The Oxford study suggests that asthma preventers (containing budesonide which is also found in hay-fever nasal sprays) relieves covid symptoms and reduces the need for hopitalisation.
I strongly encourage people to read the above and to do some research. The internet is an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to help keeping in front of covid.
The asthma preventers are not available over-the-counter here in Australia but nasal spays for hay fever, which contain the same drug (budesonide), are available over the counter.
Asthma preventers that contain budesonide are not sold over the counter here either. There are a couple that help breathing (Primatene Mist) that are sold over the counter but they do not contain budesonide.
The fitness trainer asked me, "What kind of a squat are you accustomed to doing?" I said, "Diddly."
64 bit Win 11 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Nice share Noel. I love the news I'm hearing with how well Australia has done with COVID. The people there actually listened and observed the safety protocols.
Yes. Both Videotrack and I are in the state (Victoria) that went through Australia's second wave.
When we reached 725 positive cases in one day, Victoria's Premier put us into Stage 4 lockdown. We had 4 months of lockdown at various stages: masks, social distancing, staying home except for 1 hour per day to exercise (going to medical appointments, essential shopping, etc. was permitted), curfew, not having guests at home, etc. For a while we were also only permitted to travel within a 5 kilometre radius.
The underlying principle was to keep people from mixing as much as possible so the virus had no where to go and no way to travel. While the restrictions might sound harsh, we have an exceptionally good state leader and around 99.9% of 6,000,000 people jumped on board with him and his Chief Health Officer. I had no doubt that I was in safe hands.
Wherever I went, people were happy and joking. I didn't run into any who complained. The mood was, "It is what it is so let's just do it and get on top of it." And we did. We're one of the few places in the world to tame covid. When we were up to 725 positives tests in day, I read somewhere a while back that Britain (or maybe France or Spain — I can't recall exactly which) had a similar number at the same time. They went one way and we went the other.
Today (Feb. 11) we have 10 cases. These came about from travellers who quarantine for 14 days before coming into the community. Prior to these quarantine cases, there was a time that we had no positive test results for something like 60 days. The Australian Govt. and State Govt. financially supported a lot of people through this.
Victoria was the only place in Australia that went through this second wave and extended lockdown, and we managed to stop covid breaking loose and creating an Australia-wide problem. Victoria is now predicted to lead Australia out of economic gloom. So the lockdown was actually a good thing.
Murdoch Media (lots of newspapers and SkyNews) did their best to undermine all we were doing to get on top of covid. They were relentless and insidious. Pretty much no one listened to them and we just travelled on following the lead of our premier.
When I look around the world, I see what could have been. It's awful.
Hmm... I said much, much more than I intended. If you get to this line, though, thank you for reading through it all.
All the best, Noel
P.S. Videotrack's experience may be different from mine. I can only talk about my area.
Nice share Noel. I love the news I'm hearing with how well Australia has done with COVID. The people there actually listened and observed the safety protocols.
Steve, the people in some countries are just better educated and more civilized. I will refrain from naming names...lol
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
Thanks Noel. The information is quite informative. The doctor in Texas would have been better received if he would have stuck to the facts.
Further investigation by the University Of Oxford and others have given good reason to believe there is value to the use of corticosteroid for reducing serious symptoms of Covid-19. I for one would be in favor of giving this approach a try on a limited basis. There can be serious side effects of using inhaled corticosteroids but they are not very common. So I don't see this as a very risky medication to try.
I think this medication would be very useful to try in Brazil for example where the death rate is very high and oxygen supplies are limited at best and hospitals are unable to treat everyone who needs treatment.
In the United States there has been an intense effort in the development of vaccines but less effort placed on treatment medications.
One of the problems in this country has been the polarization and politicising of the issue. Also well respected doctors have denied out of hand that this medication could work without any research to back up their position.
One needs to do their on research to the extent they can and be aware of the fact that several things have been suggested which have proven to have no value.
The problem with doing your own research here in the United States is that approximately 50% of the population cannot read at an 8th grade level.
The methods to control Covid-19 are well known as have been shown in China, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand to name a few.
We will be lucky if we can vaccinate our way out of this mess. That may or may not work. So possible solutions such as you are directing our attention too need to be explored.
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
I read Noel's post then I just remembered another Doctor saying that, so I went to post but Mario already said what I was going to say. As usual youtube decides what works and what doesn't by looking at one of the links:
I always cringe when I read about a totally untested treatment and the proponent uses words like “common sense” and “intuitive” to explain the rationale for the treatment.
I wonder if the inhalers create a dependency on them?
When I was young, I had a friend who was addicted to Afrin. If he quit spraying it in his nose his sinuses would swell to the point where they were uncomfortable. He had to go to a doctor who gave him some other drugs to help with his withdrawal.
I have no idea if the inhalers would do that, but if I were to consider trying an inhaler, I'd investigate the side effects first.
- - - - - -
I was one of the lucky ones who reacted quickly when I saw an article in the newspaper saying local hospitals got a shipment of COVID-19 vaccines, and I've had both shots. In another week I'll have a 95% chance of being immune. I'll still follow all the CDC and WHO guidelines because I think the contagious disease scientists know more than politicians, pundits, preachers, propagandists, and people with other fields of knowledge.
Doctors can legally prescribe medications that have FDA approval for reasons other than the original intent of the medication. It is call "off label" use and is quite common.
Tocilzumab, a medication originally developed for arthritis is being used in some hospitals to reduce the effects of Covid-19.
While the first use of budesonide may have been purely experimental or intuitive the data was the reason serious science was used to explore the possibility that it could be useful.
I like Keith, "cringe when I read about a totally untested treatment and the proponent uses words like “common sense” and “intuitive” to explain the rationale for the treatment."
It depends on who is making the claim. It is common sense and intuitive to a doctor that certain medications "perhaps could" be useful to treat to Covid. They are allowed by US law to use there "common sense and intuition" to try medications developed for other purposes and often do. They are also responsible for the outcomes of their actions. The threat of legal action often constraints doctors in hospitals from trying things. It is a ballance, some people will die because they did not try and some will die because they did try.
I have little interest in what youtube has to say or the media. I want to read the technical information that is peer reviewed from a well known and respected institution. People who depend only on social media, youtube, and the news media as their only source of information will be hard pressed to make logical informed decisions about what to believe.
In a crisis like the coronavirus pandemic we will always take some level of risk because we have no other real choice. Nothing to my knowledge other than remdesivir has been actually approved by the FDA in the fight against Covid-19. The FDA is looking at things every day so they may have approved things I am not aware of. The FDA has granted an emergency use authorization for several things to include at least two vaccines not because they like doing that but because they have no other real option. So far it looks like that was a risk well worth taking.
At the end of the day Civid-19 where it has been controlled, it did not happen due to medication. It was brought under control by well known simple public health measures, mask wearing, seperating people, limiting movement, testing and contact tracing. Where those public health measures have not been adopted early on large amounts of people have died.
I have a serious interest in biochemistry and Covid is only one subject I am studying.
I know this is not a subject matter we normally discuss on this forum but it effect is relevant to all of us, plus the fact that hundreds of thousands of people are dying.
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
I have no idea if the inhalers would do that, but if I were to consider trying an inhaler, I'd investigate the side effects first.
I think exactly the same way. That's why I love the internet. It's very easy to find the information. I also (a) make sure that the sites I go to are reputable and (b) look for confirmation on three or four other reputable websites.
Originally Posted By: Notes Norton
In another week I'll have a 95% chance of being immune. I'll still follow all the CDC and WHO guidelines because I think the contagious disease scientists know more than politicians, pundits, preachers, propagandists, and people with other fields of knowledge.
I've been doing some work on "Efficacy" versus "Effectiveness" of vaccines. Non-medical journalists use the two terms loosely and interchangeably. The words are not synonyms, though.
An efficacy of 95% does not mean that 95% of people are immune after taking the vaccine. All the current vaccines offer pretty much 100% protection in one form or another. For example...
all vaccines seem to reduce severity of COVID if one catches it
all vaccines significantly reduce the likelihood of death from COVID
it's also possible that all vaccines increase the likelihood of being asymptomatic if one catches the virus (since efficacy is determined by only looking at symptomatic cases unless otherwise noted)
In Phase 3 testing of vaccines, two groups of approximately the same size are created. One group gets the vaccine (vaccinated group, Group A) and the other group gets a placebo (unvaccinated group, Group B).
Efficacy is then determined by comparing who developed symptoms in the two groups. Here's an example of how the calculation is done...
if 6 people in Group A develop symptoms and 56 people in Group B develop symptoms, then
Thus Efficacy indicates the number of people in Group A, the vaccinated group, who developed symptoms is 89.3% less than the number of people in Group B who developed symptoms.
When COVID-19 burst into the world it was brand new and nobody knew what was going to happen. During this time, learning about COVID was primarily through trial and error; that is, "hope we don't make a mistake but if we do then let's learn from it." It's really good to see that scientists are now getting on top of this so quickly.
I watch a lot of series on Netflix from around the world. In all 2020/21 dramas from the countries I watch, I now often hear English terms such as "social distancing", "flatten the curve", "lockdown", "PPE", "curfew", etc. It's eye-opening.
Yesterday, we had 11 cases of one of the latest mutations of COVID. Today, that has grown to 16. In an attempt to surmount this, our state Premier and his health team are putting Victoria into a 5-day, circuit breaker lockdown. If anyone is interested, the below link shows what that looks like.
Sorry to hear you guys are going back into lockdown. This pandemic is a ongoing disaster for the whole world.
Let's hope all these continued efforts continue to produce the remarkable results you guys have had to date.
28,281 people have died here in the state of Florida where I live to date with no real end in site. I rode my bike around the neighborhood today and no one had a mask on.
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
With this weekend being Chinese New Year celebrations and Valentines day, it's pretty easy to see why authorities went for lockdown. The potential to create a disaster from these two events is significant. Since we've been there and done lockdown before, while it's annoying, we now know what to do and we know its effective.
I'm so sorry to hear about so many people dying. 28,000 people is an enormous number. And you'd probably multiply that by 10 or 20 for the number of people who will be deeply saddened by the passing of their loved ones. Here in Australia, we've been spared such agony.
Wherever I go in my area, 9/10 people are wearing masks. Not so much outside, if space permits for social distancing, but certainly in shops, and other indoor settings where the public go.
When I think of reducing my chances of catching COVID, I think of the Swiss Cheese model below (virologist Ian Mackay came up with this). Each slice of cheese has holes in it so one slice is not 100% effective at stopping everything. When multiple slices are randomly assembled, though, chances increase that anything that passes through earlier slices of cheese will be stopped by a latter slice.
I rode my bike around the neighborhood today and no one had a mask on.
I'm concerned about all the festivities in Tampa from the Super Bowl. That really looked like a super spreader event as there was lots of news footage of the maskless in large groups.
XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
The XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs special offers are now available until August 31st at 11:59pm PDT!
Ready to take your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 experience to the next level? Now’s the perfect time! Expand your style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs—packed with a wide variety of genres to inspire your next musical creation.
What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?
XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-9 includes 900 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). With over 3,500 styles (and 35 MIDI styles) included in Xtra Styles PAKs 1-20, the possibilities are endless!
Get the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Windows or for Mac.
Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Get Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 19 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Listen to demos and order now! For Windows or for Mac.
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Don’t miss this chance to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box setup—at a great price!
Mac 2025 Special Upgrade Offers Extended Until August 15th!
It's not too late to upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® and save! We've extended our special until August 15, 2025!
We've added many major new features to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, including advanced AI tools like the amazing BB Stem Splitter and AI Lyrics Generator, as well as VST3 plugin support, and Equalize Temp. Plus, there’s a new one-stop MIDI Patches Picker with over 1,100 MIDI patches to choose from, all neatly categorized by GM numbers. The MultiPicker Library is enhanced with tabs for the SongPicker, MIDI Patch Picker, Chord Builder, AI Lyrics Generator, and Song Titles Browser, and the tabs are organized into logical groups. The Audiophile Edition is enhanced with FLAC files , which are 60% smaller than AIFF files while maintaining identical audio quality, and now ships on a fast 1TB SSD, and much more!
Check out all the new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® here:
Purchase your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac during our special to save up to 50% off your upgrade purchase and receive a FREE BONUS PAK of amazing new Add-ons. These include the 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK, Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana, Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes, MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano, Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7, Playable RealTracks Set 4, RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark, and more!
Upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and add 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and 20 RealStyles, FLAC Files for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks, Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster, MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster, Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8, and RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe.
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs!
We’ve expanded the Band-in-a-Box® RealTracks library with 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 449-467) across Jazz, Blues, Funk, World, Pop, Rock, Country, Americana, and Praise & Worship—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Blues & World (Sets 449–455):
These RealTracks includes “Soul Jazz” with Neil Swainson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Charles Treadway (organ), Miles Black (piano), and Brent Mason (guitar). Enjoy “Requested ’60s” jazz, classic acoustic blues with Colin Linden, and more of our popular 2-handed piano soloing. Plus, a RealTracks first—Tango with bandoneon, recorded in Argentina!
Rock & Pop (Sets 456–461):
This collection includes Disco, slap bass ‘70s/‘80s pop, modern and ‘80s metal with Andy Wood, and a unique “Songwriter Potpourri” featuring Chinese folk instruments, piano, banjo, and more. You’ll also find a muted electric guitar style (a RealTracks first!) and “Producer Layered Guitar” styles for slick "produced" sound.
Country, Americana & Praise (Sets 462–467):
We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles
And, if you are looking for more, the 2025 49-PAK (for $49) includes an additional 20 RealTracks with exciting new sounds and genre-spanning styles. Enjoy RealTracks firsts like Chinese instruments (guzheng & dizi), the bandoneon in an authentic Argentine tango trio, and the classic “tic-tac” baritone guitar for vintage country.
You’ll also get slick ’80s metal guitar from Andy Wood, modern metal with guitarist Nico Santora, bass player Nick Schendzielos, and drummer Aaron Stechauner, more praise & worship, indie-folk, modern/bro country with Brent Mason, and “Songwriter Americana” with Johnny Hiland.
Plus, enjoy user-requested styles like Soul Jazz RealDrums, fast Celtic Strathspey guitar, and Chill Hop piano & drums!
With your version 2025 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Or upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 33 new RealTracks and 65+ new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 29 new RealTracks and 45+ new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 20 new RealStyles.
Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
Playable RealTracks Set 4
RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyles,
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster,
Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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