Covid Info

Useful Covid Links

There are two types of medical websites prevalent in the US. The first (constituting the vast majority) is at the level of “See spot run. Run spot run. Wash your hands.” All US government sites are like this. Whether this represents the intellectual acumen of our current administration or a policy of “no adult left behind”, it does not reflect well on our educational system or bode well for the future.

The second consists of preprint servers consisting of highly specialized (and often unreviewed) cutting edge research inaccessible to even a PhD in another field.

What decidedly is missing is useful technical information, accessible to the intelligent layperson. There are many possible reasons for this dirth: fear of legal liability, the miniscule fraction of the population that has the aptitude or inclination to read such literature, and (if one is particularly cynical) old-fashioned knowledge-hording and guild-style protectionism by the AMA.

Whatever the cause, it is hard to find non-sensationalist, useful info on covid. For example, that chlorhexidine is ineffective or that ibuprofen (and even aspirin) may aggravate covid.

This is a list of links — primarily for myself, but also made available to friends — which contain information I found interesting or useful. Naturally, the most valuable info is from a translated Chinese document because heaven knows why our own government would bother to offer such information.

Now the mandatory disclaimer because this is the US: I’m not a doctor (of the useful kind anyway), don’t know anything, can’t advise anything, and all info I include here is considered a work of fiction from a legal standpoint. Heck, most news is anyway these days.

Here is some useful info:

  • Virus Name: SARS-CoV-2
  • Disease Name: Covid-19 [Name of syndrome caused by virus]
  • Time airborne: 3 hours in still air
  • Time on Cardboard: 24 hours
  • Time on Plastic/Steel: 2-3 days
  • Time on Copper: 4 hours
  • Time on Porous clothing: Probably 24 hrs
  • Time on polyester/spandex: Possibly 2-3 days
  • Washing clothes: highest temp wash/dry material can handle, use bleach if possible, but generally ok to mix clothes or use public washer/dryers. If handwashing 80+ F.
  • Surface disinfection: 62-71% alcohol, 0.5% hydrogen peroxide bleach, 0.1% Sodium Hypochlorite bleach
  • Not effective: Hibiclens or Chlorhexidine products
  • Dubious: Sunlight kills lots of germs, but there is no evidence that exposure to sunlight for short periods kills SARS-CoV-2
  • Fever reducers when sick (unconfirmed, but possibly true): Avoid NSAIDs (ibuprofen and aspirin) if possible because may aggravate Covid. Focus on acetaminophen (Tylenol). Note: Do NOT mix tylenol with alcohol or take too much, it can cause major liver damage!

Here are the links:

Writings and Ravings