OT: Coronavirus

[Guest]

New York Times: FDA expected to issue emergency authorization for remdesivirFrom CNN’s Arman Azad

The US Food and Drug Administration plans to announce an emergency-use authorization for remdesivir, according to the New York Times. 
The authorization for the investigational coronavirus treatment could come as soon as Wednesday, the Times reported, citing a senior administration official.
In a statement to CNN, the FDA on Wednesday said it is in discussions with Gilead Sciences, the maker of remdesivir, about making the drug available to patients. 

“As part of the FDA’s commitment to expediting the development and availability of potential COVID-19 treatments, the agency has been engaged in sustained and ongoing discussions with Gilead Sciences regarding making remdesivir available to patients as quickly as possible, as appropriate,” said Michael Felberbaum, an FDA spokesperson.

The FDA’s expected move comes after Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, announced encouraging results from a remdesivir trial in a White House meeting with President Trump. When compared to patients who received a placebo, remdesivir was shown to shorten the duration of Covid-19, but there was no statistically-significant difference in whether patients died. The full study has not yet been released, and the research has not been peer-reviewed.
An emergency-use authorization would be notable because remdesivir is not currently approved to treat any disease – unlike some other drugs that have been used for coronavirus patients, such as hydroxychloroquine.

[Guest]

Coronavirus Has Now Killed More Americans Than Vietnam WarIn not even three months since the first known U.S. deaths from COVID-19, more lives have now been lost to the coronavirus pandemic on U.S. soil than the 58,220 Americans who died over nearly two decades in Vietnam.

Early Tuesday evening ET, the U.S. death toll reached 58,365, according to Johns Hopkins University.
While the number of lives lost in the U.S. during the pandemic and the U.S. death toll in that war are roughly the same now, the death rate from the coronavirus in America is considerably higher. It now stands at about 17.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
During 1968, the deadliest year for the U.S. in Vietnam, the death toll of 16,899 occurred at about half the pandemic's rate — 8.5 troops were killed for every 100,000 U.S. residents
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus...fatalities

[Guest]

NFL commissioner initiates staff furloughs and cuts his salary to zero
National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell has announced staff furloughs, salary reductions and cuts in the NFL’s pension plan in a memo sent to the league office staff in New York and employees at NFL Films and NFL Network. 
CNN obtained the memo from a source with knowledge of its distribution. The source also disclosed that Goodell had voluntarily reduced his own salary to $0 effective last month.
In the memo, Goodell discloses that the league is still preparing for a full 2020 season but acknowledges the “difficult decisions” that had to be made due to the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. 

"[I]t is clear that the economic effects will be deeper and longer lasting than anyone anticipated and that their duration remains uncertain. The downturn has affected all of us, as well as our fans, our business partners, and our clubs," Goodell said in the memo.

According to the memo, pay reductions are aimed at the management level who make more than $100,000. 
Goodell said that those employees “who are unable to substantially perform their duties from home and/or whose current workload has been significantly reduced” will be furloughed. 
He added that he hoped that the league will be able to reinstate those furloughed in due time. The commissioner also announced a permanent change to the contribution percentage in the league’s pension plan.

[Guest]

Fed chair says this is the worst economy in history
How bad is the coronavirus economy? The worst ever, says Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.

"We are going to see economic data for the second quarter that is worse than any data we have seen for the economy," Powell said. "There are direct consequences of the disease and measures we are taking to protect ourselves from it."The recovery will be long and painful, but the economy could begin to bounce back significantly in the third quarter as businesses reopen, he added. While we won't go back to pre-coronavirus levels for quite some time, the third quarter could provide some economic relief.
"We will enter the new phase — and we are just beginning to maybe do that — where we will begin formal measures that require social distancing will be rolled back, gradually, and at different paces in different parts of the country. And in time, during this period, the economy will begin to recover," Powell said.
Powell also noted that unemployment shot higher for minorities in the United States —much faster than it has for white Americans.
Just a few months ago, the US labor market was the best-ever for minorities, Powell noted. Now, minorities are among the first to lose their jobs as stay-at-home orders have shuttered restaurants, movie theaters, retailers and many other businesses.
"It is heartbreaking, frankly, to see that all threatened now," Powell said. "All the more need for our urgent response and also that of Congress, which has been urgent and large, and to do what we can to avoid longer run damage to the economy."
Powell noted that people "who are least able to bear it have been the first to lose their jobs, and they have little cushion to protect themselves.
"That is a very big concern," Powell said.

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[Guest]

Well, apparently my work laptop will be/has been shipped and I'll start my new job Monday.

I asked my recruiter if she had a tracking number, which she didn't. 

Ok.

Silence.

Could you please reach out and get one?

Sure! Why didn't I think of that?


Common sense is a curse and not a blessing.

[Guest]

@"BarrNone55" said:
Well, apparently my work laptop will be/has been shipped and I'll start my new job Monday.

I asked my recruiter if she had a tracking number, which she didn't. 

Ok.

Silence.

Could you please reach out and get one?

Sure! Why didn't I think of that?


Common sense is a curse and not a blessing.

There is certainly a lack of it in todays society,  and I dont see it getting better.  The ability to think on ones feet seems to be diminishing the more people become reliant on technology to do their day to day.   

[Guest]

https://twitter.com/PatKessler/status/12...31649?s=19

[Guest]

@JimmyinSD said:

@"BarrNone55" said:
Well, apparently my work laptop will be/has been shipped and I'll start my new job Monday.

I asked my recruiter if she had a tracking number, which she didn't. 

Ok.

Silence.

Could you please reach out and get one?

Sure! Why didn't I think of that?


Common sense is a curse and not a blessing.

There is certainly a lack of it in todays society,  and I dont see it getting better.  The ability to think on ones feet seems to be diminishing the more people become reliant on technology to do their day to day.   

Epilogue:

About 90 minutes after I posted about this, my laptop and monitor showed up. 

I can't even.