11 Comments

How do you feel about Plaxcovid? Is it worth the risk of a reoccurrence?

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My 92 yr old mother had a TAVR procedure 12/21, during her OR prep they swabbed her nasal cavity with betadine. When I asked why, the OR staff said it was another layer of protection: antiviral, antibacterial...I subsequently started using a Povidone Iodine product whenever I was around any people (along with appropriate mask wearing). I continue this practice today, minus the mask. I have a lot of people doing likewise. While I'm guessing it is inevitable that I'll get Covid; to this date I remain Covid free. Your thoughts?

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Sorry I missed the poll, yet I appreciate the results,

Flying internationally tomorrow. First since this mess started, and first time since the mask mandate on planes was dropped this time last year. I think I’ll keep my sunglasses on after reading this. First because maybe this will help in addition to my Aura N95, and second because Tom Cruise still looks decent in aviators, keeping the door open for the rest of us to look cool 😎

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Re Ivermectin Trials.....

If I want to guarantee that a test drug will fail a trial, I will give it too early, too late, too much, to little, and/or with the wrong other drugs as opposed to following the dosing recommendations of the drug's proponents. To give ivermectin a fair shot, lets have a gold standard trial conducted by skeptics but using a protocol designed by Dr. Pierre Kory since the object of these trials should be to give the drug every chance of succeeding, not the opposite.

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Mar 24, 2023Liked by The Skeptical Cardiologist

I look at masking a bit similar to how I look at bike locks. Any lock is better than no lock*. The very act of locking up will make you consider other risk factors - location and lighting for example. If nothing else, the "optics" of a lock will put off an opportunistic thief. OTOH, in big cities like NYC or London where the risk is high, the recommendation is to use two locks of equal value (and often weight) to the cycle you are trying to protect. I suppose that would be equivalent to life working in a Covid ward

I tend to think any mask is better than no mask - ineffective as it may be in construction or wearing - because at the very least the optics reinforce the need to be careful and indicate a willingness to protect others (or follow the rules, at least). These behavioral practices may possibly be more important than the "tech" of what mask is chosen and how it is worn

Like locking my bike, I try and be aware of my surroundings and potential disease risks, preferring outdoor dining when practical and avoiding crowded spaces with poor ventilation. Despite flying longhaul several times during the peak of Covid, I have managed to dodge it so far. And an N95 mask is probably not that effective given that I have a beard...

*unless of course you think locks/masks are magic and therefore have an unrealistic appreciation of the risks

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Mar 24, 2023Liked by The Skeptical Cardiologist

While masks - as with any tool - need to be used correctly for the tool to be efficient, I have always "believed" in masks; it made sense. Then, there was this observation several years ago: "On average, the daily case incidence per 100,000 people in masked counties compared with unmasked counties declined by 25 percent at four weeks, 35 percent at six weeks, and 18 percent across six weeks postintervention." It is more recently reported here:

https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01072

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Mar 24, 2023Liked by The Skeptical Cardiologist

The apparently protective effect of wearing glasses to decrease the risk of acquiring respiratory viral disease has been observed before, in pediatrics. It is thought that this is because people who wear glasses are less likely to touch their eyes during a routine day. This theoretically decreases the risk of both transmitting and acquiring respiratory viruses.

Conjunctiva->hand->other person, or vice versa. I don’t think it is generally airborne transmission into the eye.

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