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Post by billhammond on Dec 7, 2020 16:56:01 GMT -5
NBC News
Former Sen. Larry Dixon, a Republican who also served as the executive director of the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, died from Covid-19 on Dec. 4, the board said in a statement on Friday.
Dr. David Thrasher, a close friend of Dixon and a pulmonologist in Montgomery, told NBC News that Dixon's wife, Gaynell Dixon, told Thrasher that his last words to her were a prescient warning to the people of Alabama.
“We messed up, we let our guard down,” Dixon said, according to Thrasher. “Please tell everybody to be careful. This is real, and if you get diagnosed, get help immediately.”
Thrasher said his friend was exposed to the virus at a social gathering “with a couple of guys” that was hosted outside about two weeks ago.
Thrasher said he was unsure how many people attended, but he said he knew of two other men who attended the meetup and tested positive.
Thrasher said he treated Dixon for early Covid-19 symptoms a few days after the social gathering. As his condition worsened, the former senator was placed on a ventilator, according to Thrasher
Dixon’s wife also tested positive for Covid-19 last week and is still recovering, Thrasher said.
According to Thrasher, Dixon’s two daughters contracted the virus earlier this year, but have since recovered and have not been reinfected since their parents' diagnosis.
Dixon represented Alabama Senate District 25, which covers Montgomery, Ellmore, and Crenshaw counties, from 1983 up until his retirement in 2010.
Before his Senate service, Dixon was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1978 to 1982, and a council member of the Montgomery City Council from 1975 to 1978.
In a statement published in the “Alabama Daily News” on Dec. 7, Perry Hooper, a former state representative and member of the State Republican Executive Committee, wrote that he was “still in shock” over Dixon’s death.
“Larry, although not a Montgomery native, loved his adopted hometown as much as anyone,” Hooper said. “He devoted his life to service to this great city. He was a great legislator, a man of great moral character, and a devoted and loving husband and father.”
The Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, which issues licenses for medical practitioners, said Friday that they were “forever grateful” for Dixon's 35 years as executive director.
“He set an incredible example of service for us all. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Gaynell, and his family during this difficult time,” the board members said in a statement.
Dixon’s death came just hours after Alabama set state records for hospitalization rates and number of new Covid-19 cases.
As of Monday, the state has recorded almost 270,000 Covid-19 infections and 3,889 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
According to the dashboard, state residents have tested positive at a rate of 34.7 percent over the past seven days — one of the highest in the nation.
Thrasher added that Dixon was the “finest human being” whose last wish was to prevent more Alabamians from following his fate.
“He wanted to encourage people to be careful, wear a mask, don’t socially gather,” Thrasher said. “He said, ‘Let’s save some lives.’”
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Post by howard lee on Dec 7, 2020 17:05:45 GMT -5
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2020 5:14:39 GMT -5
He does seem to have devoted his life to public service. There's something to be said for that.
His comment about "letting our guard down" is particularly sad, given that that "guard" -- masks and social distancing -- really is no more onerous than putting on your socks in the morning.
Multiply his family's grief by 284,000 and counting.
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Post by Shannon on Dec 8, 2020 9:21:12 GMT -5
He will be missed by the medical community in this state.
There are 3 Alabama counties with positivity rates in excess of 50%; the county where I live is not one of them. Our hospital is preparing, however, to enter our crisis operations mode due to increasing COVID admissions and increased ventilator use. At our clinic, we have seen the positivity rate steadily increase over the past 2 weeks.
It is not looking good down here.
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Post by TKennedy on Dec 8, 2020 9:54:59 GMT -5
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Post by TKennedy on Dec 8, 2020 9:59:17 GMT -5
He will be missed by the medical community in this state. There are 3 Alabama counties with positivity rates in excess of 50%; the county where I live is not one of them. Our hospital is preparing, however, to enter our crisis operations mode due to increasing COVID admissions and increased ventilator use. At our clinic, we have seen the positivity rate steadily increase over the past 2 weeks. It is not looking good down here. Shannon do you think that if Trump reversed course and acknowledged the surge and aggressively pushed the CDC recommended precautions to his base it would make any difference at this point? |
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Post by Marshall on Dec 8, 2020 10:17:26 GMT -5
That's a silly question, Terry.
"If a tiger changed its stripes, would it be a golden retriever?
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Post by Shannon on Dec 8, 2020 10:31:08 GMT -5
He will be missed by the medical community in this state. There are 3 Alabama counties with positivity rates in excess of 50%; the county where I live is not one of them. Our hospital is preparing, however, to enter our crisis operations mode due to increasing COVID admissions and increased ventilator use. At our clinic, we have seen the positivity rate steadily increase over the past 2 weeks. It is not looking good down here. Shannon do you think that if Trump reversed course and acknowledged the surge and aggressively pushed the CDC recommended precautions to his base it would make any difference at this point? I don't know. I gave up trying to predict what President Trump's base might do a long time ago. In general, though, I do feel strongly that if most of the population followed the CDC recommendations, it would eventually make a substantial difference. It will not change the peak that has already been set in motion, but it should contribute to faster resolution of it. |
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Post by fauxmaha on Dec 8, 2020 14:06:25 GMT -5
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Post by millring on Dec 8, 2020 14:41:24 GMT -5
< the sound of clacking keypads as everyone madly googles to find a rebuttal so they can challenge Jeff's sources. science is now nothing more or less than sources that confirm what we want to believe >
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Post by Rob Hanesworth on Dec 8, 2020 15:05:21 GMT -5
< the sound of clacking keypads as everyone madly googles to find a rebuttal so they can challenge Jeff's sources. science is now nothing more or less than sources that confirm what we want to believe > Of course, John. I devote all of my time and energy to rebutting Jeff. |
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Post by millring on Dec 8, 2020 15:43:16 GMT -5
That must have been gut-wrenching to admit.
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Post by Russell Letson on Dec 8, 2020 16:29:06 GMT -5
Not going to rebut Jeff--The UCSF article (which dates back to July) tracks with the research, reasoning, and advice I've been reading since March. Plenty of reasons for masking--along with distancing and (less crucial) hand-washing and keeping hands away from infectible tissues when they haven't been washed. The second point in his post, though, is less solid. Note the source of the data for the maps: Every day, Delphi surveys tens of thousands of Facebook users, asking them a broad set of COVID-related questions, including whether they, or anyone in their household, are currently experiencing COVID-related symptoms. We also ask them if they wear a mask when they are in public. For this signal, we estimate the percentage of people who wear a mask most or all of the time when they are in public. Imagine if the topic of this discussion were, say, the reliability of pre-election polling and the questions were about support for Trump. The combination of self-reporting and the venue of gathering affect reliability, and the possible constraints on getting a representative sample via a Facebook questionnaire are pretty obvious. The Delphi map for my county (Stearns) reports 94.49% compliance, but I'd want to compare that with an also-constrained eyeball survey of our mall and stores to see whether what I see there matches. Judging from Target, Macy's, and the four grocery stores we use, I'd say it's pretty close. But there are some notorious scofflaw establishments hereabouts, as well as quite a few nursing homes and meat-processing plants, and a substantial college-age population. And the latest figures from our testing project are 20% positive, with the average age of the infected around 40. |
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Post by Rob Hanesworth on Dec 8, 2020 18:21:50 GMT -5
That must have been gut-wrenching to admit. I didn't want you to disappoint you since you have such a low opinion of us that you need to pre-chastise us for behavior we have yet to commit. |
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Post by millring on Dec 8, 2020 19:01:23 GMT -5
"Ever notice how some people take everything personally?"
"I do not!"
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Post by fauxmaha on Dec 8, 2020 19:39:55 GMT -5
Not going to rebut Jeff--The UCSF article (which dates back to July) tracks with the research, reasoning, and advice I've been reading since March. Plenty of reasons for masking--along with distancing and (less crucial) hand-washing and keeping hands away from infectible tissues when they haven't been washed. The second point in his post, though, is less solid. Note the source of the data for the maps: Every day, Delphi surveys tens of thousands of Facebook users, asking them a broad set of COVID-related questions, including whether they, or anyone in their household, are currently experiencing COVID-related symptoms. We also ask them if they wear a mask when they are in public. For this signal, we estimate the percentage of people who wear a mask most or all of the time when they are in public. Imagine if the topic of this discussion were, say, the reliability of pre-election polling and the questions were about support for Trump. The combination of self-reporting and the venue of gathering affect reliability, and the possible constraints on getting a representative sample via a Facebook questionnaire are pretty obvious. The Delphi map for my county (Stearns) reports 94.49% compliance, but I'd want to compare that with an also-constrained eyeball survey of our mall and stores to see whether what I see there matches. Judging from Target, Macy's, and the four grocery stores we use, I'd say it's pretty close. But there are some notorious scofflaw establishments hereabouts, as well as quite a few nursing homes and meat-processing plants, and a substantial college-age population. And the latest figures from our testing project are 20% positive, with the average age of the infected around 40. I'm sure someone will be along shortly to explain how you lack the credentials to question the methodology of CMU researchers. |
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Post by brucemacneill on Dec 8, 2020 19:44:03 GMT -5
Not going to rebut Jeff--The UCSF article (which dates back to July) tracks with the research, reasoning, and advice I've been reading since March. Plenty of reasons for masking--along with distancing and (less crucial) hand-washing and keeping hands away from infectible tissues when they haven't been washed. The second point in his post, though, is less solid. Note the source of the data for the maps: Every day, Delphi surveys tens of thousands of Facebook users, asking them a broad set of COVID-related questions, including whether they, or anyone in their household, are currently experiencing COVID-related symptoms. We also ask them if they wear a mask when they are in public. For this signal, we estimate the percentage of people who wear a mask most or all of the time when they are in public. Imagine if the topic of this discussion were, say, the reliability of pre-election polling and the questions were about support for Trump. The combination of self-reporting and the venue of gathering affect reliability, and the possible constraints on getting a representative sample via a Facebook questionnaire are pretty obvious. The Delphi map for my county (Stearns) reports 94.49% compliance, but I'd want to compare that with an also-constrained eyeball survey of our mall and stores to see whether what I see there matches. Judging from Target, Macy's, and the four grocery stores we use, I'd say it's pretty close. But there are some notorious scofflaw establishments hereabouts, as well as quite a few nursing homes and meat-processing plants, and a substantial college-age population. And the latest figures from our testing project are 20% positive, with the average age of the infected around 40. I'm sure someone will be along shortly to explain how you lack the credentials to question the methodology of CMU researchers. Russell doesn't need credentials. He has ego. |
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Post by Shannon on Dec 8, 2020 20:23:02 GMT -5
It is possible that masking percentage in public misses the point. My experience is that most transmission over the past several weeks has taken place in household gatherings. Granted, that is just my experience, and nothing like an exhaustive or rigorous study.
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