4 ms·

The biggest problem is that this information compounds with the reality on the ground (for example the stringent test requirements in King county - symptomatic

The biggest problem is that this information compounds with the reality on the ground (for example the stringent test requirements in King county - symptomatic patients being turned away from testing) which further breeds mistrust in the government, panic and susceptibility to any explanation which makes sense.

makomk 7y ago
This is kind of the problem. Tbe symptoms are basically the same as flu and many other things at least in mild cases, pretty much nowhere is testing all patients who have them, and the reaction of medical professionals to the idea that they should tends to involve words like "dangerous" and "irresponsible". But the mainstream media, including publications like the Times, fed the idea that not aggressively testing was basically asking for an epidemic, tied it to powerful partisan narratives, and now there's no going back.
- decebalus1 7y ago
  > Tbe symptoms are basically the same as flu there are some nuances to that and the symptoms are not basically the same. One of the MSFT employees who ended up testing positive was initially turned away from testing at the hospital as there was no travel abroad involved. She/he self-quarantined and ended up being tested by the 'Seattle Flu Study' which came up positive. A lot of reactions to that were along the lines of 'well, if the result is the same (you need to self-isolate, same treatment as the flu) why is it useful to know if you have the novel virus?'. This is bad, IMO. It sends the message that there's some entity who wants the numbers to stay low via denying testing, while at the same time sending people on their way thinking 'it's not serious' who would then get back to their daily routine which would infect others. As a King county resident looking at what's happening in Italy, I have this constant anxiety that this is only going to get worse. Coupled with the amount of bullcrap thrown around on Facebook, I'm worried that some people who were on the edge prior to this outbreak would snap. There's a Facebook group full of preppers (because of the Seattle big earthquake thing) which completely blew up with this outbreak. I'm talking people stocking up on ammo to ensure nobody steals their stash.
  - hef19898 7y ago
    Or maybe reserving limited testing capacity for severe cases in which proper diagnosis makes all the difference? Would sound legit to me. Not saying that limited testing isn't a problem, the very least of which is biasing the numbers.
- Der_Einzige 7y ago
  That's because not aggressively testing is exactly what led to this PANDEMIC.

makomk 7y ago

This is kind of the problem. Tbe symptoms are basically the same as flu and many other things at least in mild cases, pretty much nowhere is testing all patients who have them, and the reaction of medical professionals to the idea that they should tends to involve words like "dangerous" and "irresponsible". But the mainstream media, including publications like the Times, fed the idea that not aggressively testing was basically asking for an epidemic, tied it to powerful partisan narratives, and now there's no going back.

decebalus1 7y ago
> Tbe symptoms are basically the same as flu there are some nuances to that and the symptoms are not basically the same. One of the MSFT employees who ended up testing positive was initially turned away from testing at the hospital as there was no travel abroad involved. She/he self-quarantined and ended up being tested by the 'Seattle Flu Study' which came up positive. A lot of reactions to that were along the lines of 'well, if the result is the same (you need to self-isolate, same treatment as the flu) why is it useful to know if you have the novel virus?'. This is bad, IMO. It sends the message that there's some entity who wants the numbers to stay low via denying testing, while at the same time sending people on their way thinking 'it's not serious' who would then get back to their daily routine which would infect others. As a King county resident looking at what's happening in Italy, I have this constant anxiety that this is only going to get worse. Coupled with the amount of bullcrap thrown around on Facebook, I'm worried that some people who were on the edge prior to this outbreak would snap. There's a Facebook group full of preppers (because of the Seattle big earthquake thing) which completely blew up with this outbreak. I'm talking people stocking up on ammo to ensure nobody steals their stash.
- hef19898 7y ago
  Or maybe reserving limited testing capacity for severe cases in which proper diagnosis makes all the difference? Would sound legit to me. Not saying that limited testing isn't a problem, the very least of which is biasing the numbers.
Der_Einzige 7y ago
That's because not aggressively testing is exactly what led to this PANDEMIC.