The Coronavirus has revealed many gaps in our knowledge of viral pathogenesis.

[LymphocyteLover]

For example, why are the worst assholes on the planet so resistant to getting infected despite being repeatedly exposed to it?

[MineralMan]

1. Where is Mike Pence, I wonder?

[LymphocyteLover]

7. April Ryan tweeted like 10 days ago that a principal in the WH was COVID19 positive

but hasn't followed up on it. I wonder if it was Pence.

[spanone]

2. Also many gaps in our humanity.

[Igel]

3. Don't ascribe morality to random or unrelated events.

The universe is not a moral thing unless you have some particular religion (with or without a deity).

Even if you're just a red-letter NT Xian, you're stuck with things like "Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no!" and "that ye be the sons of your Father that is in heavens, maketh his sun to rise on good and on evil men, and raineth on just men and unjust" (decided to go with Wycliffe for the second, just out of contrariness).


I will say that "exposed" here is polysemic. On the one hand, it means the amount of virus you actually come into contact with in a way that could lead to infection. That means inhaled, in eyes, that kind of thing. You need to be exposed to a certain amount to become infected--yeah, in theory 1 virion can do the trick, but that's not how it works. On the other hand, we're using it to mean "in the same room with" and that doesn't cut it for infections. You can be in the same room, surrounded by people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus all day, but if they're quiet and don't cough or sneeze, there's not a lot of virus that's going to be airborne and you won't catch it.

Brief "exposure" to an infected person probably won't do much. It's hard to catch it outside--all those air currents, and a really large volume of air for the droplets to disperse throughout. Distance matters. Consider if you're behind a large desk and the person on the other side is sitting with knees a foot away from the front of the desk. You get 3 feet for the desk, 1 foot knee-room, 1.5 feet for your thigh bones. You're at 5.5 feet already, and I can't imagine Trump leaning forward over his desk very often or with his nose lined up with the edge of his desk. (I can imagine him talking almost nose to nose, but it's an unpleasant image.)

[LymphocyteLover]

6. Of course. It's just a joke.

[hlthe2b]

4. Viruses are Obligate Parasites... so when they meet their kind among humans, "professional courtesy"

kicks in--precluding their infecting or killing. Like a "mafia code."

[LymphocyteLover]

5. LOL-- apparently!