be free and it will be properly organised. In America, find someone to bleed.
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A desperate scramble as COVID-19 families vie for access to plasma therapy

In the past two weeks, blood centers across the U.S. have accelerated efforts to collect COVID-19 convalescent plasma on the theory it contains protective antibodies.

www.nbcnews.com

A desperate scramble as COVID-19 families vie for access to plasma therapy
In the past two weeks, blood centers across the U.S. have accelerated efforts to collect COVID-19 convalescent plasma on the theory it contains protective antibodies.

Stephen Garcia's family is frantic. The auto body worker, just 32 years old, has been on a ventilator in a Los Angeles-area hospital for nearly two weeks, gravely ill with COVID-19, unresponsive — and unaware of the battle they're waging on his behalf.

For days, Garcia's mother, his aunt and his girlfriend have pleaded with doctors at Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center to try an experimental treatment — blood plasma from people recovered from COVID-19 — in hopes of saving his life.


Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

They know it's not at all a sure thing. But they've seen stories from across the country: an anesthesiologist in Colorado, an Orlando father of three, a dozen patients at a hospital in Texas, all of whom have received what's known as convalescent plasma, an investigational therapy to halt the deadly virus. And they wonder why Garcia — the outgoing, ambitious father of a 9-year-old girl — can't get it, too.
more...

 

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Vaccines, Antibodies and Drug Libraries. The Possible COVID-19 Treatments Researchers Are Excited About

From vaccines to antibodies, here's are the most promising COVID-19 treatment so far.

time.com

Vaccines, Antibodies and Drug Libraries. The Possible COVID-19 Treatments Researchers Are Excited About

n early April, about four months after a new, highly infectious coronavirus was first identified in China, an international group of scientists reported encouraging results from a study of an experimental drug for treating the viral disease known as COVID-19.

It was a small study, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, but showed that remdesivir, an unapproved drug that was originally developed to fight Ebola, helped 68% of patients with severe breathing problems due to COVID-19 to improve; 60% of those who relied on a ventilator to breathe and took the drug were able to wean themselves off the machines after 18 days.

Repurposing drugs designed to treat other diseases to now treat COVID-19 is one of the quickest ways to find a new therapy to control the current pandemic. Also in April, researchers at Vanderbilt University enrolled the first patients in a much-anticipated study of hydroxychloroquine. It’s already approved to treat malaria and certain autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus but hasn’t been studied, until now, against coronavirus. Yet the medication has become a sought-after COVID-19 treatment after first Chinese doctors, and then President Trump touted its potential in treating COVID-19. The data from China is promising but not conclusive, and infectious disease experts, including Trump’s coronavirus task force scientific advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, aren’t convinced it’s ready for prime time yet in America’s emergency rooms and intensive care units.
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[DIY-HP-LED]

Remdesivir Treatment is being covered by CNN now. The preliminary results are extremely promising, but again, we need a proper study, the preliminary results are very interesting, spectacular in fact. Donald will be touting it tonight as the next miracle cure. One good thing, they won't have access to it like HCQ. I believe they've been cranking up production for awhile on a hope and a prayer.
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Coronavirus Pandemic Update 57: Remdesivir Treatment Update and Can UV-C Disinfect Public Spaces?

COVID-19 Update 57 with Roger Seheult, MD of https://www.MedCram.com
Stat News has reported on preliminary data about Remdesivir that appears promising. Due to its short wavelength, UV-C light may have the benefit of killing viruses such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2, but not damaging human skin.

See The MedCram Coronavirus Update 33 referenced in this video:

 

[hanimmal]

Remdesivir Treatment is being covered by CNN now.

Guess all that 'organic' linking get enough hits to get him noticed on Youtube. Congrats!

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

For those nursing themselves or others through a covid-19 infection, this form can be used to record useful information for your doctor or healthcare provider.
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Friday 17th April, Good and simple idea - covid-19

Dr. John Campbell

Here is the form:

http://www.100avefmc.com/images/doc/record.pdf

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

Guess all that 'organic' linking get enough hits to get him noticed on Youtube. Congrats!

He gives a pretty good explanation of it's mechanism of operation in #33. He is reporting unofficial results that are going around the medical world now, this give us an inside peek. Expect the Trump crowd to seize on any potential treatment, good or dangerous. I didn't expect much from Remdesivir, it looks like I might be very wrong, I hope so, the preliminary results appear to have a very pronounced positive effect. More studies are on the way to get the answers and treatment protocols.

I'll bet the Trumpers weren't too interested in sauna bathing or forest bathing for that matter. He's not a Trumper, he's one of those American heroes in scrubs and he treats covid -19 patients while risking his life and health like all the rest of them.

Expect Donald to tout it on tonight's dog and pony show, provided he can pronounce the word Remdesivir.

 

[hanimmal]

He gives a pretty good explanation of it's mechanism of operation in #33. He is reporting unofficial results that are going around the medical world now, this give us an inside peek. Expect the Trump crowd to seize on any potential treatment, good or dangerous. I didn't expect much from Remdesivir, it looks like I might be very wrong, I hope so, the preliminary results appear to have a very pronounced positive effect. More studies are on the way to get the answers and treatment protocols.

I'll bet the Trumpers weren't too interested in sauna bathing or forest bathing for that matter. He's not a Trumper, he's one of those American heroes in scrubs and he treats covid -19 patients while risking his life and health like all the rest of them.

Expect Donald to tout it on tonight's dog and pony show, provided he can pronounce the word Remdesivir.

We'll see.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

We'll see.

I wanna see the predictive power of my model of Donald's behavior, he is a creature of habit and one of those habits is grasping at straws while overhyping everything in sight. If fox news is covering it too, and they should be, it's a sure bet, if not, his right wing network of hacks will give him the info. The difference is, this one might actually work and is not a public danger like his touting of HCQ, this one is harder to obtain, but I believe they ramped up production on a hope and a prayer a couple of months ago, the bet might have paid off.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

Early peek at data on Gilead coronavirus drug suggests patients are responding to treatment

A Chicago hospital treating severe Covid-19 patients with Gilead's remdesivir is seeing rapid recoveries in fever and respiratory symptoms, STAT has learned.

www.statnews.com

Early peek at data on Gilead coronavirus drug suggests patients are responding to treatment

A Chicago hospital treating severe Covid-19 patients with Gilead Sciences’ antiviral medicine remdesivir in a closely watched clinical trial is seeing rapid recoveries in fever and respiratory symptoms, with nearly all patients discharged in less than a week, STAT has learned.

Remdesivir was one of the first medicines identified as having the potential to impact SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19, in lab tests. The entire world has been waiting for results from Gilead’s clinical trials, and positive results would likely lead to fast approvals by the Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory agencies. If safe and effective, it could become the first approved treatment against the disease.

The University of Chicago Medicine recruited 125 people with Covid-19 into Gilead’s two Phase 3 clinical trials. Of those people, 113 had severe disease. All the patients have been treated with daily infusions of remdesivir

“The best news is that most of our patients have already been discharged, which is great. We’ve only had two patients perish,” said Kathleen Mullane, the University of Chicago infectious disease specialist overseeing the remdesivir studies for the hospital.

Her comments were made this week during a video discussion about the trial results with other University of Chicago faculty members. The discussion was recorded and STAT obtained a copy of the video.

The outcomes offer only a snapshot of remdesivir’s effectiveness. The same trials are being run concurrently at other institutions, and it’s impossible to determine the full study results with any certainty. Still, no other clinical data from the Gilead studies have been released to date, and excitement is high. Last month, President Trump touted the potential for remdesivir — as he has for many still-unproven treatments — and said it “seems to have a very good result.”

In a statement Thursday, Gilead said: “What we can say at this stage is that we look forward to data from ongoing studies becoming available.”

Gilead had said to expect results for its trial involving severe cases in April. Mullane said during her presentation that data for the first 400 patients in the study would be “locked” by Gilead Thursday, meaning that results could come any day.

Mullane, while encouraged by the University of Chicago data, made clear her own hesitancy about drawing too many conclusions.

“It’s always hard,” she said, because the severe trial doesn’t include a placebo group for comparison. “But certainly when we start [the] drug, we see fever curves falling,” she said. “Fever is now not a requirement for people to go on trial, we do see when patients do come in with high fevers, they do [reduce] quite quickly. We have seen people come off ventilators a day after starting therapy. So, in that realm, overall our patients have done very well.”

She added: “Most of our patients are severe and most of them are leaving at six days, so that tells us duration of therapy doesn’t have to be 10 days. We have very few that went out to 10 days, maybe three,” she said.

Reached by STAT, Mullane confirmed the authenticity of the footage but declined to comment further. In a statement, the University of Chicago Medicine said “drawing any conclusions at this point is premature and scientifically unsound.”

Asked about the data, Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, described them as “encouraging.”

“The severely hit patients are at such high-risk of fatality. So if it’s true that many of the 113 patients were in this category and were discharged, it’s another positive signal that the drug has efficacy,” he said, adding that it will be important to see more data from randomized controlled studies.

Gilead’s severe Covid-19 study includes 2,400 participants from 152 different clinical trial sites all over the world. Its moderate Covid-19 study includes 1,600 patients in 169 different centers, also all over the world.

The trial is investigating five- and 10-day treatment courses of remdesivir. The primary goal is a statistical comparison of patient improvement between the two treatment arms. Improvement is measured using a seven-point numerical scale that encompasses death (at worst) and discharge from hospital (best outcome), with various degrees of supplemental oxygen and intubation in between.

The lack of a control arm in the study could make interpreting the results more challenging.

A lack of data has led to yo-yoing expectations for the drug. Two studies in China had enrollment suspended partway through because there were not enough patients available. A recent report of patients given the drug under a special program to make it available to those who are very ill generated both excitement and skepticism.

In scientific terms, all the data are anecdotal until the full trial reads out, meaning that they should not be used to draw final conclusions. But some of the anecdotes are dramatic.

Slawomir Michalak, a 57-year-old factory worker from a suburb west of Chicago, was among the participants in the Chicago study. One of his daughters started feeling ill in late March and was later diagnosed with mild Covid-19. Michalak, by contrast, came down with a high fever and reported shortness of breath and severe pain in his back.

“It felt like someone was punching me in the lungs,” he told STAT.

At his wife’s urging, Michalak went to the University of Chicago Medicine hospital on Friday, April 3. His fever had spiked to 104 and he was struggling to breath. At the hospital, he was given supplemental oxygen. He also agreed to participate in Gilead’s severe Covid-19 clinical trial.

His first infusion of remdesivir was on Saturday, April 4. “My fever dropped almost immediately and I started to feel better,” he said.

By his second dose on Sunday, Michalak said he was being weaned off oxygen. He received two more daily infusions of remdesivir and recovered enough to be discharged from the hospital on Tuesday, April 7.

“Remdesivir was a miracle,” he said.

The world is waiting to find out if it is really so.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

Any treatment that can knock the mortality rate of covid-19 down to flu levels will be a game changer, if the preliminary results for remdesivir are true for the larger clinical trials, then this could get things up and running. Using this and convalescent plasma transfers, even the very old and sick might survive a covid-19 infection. There is going to be intense interest in this potential treatment and if it works as described, it will probably mean extra ventilators might not be required.

The fastest way to restore the economy is to reduce the mortality rate and severity of the illness, then you remove the terror many people feel, herd immunity, normally unthinkable, becomes a viable option too. This is just the first of several potential treatments in the pipeline and should make avoiding this bug for the next couple of months the top priority for the old and vulnerable. The implications of this might be profound and could involve allowing the population to become infected at a controlled rate, shortening the curve by raising it significantly while protecting the vulnerable until herd immunity took effect.

America might not be in such a dismal place after all, there might actually be a way or several out of the trap, options might be greatly expanded. None of this will help Donald get reelected, he has been exposed for what he is, a loser and the economic damage won't be healed overnight either, but hope and optimism can do amazing things for an economy.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

An earlier story on remdesivir at stat, we should be getting reliable data within days.
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Data for Gilead's potential coronavirus therapy are coming soon. Here's what you need to know

Sometime this month, Chinese scientists will share results from two trials testing Gilead’s remdesivir as a coronavirus therapy. Here’s a breakdown of what the data could show, and what’s next.

www.statnews.com

Data for Gilead’s potential coronavirus therapy are coming soon. Here’s what you need to know

This month, the world should get the first results from a clinical trial testing the drug remdesivir against Covid-19. They will get a lot of attention.
Remdesivir, made by the California biotech Gilead Sciences, is one of the potential Covid-19 therapies that is furthest along in the development process. The results, from studies in China, could signal whether the drug can effectively combat the infection — and under which circumstances. So far, there is no proven treatment for the coronavirus.

But just how much can be gleaned from these announcements? Will they be the final word on remdesivir? And how can the company supply the drug to patients around the world who might need it?
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[DIY-HP-LED]

Report: Covid-19 patients recovering quickly after getting experimental drug

Covid-19 patients who are getting an experimental drug called remdesivir have been recovering quickly, with most going home in days, STAT News reported Thursday after it obtained a video of a conversation about the trial.

www.cnn.com

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Report: Covid-19 patients recovering quickly after getting experimental drug remdesivir
(CNN)Covid-19 patients who are getting an experimental drug called remdesivir have been recovering quickly, with most going home in days, STAT News reported Thursday after it obtained a video of a conversation about the trial.
The patients taking part in a clinical trial of the drug have all had severe respiratory symptoms and fever, but were able to leave the hospital after less than a week of treatment, STAT quoted the doctor leading the trial as saying.
"The best news is that most of our patients have already been discharged, which is great. We've only had two patients perish," Dr. Kathleen Mullane, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Chicago who is leading the clinical trial, said in the video.
more...

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

3D Animation video of how Remdesivir works

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

A better animation
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[COVID-19 and Remdesivir animation] How Coronavirus replicates and How Remdesivir works?

 

[blu3bird]

Hey Michigan folks, here's a friendly heads up

I found hand sanitizer by the gallon for $25 at Mobil gas station, the clerk told me all Mobil stations will have it. 80% ethanol solution spray

I got one today to have in my work truck

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

Hey Michigan folks, here's a friendly heads up

I found hand sanitizer by the gallon for $25 at Mobil gas station, the clerk told me all Mobil stations will have it. 80% ethanol solution spray

I got one today to have in my work truck
View attachment 4537433

People will be drinking that shit! Looks like the main ingredient of a Trump cocktail, they use iso for a reason, not because its cheaper either!

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

 

[potroastV2]

Hey Michigan folks, here's a friendly heads up

I found hand sanitizer by the gallon for $25 at Mobil gas station, the clerk told me all Mobil stations will have it. 80% ethanol solution spray

I got one today to have in my work truck

LOL A gallon of gasoline is only $2.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

Hey @Budley Doright You were thinking about a UVC box project, have a gander.

DIY UV disinfection box for N95 masks and other equipment, fight coronavirus video!

In this video I'll show you how to make a DIY ultraviolet disinfection and sterilization box using common materials found around the house. This can be used to disinfect used N95 masks and other items that may be contaminated with coronavirus (COVID-19), or other pathogens. The total cost of the materials for this project is less than $120. You can make a box for yourself, or you can give one to your local hospital, clinic, fire, or police department to help them out.