For telco at least, some countries have exactly that and unfortunately it does not run more efficiently and centralizes potential content control. Innovation comes from competition, and privatization keeps content more freely flowing. If we can solve those two while centralizing that would be amazing but maybe unrealistic with current policy.
If you have two people, you can have person A ask person B to “pick a random number”, and use heads for odd, tails for even. Don’t tell person B why you’re asking and my guess is you’re relatively random heads/tails. No studies that I am aware of to back this up, so people could be biased towards odd/even, but a bias correction could correct that too.
Best I’ve heard it described is that Antigen tests are best for detecting high virulence on days 3-5 (e.g., when the spread is happening from tons of viral production, including in the nasal passages). They are more for public health usage to prevent spread rather than diagnostic like PCR.
That aligns with my experience, that if you test positive on antigen you are definitely contagious but if you test negative you may still have the virus present in your system. PCR amplifies it so it can detect even small viral load.
If only we had some guidance and solid communication from public health experts that you could conceivably trust..
> They are more for public health usage to prevent spread rather than diagnostic like PCR.
Like the grandparent, I know several people that have all of the covid symptoms, but tested negative early on. These people just go about their day because they think they have some other cold, then stop testing until their symptoms go away. I would probably do the same.
My thoughts exactly. I believe the widespread misunderstanding of how to use the different tests and interpret the results will end up hurting infection rates overall. For exactly the reason you mention - it lulls people into a false sense of security. I disagree with this person's take 100% especially since PCR testing has been all but abandoned in the face of the magnitude the omicron wave.
Until a PCR can be done within 15 min instead of 2-3 day turnaround, there will always be a gap in using PCR for public health purposes. That time may come in the future for faster PCR, but it is simply not the reality yet today and we have to rely on antigen tests to at the very least rely on detecting the most virulent days to prevent super spreader events.
Still an active field of study but your intuition seems to be right. One study is here [1]. Combustible “types” of PM are usually worse (think smoke / carbon) vs. vaporous types of PM. The method of action is hypothesized to be the carbon particulate getting lodged in your lungs (similar problems from smoking, carbon nanotube inhalation, or charred foods).
One note that these articles and comparisons miss almost every single time - including the linked article. Bottled water is better for your health vs. the alternatives it sits next to in-store - sugar filled drinks, soda and/or diet soda - all of which are just as bad for the environment or worse.
When that health comparison is made, it becomes difficult to understand how banning or restricting bottled water makes sense when the alternative is not really tap water.
I haven't been in an office regularly for years but, at one point, a company I worked for stopped stocking bottled water and gave everyone reusable water bottles. But in part because people often wanted something to drink when they were in a meeting on another floor people wanted to grab something else from the fridge on that floor. They usually grabbed a seltzer, the usage of which pretty much shot up to equal the previous bottled water consumption.
If you have forced air, you can get a UV bulb that all air passes by for $200-300 - just requires drilling some holes and an AC plug. Also helps with killing mold and bacteria as an added benefit (and some of the original intention for the devices, e.g., OdorStop).
I totally believe that UV light is great at killing pathogens and that UV belongs in ventilation systems, but we presumably need to know how much UV light is needed.
The UV doses needed also seem to depend on a lot on the type of pathogen. For example, viruses require a higher dose than bacteria. In
For those lactose intolerant out there, Tofutti makes a great no-lactose cream cheese alternative pretty widely available (Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods) that weirdly does a great texture-wise match to “real” cream cheese.
Several states have or have had laws against allowing unmarried partners or friends from making medical decisions. This was a huge deal for the legalization of gay marriage - before that you were in rough shape if your unmarried partner even wanted to visit you if you were incapacitated in the hospital.
This level of tariffs is to discourage international dependency and trade as a prelude to war. Look who does not have a tariff.
This is not good policy - leading economists have written about this [1] as “…perhaps the worst economic own goal I have seen in my lifetime.”
[1] https://www.thefp.com/p/tyler-cowen-liberation-day-was-even