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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.)
This installment of "SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 related PSA combined with traditional weblogging and begging post" looks at various links related to the pandemic. This one's going to be kind of scattershot. It's now the end of May and I've been posting about two of these every week for quite a while. I'm considering dropping the frequency to maybe six for the entire month of June. But I'll keep my eye on things and may up the frequency if there's enough to post about, and that goes for July and beyond as well. Bear in mind that I'm expecting a jump in infection rates as states reopen, which may prompt enough articles to justify more frequent posts here. Anyway, on to today's links.
From the Science Dept.:
Targets of T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in humans with COVID-19 disease and unexposed individuals
From the "Slightly Weird Science" Dept.:
Fighting COVID-19 With... Llamas?!
From the "Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics" Dept.:
The Uncounted Dead: Why some people who likely died from COVID-19 aren’t included in the final numbers
Opinion | My Mother Died of the Coronavirus. It’s Time She Be Counted.
From the "No, Really, This Timeline Needed Even More Weirdness" Dept.:
Monkeys steal coronavirus blood samples in India
And finally back to the Science Dept.: An online acquaintance's family member was on a small cruise ship off South America back in March/April when all this got "real". Turns out there were a couple of medical docs with research backgrounds as passengers (and one working as one of two ship's docs) who have written up the test results and experience for the BMJ. They "describe what we believe is the first instance of complete COVID-19 testing of all passengers and crew on an isolated cruise ship during the current COVID-19 pandemic."
COVID-19: in the footsteps of Ernest Shackleton
And now let's continue on to the usual begging stuff. You probably know all this by now, but I'll say it anyway: before and in addition to the usual plea for help for ourselves, I'm going to ask those of you who are able 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. Please however, do so in a safe manner. Recent news shows that a lot of people, including some militant numbskulls VERY LOCAL to my parents, are acting quite UNintelligently about this. Don't be one of those.
And now, because after so long 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 two months (for which A GREAT BIG THANK YOU) and lots of you just can't. But even a spare fin or sawbuck, 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 as I also keep saying: unlikely as it may be in these times of pandemic-fueled recession, 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 are able to do. As more and more places either begin relaxing restrictions or relax them further, please practice the UTMOST caution: stay home as much as you can, go out to do what you must, and as I said last week, keep tabs on the infection rate for your vicinity, not just your state/province/country. 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.
This installment of "SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 related PSA combined with traditional weblogging and begging post" looks at various links related to the pandemic. This one's going to be kind of scattershot. It's now the end of May and I've been posting about two of these every week for quite a while. I'm considering dropping the frequency to maybe six for the entire month of June. But I'll keep my eye on things and may up the frequency if there's enough to post about, and that goes for July and beyond as well. Bear in mind that I'm expecting a jump in infection rates as states reopen, which may prompt enough articles to justify more frequent posts here. Anyway, on to today's links.
From the Science Dept.:
Targets of T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in humans with COVID-19 disease and unexposed individuals
From the "Slightly Weird Science" Dept.:
Fighting COVID-19 With... Llamas?!
From the "Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics" Dept.:
The Uncounted Dead: Why some people who likely died from COVID-19 aren’t included in the final numbers
Opinion | My Mother Died of the Coronavirus. It’s Time She Be Counted.
From the "No, Really, This Timeline Needed Even More Weirdness" Dept.:
Monkeys steal coronavirus blood samples in India
And finally back to the Science Dept.: An online acquaintance's family member was on a small cruise ship off South America back in March/April when all this got "real". Turns out there were a couple of medical docs with research backgrounds as passengers (and one working as one of two ship's docs) who have written up the test results and experience for the BMJ. They "describe what we believe is the first instance of complete COVID-19 testing of all passengers and crew on an isolated cruise ship during the current COVID-19 pandemic."
COVID-19: in the footsteps of Ernest Shackleton
And now let's continue on to the usual begging stuff. You probably know all this by now, but I'll say it anyway: before and in addition to the usual plea for help for ourselves, I'm going to ask those of you who are able 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. Please however, do so in a safe manner. Recent news shows that a lot of people, including some militant numbskulls VERY LOCAL to my parents, are acting quite UNintelligently about this. Don't be one of those.
And now, because after so long 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 two months (for which A GREAT BIG THANK YOU) and lots of you just can't. But even a spare fin or sawbuck, 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 as I also keep saying: unlikely as it may be in these times of pandemic-fueled recession, 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 are able to do. As more and more places either begin relaxing restrictions or relax them further, please practice the UTMOST caution: stay home as much as you can, go out to do what you must, and as I said last week, keep tabs on the infection rate for your vicinity, not just your state/province/country. 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.
