There are a few Wuhan Virus cases in our area,  most everyone has one on in public though.
The mortality statistics  of people my age is not good so we wear the damn things when out in public.
Out and about in the Mustang it’s mask free, top up or down.

My neighbor had it but fortunately recovered without being hospitalized. He was really sick and after a month he is still moving slow. Since March he had gone into one business. I wear a mask when in public for several reasons. I have a daughter in law that is a nurse and working the pandemic front lines. She has told me masks do protect the wearer to some degree. Second my wife and I are high risk. And third my daughter in law wears that mask for 12 hours a day her son, my grandson, is presently in Navy boot camp and wears one, VOLUNTARILY, from revelly to taps. I figure if they can do that I can wear one for 15 minutes on the rare occasion that I venture out. The masks work. The docs and scientists have said so.

Neighbor next to me lost her Dad to the virus. He was 84 years old.
Her Mother and brother also were infected but recovered. Her brother has been dealing with heart  problems since recovering. Here in Louisiana we have been required to wear face coverings when we  enter stores or public spaces.

Cman

It mostly has to do with genetics.  All viruses have a 10% genetic immunity in the world population.  All that virus ends the world stuff is science fiction.  A bad virus could significantly reduce the population, but there would always be that 10%, and even among those not genetically immune there are greater or lesser reactions to it depending on genetics.  Typically the more pandemics your ancestors survived the better chance you have.  Europeans are particularly hearty due to having survived thousands of years worth of pandemics, but when Europeans made contact with native Americans the 10% that survived all the European diseases also bred offspring with genetic immunity.  Its similar with those of African descent whose ancestors came to the Americas as slaves.  If they survived their offspring had genetic immunity to various diseases, and interbreeding with those of European descent made that immunity potentially even stronger.  The areas that seem most hard hit by this disease are areas with seemingly little population diversity.  There's a reason why the best dogs always seem to be mutts. 

Viruses need a receptor site.  The viral DNA or RNA then hijacks your cells genetic replication process to produce copies of the virus instead of new healthy cells.  Eventually your cells figure out what's happening and start to produce viral antibodies to combat the virus.  This entire process is heavily genetic dependent.  Some people may simply lack the receptor site, or have a weak receptor site due to genetic variation, so they won't get sick at all or will have a very mild case.  Previous exposure or your ancestor's survival of contact with similar diseases can greatly reduce the time needed to start forming antibodies and ultimately defeating the virus.  People with compromised immune systems are at particular risk because it will take them much longer to respond effectively to the virus.  Antibody formation takes longer and production of sufficient quantities of antibodies also takes longer.  The real danger is while all this is happening your body is left vulnerable to other infections and diseases that would normally not be life threatening, but because your immune system is already occupied, well, we all at this point I think understand the dangers of trying to fight a war on two fronts.

Its a fascinating field of study.  There are possibilities that include using a viral or retroviral delivery system to change a persons DNA such that receptor site is rendered inert or eliminated.  This would mean they simply could not contract the virus.  CRISPR is the most promising method currently being studied. 

Another possibility is finding an existing drug that creates an irreparable chain break in the viral genetic material during replication.  There were promising tests run with an anti ebola drug which used that method, but with no reason as to why it was pulled from testing and production ceased.  Obviously the manufacturer knew something and was afraid of a lawsuit.

These technologies are amazing, but they also present danger.  Messing with a persons genetic code isn't something that should be done willy nilly.  The US and most countries have extremely tight controls on the use of this technology.  China however does not, and there are already thousands of people in China who have had their genetics modified.  If I were a conspiracy theorist, well, I think you see where I'm going with this.

My Son had it two weeks ago. He is 23 so it was not hard on him at all other than losing his sense of smell and taste for a few days. He had 2 days of fever and lots of fatigue and the rest of time just sniffles and coughs. He has a friend about the same age and it hit her really hard, thankfully she is recovering. 

Last edited by Raymond_B (10/06/2020 9:47 AM)

I'm pretty sure I was exposed to it in early March.  One of my customers was in Milan during Fashion Week.  Italy was starting to restrict travel, so she left and went to visit family in Germany so she wouldn't get stuck in Italy.  The next week they quarantined Milan, within another week the entire country.  While in Germany she started to feel sick.  She is retired Army so she called the base hospital and asked if she should be tested.  They said she didn't fit the CDC criteria.  Two days later she had a fever, and called again, still didn't fit the criteria.  She recovered and hopped and Army transport to Dover.  The CDC criteria basically changed while she was in the air, and when she landed they would not let her deplane and took her off in hazmat suits and into a negative air pressure room to be tested.  The test was negative.  Two days later I was working on her house.  Come to find out that those early tests had about a 30% false negative rate.  All her symptoms fit and she was at the European epicenter of infection.  By the time I was in her house she would still have been contagious.  None of us got sick though.  Of course, that was 7 months ago, and even if I had it and was asymptomatic its doubtful the immunity would have lasted.  We tend to think of a virus as a singular thing, but in reality there are different strains based on very minor genetic differences.  Another thing which may explain the severity of infection is just that.  Some of those strains may be more virulent than others, or the match up between the persons DNA and the specific virus strain RNA/DNA could form kind of a perfect storm. 

Yeah, people totally misunderstand the mask a lot of the time.  Its sole purpose is to prevent moisture droplets from your mouth and nose from leaving your immediate vicinity when you talk or breathe.  That is to stop you from spreading the virus if you have it and don't know it. 

As far as protecting you, probably better than nothing, but even an N95 mask only filters down to 3 microns and a virus is in the 1-1.5 micron size range, so it can get through even those masks.  That degree of restriction can offer some benefit by keeping the vast majority out though. 

Honestly though, its something that maybe 2% of the population of the US has had based on reports of positive tests, which means its probably realistically more like 5%, but still a very, very small fraction of people.  Our best defense still remains simply avoiding large crowds, especially indoors. 

I wouldn't put too much stock in testing either.  That's touted a lot as some kind of panacea, like this will all go away if people just get tested.  Here's the thing, the test is not 100% effective.  Also, the timing of the test determines whether its positive or negative whether you have the virus or not.  The problem is the test isn't testing for the virus, no such test exists, and would require a trained lab technician to analyze your blood under a microscope.  For obvious reasons (time, cost, lack of personnel) this isn't being done.  Instead they have designed various viral antibody tests.  Those are much easier to administer and faster. 

The first problem with such a test is that antibody production doesn't begin immediately with exposure.  It takes several days.  If you are exposed, get tested on say day two, and test negative, you may well still carry the virus. 

The second problem is that due to variations in peoples immuno response some people may not make antibodies, or make them in sufficient quantities to be detected because the virus doesn't provoke a strong response.  These people are asymptomatic carriers (basically typhoid Marry).  They aren't sick, so they don't think anything is wrong.  Most would never get tested anyway, unless compelled to do so.  Research indicates that up to 50% of those infected could be asymptomatic. 

The final issue with tests is that they have some measure of false negatives, even if the person has antibodies.  Initially these rates were absurdly high, like 30%.  The newer tests are down to something like less than 5%, but the possibility still exists. 

I ascribe to the idea that we each need to take our own health and safety, and that of others as a personal responsibility.  I wear a mask to protect others, not myself.  If I get sick I'll get tested, and probably just stay home regardless of the test results until I'm better.  I think the days of going to work when you're sick because you're a tough guy are over, maybe forever, and I don't think that's a bad thing. 

The big danger with flu season I think is that if a person got both the flu and COVID they'd be f'd.