tomsred

It's rare but it still exists. I lifted this from the Mayo Clinic description: "Diphtheria (dif-THEER-e-uh) is a serious bacterial infection that usually affects the mucous membranes of your nose and throat. Diphtheria is extremely rare in the United States and other developed countries, thanks to widespread vaccination against the disease. Diphtheria can be treated with medications. But in advanced stages, diphtheria can damage your heart, kidneys and nervous system. Even with treatment, diphtheria can be deadly, especially in children."

Polio still exists outside the USA. This is from the Mayo Clinic: "Polio is a contagious viral illness that in its most severe form causes nerve injury leading to paralysis, difficulty breathing and sometimes death. In the U.S., the last case of naturally occurring polio was in 1979. Today, despite a worldwide effort to wipe out polio, poliovirus continues to affect children and adults in parts of Asia and Africa. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises taking precautions to protect yourself from polio if you're traveling anywhere there's a risk of polio. Adults who have been vaccinated who plan to travel to an area where polio is occurring should receive a booster dose of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV). Immunity after a booster lasts a lifetime." Actually there were 38 cases of "modern polio" reported in the US last year. I think the worst year was 1952 when over 57,000 children were infected, 6% death rate, about another 45% had mild to severe conditions. I don't know the overall number that it's killed over the years, but I'm sure it's in the millions, mostly children. Dr. Jonas Salk, who developed the vaccine became a national hero in the 1950's, for its 1953 discovery. Widespread inoculations did not begin until the mid 1950's after widespread trials. If that had developed today, it would be every bit as devastating as Covid-19. Interesting that you mentioned that as I am a polio survivor. I contracted it at 4 years old, but recovered in about a month with no damage (other than it damaged my brain about baseball, lol). This was just before the vaccine became widely available (1949). One day I was fine, the next day I tried to get out of bed and couldn't stand up. But it didn't stay for long, there was nothing much they could do for me, but I recovered due to my immune system as I recall. Scared the hell out of my parents. Because respiratory failure could occur in severe cases iron lungs were developed (I guess you could call them primitive ventilators), here is a photo from 1952:

I think Eppler does get an extension for at least one year. I don't believe there will be any meaningful baseball in 2020 though. I think there is some small chance for empty stadium baseball, but it would be hard to fathom any significant number of fans who want to sit in a crowded stadium this year. And how many people, despite the health risk, are going to be able to spend the money for baseball tickets when they may be laid off or their jobs gone, their small private businesses virtually destroyed, or have mounting debts of all sorts. You could even be a recovered Covid patient with maybe some immunity for an unknown time, but with a staggering medical bill because you were not insured. I love baseball, but wow it's so far down the priority list right now it's hard to image any short term recovery in it for American society generally. Lots of things are going to change in the long run. Examples include how we greet and interact with other people, how we go about our daily routines and prevent flare up of this pandemic, and unknown future ones, etc.. Worldwide over 77 million people have been infected by the AIDS virus, over 34 million have died of AIDS complications. Think how that changed sexual awareness. Covid is much more contagious, more stealthily passed on from one person to another, and even though it is a fragile protein molecule it can be transmitted from surface contact. It's going to have a significant effect on our daily lives even while in some degree of remission. Remember, smallpox is the only significant virus to be eliminated in this century, SARS, MERS, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, AIDS, Zeka, and others still exist in the world and pose threats to the human species if not kept in check. I am normally an optimistic person, but these situations are a great reminder of how much the human species is changing our planet kind of willy nilly and without regard to the consequences. It going to take every country on earth to fix the underlying causes of these viruses.

For those who are not familiar with it, 60 minutes ran scenes and interviewed doctors and nurses about ventilator patients tonight. Very, very sad especially just before the patient is sedated they have to remotely say goodbye to their loved ones for fear of contamination.

There is no way things will be back to normal at Easter. We are headed for easily passing China for the amount of infections, and that's with China having 5 times more people than are in the US.. People are getting anxious to get outside and do things and mingle, and that's going to stretch out any recovery. The current numbers are 64,765 infected (and we still have not tested nearly enough). What's the real number, probably somewhere in the hundreds of thousands at this point. I can't see any way to play this season. If the season were to start on June 1st, and new infections were still occurring in significant numbers, would you really take the chance to go to a crowded stadium, and sit around and interact with people you don't know are carriers or not for the sake of watching a baseball game? I wouldn't. My biggest concern is that hospitals are going to be so overwhelmed that there will be significant secondary deaths not caused by Covid directly, but by hospitals not having the resources to treat other significant diseases and then deaths occur from these situations. That has already happened in Italy. Too many people in this country are still underestimating the severity of this crisis. The number of cases are doubling roughly every three days. That has got to lesson or hospitals will eventually collapse under the pressure.

Where is the "Doug Eddings Sleeps With The Fishes Sign."

As of yesterday, there were no confirmed cases in West Virginia, the only State without one. Where is everyone in West Virginia, probably hiding out in the coal mines.

Here's the latest update as of two days later than Blarg's numbers: U.S.A.: 4,711 cases, 91 deaths (That is 2,278 new cases in 48 hours.). We are way behind the curve in testing, so no one really knows the real number, could be tens of thousands more?

Not yet, but just wait until Covid21 strikes next year.

Stradling gets a new bat for his Birthday! Congratulations.

My guess is March __, 2021.

The Orioles don't need a rebuild, they need a restart.

It's not the high point right now because not nearly enough people in the US have been tested to get a true indication of the spread. As the test kits start to roll out the trend is starting to spike badly. In this country the number of tests as a percentage of the total population is one of the lowest in the world. The countries that have tested a much higher percentage have many more cases. Because you can feel perfectly fine doesn't mean you don't have Covid-19, and that is dangerous because you can still infect people who are more vunerable.

No one knows how many people are really positive with Covid-19 in the U.S.. The testing has been so limited for a variety of reasons, it's generally a botched effort. When testing is thoroughly underway then we will see just how serious this virus really is, where it's concentrated, and what can be done to mitigate it. It's not just a shut off the borders issue, or a travel issue, it's already here and how badly remains to be seen. It's in everyones best interest to take measures that seem radical right now, but necessary to save lives. Yes, I think the season will at least be postponed, maybe the rest of Spring Training as well.

F-15E STRIKE EAGLE

Happy Birthday Partner!

20 Man Fishy Roster.....(subject to change depending on who gets caught) Row 1: La Stella, Castro, Simmons, Teheran, Robles Row 2: Middleton, Heaney, Barria, Buttrey, Goodwin Row 3: Trout, Fletcher, Stassi, , Bundy, Ohtani Row 4: Upton, Rendon, Thaiss, Canning, Pujols

Ángel Moreno (No. 21) Position: Pitcher Bats: Left • Throws: Left 5-9, 165lb (175cm, 74kg) Born: June 6, 1955 (Age: 64-273d) in Soledad de Doblado, Mexico mx High School: La Mendosa Soledad (Mexico, Mexico) Debut: August 15, 1981 (Age 26-070d, 12,085th in MLB history) vs. OAK 0.0 IP, 0 H, 0 SO, 1 BB, 0 ER Should be playing for the Angels today, he would be Arte's favorite!

Okay, good here's another....