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THURSDAY, Aug. 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Diverging from much of the world, Sweden let COVID-19 spread in hopes the population would develop “herd immunity.” But the risky strategy failed, a new report finds.

Rather than imposing a hard lockdown in March as other countries did, the Scandinavian nation relied on individual responsibility to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus. This is the idea of “folkvett” — common sense of the people — and the approach made headlines at the time.

Gyms, stores and restaurants remained open; schools were open for kids up to age 16; while gatherings of more than 50 people were banned.

Authorities predicted that 40% of the people in Stockholm would get the disease and develop protective antibodies by May. The actual prevalence, however, was around 15%, according to the study published Aug. 11 in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

“It is clear that not only are the rates of viral infection, hospitalization and mortality [per million population] much higher than those seen in neighboring Scandinavian countries, but also that the time-course of the epidemic in Sweden is different, with continued persistence of higher infection and mortality well beyond the few critical weeks period seen in Denmark, Finland and Norway,” said researcher Dr. David Goldsmith, a retired physician in London.

Experience suggests that severely infected COVID-19 patients acquire antibodies immediately and during early recovery, but antibodies are much less common in only mildly ill or asymptomatic patients. This means they are likely not immune, and can’t prevent the spread of the virus, the study noted. This is central to the concept of herd immunity.

In the other Scandinavian countries, rapid lockdown appeared more successful in stopping the spread of infection, Goldsmith said.

The findings are a cautionary tale for the world, and for the United Kingdom in particular, he indicated.

“We in the U.K. would do well to remember we nearly trod the same path as Sweden, as herd immunity was often discussed here in early March. Right now, despite strict [but tardy] lockdown in the U.K., and the more measured Swedish response, both countries have seen high seven-day averaged COVID-19 death rates compared to other Scandinavian and European countries,” Goldsmith said in a journal news release.

Only a year or two after the pandemic, however, can experts fairly judge what was done correctly, the authors said.

 

Earlier in the pandemic while still working from home, BBC weatherman Owain Wyn Evans surprised viewers with a live rendition of the BBC news theme music, playing himself off-air in spectacular fashion.

 

 

Like his “ladies man” character on Drake and Josh, Drake has had many past girlfriends. According to Who’s Dated Who, some of them include: Tess Taylor, Hofit Golan, Melissa Lingafelt, Stevie Ryan, Torrey DeVitto, Quinn Paul, Fefe Dobson, and — of course — Amanda Bynes. And while many of these relationships came and went, Drake actually saw a future with blonde actress Paydin LoPachin.

According to Celebs Couples, Drake and Paydin were an ~item~ between 2011 and 2016, and at some point during those five long years, he apparently popped the question. It’s unclear why they ended up deciding not to get married, and why they ultimately broke up, but five years is certainly a long relationship for a couple in their ’20s.

Drake has changed from the teen actor we all loved on The Amanda Show and on Drake and Josh, and based on the recent accusations against him, we can’t help but wonder how things are going between Drake and his rumored current girlfriend Janet. We’re wildly disappointed in the man we all thought we’d marry back in middle school, but we certainly hope he’s changed for the better.

Aug. 13, 2020 — The lack of supplies for doing enough COVID-19 diagnostic testing within a useful turnaround time will likely last and will continue to hamper the nation’s response to the pandemic, public health experts and health care professionals say.

It will also likely begin to delay diagnostic testing for other conditions, they warned. The demand for COVID-19 testing is exploding as schools and businesses try to reopen and as hospitals begin bringing patients back for elective procedures.

Laboratories say that “many molecular tests are being delayed as they simply cannot all be offered while attempting to meet the demands for COVID-19 testing,” according to leaders from several medical groups.

The American Medical Association, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, the American Society for Clinical Pathology, the Association for Molecular Pathology, the Association of Pathology Chairs, the College of American Pathologists, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America wrote a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to express their concerns.

“We are increasingly concerned about the serious strains being placed on testing services for COVID-19, the impact those strains have on our ability to provide timely medical care to our patients, and ultimately on our ability to contain the spread of this dangerous virus,” they wrote.

The groups said laboratories have continued to struggle to maintain a consistent supply of reagents, viral transport media, plastics (such as pipette tips), and other items essential for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 testing. Many testing platforms also depend on proprietary supplies, which cannot be manufactured fast enough.

The groups say “it has been made clear that, despite the best efforts of many, no additional manufacturing capacity for many testing supplies is likely to be available through the remainder of this year.”

That alarm was echoed by state health officials.

“There’s going to be continued issues with supply chain,” Eric Blank, DrPH, chief program officer of the Association of Public Health Laboratories, said on a call with reporters.

Although the current situation is not as bad as it was in March or April, the lack of supplies needed for testing “is something we’re going to be faced with throughout this response because this response is going to go on for some time,” said Blank.