FL: 1st State to Require Reporting PCR Ct Calibration

What I am afraid they will reveal is that, despite the science that says the PCR tests we run are useless in combating COVID when run at a Ct of over 35, we are doing so.

Everybody should be, by now, attuned to the fact that the PCR tests are set to find remnants of the virus's RNA. I say should be, for I have written and copy and pasted enough, but I can't make people read or think.

And, if by being "aggressive in combatting COVID" you mean locking up businesses while patronizing the business you lock up, or banning dining in while dining in, or travelling when banning travel, or, perhaps the crowning jewel of "aggressively" combatting COVID, sending infected people to nursing homes to infect and kill those who were there and not infected, well I'll take your Gov any day.

If I may delicately suggest, you seem to be behind the curve of this knowledge. Thankfully, your governor is not.

I, for one, have been toying with the idea of asking Uncle to query Cohen about the Ct we use for our PCR tests. Since DeSantis now requires the labs to report to the FL DoH, I wonder if the reporting will be made public.

If that data is make public, if the consequential massive reductions in "cases" ensues, I can't even imagine the S-Storm that will follow as people realize what kind of imposed hell has been visited upon them. But it will be epic.

Iceman and Jake,

it was not my intention to inject politics into what I thought was a straightforward question.

Oftentimes "STEM" things are posted here that are not generally understood clearly and I think I am one of the few who admits when they don't get it. Or, perhaps, I am one of the dumbest. That said, I believe you (Iceman) were once a Floridian and definitely on the right. That's fine. I'm not a zealot and I read widely.

I will tell you that I know of know virtually no one in our mixed political circle of friends and acquaintances who are happy with DeSantis. We all understand that the Governor is between a rock and a hard place, as are all 50 governor's absent consistent national guidelines.... but the polls show he is sinking fast.

I am unable, this morning to post the various current links of investigative reporting by various media, but it is easy to google. It is no secret that many political animals hope to ride on the coat tails on DJT (and his belief system). Whether that works out for them --- time will tell. But here's one. BTW, Mr. Lambwas hired to replace an experienced and most would say, qualified data analyst.  His other credentials include: Uber Driver.

November 11, 2020 at 7:02 a.m. EST
Last week, Kyle Lamb, a little-known sports blogger who moonlights as an anti-masker, announced he had been hired to do data analysis, “including but not limited to Covid-19 research,” for the governor of Florida.

Lamb would be joining a team of analysts under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times reported, many of whom have been working to monitor the coronavirus pandemic.

Have a great morning and thanks for the parts of your posts that addressed my question. Miami

I was not getting political with my reply:



This is a fact: if the ct levels being used to report "positive" cases, and they were not capable of spreading the virus, then we did a lot of damage to the economy for nothing.

Trust the data...well, if your measurements to produce said data are incorrect...then using the data backfired. This is not political, but a function of how using data can go wrong if used the wrong way, without the proper context, or measured incorrectly.

Considering the nationwide attention to asymptomatic positive cases, locking the states down to minimize someone without symptoms spreading it, I would say it to be EPIC for us to learn that perhaps we only had to be concerned with those who had symptoms from the beginning. But, we locked everything down to prevent those without symptoms from spreading it to vulnerable populations. If we were not so concerned with asymptomatic spread, the easy metric to use is to say: Consider social distancing restrictions when ICU beds are more than 85% filled in your county. And leave it at that.

Let's say you hire two plumbers to come out and test your water pressure. You say, everything seems OK, but want to make sure we have enough pressure for a larger family who might be washing dishes, laundry, showering, and sprinkling the lawn all at the same time. You need 56 pounds (psi) to provide enough water. Plumber one comes out and says his gauge only works to tens of a pound and rounds down to be "safe", i.e. 40,50,60. He measures 50....You need a bigger pipe connected to the water main, here is a bill for $15,000 to make it happen.

Plumber 2 shows up, says he has a better gauge for measuring to the single pound, and measures 59 pounds. Suddenly, plumber 2 shares the good news that 59 pounds is greater than the 56 that you need. You don't need to spend the money and you will be just fine. I think you would likely want to tip plumber 2 for MEASURING the data correctly in the first place instead of measuring in a way to lead you to a pre-ordained conclusion.

Unfortunately, I have seen this time and again, data can be sliced and manipulated to appear "accurate", but lead you to different conclusions. The same goes when setting a threshold for measuring, which is what appears to have happened here. Maybe there was no malfeasance, maybe they just didn't KNOW what ct level was appropriate in the beginning. That is fine, but, after the first 4 months of testing, someone should have stepped back to ask: "does this make sense".  I think people tried to do that, but from there, the conversation GOT POLITICAL, "Don't you Care about the Vulnerable"  " You only Care about the Election" " You are just trying to make yourself look better"...etc...etc...etc.  The minute someone questions something, it MUST BE POLITICAL.

IMHO, Ronald DeSantis is one of the best governors in the country. You should thank God he hasn't overacted like most have.

I just follow the science and appreciate those who do.