Author: James A. Bacon
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Virginia Should Issue Immunity Certificates
Yesterday I argued that Virginia should allocate a chunk of its COVID-19 helicopter dollars from the federal government to conduct widespread testing for the presence of coronavirus antibodies. If the antibodies are present, the person presumably is immune to the sickness and should be free to re-enter society and the workforce. Turns out, the Germans…
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COVID-19: Up, Up, and Away
The latest data from the Virginia Department of Health: Total confirmed COVID-19 cases Sunday: 1,020, up 130 from Saturday. Total hospitalizations: 136, up 24 from the previous day. Total deaths: 25, up three. Total tests: 12,038, up 1,429. Doubling times: John Butcher has updated his calculations of how long it takes for these epidemic metrics…
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Beds, Ventilators, and Epidemiological Models
by James A. Bacon The Richmond Times-Dispatch is getting frustrated with the lack of hard information about the COVID-19 epidemic forthcoming from the Northam administration. Reporter Bridget Balch has been trying to track down data on the number of ventilators in the state to treat patients stricken with respiratory afflictions. Frustration with the Northam administration’s…
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COVID-19: Doubling Every Three Days
The latest numbers from the Virginia Department of Health, reflecting yesterday’s developments: Cases: 890, up 151 from previous day. Hospitalized: 112, up 13 from previous day. Deaths: 22, up 5 from the previous days. Tests: 10,609, up 1,443 from the previous day. Here’s John Butcher’s cheerful little calculation, based on the latest data, of the…
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What Can Northam Do, and Not Do, about COVID-19?
by James A. Bacon Two days ago, Peter Galuszka posted an interview he conducted with state epidemiologist Lilian Peake, a key functionary in Virginia’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. I found her responses appalling. The degree of passivity cannot be overstated. Her responses to most of Peter’s questions amounted to: “We’re tracking and monitoring the…
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NoVa Physicians List COVID-19 Priorities
by James C. Sherlock I re-publish here a communication from the Medical Society of Northern Virginia Board of Directors on matters of importance to its member physicians. Their concerns are the public’s concerns. Dear members, First, on behalf of the board of directors, I would like to thank our first line responders; primary care physicians,…
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COVID-19 Update: More Tests, More Infections
Latest data from the Virginia Department of Health: 135 new confirmed COVID-19 cases yesterday, bringing the total to 739. Another 16 hospitalizations, bringing the total to 99. And another three fatalities, bringing the total to 17. Testing is ramping up in a major way — 1,929 tests yesterday, more than double the number from two…
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Scenes from the Quarantine
by Philip Shucet Sunshine was an invitation to take a walk yesterday. Since March 9, I’ve been out only twice for grocery store runs. Both trips were on rainy days. Streets in my Norfolk neighborhood are generally quiet, but now they are nearly silent. There’s more time between the sounds of passing cars. Parking spaces…
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COVID-19, COPN, and Strawmen
by James C. Sherlock Every time the discussion in this space turns to COPN and its relationship to lack of capacity to deal with COVID-19, some commenters accuse the authors of these columns of favoring nonsensical solutions such as forcing hospitals to build excess capacity. Those same commenters then reject those concepts as unworkable. That…
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Quantifying the Hospital-Bed Shortage
by James A. Bacon Two weeks ago, I raised the alarm: Virginia doesn’t have enough hospital beds to cope with the COVID-19 virus; capacity was most constrained in Northern Virginia. Yesterday, Bacon’s Rebellion contributor Jim Sherlock explained why: Certificate of Public Need (COPN) regulation throttled the addition of hospital beds in the Northern Virginia area.…
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COVID-19 Update: Buckle Your Seatbelts!
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is surging, according to the latest data from the Virginia Department of Health. Confirmed cases reached 604 yesterday, a one-day increase of 164, the biggest yet. Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 victims hospitalized increased to 83, also the biggest one-day increase yet seen in Virginia. It is difficult to…
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COVID-19: More Everyday Heroes…
Beech Tree Elementary to the rescue! When Beech Tree mother Van Nguyen heard about the shortage of medical face masks, she put her sewing skills into action and produced 20 masks. Local medical professional pleaded for more. Then Beech Tree 5th grader Caroline joined the effort. Learning how to sew from her mother and YouTube…
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Yes, You Should Wear Masks — to Protect Others, If Not Yourself
— by a contributing writer This week Governor Ralph Northam restated what we have all been hearing for weeks: “Hospitals and medical facilities in Virginia and around the country are in desperate need of additional masks, gowns, gloves, and other personal protective equipment.” HCA Virginia reiterated the need Monday when announcing that it had…
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COPN’s Deadly Quid Pro Quo
by James C. Sherlock The Northern Virginia Community Hospital in Arlington was bought by HCA in 2002. The Arlington facility was closed in 2006 to comply with a 2005 Certificate of Public Need (COPN) decision that required HCA provide “trade-in” beds in the same health region to gain state permission to build a hospital in…
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COVID-19 Update: The Epidemic Intensifies
The Virginia Department of Health has published yesterday’s COVID-19 numbers, and they continue to show a rapidly spreading epidemic. Total confirmed cases (the tip of the iceberg) have risen to 460, an increase of 69 from the previous day. The number of hospitalizations has risen to 65, an increase of six from the day before.…