Hypothetically Speaking....

First reaction is....I signed up to take grandma with a broken hip to get it patched up, not transport patient zero of the pandemic.

realistically, I don’t know? Probably in accordance with the medical folks infectious disease protocols (I assume mask and suit) I would. But on the other other hand, maybe not until I have some good information from non-PRC docs about how nasty this bugger really is.
 
You do realize the actual lethality of the virus is significantly lower than a half a dozen other scary bugs out there right?

Corona is really only unique more for its prolonged incubation period which allows an Asymptomatic person to spread it to others before they are overcome and taken to the level of ill that others would isolate them.

Outside that, your scenario really isnt asking anything different than somebody in the late 80s early 90s postulating “would you transport an AIDS patient who was in a car accident?” You are making a decision based off a lot of fear vs actual fact of risk, nd that’s to be expected given the hype this current disease epidemic has generated in media circles. If protocol for basic barriers are followed then the risk of this is actually far lower than a dozen other diseases and pathogens you could likely be exposed too, but this one is the one in the news. Transport the patient. Its your duty as a responder. If you’ve got a problem with that, get a new job.
 
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You do realize the actual lethality of the virus is significantly lower than a half a dozen other scary bugs out there right?

Corona is really only unique more for its prolonged incubation period which allows an Asymptomatic person to spread it to others before they are overcome and taken to the level of ill that others would isolate them.

Outside that, your scenario really isnt asking anything different than somebody in the late 80s early 90s postulating “would you transport an AIDS patient who was in a car accident?” You are making a decision based off a lot of fear vs actual fact of risk, nd that’s to be expected given the hype this current disease epidemic has generated in media circles. If protocol for basic barriers are followed then the risk of this is actually far lower than a dozen other diseases and pathogens you could likely be exposed too, but this one is the one in the news. Transport the patient. Its your duty as a responder. If you’ve got a problem with that, get a new job.
So lets see. Twice as infectious as the flue, and 3 out of 100 who catch get to find out if god is real....
 
So lets see. Twice as infectious as the flue, and 3 out of 100 who catch get to find out if god is real....

SARS had a fatality rate of roughly 10% by comparison to this strain of virus, and we remember how bad that pandemic was.

Measles is 6 times more contagious and that’s in a population where most of us are vaccinated. It’s also permanently impacted more people specifically children.

As I said, follow basic protocol and do your job. This is not World War Z. You realize we still have Bubonic plague in the SW United States right? There are bigger risks to you than fear of a preventable disease.


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Good to know there are people like you willing to get infected by inserting yourself in an enclosed tube with infectious disease. I for one do not have the intestinal fortitude to bring that home that to my family. According to that doctor, really need proper eye wear too, which will be difficult to find in prescription sizes. And having flown with an N95 mask before, I can tell you it’s not easy, and I sincerely doubt their effectiveness as I had to pull it away from my face at times.

This dude was healthy a little while ago.
 
Good to know there are people like you willing to get infected by inserting yourself in an enclosed tube with infectious disease. I for one do not have the intestinal fortitude to bring that home that to my family. According to that doctor, really need proper eye wear too, which will be difficult to find in prescription sizes. And having flown with an N95 mask before, I can tell you it’s not easy, and I sincerely doubt their effectiveness as I had to pull it away from my face at times.

This dude was healthy a little while ago.

If there exist (and they do) means to transport patients with something as infection as TB you and others are way overreacting to this virus.

Again, basic barrier protocols. This isn’t Ebola. Withdrawal of immediate care by first responders and other echelons of medical care isn’t protecting yourself from the spread of an epidemic, it’s going to make it worse.


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If there exist (and they do) means to transport patients with something as infection as TB you and others are way overreacting to this virus.

Again, basic barrier protocols. This isn’t Ebola. Withdrawal of immediate care by first responders and other echelons of medical care isn’t protecting yourself from the spread of an epidemic, it’s going to make it worse.


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Says the guy who's never flown for a civilian medevac gig. When your face and eyes are about 6 inches from the patient as you manhandle them into the airplane all the ideas about "basic barrier protocols" tend to feel a lot more real and important to your continued existence. Personally, given that we don't know all the transmission vectors yet, I would not expose my crew to this, and I doubt my crew would expose me to it either.

Yah, you're right, TB is likely WAYYYYYYY more of a hazard than this, but TB is a known quantity, this is an unknown.
 
Says the guy who's never flown for a civilian medevac gig. When your face and eyes are about 6 inches from the patient as you manhandle them into the airplane all the ideas about "basic barrier protocols" tend to feel a lot more real and important to your continued existence. Personally, given that we don't know all the transmission vectors yet, I would not expose my crew to this, and I doubt my crew would expose me to it either.

Yah, you're right, TB is likely WAYYYYYYY more of a hazard than this, but TB is a known quantity, this is an unknown.

Again, you are either a medical transport and by definition care giver/first responder OR you are just an air charter service that may or may not offer transportation to people showing signs of illness or injury.

The fear around this disease is obnoxious. Again it is a flu based virus with a lot more knowns than unknowns. It also as said pales in comparison to about a dozen communicable diseases which are active and prevalent but don’t generate near the fear because we have lived comfortably with them for however long.

If you press this issue to just “oh heck no not my problem” as medical responders you won’t limit or decrease risk of exposure because now people just won’t inform you. And we are where we were in the 80s when anybody with HIV wouldn’t dare say a thing because first responders were so scared of it they often wouldn’t render effective aid.


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I love how the guy that always says ~ "you don't know anything about the military/foreign policy because we're the super secret guys and we're the only ones that know anything about foreign policy because we're the only ones with knowledge of anything" is now telling people with experience in medevac they're overreacting to what the CDC is saying. Irony much?
 
I love how the guy that always says ~ "you don't know anything about the military/foreign policy because we're the super secret guys and we're the only ones that know anything about foreign policy because we're the only ones with knowledge of anything" is now telling people with experience in medevac they're overreacting to what the CDC is saying. Irony much?
I think he’s under an illusion as to how civilian Medevac works. Other than loading the patient (which some operators leave up to the medical crew) the pilots’ familiarity with medicine, contagion protocols, etc is pretty much limited to getting a TB test once a year, wearing a mask when the nurses tell you to, and “whoever has control of the tube calls the count for moving”.
 
I love how the guy that always says ~ "you don't know anything about the military/foreign policy because we're the super secret guys and we're the only ones that know anything about foreign policy because we're the only ones with knowledge of anything" is now telling people with experience in medevac they're overreacting to what the CDC is saying. Irony much?

Guess what bro, I’ve been a first responder.

CDC guidance. Yeah absolutely which is why I like the CDC have stated follow your basic barrier protocols (which is exactly what they are saying) and do you job as a care provider. You think a metal tube vs a metal box has some sort of giant delta in infectious exposure potential? Pandemics get worse when the people most able and capable of tending aid while exercising smart protocol stop doing so.

Did I miss where the CDC or Surgeon General is instituting some blanket policy of quarantine and forced isolation like the movie Outbreak. It’s a Flu. What’s more it’s not even as deadly as the last big scary flu (SARS). It’ll get worse though if people in areas of limited/isolated care options can’t be transported to higher echelons of care.


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I think he’s under an illusion as to how civilian Medevac works. Other than loading the patient (which some operators leave up to the medical crew) the pilots’ familiarity with medicine, contagion protocols, etc is pretty much limited to getting a TB test once a year, wearing a mask when the nurses tell you to, and “whoever has control of the tube calls the count for moving”.

I straight up texted one of the most experienced flight nurses I know with around 3 decades of experience...

He said, "hell no."
 
Guess what bro, I’ve been a first responder.

CDC guidance. Yeah absolutely which is why I like the CDC have stated follow your basic barrier protocols (which is exactly what they are saying) and do you job as a care provider. You think a metal tube vs a metal box has some sort of giant delta in infectious exposure potential? Pandemics get worse when the people most able and capable of tending aid while exercising smart protocol stop doing so.

Did I miss where the CDC or Surgeon General is instituting some blanket policy of quarantine and forced isolation like the movie Outbreak. It’s a Flu. What’s more it’s not even as deadly as the last big scary flu (SARS). It’ll get worse though if people in areas of limited/isolated care options can’t be transported to higher echelons of care.


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Yes, apparently you did miss it, bro. I don't know the full details, as I'm not volunteering for the flights, but I know the 201 "uninfected" that we brought back from Wuhan are in a mandatory 2 week quarantine. I've heard our crews are also in a 2 week quarantine, but don't know for sure.
 
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