Mar 31, 2020
Posted by AAfterwit on Mar 31, 2020 | 0 comments
If more testing is a way to help defeat COVID-19, then welcome into the world Abbott’s ID NOW test which has been approved for use by the FDA:
Abbott has received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the fastest available molecular point-of-care test for the detection of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), delivering positive results in as little as five minutes and negative results in 13 minutes.
What makes this test so different is where it can be used: outside the four walls of a traditional hospital such as in the physicians’ office or urgent care clinics.
The new Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 test runs on Abbott’s ID NOWTM platform—a lightweight box (6.6 pounds and the size of a small toaster) that can sit in a variety of locations.
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Mar 30, 2020
Posted by AAfterwit on Mar 30, 2020 | 0 comments
And the US?
From TechStartUps.com:
We’ve been talking about anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine for about three weeks now. However, U.S. health agencies like FDA and CDA, are still very cautious about the effectiveness and safety of the two drugs due to small trial size and lack of sufficient data.
In France, the government caved to pressure from renowned Dr. Didier Raoult, who led the new additional study on 80 patients, results show a combination of Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin to be effective in treating COVID-19. Dr Didier Raoult, a professor of infectious diseases who works at La Timone hospital in Marseille, then declared in a video on YouTube that chloroquine was a cure for Covid-19 and should be used immediately.
Dr. Raoult reportedly walked out of the scientific advisory committee advising the government after allegations that the government was being influenced by the big pharmaceutical companies which wanted to block hydroxychloroquine because it was cheap, being out of patent.
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Mar 30, 2020
Posted by AAfterwit on Mar 30, 2020 | 2 comments
The above Facebook post was made a few days ago regarding the letter below sent by Waste Management as to why the company failed to respond to the City of Palm Bay’s RFP for trash removal services.
Here’s the letter:
We’ve seen other posts supporting Waste Management’s position on this and calling for the RFP to be re-issued allowing more companies to bid because of the limited number of companies responding.
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Mar 29, 2020
Posted by AAfterwit on Mar 29, 2020 | 17 comments
We were perfectly willing to stay at home today, taking in the Florida weather, and trying to get away from the incessant news on COVID-19. That’s why we went with the comic seen below. We wanted something light-hearted for this Sunday.
At around 11:30 last night, this crossed our desk and all feeling of warmth went away. We are trying desperately not to curse or wish evil upon this evil, delusional, bitter hag of a woman. Amongst the staff, we are failing at that endeavor. We will spare you the venom that many staffers expressed about this:
It is beyond the pale that anyone – especially someone who wanted to be President – would take the issue of the COVID-19 virus and politicize it in such a way.
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Mar 29, 2020
Posted by AAfterwit on Mar 29, 2020 | 0 comments
Even we need breaks from the hard news and need to laugh.
(The “Ikea duvet cover rings so true to us.)
And then there is this posted a while back from the Struthers, Ohio Police Department.
Even the police and a break once in awhile.
EDITORS NOTE: We are going to have a second post today hitting around 5:45 AM. It is not nearly as light hearted as this one.
Mar 28, 2020
Posted by AAfterwit on Mar 28, 2020 | 0 comments
We have long maintained that the biggest road block to medical supplies, drugs, equipment, etc., is in fact the Federal government and unelected officials who put in place rules that are so inflexible, they cannot pivot quickly in times like these.
In a series of tweets (with a bit of a happy ending) Paul Matzko looks at how the regulations affected the production of medical masks:
Wondered why it’s been so hard to ramp up production of surgical masks and respirators? Why haven’t private companies flooded into the market to meet peak demand?
Because they are regulated medical devices & new versions require FDA approval which can take months to obtain.
Take a look at this FDA regulation, intended to ease (!) the application process for “premarket notification.” That means you have to do all of this–and get FDA sign off–before your new surgical mask gets anywhere near shelves.
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