damont

(Originally posted to my GoFundMe, and backdated to the date of that original post. This is basically copied verbatim (modulo formatting), including the fundraising stuff at the end; I *was* posting to GoFundMe after all. Feel free to ignore those bits if you want. Link to the fundraiser will be provided in the comments and upon request.)

In today's "SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 related PSA combined with the traditional begging post" installment, we return to Derek Lowe's updates in his blog for Science Translational Medicine. I'll probably link to his updates at least once a week for the foreseeable future just so I don't get too horribly behind. So here are some of his posts from the last fortnight.

"Omeprazole As An Additive For Coronavirus Therapy"

"Coronavirus Vaccine Prospects"

"More Small Molecule Clinical Data Against Covid-19, As of April 16"

"Good News on the Coronavirus-Angiotensin Connection"

"Watching For Mutations in the Coronavirus"

That gets me up to the middle of this past week. Now it's time for the typical begging stuff. As regular readers may have come to expect, in addition to the usual plea for help for ourselves, I'm going to start by asking those of you who can to SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES that are still open. Help keep your local economy a little bit more afloat, as and if you can. And remember that once the worst of this has passed, locally owned businesses will be struggling to get back on their feet, so please be ready to patronize them as much as you can when it's time for them to reopen. One way to do this is via the #LeftoversChallenge as I discussed earlier this week.

And now, because we STILL can't afford shame, here's my shameless and desperate plea for help. Please PLEASE spread the word as much as you feel able; share this fundraiser on lots of social media, by email, even by writing the link on pieces of paper and passing them around. Encourage folks you know to donate and to spread the word themselves. I've long since estimated that I'll need about 1,000 different contributors to make the goal, so getting the word out is important. And IF YOU ARE ABLE TO, please donate! We know that some of you have done so in the past month (for which A GREAT BIG THANK YOU) and lots of you just can't. But even a spare 5 or 10 bucks, if that's all you can afford, is appreciated. Every little bit helps. (Remember, NO FEELING GUILTY if you don't have the means to contribute, or enough spoons to spread the word as far as you'd like.) And just as with the last couple dozen of these photo-less begging posts, if you have any job leads for either of us, PLEASE contact us! Relocation is TOTALLY an option.

Again, if anyone here actually is in a position to help out, right now would be a truly awesome time to do so. If you can't, you can't; I understand that better than most... thanks in advance for whatever you can do, and best greetings of the season to you and yours. If you live somewhere where SARS-CoV-2 has made a really big dent, may this wave of the infection peak SOONEST if it hasn't already. If you live in a place where the virus was taking longer to spread to, please CONTINUE staying at home and only going out as needed. Yes, that will make it take longer for the wave of infection to peak in your area, but this way the medical systens in your area won't be overwhelmed and fewer people will die. STAY SAFE. Wash your hands, keep hydrated, boost your immune system by whatever means works for you. Practice social distancing as much you realistically can. Keep in touch with your friends and loved ones from a safe distance. Tell them you care and that you're thinking of them. And as always, thank you for your continued support.