COVID-19 Update, Friday, October 9th
- Ginger Cameron, PhD
- Oct 9, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 13, 2020
Masks and Co2, Moderna, Trump, Face shields, Numbers and China.
1. You may recall that some people have expressed concern regarding having limited oxygen when they wear a mask. This concern has been a primary factor for some individuals in regard to mask-wearing/compliance. So a group of researchers studied it and published their findings in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society this week. They found that wearing a mask had no effect on your oxygen or carbon dioxide levels. You can read the study here: https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1513/AnnalsATS.202007-812RL
2. Moderna’s vaccine trial is slowed slightly as they work to recruit more minorities into the study. You may recall that including appropriate levels of diversity in the trial was a significant goal of the Moderna trial. This will delay their progress a little as they work to recruit more minorities.
3. Trump is now reported to be symptom-free.
4. There have been previous questions regarding the effectiveness of face masks compared to face shields. A study published out of India looked at the effectiveness of face shields in slowing the spread of COVID and found they were effective. The study did not compare masks to shields, but rather looked at if face shields were effective, and found they were. You can read the study here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2769693?guestAccessKey=8fa1a095-3a4b-4e88-a555-85301c401304&utm_source=silverchair&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=article_alert-jama&utm_content=etoc&utm_term=100620
UPDATE: please note this study is NOT a comparison of face shields compared to face masks. It is a look at face shields as part of a bigger response using other PPE as well. The study was designed to determine if face shields were effective.
5. Numbers are trending up. This is somewhat to be expected as the weather cools down, fires rage and hurricanes happen. Schools started back, colleges resumed, and some businesses reopened – so increases would be expected. Severe cases are also increasing which means hospitalizations are also increasing – these are not great indicators. However, deaths are not increasing and the CFR (case fatality rate) continues to drop each week, more slowly than it was dropping, but it is still decreasing, as a nation we are now at 2.78 – consider that in May we were at 5.74 and before that we were in the 6% range – we have made great progress in this area. And…we are not the only country seeing an increase, increases are happening around the globe. The CDC is predicting 233k deaths by the end of the month, we are currently at 217k and are averaging about 5k a week, so on that trajectory (5k a week for the next 3 weeks) that would increase our total to 232k by the month's end – making their prediction pretty spot on.
6. China has signed on to be part of COVAX. You may recall that COVAX is a vaccine initiative designed to assure equitable distribution of a COVID vaccine.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Another week has come and gone and lots of things have arm-wrestled for our time and attention. I sat in my car this morning and watched as leaves cascaded down from the trees spiraling and dancing their way to their ground. It was magnificent. The colors are beautiful, and the wind was swirling the leaves about – it made me think of a well-orchestrated dance, nature’s ballet. I found beauty and peace in it. Look around you and see the beauty. Find the things that build you up and encourage your soul. Remember the Neverending Story and the Swamp of Sadness? Seriously, who could forget, that childhood trauma? Don’t get bogged down in the Swamp. Take the weekend and focus on all that is right, all that is good, all that makes you laugh. I will see you back on Monday.
Ginger, you have a talent for being succinct that I do not. I appreciate that about you because you are getting out such important timely information to a much wider audience than I ever could. (I tend to get a bit lost in the weeds, which doesn't usually draw a big audience.) I appreciate the update, your grace, your smarts, and your dedication.
@Amy, you are correct, it was not a comparative analysis. I apologize if I was not clear on that. It was looking at how effective face shields were as part of an overall response. Other PPE, as you mentioned, was included. I have updated the post to be more clear. In my efforts to keep things concise I don't always include all the details (which is why I include the links/sources). You make some great points, Thanks!
Ginger, I appreciate your bites of information so much. However, the study you cited does not compare face shields to masks. It compares mask, gown, shoe covers, and hand sanitizer vs. all those PLUS a face shield. All the studies I've seen comparing mask to face shield show that a face shield is vastly inferior to masking, which is not unexpected with an airborne virus. A face shield alone, of course, does nothing to contain aerosols. In re-reading your post, I see that you say, " The study did not compare masks to shields, but rather looked at if face shields were effective, and found they were." Maybe it's just me, but I read this as face shields alone being…
@Samuel, yes, that is very true and goes both ways (meaning sometimes the media makes much from numbers we don’t ). One of the more frustrating elements of the outbreak has been that people completely untrained often are very vocal in interpreting the data and they do so incorrectly. We have seen this from the general public, professionals from other disciplines, politicians, etc. it does create confusion and frustration for sure.
I think one of the things that has not been talked about enough during this is the difference between the raw numbers, and the interpretation and understanding of those numbers. It seems like one person can look at a figure and go "that's no big deal" while the doctor or statistician that probably wrote the very same figures down is urging caution... Am I crazy or is that just happening all over the place? and that's not even taking political motives into account. I'm curious what your take on that topic is from an epidemiological perspective.