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znModeratorWhile Kelly Loeffler was insisting fears of coronavirus were being hyped by Democrats to hurt Trump, she and her husband also invested in a company that makes medical protective gear https://t.co/GlVtDYJKts
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) April 5, 2020
znModeratormichael_nielsen@michael_nielsen
Bill Gates is setting up factories to manufacture 7 leading vaccine candidates before we know which is best & safest; we can test the vaccines in parallel, and then throw away all but the factory for the best vaccine. May save many months.znModerator“It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” — Yogi Berra
znModeratorCameron DaSilva@camdasilva
Linebacker and pass rush are huge question marks. Secondary and D-line are looking great though. Go get a pass rusher at 52 and you’re in businessznModeratorClinical Trials Set To Determine If Anti-Malaria Drug Effective Against COVID-19
A pack of Plaquenil, (Hydrochloroquine) is displayed in a Parisian pharmacy on Tuesday in Paris, France. Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine, is now one treatments being evaluated in clinical trials as a possible preventative or treatment for COVID-19.
Laurent Viteur/Getty Images
A nationwide trial is underway to see if the drug hydroxychloroquine can prevent disease in people exposed to the novel coronavirus. A second trial will test to see if the drug can prevent severe disease in people who are already showing COVID-19 symptoms.The trials are being run by David Boulware, an infectious disease scientist at the University of Minnesota.
“My normal research is doing clinical trials in Africa for fungal meningitis of the brain,” Boulware says.
But the COVID-19 demanded his attention. “Somebody needed to do something,” he says, “so I got my team together and we sort of jumped on this.”
That was on March 9. Eight days later, the trial was up and running. Hydroxychloroquine has been used for decades as a treatment for malaria. The rationale for trying it as a preventative for COVID-19 is based on laboratory studies that show the drug is capable of keeping the coronavirus from entering cells.
In the prevention part of the trial, Boulware and his colleagues are looking for people who recently had contact with someone who tested positive for the virus, for example healthcare workers or people living with someone who is infected. Recruiting is done online.
Once someone joins the study, they take either the drug or a placebo for five days. As of March 31, Boulware says he and his team had enrolled 558 volunteers. The aim is to recruit 1,500 people. With that number of volunteers, they should be able to determine if the drug is able to reduce the progression to disease by half or more.
The trial is double blind — neither the patients participating nor the doctors providing it know who is getting the active drug and who is getting the placebo.
Boulware says the trial has the approval of the Food and Drug Administration. Although the final results are several weeks off, a committee of independent experts known as the data safety and monitoring board will take an initial look at the results next week.
In the other part of the study, Bouware says his team is recruiting patients who are already showing signs of the disease. They are not giving the drug to people who are hospitalized.
Here again, patients will take hydroxychloroquine for five days to see if it slows the progression of the disease.
Many people, including President Trump, have been touting the promise of hydroxychloroquine without much data to back that up.
“Our goal is to find out, does this actually work,” Boulware says.
znModerator“Solidarity” clinical trial for COVID-19 treatments
“Solidarity” is an international clinical trial to help find an effective treatment for COVID-19, launched by the World Health Organization and partners.
The Solidarity trial will compare four treatment options against standard of care, to assess their relative effectiveness against COVID-19. By enrolling patients in multiple countries, the Solidarity trial aims to rapidly discover whether any of the drugs slow disease progression or improve survival. Other drugs can be added based on emerging evidence.
Until there is sufficient evidence, WHO cautions against physicians and medical associations recommending or administering these unproven treatments to patients with COVID-19 or people self-medicating with them. WHO is concerned by reports of individuals self-medicating with chloroquine and causing themselves serious harm. WHO guidance on compassionate use can be found here.
Key Links
Landscape analysis of therapeutics21 March 2020
18 March 2020
WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 – 18 March 2020
Rationale
The pressure COVID-19 puts on health systems means that WHO considered the need for speed and scale in the trial. While randomized clinical trials normally take years to design and conduct, the Solidarity trial will reduce the time taken by 80%.Enrolling patients in one single randomized trial will help facilitate the rapid worldwide comparison of unproven treatments. This will overcome the risk of multiple small trials not generating the strong evidence needed to determine the relative effectiveness of potential treatments.
Participation in Solidarity
The Solidarity trial provides simplified procedures to enable even overloaded hospitals to participate, with no paperwork required. As of March 27 2020, over 70 countries have already confirmed they will contribute to the trial, with many others in the process of joining.The greater the number of participating countries, the faster results will be generated. WHO is facilitating access to thousands of treatment courses for the trial through donations from a number of manufacturers. WHO is also inviting developers and companies to collaborate on ensuring affordability and availability of the treatment options if they prove effective.
Treatment options under study
Based on evidence from laboratory, animal and clinical studies, the following treatment options were selected: Remdesivir; Lopinavir/Ritonavir; Lopinavir/Ritonavir with Interferon beta-1a; and Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine.Remdesivir was previously tested as an Ebola treatment. It has generated promising results in animal studies for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which are also caused by coronaviruses, suggesting it may have some effect in patients with COVID-19.
Lopinavir/Ritonavir is a licensed treatment for HIV. Evidence for COVID-19, MERS and SARS is yet to show it can improve clinical outcomes or prevent infection. This trial aims to identify and confirm any benefit for COVID-19 patients. While there are indications from laboratory experiments that this combination may be effective against COVID-19, studies done so far in COVID-19 patients have been inconclusive.
Interferon beta-1a is used to treat multiple sclerosis.
Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are very closely related and used to treat malaria and rheumatology conditions respectively. In China and France, small studies provided some indications of possible benefit of chloroquine phosphate against pneumonia caused by COVID-19 but need confirmation through randomized trials.
Support for Solidarity
“The quest for knowledge about the coronavirus is a global effort. The Solidarity trial is an import part of the puzzle. I am proud that Norway will contribute both by having the first patient included in the study. I would like to commend the WHO for the global leadership and its initiative in setting up the Solidarity trial.”– Bent Høie, Minister of Health and Care Services, Norway
“There is only one way the world can exit this pandemic – and that is through science. We need diagnostics to detect and limit the spread of this virus, vaccines to provide long-term protection, treatments to save lives in the shorter-term and social science to understand the behavioural and societal implications. It’s critical that the global research effort is rapid, robust and is conducted at scale and co-ordinated across multiple countries. The World Health Organization’s Solidarity trial will provide this by testing existing and new drugs to treat COVID-19 and ensure equitable access to any drugs that prove effective. The start of these clinical trials is hugely important and an incredible achievement. Global powers must now step-up to ensure the WHO has all the support needed.”
– Dr Jeremy Farrar, Director of Wellcome and Chair of the WHO R&D Blueprint Scientific Advisory Group
How the Solidarity trial works
Adults with COVID-19 admitted to participant hospitals can join this study. Eligible patients will be asked to sign to show they understand the possible risks and benefits and consent to joining the study. The medical team responsible for each patient will check whether any of the study treatments would definitely be unsuitable.After those checks, brief identifying details and any other conditions are digitally recorded for the patient, who is then randomly allocated to one of the study options. This may or may not involve one of the study treatments. Neither the patient nor the medical staff choose which of the study options a patient will receive, as a computer makes this allocation at random.
Critical anonymized information for the trial will only be collected at the randomization stage and when the patient is discharged or dies: which study drugs were given (and for how many days); whether ventilation or intensive care was received (and, if so, when it began), date of discharge, or date and cause of death while still in hospital.
Interim trial analyses are monitored by a Global Data and Safety Monitoring Committee, which is an independent group of experts.
Countries, or particular groups of hospitals, may want to collaborate in making further serial measurements or observations, relating to areas such as virology, blood gases or chemistry and lung imaging. It also possible to incorporate documentation of other aspects of disease status, for example, through linking in electronic healthcare records and routine medical databases. While well-organised additional research studies of the natural history of the disease or of the effects of the trial treatments could well be valuable, they are not core requirements.
Adults (age ≥18 years) recently hospitalised, or already in hospital, with confirmed COVID-19 and, in the view of the responsible doctor, no contra-indication to any of the study treatments will be randomly allocated between
● Local standard of care,
OR local standard of care plus one of
● Remdesivir
● Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine
● Lopinavir with Ritonavir
● Lopinavir with Ritonavir plus Interferon beta-1a.
Underlying conditions recorded are: diabetes, heart disease, chronic lung disease, chronic liver disease and asthma, extending to HIV and tuberculosis in the African region.
Severity of illness at entry is determined by recording: shortness of breath, being given oxygen, already on a ventilator, and, if lungs imaged, major bilateral abnormality.
znModeratorAndrew Brandt@AndrewBrandt
A veteran NFL player reached out to me this week with this question: “If they tell us we’re playing again, even without fans, do we have to play? What if our personal doctor advises against it?” Good questions; so many more like it will be raised.LindseyThiry@LindseyThiry
California Governor Gavin Newsom said during his daily news briefing today that he does not anticipate the NFL season starting on time with fans in the stands in California.Ronald Brownstein@RonBrownstein
@GavinNewsom tells me flatly re #NFL starting season on time w/fans in stands in the CA stadiums: “I’m not anticipating that happening in this state.”znModeratorGood sentiments BT.
Hope everyone is holding up under the lockdown. The virus dictated house arrest.
I actually am doing okay with that, myself.
znModeratorRams fans, thanks to you we raised over $2.3m for @LAUnitedWay & @LAFoodBank during our @ABC7 telethon. The deal was you raise $2m, I would read Mean Tweets about the logo. So here you go and thanks for helping Angelenos in need when it is needed the most! pic.twitter.com/HB6OTPzuRN
— Kevin Demoff (@kdemoff) April 3, 2020
znModeratorLouis Riddick@LRiddickESPN
Getting off the line of scrimmage against press in today’s NFL is nothing like it used to be. Only a select few corners really PRESS. The rest just act like they are going to but don’t do anything once aligned there.==
from https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2020/04/04/nfl-rams-mailbag-draft-free-agency/
I think if Havenstein is on the roster, he has to be a starter. He’s making more than $8 million per year, and the Rams aren’t going to pay him to ride the pine at that cost.
He could still be traded, which would open the door for Evans and David Edwards to compete at right tackle. I just think with his contract, it’s hard to imagine Havenstein being a backup.
znModeratorznModeratorIf books, videogames, podcasts and Netflix are not enough for you to #StayAtHome, Game Pass is free for the next months! 20 must-watch #NFL games ranked by @ChrisWesseling https://t.co/ZnXeYCaDZR
— Hanno Terbuyken (@dailybug) March 20, 2020
znModeratorRemember when the USA “back stopped” Hawaii after Pearl Harbor?
And FDR told Hawaii the planes and Destroyers are not for the states or territories, they’re “ours”?
And then the President blamed Hawaii for not being prepared and told them “we’re not an ordering clerk.”
— Adam McKay (@GhostPanther) April 3, 2020
znModeratorLouis Riddick@LRiddickESPN
Back to work…I really like some of the RB’s in this draft too. A few are going to be GREAT, yet won’t/don’t get the attention they deserve due to the position they play and the depth at other positions.znModeratorWalter Shaub@waltshaub
I do not understand the federal government collecting taxes from us, using that money to buy medical supplies from the private sector, then giving the supplies to the private sector so the private sector can rip off states that have to purchase the supplies with more tax dollars.znModeratorVivid dreaming is incredibly common during this pandemic. “This is global. I’m working in the U.S., Australia, India, China, and Japan. Story is the same everywhere. People are dreaming up a storm," one dream analyst told me. My latest, for @InStyle: https://t.co/CvowYY1dhY
— Britni de la Cretaz (@britnidlc) April 3, 2020
znModerator.@WindhorstESPN says there’s “a significant amount of pessimism” in the NBA and the NBPA’s talks about whether they’re going to cancel the season. pic.twitter.com/SAGMJlFRDO
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 4, 2020
znModeratorBaseball is considering games in empty spring training parks, with no fans and quarantined players. But the logistics of such a plan would be extremely complex, and perhaps insurmountable. Story: https://t.co/TphgvYsCrt
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 4, 2020
znModeratorhttps://t.co/umd4KdX90m pic.twitter.com/sSkrQAVNQL
— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) April 3, 2020
znModeratorI played against @TonyBoselli. He was and is a stud. I always looked at him as being damn near invincible. He isn’t. Nobody is. As COVID-19 showed him. Read what he says about it, just in case you still think it can’t happen to you . https://t.co/H2yXANwsjy
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) April 3, 2020
April 3, 2020 at 3:31 am in reply to: stadium work continues (3/30), some workers worry about covid-19 #113293znModeratorKevin Demoff acknowledges pandemic could delay SoFi Stadium completion
Construction continues at SoFi Stadium, even as positive coronavirus cases have popped up at the site. And Rams COO Kevin Demoff continues to be optimistic that the stadium will be completed in time, even as he acknowledges the possibility that may not happen.
“This is not the time you want to be finishing a stadium, in this environment as you prepare,” Demoff said, via Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times. “Because it’s when you need to be all hands on deck, walking through the building every day, meeting with your staff, working out the kinks and planning for it. So when you’ve been building something for a few years, you would love an optimal environment to finish it.”
The environment is anything but optimal for finishing the stadium in time for its July 25 opening, a Taylor Swift concert, followed by the 2020 preseasons and regular seasons for the Rams and Chargers.
“Our stadium, and I believe the Raiders’ stadium as well, will both be amazing when they are finished and when they will begin play, which will certainly happen in the near future, whether that’s in July, August, September, [or] in 2021,” Demoff said. “I don’t think you can look at either of these stadiums as short-term projects to finish but rather long-term beacons for the franchises and for the NFL.”
He’s right, but if the stadiums aren’t ready and if the Rams, Chargers, and Raiders will be playing games in 2020, they’ll need to make other arrangements. Which could be the least of the problems the NFL may be dealing with as this craziest of years continues.
znModeratorA stunning admission of deadly ignorance from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who says he only just learned that asymptomatic people can transmit #Covid19. “ndividuals could have been infecting people before they ever felt bad, but we didn’t know that until the last 24 hours.” pic.twitter.com/T7NZWk2GDR
— Andisheh Nouraee (@andishehnouraee) April 2, 2020
znModeratorRich Hammond@Rich_Hammond
Andrew Whitworth did a video interview with local media. He built a gym in his garage last month after he tracked the news and saw shutdowns probably were on the way. Still taking career year by year, in terms of retirement.Stu Jackson@StuJRams
T Andrew Whitworth on a conf. call this afternoon said it’s “amazing” to be back w/ @RamsNFL, his goal all along.“Once I decided for sure and got the OK from family and everybody else that we were going to play football again, there was no other place I wanted to be than here.”
Kurt Warner@kurt13warner
My ability to retain and process info… it is what separated meCryptic Tazzer@CrypticTazzer
What do you miss most about playing?Kurt Warner@kurt13warner
Cat & Mouse game… competing… can I out think the D in 4 seconds… Love it and miss itznModeratorHow to ensure you don't get follow-up questions on Fox, apparently. pic.twitter.com/nOUqw4ZVhO
— Ben Smith (@benyt) April 2, 2020
znModeratorAustin Blythe is comfortable at guard but ‘playing center is like riding a bike’
link https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2020/04/02/nfl-rams-free-agency-austin-blythe-center/
One of the first moves the Rams made this offseason was re-signing Austin Blythe. It wasn’t a marquee signing or one that will drastically change the Rams’ roster, but it was a move that quietly helps the offensive line.
His deal was made official this week as the terms of it came out, paying him $3.9 million for one year with $3.5 million of that guaranteed. It’s unclear what Blythe’s market was like, but he’s happy to be back with the Rams for another season.
“I had a hard time thinking about starting over,” Blythe said on a conference call, via the team’s site. “So to have an offer that was a good offer to return to play for the Rams and Coach Sean McVay, Aaron Kromer, all those guys in the organization, was a relieving feeling.”
Blythe’s best asset is his versatility. He played guard and center for the Rams last season, performing better at the latter after Brian Allen went down with a season-ending knee injury. Blythe will most likely compete at both positions again in 2020, but the Rams haven’t said where he fits best or where they see him lining up.
He’s open to playing either spot, but he seems to prefer center because of his comfortability at that position.
“It was an easy transition,” Blythe said. “(Playing the center position) was kind of going back to my bread-and-butter, I would say. I think I’ve felt really comfortable in all three positions on the interior of the o-line, but playing center is like riding a bike. I welcomed it a little bit. Unfortunately Brian did get hurt, and luckily he’s going to be back with us and we’re going to have a lot of depth and a lot of things to figure out.”
Allen will likely get a chance to reclaim his starting spot at center again next season, with the same going for Joseph Noteboom at left guard. However, Sean McVay indicated that neither player will be on the field until training camp, which puts them behind the eight ball.
It’s possible the Rams will roll out the same offensive line that they finished the 2019 season with (from left to right): Andrew Whitworth, Austin Corbett, Blythe, David Edwards and Bobby Evans. Given his $3.9 million contract, it’s likely Blythe will start somewhere. It’s just a matter of which position.
znModeratorMichael Brockers shared a story of the time Aaron Donald ripped a teammate's facemask off his helmet, which remained strapped https://t.co/GCiENUO7jg
— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) April 2, 2020
—
from that:
“Were you there when he ripped the facemask off that dude?” Brockers asked Long, who wasn’t there but had heard about it.
“We’re in training camp, AD’s hot. I don’t know, he’s mad all the time – on the field. Just always mad. I mean, he’s cool, but he has a switch that gets flipped super easy,” Brockers said. “So I’m guessing the young guy grabbed him or was holding him or something – like pushed him in the back or something. AD reached and grabbed the dude’s facemask and when he pulled back, I was like, ‘Damn, he ripped the dude’s head off.’ And then I realized it’s his facemask. Then he was trying hit the dude with the facemask and the dude looked so stupid. The helmet was still strapped, bro. He looked so stupid.”
znModeratorJust found out my beloved niece, who has a newborn, just came down with a lot of the symptoms. She has to isolate in her own house.
Turns out to be okay. In her own words:
Lauren
Our results came back NEGATIVE. We feel really grateful for the ability to be tested, otherwise we would have been quarantining and wearing masks in our homes for 14 days fearful of getting our girls very sick given our positive screens.
April 2, 2020 at 8:19 am in reply to: what’s happening to protective gear in national stockpile? #113278znModeratorTrump administration sent protective medical gear to China while he minimized the virus threat to US
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/29/opinions/coronavirus-personal-protective-equipment-obeidallah/
Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM radio’s daily program “The Dean Obeidallah Show” and a columnist for The Daily Beast. Follow him @DeanObeidallah. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion articles on CNN.
(CNN)Our doctors and nurses are in desperate need of masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect themselves from contracting the coronavirus while treating those who are ill. Some of them are trying to find it on eBay while others are pleading for help on social media.
The situation is so dire one New Jersey doctor described it as “sending medical professionals like lambs to the slaughterhouse.”
Concerns about a dwindling supply of PPE are not new. Back on February 7, the World Health Organization sounded alarm bells about “the limited stock of PPE,” noting demand was 100 times higher than normal for this equipment.
Yet the same day as the WHO warning, the Trump administration announced that it was transporting to China nearly 17.8 tons (more than 35,000 pounds) of “masks, gowns, gauze, respirators, and other vital materials.” As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo noted in the press release announcing this shipment, “These donations are a testament to the generosity of the American people.”
Americans indeed are a generous people. We want to help those in need. And at the time these medical supplies were shipped, more than 28,000 people in China were infected with nearly 600 deaths attributed to the virus. But how could Trump allow tons of vital medical equipment Americans to be transported to another country in February if, as he has claimed since January, he fully understood the risk the United States was facing from the virus.As a reminder, the first known case of coronavirus case on US soil was confirmed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on January 21, 2020.
The next day, Trump was asked about the virus while attending the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos. CNBC anchor Joe Kernen asked the President: “The CDC has identified a case of coronavirus in Washington state … have you been briefed by the CDC?” to which Trump responded, “I have.” Kernen continued, “Are there worries about a pandemic at this point?” Trump declared: “No. Not at all. And — we’re — we have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s — going to be just fine.”
Trump again on January 30 assured Americans he understood the threat posed by the virus and was prepared, stating, “We have it very well under control,” adding, “We’re working very closely with China and other countries, and we think it’s going to have a very good ending for us … that I can assure you.”
On February 5, US lawmakers were pressing the Trump administration on its preparedness for a possible widespread coronavirus outbreak in the US, with some slamming the administration’s failure to communicate with the states about how the White House would be addressing it.By February 6, the United States had 12 known confirmed cases in Wisconsin, California, Washington, Arizona, Massachusetts and Illinois — and with mass testing not yet begun the number of infected was likely far higher.
It was in this climate that the Trump administration announced its aid transport to China. Pompeo bragged on Twitter that the administration had “coordinated with U.S. organizations to transport” goods to China including, “Personal protective equipment.”
Now compare that to March 18, when Trump defiantly told governors pressing him to help their states obtain similar equipment: “The federal governments not supposed to be out there buying vast amounts of items and then shipping,” adding, “We’re not a shipping clerk.”
Just three days after these goods arrived in China, Trump again bragged that the United States was in “great shape” when it came to the virus. He then added to assure an increasingly concerned America about Covid-19, “You know, a lot of people think that goes away in April with the heat — as the heat comes in,” reiterating, “Typically, that will go away in April.”I won’t be so glib as to ask what happened to Trump’s “America First” policy. That’s too easy. But the fact Trump claimed to comprehend the risk posed by the coronavirus and then shipped nearly 18 tons of equipment that includes much of what our medical staff are now pleading for means either he was lying or is dangerously incompetent. You can pick which one you believe. But the results are the same for our valiant health care workers who are working tirelessly to save lives from Covid-19.
znModeratorOzRam
from NFL.com 2017 Redo of draft Rnd 1: (http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001108100/article/2017-nfl-draft-doover-mahomes-to-browns-bears-skip-qb)
Just for fun. It shows just how well we draft that year in the 3rd round! In their redo, Kupp and Johnson are 1st round suggestions.
14 Philadelphia Kupp
One of my favorite receivers headed into the 2017 NFL Draft was Cooper Kupp, a standout at Eastern Washington who proved he could play in the Senior Bowl. But then his 40-yard-dash time at the NFL Scouting Combine wasn’t that great, and folks panicked. Which was kind of stupid. Because I would always lean toward the guys who actually played well on the field over someone who looked good running around in his underwear in Indianapolis. Kupp would have no doubt flourished with Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz in Philly.18 Titans Johnson
The Titans would probably be in a good spot to move down, because cornerback would have been their biggest priority at this point. But the team also had a need at safety — and I would favor Johnson over Eddie Jackson, because Jackson is a better free safety, a position that is already occupied on Tennessee’s roster by the great Kevin Byard. Johnson would be able to play his more natural strong safety position, where he really did well for two years before an abbreviated 2019.znModeratorSocial distancing baptism pic.twitter.com/S1CJiNPcOC
— Stephen (@GeronimoFrost) April 1, 2020
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