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Upstate NY Banter and General Discussion..


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The science behind the new Rutgers test is based on a laboratory technique that makes millions of copies of the COVID-19 nucleic acid from a single sample.

Typical hospital labs can run 20 to 30 samples a day, said Brooks. The new technology can potentially process tens of thousands of samples a day, and do it quickly.

“It’s highly automated,” he said.

But beyond the automation, the genetic testing of saliva samples will make a huge difference in how many people can be checked for viral infection because far more samples can be collected.

Tests now being performed in New Jersey as well as across the country involve the use of a nasal or throat swab to obtain a sample used to determine whether someone is infected, with results available to providers within three days.

Judith Lightfoot, chief of infectious disease at Rowan University, said if it holds up to be effective, the Rutgers test represented another avenue to take pressure off the state’s overall testing program, as well the Abbott test, which she said can also handle large number of tests, and will greatly cut down on how much time it takes to get results.

The approval of saliva testing would allow health officials to expand screening of the population far beyond what is now possible, without the need of a medical provider to take the sample — by simply having someone spit into a tube.

That will allow testing of anyone — even those who are asymptomatic — without the current concern for scarce collection supplies that has now essentially limited most testing in the state to those who doctors already suspect are infected with the virus.

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This moment in history is such a novelty. In such a fast-moving, technological society, we are not used to having such a problem as this that we can't solve quickly.

This will be one of those moments in history where students decades from now in a more advanced society will look back on us and be like, "Wow, that's how they handled that in an 'older' society..."

We are just a small blink of an eye in the timeline of a changing world.

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Don't want to chime in on the earlier posts, but a lot of bad information. I'm licensed in NYS for life, accident, and health insurance. Medicaid is for poor people, Medicare is available for those 65+ and doesn't cover all expenses related to health care. (Usually 80%) Nursing homes aren't covered or assisted living. You need long term care insurance for that. You can pay extra premiums for assisted living I believe, but not nursing homes. The premiums can be expensive. Long term care insurance is EXTREMELY expensive. Medicaid has a 5 year look back period of all income/property exchange. The state tracks EVERYTHING you own or have owned and can penalize you if you start giving stuff away when you start to get sick to protect your assets. I've seen peoples entire life savings evaporated by medical expenses. This is why trusts and transfer of assets should begin long before you get too old or sick. The medicaid limits are below:

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In regards to Medicare which usually only covers part A. This link below describes what you get when you turn 65 automatically.

https://www.aarp.org/health/medicare-insurance/info-01-2011/understanding_medicare_the_plans.html

Part A:

When you apply for Medicare, you will automatically be enrolled in Part A. It covers hospital stays, hospice care and some skilled nursing care that you may need after being hospitalized for a stroke, a broken hip or other episodes that require rehabilitation in a nursing home or other facility so you can get back on your feet.

Part B: (COST EXTRA)

This part of Medicare covers doctor visits, lab tests, diagnostic screenings, medical equipment, ambulance transportation and other outpatient services.

Unlike Part A, Part B involves more costs, and you may want to defer signing up for Part B if you are still working and have insurance through your job or are covered by your spouse’s health plan. But if you don’t have other insurance and don’t sign up for Part B when you first enroll in Medicare, you’ll likely have to pay a higher monthly premium for as long as you’re in the program.

Part C: (COST EXTRA)

If original Medicare is a buffet, Part C is more like a sit-down meal since a private insurer bundles together parts A and B and most likely D into one comprehensive plan.

If you decide on a Medicare Advantage — or MA — plan, you’ll still have to enroll in parts A and B and pay the Part B premium. Then, in addition, you will have to choose a Medicare Advantage plan and sign with a private insurer.

Part D: (COST EXTRA)

This is the part of Medicare that pays for some of your prescription drugs. You buy a Part D plan through a private insurer. Each generally has some premiums and other out-of-pocket costs, either flat copays for each medication or a percentage of the prescription costs. They also may have an annual deductible.

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3 hours ago, wolfie09 said:

A record 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as the new coronavirus struck the U.S. economy and sent a recently booming labor market into free fall.

The large number of claims was double the 3.3 million who sought benefits two weeks ago as the U.S. shut down parts of the economy in an effort to contain the virus. Jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, provide temporary financial assistance for workers who lose their jobs.

My wife got her check today, the $600 is not there yet. Her best friend got laid off to and filed online with no issue. But a few people she knows that were also laid off are unable to get a hold of anyone on the phone. The website was not working and said to finish the application by phone. Many of these people are going to have no income coming in for several weeks at the very least.

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I still have 3 weeks left in this claim and then I have to reapply to get the 13 week extension, who knows how long that will take lol

More extensions may be needed depending on the job market and unemployment rate.. It's hard to find work if no one is hiring lol

I tried to email unemployment and ask about the work search requirements, it's nearly impossible to find work right now locally..

The only place being tops which I would have no problem with under normal circumstances.  

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34 minutes ago, Thinksnow18 said:

How in the hell does Greenland have a case? 

I saw the Faroe islands had cases....like a month and a half ago.  Which led me to conclude that this thing had already spread far and wide before lockdowns had started outside of Italy.  We don't have the complete picture of this pandemic and we may never have it as there wasn't any testing, or an inkling of a need to, prior to the virus escaping China and then Italy.   Add in China's suspected coverup of information and it's all murky.  

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2 minutes ago, wolfie09 said:

I still have 3 weeks left in this claim and then I have to reapply to get the 13 week extension, who knows how long that will take lol

More extensions may be needed depending on the job market and unemployment rate.. It's hard to find work if no one is hiring lol

I tried to email unemployment and ask about the work search requirements, it's nearly impossible to find work right now locally..

The only place being tops which I would have no problem with under normal circumstances.  

Yeah my buddys wife called 300 times yesterday and just nothing...Hopefully you can just do it online and not get the error message like she did. I'm assuming you'll be fine if you're already in the system.

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5 minutes ago, wolfie09 said:

I still have 3 weeks left in this claim and then I have to reapply to get the 13 week extension, who knows how long that will take lol

More extensions may be needed depending on the job market and unemployment rate.. It's hard to find work if no one is hiring lol

I tried to email unemployment and ask about the work search requirements, it's nearly impossible to find work right now locally..

The only place being tops which I would have no problem with under normal circumstances.  

Best of luck dealing with all that.  Truly feel for you...

And yeah, working at a grocery store or healthcare providers...noone is paid for the risk that exists at present.   I would hope that as a society we are realizing what kind of jobs are actually "mission critical' to society and that people would be paid accordingly.  But I know that's a pipe dream...

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46 minutes ago, BuffaloWeather said:

Someone traveling there from another country I would presume.

I remember stumbling across the stat that Greenland has a population over 50,000 people. Kind of blew my mind.  Lots of little harbors and fishing ports/villages. 

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The KN95 mask is a Chinese alternative to the scarce N95 mask, but the FDA refuses to allow it into the country.

 

As hospitals around the country desperately seek N95 respirator masks to protect health care workers treating COVID-19 patients, the federal government has blocked imports of what might be the world’s most abundant alternative.

That mask is designed to filter out at least 95% of particles that are 0.3 microns or larger in size — the same measure used for the scarce N95 mask. Like the N95, it fits closely around the nose and mouth, creating a seal that decreases the risk of infection. And the Centers for Disease Control has said it’s as effective as N95, which is certified under US testing standards. But this second type of mask, called the KN95, complies with slightly different norms and is made in factories that have not been certified by the US government.

By law, masks, along with most medical devices, can’t be imported or sold in the United States without the Food and Drug Administration’s say-so. Last week, to ease the national shortfall of protective gear, the FDA issued an emergency authorization for non-N95 respirators that had been certified by five foreign countries as well as the European Union. It conspicuously left the KN95 masks out of the emergency authorization.

The omission was all the more startling because in late February the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that KN95 masks were one of numerous “suitable alternatives” to N95 masks “when supplies are short.”

The FDA did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

A significant majority of all respirator masks, including both the N95 and KN95, are manufactured in China. During the height of that country’s outbreak, China restricted exports of virtually all respirator masks, keeping them for domestic use. As that country’s infection numbers have slowed it has eased those restrictions, but now the US must compete with dozens of other countries desperate to acquire masks.

Allowing the importation and use of KN95 could help to greatly alleviate the scarcity.

“The KN95 masks are far more readily available,” said Bob Tilton, who owns a New Jersey–based cosmetics packaging importer and earlier this month decided to use his familiarity with Chinese supply chains to bring in masks and other personal protective equipment to sell to hospitals. “The N95s are much harder to grab.”

Yet without the FDA’s seal of approval, importers are hesitant to order KN95 masks because they worry they’ll get held up at customs. Many hospitals are refusing to accept them, even as free donations, because they fear legal liability should a health care worker get ill while using a nonpermitted device.

Under ordinary circumstances, N95 masks — which are certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health — are abundant, available at hardware stores and pharmacies for around $1 apiece and for as little as 35 cents apiece wholesale. But in just two months, the coronavirus pandemic has depleted the world’s supply, creating a gray market that has driven prices for a single mask as high as $12 or more. That, in turn, has opened the door to unscrupulous actors running internet scams that take payment for N95 masks they never deliver, and to others selling counterfeit or mislabeled N95 masks, which could put health care workers at serious risk of infection.

Meanwhile, masks made under the newly permitted US standards — Australia, Brazil, Japan, Korea, Mexico, and the EU — are not made in as great quantities as the N95 or KN95, according to industry experts.

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2 hours ago, BuffaloWeather said:

Don't want to chime in on the earlier posts, but a lot of bad information. I'm licensed in NYS for life, accident, and health insurance. Medicaid is for poor people, Medicare is available for those 65+ and doesn't cover all expenses related to health care. (Usually 80%) Nursing homes aren't covered or assisted living. You need long term care insurance for that. You can pay extra premiums for assisted living I believe, but not nursing homes. The premiums can be expensive. Long term care insurance is EXTREMELY expensive. Medicaid has a 5 year look back period of all income/property exchange. The state tracks EVERYTHING you own or have owned and can penalize you if you start giving stuff away when you start to get sick to protect your assets. I've seen peoples entire life savings evaporated by medical expenses. This is why trusts and transfer of assets should begin long before you get too old or sick. The medicaid limits are below:

 

Thanks for your personal/professional knowledge and experience. I forgot to mention that my friend's husband was literally living IN the hospital/other facilities for several of those 6 months....7 Million....thankfully their insurance covered much of it.

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14 minutes ago, TugHillMatt said:

Thanks for your personal/professional knowledge and experience. I forgot to mention that my friend's husband was literally living IN the hospital/other facilities for several of those 6 months....7 Million....thankfully they're insurance covered much of it.

It wasn’t 7 million...and his professional knowledge/experience is coming from someone who is going to try selling you insurance...I’ll literally bet you $100 the bill was nowhere near $7M. 

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