Coronapocalypse 20/20 - The Covid-19 Experience

Here it is: the longest, densest, meatiest (or meat-substitute-iest) episode yet-- now updated with the latest data and an additional scintillating minute!

In this second part on testing, I talk about the perfect storm of bureaucracy and errors by the FDA and CDC that put the US way behind the testing curve, compared to other countries. Guaranteed to fill your mindspace with so much knowledge you'll be unbearable at Zoom parties.

And there's more to reveal in yet another episode about testing!

Sources:
International:
* https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1213523866703814656
* https://www.who.int/china/news/detail/09-01-2020-who-statement-regarding-cluster-of-pneumonia-cases-in-wuhan-china
* https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/laboratory-guidance
* http://virological.org/t/novel-2019-coronavirus-genome/319

US Government:
* https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/legal/Pages/phe-qa.aspx
* https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/testing-in-us.html
* https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/emergency-situations-medical-devices/faqs-diagnostic-testing-sars-cov-2
* https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-takes-significant-step-coronavirus-response-efforts-issues-emergency-use-authorization-first

News:
* https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/10/laredo-texas-coronavirus-tests-did-not-work/
* https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/us/coronavirus-testing-delays.html
* https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/what-went-wrong-with-coronavirus-testing-in-the-us
* https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/5/21124005/fda-emergency-approval-coronavirus-test-cdc-diagnostic-health-labs
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/16/cdc-who-coronavirus-tests/
* https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-testing-specialrep/special-report-how-korea-trounced-u-s-in-race-to-test-people-for-coronavirus-idUSKBN2153BW
* https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/02/united-states-badly-bungled-coronavirus-testing-things-may-soon-improve

Music:
"Numbers"
by Kara Square
2020 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0)

In this first episode on a testy theme, I demystify the coronavirus diagnostic process in a way that may make your head spin.

Discussed are the two main testing methods currently available-- serological and molecular rRT-PCR assays--  what they involved, along with the science behind them.

There won't be a quiz afterwards, I promise!

Music
"Compassion" by Stefan Kartenberg; Featuring  Kara Square 2020;  Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0)

Sources
* "Detection of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) by real-time RT-PCR" (Eurosurvelliance, 23 Jan 2020; 25(3))
* "Scientists Can Make Copies of a Gene through PCR" (Nature.com)
* "How Coronavirus Tests Actually Work" (FiveThirtyEight.com, 24 March 2020)

Sheltering at home expands around the country; but why can't Oklahoma do it right? And some myths about the virus exploded. Also, the biggest conspiracy about it... (Spoilers: was it actually man-made?)

Sources:
* Covert coronavirus infections could be seeding new outbreaks (Nature, 20 March 2020)
* Everyone In Iceland Can Get Tested For The Coronavirus. Here's How The Results Could Help All Of Us. (Buzzfeed.com, 18 March 2020)
* Don’t buy China’s story: The coronavirus may have leaked from a lab (New York Post, 22 February 2020)
* Meet the major general on China’s coronavirus scientific front line (South China Morning China Post, 3 March 2020)
* Inside the Chinese lab poised to study world's most dangerous pathogens (Nature, 22 February 2017)
* No credible evidence supporting claims of the laboratory engineering of SARS-CoV-2 (Emerging Microbes & Infections, 9:1, 505-507, 26 February 2020)
* Theory that Coronavirus Escaped from a Lab Lacks Evidence (The Scientist, 5 March 2020)
* Tom Cotton keeps repeating a coronavirus conspiracy theory that was already debunked (Washington Post, 17 February 2020)
* Mining coronavirus genomes for clues to the outbreak’s origins (Science magazine, 31 January 2020)

Music:
"Paranoia for Conspiracy"
by Stefan Kartenberg
2014 - Licensed under Creative Commons
Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)

* Gov. Andrew Cuomo: ‘It’s Making Sure We Live Through This.’ (New York Times, The Daily podcast, hosted by Michael Barbaro, 18 March 2020)
* "NJ coronavirus: Murphy closes nonessential retail businesses, tells residents to stay home" (NorthJersey.com, 21 March 2020)
* "These states are ordering residents to stay home or shelter in place. What does that mean?" (USA Today, 21 March 2020)
* "U.S. Jobless Rate May Soar to 30%, Fed’s Bullard Says" (Bloomberg, 22 March 2020)

Music:
* "Eggs! Toast! Gas! Fish!" by Elvis Herod on Mood Music for the Apocalypse (2017).
* "Stay Home (Clean Radio Edit)" by LB Feat. Ellie Hope (2020)

Intro and Outro music:
Democrazy by reiswerk (c) copyright 2017
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.
Ft: Kara Square

Sources:

Treatments:
* NIH clinical trial of investigational vaccine for COVID-19 begins (NIH, 16 March 2020)
* A Potential COVID-19 Vaccine Begins Clinical Trial (NPR, 18 March 2020)
* "Trials to begin on Covid-19 vaccine in UK next month" (The Guardian, 19 March 2020)
* "Pfizer and BioNTech to Co-Develop Potential COVID-19 Vaccine" (Pfizer PR, 17 March 2020)
* "Chloroquine is a potent inhibitor of SARS coronavirus infection and spread" (Virology Journal, 22 August 2005)
* "Chloroquine is being tested as a COVID-19 treatment: 'It's a good drug, but you've got to be careful'" (USA Today, 20 March 2020)

Masks:
* "‘STOP BUYING MASKS’: Health officials beg Americans to stop panic-shopping" (Washington Post, 2 March 2020)
* "Do face masks work? Medical experts explain how to protect yourself from coronavirus" (CNBC, 2 March 2020)
* "Why Wearing a Face Mask Is Encouraged in Asia, but Shunned in the U.S." (Time, 12 March 2020).
* "Japan was expecting a coronavirus explosion. Where is it?" (Bloomberg, 20 March 2020)
* "Mass masking in the COVID-19 epidemic: people need guidance" (The Lancet, 3 March 2020)

Shutdown:
* "Restaurants scramble to stay in business in wake of shutdown" (Tulsa World, 19 March 2020)
* "40% of Americans don’t have $400 in the bank for emergency expenses: Federal Reserve" (ABC, 24 May 2019)
* "Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2018 - May 2019" (Federal Reserve, 23 May 2019)

This is not the episode you were looking for. But it's the episode you deserve.

So much happened in this historic week, a recap of events is needed to provide context. Also, math is involved. (Be warned, if you're numeraphobic!)

Instead of talking about the virus's potential for contagion, how to avoid catching it, or what happens if you do get it,  I get busy with the numbers, talk about some history and meander into the economic impacts. Your head may spin.

Music: "Day After Apocalypse" by Lobo Loco, from Maybe Another Dimension and "Get Ready for the Apocalypse" by Astrometric, from Engage!

Sources:
* WorldoMeters Covid-19 Data (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)
* "Why Deaths from Coronavirus Are So High in Italy," Scientific American (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-deaths-from-coronavirus-are-so-high-in-italy/)
* https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm948
* https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-declaring-national-emergency-concerning-novel-coronavirus-disease-covid-19-outbreak/
* https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/large-events/mass-gatherings-ready-for-covid-19.html
* "White House Seeks $1 Trillion From Congress In Coronavirus Relief Push", NPR (https://www.npr.org/2020/03/17/816822215/congress-weighs-new-massive-wave-of-emergency-funding-to-address-coronavirus)

So you've been hearing about this coronavirus thing?

What's COVID-19 all about,  where did it come from, and where's it going? (Hint: Blame the bats.)

This intro episode talks about the origins, symptoms, contagiousness and current cases. All facts presented are based on latest information, sourced from reputable publications or research.

Future episodes will cover the best ways to reduce potential infections; which products that you should be stocking up on, instead of toilet paper; the economic toll, and coming recessionary fallout; the social, psychological costs; and how to make a delicious soup with the stuff you probably still have in your fridge after a fourteen day quarantine.

Intro music "Apocalypse, Please" by Gumbel from A Dying Paradise and "Surf Party Apocalypse" by Paint Fumes -- who are currently stuck in Europe on tour and are having to cancel shows.

Sources:

* "The species Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus: classifying 2019-nCoV and naming it SARS-CoV-2", Nature Microbiology, 2 March 2020 (Published on Nature.com)

* "Coronavirus: What is 'flattening the curve,' and will it work?" (LiveScience.com)

* "Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study", The Lancet. 11 March 2020.

* "Coronavirus outbreak raises question: Why are bat viruses so deadly?" (ScienceDaily.com)

* Worldmeter Coronavirus Outbreak

* COVID Tracker Project

* Life Care Center of Kirkland

* Coronavirus site from the Oklahoma State Department of Health