Upstate NY Banter and General Discussion..

[vortmax]

1 minute ago, Luke_Mages said:

If Russia attacks the Saudis the US will attack Russia, then China sides with Russia...and we have WW3. That's good for no one. 

WW3 is a potential outcome of any economic pressure, but highly unlikely.

[lakeeffectkid383]

Cuomo just did his daily press conference from Roswell Park in Buffalo and he said he’s going to be allowing elective surgery’s in New York again excluding NYC, Albany, and Buffalo. He also said he’s going to be dividing up NYS into regions including , WNY (Buffalo) , CNY (Syracuse) , Finger Lakes (Rochester), Southern Tiger (Elmira/Bing), Mohawk Valley, Hudson Valley, North Country, NYC, Long Island. He said each region will have a specific person in charge of figuring out a plan for that region to open back up because some places are obviously worse hit than others. He also said Erie County appears to be at the Plateau but would not be surprised for it to continue to ascend. According to Erie County the peak here is anywhere from May 20th to June 20th depending what model you look at. 

[Syrmax]

1 hour ago, vortmax said:

Economic pressure on Russia and Saudi is just fine. This is why the US is becoming oil independent and will pave the way for eventual transition to cleaner fuels & tech. It's a win-win IMO.

Those transition plans, at least in NY, will likely have to be lengthened out as the plan is basically for the State to subsidize "green" energy to the tune of Billions per year...which will have to be rethought with State budgets about to be blown out.  Sadly, the Gov, being influenced by radical environmentalists, has turned his back on natural gas and downstate nuclear (Indian Point). That also has a long term jobs impact as the "green jobs" are largely small contractor behind the meter installations (rooftop solar).  Wind and Solar provide virtually no long term employment in state, to generate electricity, and are minimal / no carbon emissions.

[Syrmax]

16 minutes ago, WesterlyWx said:

Cuomo just did his daily press conference from Roswell Park in Buffalo and he said he’s going to be allowing elective surgery’s in New York again excluding NYC, Albany, and Buffalo. He also said he’s going to be dividing up NYS into regions including , WNY (Buffalo) , CNY (Syracuse) , Finger Lakes (Rochester), Southern Tiger (Elmira/Bing), Mohawk Valley, Hudson Valley, North Country, NYC, Long Island. He said each region will have a specific person in charge of figuring out a plan for that region to open back up because some places are obviously worse hit than others. He also said Erie County appears to be at the Plateau but would not be surprised for it to continue to ascend. According to Erie County the peak here is anywhere from May 20th to June 20th depending what model you look at. 

this plan makes sense, in its general organization.  Glad to hear this. IMO Cuomo has generally done pretty well with covid-19.  His brother is a bit of a histrionic lunatic but he's not Gov.

[Syrmax]

12 hours ago, BuffaloWeather said:

These are the 2 emails United sent to me. They are now only offering a flight credit. They must have ran out of money?

 

Thank you for reaching out to us for information on a recent charge.

We show the credit cardholder has disputed the charge directly with the credit card company. For further information regarding the dispute, please contact the credit card company.

We appreciate your support and we thank you for choosing United Airlines.

Sincerely,

United Refunds

 

We've processed the refund today.

If your ticket was purchased using a credit card please allow 7-10 business days for the credit to post to your account. For check payments, please allow sufficient time for the check delivery. You may also view the refund details using the Check Refund Status link below and enter the 13-digit ticket number or 8-digit Request ID listed above.

Thank you for the opportunity to assist you and we look forward to welcoming you on a future United Airlines flight.

Sincerely,

Delta only offered a similar flight credit for my flight from SYR-ORL.   And did the same for my SYR-JFK flight, 1st leg to Italy.  However, one of the people i was travelling with to Italy (who actually booked the flight on her CC) called Delta and bitched and supposedly managed to get a full refund for us.  That ticket was only $256 R/T though.  The ORL flt was $425 IIRC.  Alitalia is providing a full refund of our ticket though.  I had to apply via email and then when i didn't hear anything back, i called last week and was able to get straight thru to Customer Service (was impossible a month ago).  Of course, with both of these, i'll believe it when i actually see it.

Expedia has refunded virtually all of my Italy hotel reservations and i've received those.  I put in for those back in mid March when the whole thing got locked down.  They are trying to screw me out of the cost of our last night in Rome reservation refund, although it was only $61 per room.  I thought i had put in to cancel it a month ago but either i missed it (there were 4 other reservations i was doing) or their website never registered it.  When i went to cancel the res the other day it stated no refund available.  I'm going to follow up but if that's the total of refund screwjobs, i'll consider myself lucky as I didn't purchase "travel insurance" on any of it.

[BuffaloWeather]

7 minutes ago, Syrmax said:

Delta only offered a similar flight credit for my flight from SYR-ORL.   And did the same for my SYR-JFK flight, 1st leg to Italy.  However, one of the people i was travelling with to Italy (who actually booked the flight on her CC) called Delta and bitched and supposedly managed to get a full refund for us.  That ticket was only $256 R/T though.  The ORL flt was $425 IIRC.  Alitalia is providing a full refund of our ticket though.  I had to apply via email and then when i didn't hear anything back, i called last week and was able to get straight thru to Customer Service (was impossible a month ago).  Of course, with both of these, i'll believe it when i actually see it.

Expedia has refunded virtually all of my Italy hotel reservations and i've received those.  I put in for those back in mid March when the whole thing got locked down.  They are trying to screw me out of the cost of our last night in Rome reservation refund, although it was only $61 per room.  I thought i had put in to cancel it a month ago but either i missed it (there were 4 other reservations i was doing) or their website never registered it.  When i went to cancel the res the other day it stated no refund available.  I'm going to follow up but if that's the total of refund screwjobs, i'll consider myself lucky as I didn't purchase "travel insurance" on any of it.

Read that Reddit article I posted. The DOT states an airline has to issue a refund if they cancel the flight. By law we are 100% entitled to full refund. 

[Buckeyes_Suck]

Just now, BuffaloWeather said:

Read that Reddit article I posted. The DOT states an airline has to issue a refund if they cancel the flight. By law we are 100% entitled to full refund. 

This is the same that I've expected/experienced. Your flight was booked directly with the airline, right?

[Syrmax]

8 minutes ago, BuffaloWeather said:

Read that Reddit article I posted. The DOT states an airline has to issue a refund if they cancel the flight. By law we are 100% entitled to full refund. 

I did read it but didn't pick up on that.  I'm kind of ok with my Delta credit - assuming they are still in business of course - because i plan on travelling/flying as soon as the coast is clear...

[BuffaloWeather]

22 minutes ago, Luke_Mages said:

This is the same that I've expected/experienced. Your flight was booked directly with the airline, right?

I used chases travel portal, but yes directly through United. Air New Zealand already credited me back and I did them the same way. 

[wolfie09]

 

US OKs 1st coronavirus test that allows self-swab at home

U.S. health regulators have OK'd the first coronavirus test that allows people to take their own sample at home

By

MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer

April 21, 2020, 1:26 PM

2 min read

 

 

 

1:44

How to interpret infection research to make policyTom Bossert, ABC News contributor and former White House homeland security advisor, discusses.The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- U.S. health regulators on Tuesday OK'd the first coronavirus test that allows people to collect their own sample at home, a new approach that could help expand testing options in most states.

The test from LabCorp will initially only be available to health care workers and first responders under a doctor's orders. The sample will still have to be shipped for processing back to LabCorp, which operates diagnostic labs throughout the U.S.

Allowing people to self-swab at home would help reduce infection risks for front-line health care workers and help conserve protective gear.

For the home test, people are initially screened with an online questionnaire. If authorized by a physician, LabCorp will ship a testing kit to their home. The kit includes cotton swabs, a collection tube, an insulated pouch and box to ship the specimen back to LabCorp. To take a sample, a cotton swab is swirled in each nostril. The test results are posted online to a secure company website.

The company said it will make the test available in the coming weeks. Each kit will cost $119. The kits will not be available in Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. Those states have laws prohibiting testing with at-home kits.

Initially, the Food and Drug Administration required health care workers wearing masks, gloves and other protective gear to collect all samples from potential coronavirus patients, usually by sticking a long swab down the nose or throat.

More recently, the FDA has endorsed the self-swab method. LabCorp's test is the first that allows it to be done at home without supervision.

FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a statement the agency authorized the self-swab test based on data showing it is “as safe and accurate as sample collection at a doctor's office, hospital or other testing site.”

[vortmax]

2 hours ago, BuffaloWeather said:

Read that Reddit article I posted. The DOT states an airline has to issue a refund if they cancel the flight. By law we are 100% entitled to full refund. 

We received ours from American - even half-used. They wouldn't refund unless the return flight was cancelled, which it was. 

[BuffaloWeather]

1 minute ago, vortmax said:

We received ours from American - even half-used. They wouldn't refund unless the return flight was cancelled, which it was. 

I guess because I disputed the transaction before the flight, they treated that as canceling the flight and issued me a travel certificate. So it looks like I'm not getting my refund after all...I never technically canceled my flight and a dispute should not be the same as canceling the flight. I'm on hold for a supervisor right now. I mean I still plan to go to New Zealand so it's not terrible, but hate being forced with a timeline in my travel itinerary.

If I waited for April 10th and United canceled the flight I would have gotten a full refund...

[MJO812]

Usa at 2109 deaths already.

[BuffaloWeather]

Erie County has reached a new daily high for the number of people hospitalized with Covid-19, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said Tuesday.

[lakeeffectkid383]

33 minutes ago, BuffaloWeather said:

Erie County has reached a new daily high for the number of people hospitalized with Covid-19, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said Tuesday.

Yeah up to 250 now hospitalized here and in the last 3 days there’s been 140 new admissions compared to 70 discharges, definitley still on an upswing here. 

[Buckeyes_Suck]

Was mutated to 8 strains a few weeks ago, now 30.

I doubt we'll have a viable vaccine anytime soon.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.14.20060160v1

[BuffaloWeather]

Just now, Luke_Mages said:

Was mutated to 8 strains a few weeks ago, now 30.

I doubt we'll have a viable vaccine anytime soon.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.14.20060160v1

Brutal.

[BuffaloWeather]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-8237849/Coronavirus-mutated-Strains-evolved-far-deadlier-spread-Europe-New-York.html

[BuffaloWeather]

This would explain why California has not been impacted as much as the Northeast

[BuffaloWeather]

2,551 deaths and counting today. Likely the worse day so far. We're going to go way over 100k deaths in USA from this with social distancing. That's pretty crazy.

[Buckeyes_Suck]

Just now, BuffaloWeather said:

This would explain why California has not been impacted as much as the Northeast

Yea it does. Now the trillion dollar question is whether a survivor of a mild strain is immune to a deadlier strain.

[BuffaloWeather]

Help

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/04/21/coronavirus-secondwave-cdcdirector/

[BuffaloWeather]

That was paywalled.

CDC director says a second wave of coronavirus in the winter could hit the US harder than the current outbreak

https://www.businessinsider.com/2nd-coronavirus-wave-could-us-harder-than-current-outbreak-cdc-director-2020-4

[BuffaloWeather]

If restrictions lifted

https://publicintegrity.org/health/coronavirus-and-inequality/federal-documents-more-than-300000-likely-to-die-if-restrictions-are-lifted/

Interesting article from 1929 depression that not many people died due to a bad economy.

https://www.history.com/news/great-depression-economy-life-expectancy

There are no firm answers as to why Americans lived longer during the worst years of the depression, but scholars have made some suggestions. Take traffic deaths: Car use increased during the 1920s, and with it, so too did traffic-related deaths. One possible explanation for their decline in the 1930s is that, with higher rates of unemployment, there were just fewer people on the road. Fewer people could afford to own cars, too—as demonstrated by a famous picture (above) of a man trying to sell his car after losing his money on the stock market.

There’s also research suggesting that during U.S. economic expansions, people smoke more, experience more stress and get less sleep. All these factors can have a negative impact on health. This could apply not just to the Great Depression, but other economic downturns in the 20th century. In 2018, Tapia co-authored another paper in the American Journal of Epidemiology that looked at data from 1985 to 2011, a period that covered three recessions.

“What we found in this paper is that a number of things that are usually thought about unemployed people—well, apparently they are not true,” he says. Although the unemployed people in the study had higher levels of depression, they had lower blood pressure on average. They also did not smoke or drink more than employed people. In fact, Tapia notes that cigarette sales have historically risen when the economy is doing well and declined when it is not.

[knight_raven]

25 minutes ago, BuffaloWeather said:

That was paywalled.

CDC director says a second wave of coronavirus in the winter could hit the US harder than the current outbreak

https://www.businessinsider.com/2nd-coronavirus-wave-could-us-harder-than-current-outbreak-cdc-director-2020-4

If you run chrome, you can right-click the page, go down to the code inspector at the bottom of the popup and you'll get a panel on the right. If you hover your mouse over the code bits that you see, you can right click and delete them until you drill down to a usable page.

[MJO812]

Coronavirus has mutated into at least 30 different strains, study finds

https://www.foxnews.com/science/coronavirus-mutated-at-least-30-different-strains-study-finds

[Buckeyes_Suck]

1 hour ago, BuffaloWeather said:

If restrictions lifted

https://publicintegrity.org/health/coronavirus-and-inequality/federal-documents-more-than-300000-likely-to-die-if-restrictions-are-lifted/

Interesting article from 1929 depression that not many people died due to a bad economy.

https://www.history.com/news/great-depression-economy-life-expectancy

There are no firm answers as to why Americans lived longer during the worst years of the depression, but scholars have made some suggestions. Take traffic deaths: Car use increased during the 1920s, and with it, so too did traffic-related deaths. One possible explanation for their decline in the 1930s is that, with higher rates of unemployment, there were just fewer people on the road. Fewer people could afford to own cars, too—as demonstrated by a famous picture (above) of a man trying to sell his car after losing his money on the stock market.

There’s also research suggesting that during U.S. economic expansions, people smoke more, experience more stress and get less sleep. All these factors can have a negative impact on health. This could apply not just to the Great Depression, but other economic downturns in the 20th century. In 2018, Tapia co-authored another paper in the American Journal of Epidemiology that looked at data from 1985 to 2011, a period that covered three recessions.

“What we found in this paper is that a number of things that are usually thought about unemployed people—well, apparently they are not true,” he says. Although the unemployed people in the study had higher levels of depression, they had lower blood pressure on average. They also did not smoke or drink more than employed people. In fact, Tapia notes that cigarette sales have historically risen when the economy is doing well and declined when it is not.

I read that article a few weeks ago and question it. This photo is from the source article. Note the scale difference for tuberculosis vs othe causes, many magnitudes larger. And the decline coincided directly with the time period in question. IMO this one decline alone accounted for drop in mortality, which had nothing to do with the depression. 
 

[wolfie09]

(CNN)Coronavirus patients taking hydroxychloroquine, a treatment touted by President Trump, were no less likely to need mechanical ventilation and had higher deaths rates compared to those who did not take the drug, according to a study of hundreds of patients at US Veterans Health Administration medical centers.

The study, which reviewed veterans' medical charts, was posted Tuesday on medrxiv.org, a pre-print server, meaning it was not peer reviewed or published in a medical journal. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the University of Virginia

[MJO812]

Gov Cuomo is doing a news conference right now

He says NY needs alot more diagnostic tests and anitbody tests. It will take at least 7 weeks to get those.

[MJO812]

Cuomo  mentioned just a few minutes ago that it will take at least 2 months or even longer to open back NY . He also said that  he will open the whole state at once.,not county by county like he said he wanted to earlier today.