Categorizing Covid attitudes: Are you a "dismisser" or an "open-upper?"

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May 22, 2020 --  Welcome back, readers, to another end-of-week edition of the Daily CurveFlattener. It's Cory Perla today, reporting from Buffalo, N.Y. I’d like to be the first to wish everyone in the U.S. a happy Memorial Day weekend. Here in Erie County, the first phase of our reopening is underway, even though New York State is technically the most infected place on earth right now. As more and more regions begin to reopen, researchers are examining the attitudes of individuals in those places.

One research project conducted by a data analysis agency called Greater Divide found that Americans can be split into five different attitude archetypes. According to Kyle Stamper, a data scientist interviewed by Forbes magazine, these categories include those “Sounding-All-Alarms,” individuals who think responses have fallen short; “At-Risks,” who believe themselves to be especially susceptible to the virus; “Under-Controls,” who believe the response has been adequate and we are moving in the right direction; “Open-Ups,” who that feel the country must open immediately to avoid economic disaster -- and finally “Dismissers,” who think this is all hype.

It is hard to say where President Donald J. Trump fits in. He may have been a dismisser at first, but with the announcement last week that he’s begun taking the unproven treatment hydroxychloroquine daily, that could put him into the "sounding-all-alarms" category. The bewildering announcement is stunning for many reasons including the fact that the president fails to take other, much simpler, preventative measures such wearing a mask, even when he’s breaking state laws by not doing so.

It's unconfirmed whether or not he is actually taking the drug, or if he is, at what dosage. What is confirmed is that a woman in Wisconsin who took hydroxychloroquine for the last 19 years has been diagnosed with Covid-19, according to an article in Newsweek.

COVID CHRONICLE 05/22/2020

• New research has indicated that about half of the accounts on Twitter tweeting about the coronavirus could be "bots." Researchers said that the likely bots tend to tweet about false narratives and conspiracy theories. According to National Public Radio, conspiracy theories include the idea that many hospitals are occupied by floors of mannequins to cover up that there aren’t any actual Covid-19 patients. 
• Coronavirus is wreaking havoc on more areas of the body than the lungs, according to a couple of new studies. "Covid toes" have been detected (DCF passim) and now one study found that bowel abnormalities are common, with a significant percentage of patients studied showing problems with their bowel wall. Another study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, has found evidence that the virus is sometimes found in the kidneys, liver, brain, and heart in a significant way as well.
• An antibody study conducted by Sweden’s public health agency found evidence that their herd immunity strategy may not be working. The study of 1,100 antibody tests of Swedish people found that only 7.3% had coronavirus antibodies that could make them immune to the illness.
• A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine (May 21, 2020) has tackled the problem of coronavirus outbreaks in senior facilities. Researchers found that the most effective approach followed proactive testing and strict quarantining. Symptom screening does not work, due to the asymptomatic nature of many individuals’ infections, investigators said.

STORIES CHRONICLE IS WORKING ON TODAY

Yours truly, reporting for The Chronicle of Skin & Allergy, is putting finishing touches on a story on the future of teledermatology. Could your dermatologist be outfitting their noggin with a VR headset as we speak?

RIGHT NOW WE'RE LISTENING TO...

This beautiful, summery house music by Laurence Guy from his EP, The Sun is Warm and Directly Above You.

LATER WE'RE READING...

The Travels of Mark Twain, which includes excerpts from the many books he wrote on his world travels.

TONIGHT WE'RE COOKING...

Big Mac Burritos: ground beef, cheddar cheese, lettuce, pickles, special sauce, and sesame seeds rolled up in a flour tortilla. The recipe was stolen from a local taco factory. 

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND

Make the most of your family time, folks. We'll see you next week. My colleague Dhiren Mahiban will be in charge of Monday's edition.