1/ Why do doctors like me & @meganranney ask how high the POTUS' fever has been, if his O2 levels have been low, whether he's required supplemental oxygen? It's the difference between moderate & severe COVID. This tells us a lot about prognosis & what treatments are indicated.
2/ If the president required supplemental oxygen, he has SEVERE COVID and should hand power over to VP Pence until he is clinically improved.
3/ POTUS was given remdesivir. *Assuming* evidence-/guideline-based use of remdesivir, this would also indicate that the president has SEVERE COVID (i.e. oxygen saturation less than or equal to 94% on room air, requiring supplemental oxygen/ventilator/ECMO).
4/ But we know the president doesn't abide by evidence and guidelines, so it's hard to know for sure if that's what his receiving remdesivir means.
5/ Dr. Sean Conley, the president's personal doctor, ended the press conference when asked whether the president had received dexamethasone. Dexamethasone is indicated in severe/critical COVID, but not mild/moderate COVID.
6/ Assuming a non-denial = tacit affirmation, the president has received dexamethasone. This would mean he has (at the very least) SEVERE COVID. He should transfer power to VP Pence until he's clinically improved.
7/ There are reasons NOT to give dexamethasone if COVID is not severe enough: psychiatric side-effects (e.g. agitation, confusion), suppression of adrenal glands, risk of bacterial/fungal infection. I don't think the decision to give dexamethasone would be cavalier.
8/ The questions Dr. Conley is avoiding / refusing to answer (highest temperature, lowest oxygen saturation, requirements for supplemental oxygen, need for dexamethasone) would tell us something about the president's prognosis. THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY IS, ITSELF, A DIAGNOSIS.
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1/ Stemming the spread of H5N1 bird flu
🔹The federal government is ramping up testing of dairy cows
🔹Cows will now have to be tested before being transferred to another state
🔹H5N1 viral fragments detected in grocery store milk
🔹The risk to humans remains low at this time
2/ Remember PCR tests from COVID?
They can be positive even after you’ve recovered because they’re picking up dead virus.
Some PCR tests on pasteurized milk from grocery stores have come back positive for bird flu... but that could just be dead virus.
3/ Pasteurization has worked for over a hundred years to protect consumers from bacteria and viruses.
There’s no reason to think pasteurization won’t also work to kill the bird flu virus, but scientists are confirming that with testing anyway.
2/ The February 21st cyberattack on a medical payment processing company Change Healthcare, a unit of insurance giant UnitedHealth Group's Optum division, is the worst cyberattack on the U.S. healthcare system in history.
3/ Change Healthcare company processes 15B health care transactions annually & touches 1 in every 3 patient records.
Change Healthcare controls providers’ ability to process claims for payment, patient billing & patient cost estimation services.