Israel's covid cases and deaths are just beginning to decline a bit, after vaccinating 54% of the population (30% two weeks ago), and after having been in strict lockdown since _September_. Israeli flu season usually peaks between December and February, and weather right now is perfect for fighting flu.
Meanwhile, Sweden's cases and deaths have been falling since late December, having had hardly any lockdown (or even voluntary measures) the whole time, and Sweden is freezing and dark right now.
@pete Nordic countries are cheating, social distancing was already an ingrained part of the culture in the before-fore times.
@kekcoin Seriously though, all the stats and other indications are that they're social distancing a lot less than other countries right now. Though the specifics might not matter - eg they have some of the lowest mask usage. But masks don't seem to have much effect. Stuff like average # of people in a household might be far more important.
@Zachary_BTC @kekcoin What treatment exactly?
@Zachary_BTC @kekcoin The fact is, HCQ has underperformed in actual randomized trials. Though they keep on doing trials on treatment methods that are subtlety different from what people claim it works well at, so maybe there is in fact a niche usage where it has some benefit.
Meanwhile, look at how Remdesivir was hailed as a miracle, when it too doesn't look like it works very well. But at *much* higher cost, and without the decades of safe usage: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2021/01/31/remdesivir-covid-coronavirus/
@Zachary_BTC @kekcoin ...and don't get me started on that ridiculous fishtank story... Media may have very well managed to help cover up a premeditated murder.
@pete @Zachary_BTC I'll bite... Fishtank story?
@kekcoin @Zachary_BTC IIRC I found an even better write-up months ago. But this matches what I remember: https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/woman-who-ingested-fish-tank-cleaner-was-prolific-donor-to-democratic-causes/
tl;dr: spouse with history of potential abuse claims intelligent, level headed, Democrat donating engineer voluntarily ingested fishtank cleaner that doesn't even contain HCQ because he believed Trump. Riiiight...
@pete @Zachary_BTC So it wasn't the husband but the wife. Does that really change that much about the story?
@kekcoin @Zachary_BTC I mean, the mainstream story was these were idiot Trump supporters. The actual facts looks much more like an abusive spouse killing her husband and using the politics to get away with it. Police investigated - as is standard procedure - but didn't lay charges IIUC. I would not be surprised if the media fuss made them disinclined to investigate fully. Of course, even with a full investigation, it could be hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
@pete @Zachary_BTC From the way the story is told she also ingested it. Did I misunderstand that? If she did, then it doesn't really seem like murder.
@kekcoin @Zachary_BTC Easy: she ingests a small amount, and gives him a large amount. Obvious deniability.
She wound up in hospital and recovered; he died almost immediately. That doesn't sound like the same dose to me.
@pete @kekcoin how come everyone is ignoring we have an effective and cheap treatment for this cold/flu virus?