Local dentists have actually been caught prescribing Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin for themselves and their families. This is obviously out of their scope of practice, but hey, if they feel like they can write prescriptions for it, maybe we should "enlist" them into our medical centers! :haha:

The article doesn't say WHY they didn't show up. Muni has very loose rules about staying out sick. Drivers just do it all the time--no doctors' notes or anything like that required (union rules). I DO suspect most of them just considered it too risky to work--look at the comments in the Examiner piece which has no firewall, several from Muni drivers. All the drivers are being paid whether they work or not, so why work?

Individually yes. But these for-profit health systems are being just as affected as many other industries and will lay off/furlough employees. In fact healthcare may be one of the hardest hit sectors up there with hospitality and retail.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ff/5102320002/

CTA is still running full service. At first I thought it was ridiculous that the express commuter bus I ride was still running but then I remembered that plenty of the people on it are commuting to UCMedical...

Yes, medical school is pretty much the same for all, certainly the "pre-clinical" years. Where/when I went, we did a year of basic sciences that everybody took and a year of clinical rotations--medicine, surgery, OB-GYN, psychiatry and pediatrics--that everybody took. Then we had a year of elective basic sciences and a year of elective clinical rotations so, for example, the would-be surgeons could do rotations in thoracic surgery and urology while the prospective non-surgeons could do neurology and nephrology (for example).

After graduation, you used to do an internship that was either surgical or non-surgical where, again, you rotated through the specialties in those general categories. Now a lot of people go directly into residencies in their chosen field.

But the point here is that with the possible exceptions of most psychiatrists, just about all other doctors have relevant skills (and the psychiatrists could counsel grieving relatives). Even radiologists have to be able to start an IV to do the type of studies where they inject contrast material plus they can certainly help out reading films in the ER if they have forgotten everything else they learned in Med School. I already pointed out that dentists inject their patients with local anesthetics so they are trained how to manage extreme allergic reactions which can be dramatic emergencies. And they do dental surgery which can be more complicated than some other surgery.

It's just not the case that these people have nothing to offer if they are willing to offer it.

https://covid19.ca.gov/healthcorps/

No health care professional in the WORLD (yes, they are granting licenses to doctors trained in other countries who might normally need additional training in the US to get licensed) needs to be laid off or unemployed right now. No excuses. Sorry.

And in CA the weather's great!

I really don't like reading comments sections of news articles; they just aggravate me. They're all subjective experiences and/or opinions, and can be filled with a lot of misinformation. I skimmed through it, though.

Are drivers really paid whether they work or not? According to this link to the SF Muni Union (though outdated, covers 7-1-2014 to 6-30-2016), it mentions sick leave with/without pay, and it does mention that paid sick leave can be exhausted.

TWU Local 250-A SFMTA: https://www.sfmta.com/sites/default/...%2012%29_0.pdf

Ah, per California Governor Gavin Newsom:

- California is lending 500 ventilators to states in need
- More than 81,000 people have signed up for the Health Corps (wow!)
- California has procured sites to hold over 4,000 emergency medical beds so far

Link, from laist: https://laist.com/latest/post/202004...te-coronavirus

https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/muni...than-70-lines/

https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfranc...er-report.html

In other words, it's something of a tradition at SF Muni: Don't show up for work but expect to be paid anyway. And they won't fire you--the union won't let them. I don't know if any of these drivers not working right now have exhausted their sick leave but my guess is if asked, they will claim some sort of exposure on their route requiring "self-quarantine" and nobody will question it and they will continue to be paid.

Yeah I read that, but that's in regards to what's going on right now, for the time being, with service reduced from the pandemic. I didn't take that as being the general rule with the Muni drivers' union.



I couldn't read that article.

And that sounds like your interpretation or speculation on your part.

Though I couldn't read the article, I did find this: https://sfist.com/2016/12/28/muni_drivers_cough_sick/

Same story, but it gives a little more nuanced info. It talks about sick time abuse; apparently, many drivers call out sick when their vacation requests are denied. So, that sick time is what adds to the absenteeism. They don't just not show up and get paid, they are calling out sick a lot. You seem to be making out that they're just lazy and just don't want to work but still get paid; no, they're calling out sick for a reason, because many drivers' vacations aren't approved. What if they had a significant family event to go to, like a wedding or graduation, or baptism or confirmation or whatever, but couldn't go because their vacation wasn't approved? They'll call out sick, and not because they're necessarily lazy, but because they have something important to go to.

well that's why we have the old md/dentist joke.

what do you call a med school dropout?


baa duummm.

tissssch.

:haha:

There are 85,357 Texans who have been tested
There are 7,319 who have been tested positive in Texas
140 deaths
21,033 beds available statewide
6,080 ventilators available
7,550 anesthesia machines available
More than 1.6 million masks
Over 2.7 million gloves distributed
1,145 cases in Houston

From ABC-7 Los Angeles:

Coronavirus: Officials urge LA County residents to skip grocery shopping, stay home this week

Officials are advising all residents of Los Angeles County to stay home this week, which they are calling critical in the widespread efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.

At a Monday afternoon press conference, county public health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said people should try not leave their homes for groceries or medications, but should instead arrange for them to be delivered, if necessary.

"If you have enough supplies in your home, this would be the week to skip shopping altogether," she said.

The recommendation comes as the number of cases across L.A. County topped 6,000. The county's death toll now stands at 147.

Globally, the number of people dying appeared to be slowing in New York City, Spain and Italy. The news was cautiously welcomed by leaders, who also noted that any gains could easily be reversed if people did not continue to adhere to strict lockdowns.

[...]

Link: https://abc7.com/la-county-residents...xKZjSGlDGCXySM



It's a good thing we got our grocery shopping done yesterday; we weren't planning on going to the market for at least another 2 weeks.

On the topic of which health care professionals could help out (and which ones couldn't), I found it interesting today that Quebec Premier François Legault mentioned that they were enlisting *veterinarians* as emergency help to install and operate ventilators - since they already know how they work.

so if you have a known corona you have a 1 in 52 chance to die in texas as of currently? did i do that right? :shrug:

Not necessarily. I suspect many of them feel the same way I do. They're afraid and with good justification. But I raised this issue as a comparison with certain medical personnel in a government health system. I think some of them might not show up--those dermatologists and dentists and administrative nurses--because they're afraid to. Recall, the issue was an allegation that we have health pros sitting this one out because of capitalism or some such. I think they're sitting it out for reasons having nothing to do with economic systems just like the bus drivers.

Let me quote the comments that struck me:

https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/muni...than-70-lines/

These guys are apparently still working but they tell you how many of the drivers feel and I'd bet a lot of them just decided it isn't worth it.

By the way, the 5 line referred to ("R" stands for "rapid"--it's the express bus on the 5 line) is probably the one I take the most--passes a block from my place.

In fact, in NY I read they are asking veterinarians to donate their ventillators to be used on people so they definitely know how those work.

1 in 66 in California

That's not what it means at all.

Of the known cases in past tense, sure. But a lot of cases aren't known, because they're non-or lightly symptomatic, newly infected, or seriously ill or dead but not considered coronavirus cases.

The first two suggest the survival rate is higher than the stats. The third suggests it's worse. The truth is probably between the two...WAY more cases than we know about, and also quite a bit more deaths.

As for your "chances," that would depend on future conditions. If the medical system gets overwhelmed (depends on how stupid the public is), death rates can get much higher. And of course if you're healthy and younger they'll be much lower.

From the Los Angeles Daily News:

LA County giving $10,000 each to businesses as coronavirus hits bottom lines

By CITY NEWS SERVICE | news@socalnews.com |
PUBLISHED: April 6, 2020 at 11:22 a.m. | UPDATED: April 6, 2020 at 1:46 p.m.

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County is launching a $500,000 fund to provide grants of up to $10,000 each to local businesses in need, officials announced Monday.

Business owners should act fast, as applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis and closed once 150 applications are received.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the Board of Supervisors and the Department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services joined together to create the fund.

“The coronavirus pandemic has impacted residents and businesses throughout Los Angeles County,” Barger said. “It is vitally important that we pursue every resource available to support local business and help maintain good job opportunities throughout the region.”

The Department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services will host a webinar at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday to guide business owners on how to apply. The application site will open Wednesday at 8 a.m. at https://workforce.lacounty.gov/.

About 25% of awards will be reserved for social enterprises that demonstrate a need and ability to serve vulnerable populations. Priority will also be given to businesses in unincorporated areas of the county.

Supervisor Hilda Solis said an unprecedented response is required.

“Los Angeles County will assist our most burdened businesses impacted by the COVID-19 crisis with the launch of our Employer Assistance Grant Fund,” Solis said. “This innovative state-funded program will help our local businesses, including nonprofits and social enterprises that serve our communities’ most vulnerable individuals. This unprecedented global pandemic requires an unprecedented response, and L.A. County stands ready to offer relief to our small businesses.”

In order to qualify, businesses must:

- Be a for-profit corporation, partnership, or nonprofit with a for-profit activity in Los Angeles County
- Have between two and 50 full-time employees
- Have less than $2 million in gross receipts or annual revenue
- Have been established on or before Dec. 4, 2019
- Be able to produce tax returns
- Demonstrate significant economic hardship as a result of COVID-19. Businesses that have demonstrated evidence of a loss of revenue of at least 20% will have met this burden.

Businesses can use the money to:

- Pay mortgages, rent or utilities
- Cover working capital costs
- Pay for inventory
- Bridge funding to other lenders, such as Small Business Administration Payroll Protection
- Pay down other debt incurred before the covered period

The grants may not be used to pay outstanding taxes, legal judgments, employee payroll or benefits, or for lobbying.

The WDACS acting director, Otto Solorzano, thanked state officials for making monies available for the fund, which he said would be the first of its kind in California.

“Thank you to Gov. (Gavin) Newsom and (the California Employment Development Department) for providing this critical funding for L.A. County’s businesses, and to the Board of Supervisors for their support of this essential program,” Solorzano said. “The Employer Assistance Grant Fund will provide some of our local businesses with desperately needed capital at a critical time, allowing them to retain workers and remain in business.”

Link: https://www.dailynews.com/2020/04/06...-bottom-lines/