Trump and first lady about to quarantine, as of now.

a reply to: rnaa

Do you realize what kind of screenings are needed to even access the White House? Staff are randomly tested every few days at least and are required to quarantine in compliance with CDC guidelines if a positive test is found. Even reporters have to undergo a temperature check to attend a presser; if the temperature is high, go away. The medical staff have enacted what was thought to be an impenetrable barrier around Trump and his senior officials. Thus, there seemed to be no reason to use masks in the inner circles of the administration. I would imagine, at age 74, Trump's hearing is not what it used to be. Neither is mine* (although I am not 74 yet) and I can verify that hearing loss makes it very difficult to understand speech spoken through a face mask. I have personally asked several people to please lower their mask so I can understand them.

That perimeter obviously failed. I see that as more a tribute to the contagiousness of the virus than a condemnation of the security in place. I have stated since March if memory serves that everyone will eventually catch this virus. It's just too contagious for that not to be the case.

Luckily, the virus is not an issue for most people. For the unlucky ones, it's a very bad cold. For a few of those, it will require hospitalization. For a small fraction of those, the truly unlucky, they may not leave the hospital. Also luckily, as Trump's release has shown, we have some pretty major advancements in treatment. Early on in the pandemic, this little episode could have been far, far more serious.

I am especially interested in the REGN-COV2 cocktail created by Regeneron. We can apparently now make custom antibodies! That's a pretty huge technological leap right there, and it gives the victim a head start against not just this virus, but any future viruses that may appear. Apparently REGN-COV2 is in Phase III trials, so I hope it is released for use shortly. The FDA can issue an emergency approval at the end of Phase III, allowing the cocktail to be used in treatment while Phase IV (which is really just tweaking optimal dosages and verifying questions) runs simultaneously. They certainly should consider that. Thanks to REGN-COV2 and Remdesivir (another drug that is showing promise), Trump left the hospital after three days feeling fine. He will still be monitored for an overly aggressive infection response, but I doubt the doctors would have released him willingly had they had major concerns.

It appears the argument over masks is about to become a moot point. With the treatments we have seen work on President Trump and vaccines right around the corner, maybe, just maybe, we can get back to normal.

* When I was young, people used to tell me that I would go deaf listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd at 120 db. Problem was, I couldn't hear them over the Lynyrd Skynyrd at 120 db.


TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

Do you realize what kind of screenings are needed to even access the White House?

and yet...?

a reply to: rnaa

Already answered in the last post.

TheRedneck