Backseat Driver
Backseat Driver's JournalDH just started a new job at a more large-ish big box
store; he going on 74 years old. WTH is this stuff about auto-enrolling in a heavy-handed(?) mandated employee savings plan in the Infrastructure Bill and also having the normal deductions being taken out for FICA and state/local/regional taxes when this job just supplements our SS so we can pay our bills?
He had been working a 40 hr week elsewhere that instantly got cut to 24 hrs earlier in Sept and has not yet even received a correct final paycheck nor funds he would have been entitled to under a corporate policy re mandated store closure because of another employee's CoVid exposure to whom he had not been exposed. The temporary manager didn't feel like scheduling nor doing the payroll--so just didn't so we're going into a broken 3 wk cash-flow situation...as we get set up for DD and a regular FT work schedule at the new place with which his hourly is a great deal more. Sounds like a bunch of GOP misinformation for fright purposes, no?
https://www.yahoo.com/money/democrats-retirement-plan-mandate-is-pretty-heavy-handed-expert-says-200249580.html
I sure hope they're kidding about perhaps SS could be delayed next month if the funds are okayed for keeping the government alive - we pay rent out of DH's; it's always outside the 3 day "grace" the landlord allows without late fees. With the eviction moratoriums done with, it's getting pretty scary! Bad enough costs for everything going up due to the shipping/logistic backlog/slowdowns.
I can't keep up...you think you got things figured, and then WHAM! The stress of this instability is KILLING me even if I am fully 3 shots vaccinated!!!
WTH - Total property to get water shut off sometime before midnight...
and I got a family funeral to head out for tomorrow a.m. Coffee pot - check; breakfast - check - clothes laid out - check; do shower and hair elsewhere - check; doggie provisions - check; potty water - check - anything else...as if it's not stressful enough. Hope it's back on in the a.m.
Nanobodies from llamas hold hope for CoVid-19 treatment(s)
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58628689 2 days agoA Covid therapy derived from a llama named Fifi has shown "significant potential" in early trials.
It is a treatment made of "nanobodies", small, simpler versions of antibodies, which llamas and camels produce naturally in response to infection.
Once the therapy has been tested in humans, scientists say, it could be given as a simple nasal spray - to treat and even prevent early infection.
Prof James Naismith described nanobodies as "fantastically exciting". ]snip]
Yeah, yeah...a single drop of llamajuice and a binder of some sort...
CoVid-19 and Kidney Disease
https://www.labroots.com/trending/clinical-and-molecular-dx/21308/kidney-failure-covid-survivorsSEP 21, 2021 7:00 AM PDT
Kidney Failure in COVID Survivors
WRITTEN BY: Tara Fernande
New findings indicate that individuals who survive COVID-19 infections, even mild ones, have a significantly elevated risk of developing severe kidney disease.
The study, led by Ziyad Al-Aly from the Washington University in St. Louis, saw researchers take a deep dive into the health data from over 1.7 million healthy and COVID-infected individuals from 2020 to 2021. Their analysis revealed that those infected with the coronavirus have an increased likelihood of later developing kidney damage. The study was published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
The clinical signs of kidney disfunction are notoriously tricky to spot—patients don’t experience any pain or symptoms to suggest that their kidneys are impaired. Some estimates suggest 90 percent of people with kidney disease are not aware of their condition. Nevertheless, the consequences of chronic kidney disease are dire: it is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S.
According to Al-Aly, this research emphasizes the importance of paying close attention to kidney function in the aftermath of COVID-19. [snip]
In mourning again, still...
I've posted before in other lesser forums, Bereavement and Chronic Health Problems about the ambivalent emotions (grief/anger/political opinions on so many issues) as well as General Discussion I have recently and not so recently encountered since May. Well, my 92 year old mother passed May 29 of this year following two strokes; today I received word that my brother died this morning while in hospice care - nothing to be done with a combination of advanced non-alcoholic liver disease, and pancreatic cancer with DM, treatment of either of which would negatively impact any hope of extended time. He had been mom's caretaker having never left home and I'd imagined he had also helped her through caring for my dad. Having been estranged from my FOO for almost 30 years made for many years of mourning their "pseudo-deaths." I was able to attend my mom's funeral such as it was (graveside service aborted by severe storm); and true to the prognosis, now my brother's. I feel a deep and tragic loss because brother and I had become reconciled, had visited, and spoke by phone last just a couple days ago but am having a harder time renewing a relationship with my sister who handled final arrangements as best as possible and will handle this funeral as well. In these days of so many hospitalizations and deaths, vaccinated and obstinately not vaccinated, neither fell victim to that disease as far as I know. I don't know how everything will eventually shake out as those remaining left our childhoods behind on very different paths...and we don't know each other or each other's families very well. I want to thank you all for being kind in providing so much civility, care, and a safe place to learn, laugh, and share for each other and for me!
LOCKDOWN reported at all of WPAFB - Dayton OH Area A
Daughter just saw on Facebook - Ohio News and Weather
No info at present time - local residents nearby could hear alert emanating across the base campus!
https://www.whio.com/news/local/wright-patterson-air-force-base-lockdown/X2SGSONVPRCTHEVQ44EIDC4QEQ/Will post a link soon if there is any more information available.
El Salvador bought $21 million of bitcoin as it becomes first country to make it a legal currency
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/07/el-salvador-buys-400-bitcoin-ahead-of-law-making-it-legal-currency.htmlKEY POINTS
El Salvador bought 400 bitcoin worth about $20.9 million, one day before it formally adopts the world’s most popular cryptocurrency as legal tender.
The announcement came as El Salvador’s bitcoin law, which was passed in June, took effect on Tuesday.
El Salvador has launched a wallet app called Chivo which citizens can sign up to with a national ID in order to transact using bitcoin.
Read more @ link.
NIH study at Stanford says convalescent therapy doesn't work
for CoVid illnesses: https://www.labroots.com/trending/immunology/21171/convalescent-plasma-therapy-covid-19-doesn-t
AUG 31, 2021 7:00 AM PDT
Convalescent Plasma Therapy for COVID-19 Doesn't Work
After encountering an infectious agent, the immune system begins churning out antibodies—Y-shaped warriors that neutralize pathogens—into the blood circulation. In theory, donor blood from patients who have recovered from an infection could be used therapeutically, helping those experiencing severe symptoms recover.
In the case of COVID-19, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency authorization for convalescent plasma therapy earlier on in the pandemic. This therapy was targeted towards patients in hospitals suffering from COVID-19, particularly those who were immunocompromised. Since its authorization, tens of thousands of patients in the U.S. have been administered convalescent plasma therapy, despite the lack of clinical trial data to support the efficacy of the treatment.
Now, a recent study by Stanford researchers has revealed the harsh reality of convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19: it doesn’t work.After encountering an infectious agent, the immune system begins churning out antibodies—Y-shaped warriors that neutralize pathogens—into the blood circulation. In theory, donor blood from patients who have recovered from an infection could be used therapeutically, helping those experiencing severe symptoms recover.
In the case of COVID-19, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency authorization for convalescent plasma therapy earlier on in the pandemic. This therapy was targeted towards patients in hospitals suffering from COVID-19, particularly those who were immunocompromised. Since its authorization, tens of thousands of patients in the U.S. have been administered convalescent plasma therapy, despite the lack of clinical trial data to support the efficacy of the treatment.
Now, a recent study by Stanford researchers has revealed the harsh reality of convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19: it doesn’t work.
A clinical trial called C3P0 was initiated by researchers at the National Institutes of Health around a year ago. The study aimed to understand how high-risk patients (such as those with underlying medical conditions such as asthma and Type 2 diabetes) would benefit from convalescent plasma therapy at the early stages of COVID-19 infection. This subset of patients is especially prone to progressing on to more severe, life-threatening symptoms of the disease, and early on during the pandemic, there were very few clinical options to support their recovery.
In February—despite only enrolling around 500 of the targeted 900 study participants—the C3PO study was terminated after researchers found no benefit of convalescent plasma at resisting severe COVID-19 symptoms compared to the placebo.
Initially, researchers involved in the study estimated that plasma therapy might slash the risk of COVID-19 progression by around 10 percent. However, the clinical data collected from C3PO revealed that this number was under two percent.
“While this trial was negative, we need to continue this research to understand when passive immunotherapy such as convalescent plasma can be effective in treating emerging infectious diseases,” commented Kevin Schulman, one of the lead investigators involved in this work.
A clinical trial called C3P0 was initiated by researchers at the National Institutes of Health around a year ago. The study aimed to understand how high-risk patients (such as those with underlying medical conditions such as asthma and Type 2 diabetes) would benefit from convalescent plasma therapy at the early stages of COVID-19 infection. This subset of patients is especially prone to progressing on to more severe, life-threatening symptoms of the disease, and early on during the pandemic, there were very few clinical options to support their recovery.
In February—despite only enrolling around 500 of the targeted 900 study participants—the C3PO study was terminated after researchers found no benefit of convalescent plasma at resisting severe COVID-19 symptoms compared to the placebo.
Initially, researchers involved in the study estimated that plasma therapy might slash the risk of COVID-19 progression by around 10 percent. However, the clinical data collected from C3PO revealed that this number was under two percent.
“While this trial was negative, we need to continue this research to understand when passive immunotherapy such as convalescent plasma can be effective in treating emerging infectious diseases,” commented Kevin Schulman, one of the lead investigators involved in this work.
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This study last year - now they should have a lot more data. I was pleased to be that "guinea pig" as an early fully vaxxed w/the 2 Pfizer shots, masking, and distancing. Now bring on that 3rd booster! Sooner than later! Delta is running rampant and now there's a Mu variant also being identified - October is also my month for flu shot, and I'd like not to confuse or overstimulate the old 70+ year old immune system. I have pre-existing conditions; apparently still not sick enough for added protection against the SARS-CoV2?
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