COVID-19 Update, October 30th

A little heavy. Numbers, blood type, cognitive effects, mask spray, and Spanish strain.

1. We hit a new record high in US cases yesterday, so there’s that. It is nearly impossible to pinpoint a singular cause of why. But here are some things we do know: people are better about wearing their masks (yea!) but as more people wear masks they are not doing the other things – like hand washing, spacing out, avoiding crowds. Remember the swiss cheese model, we need a combination of things. Cases are also on the rise overseas – so while some of it is because of things happening here (rallies, protests, Labor Day, large gatherings, not adhering to protocols, schools, colleges, having to go to shelters due to natural disasters, etc.) but some of it is just the disease and the way it spreads. Naturally, as cases increase, deaths do too. Certainly not at the same rate but we are seeing an increase in deaths. The good news is that the CFR is still moving downward albeit in very small increments.

2. Another study came out looking at blood type and COVID, the findings were the same as prior studies: those with type 0 blood seem less liked to develop COVID. There appears to be a significant protective measure for those with type 0 blood. Another study published in PubMed reported that those with A or AB blood type required a ventilator at a higher rate and had a longer ICU stay than those with other blood types even when controlling for age, sex, etc.

3. A UK study found that COVID could cause cognitive effects equivalent to dropping 8.5 IQ points even after symptoms were gone. This is a preprint study, so it hasn’t been peer-reviewed yet, but it is something to monitor. And in a related published study conducted by the Imperial College London, they found that COVID-19 could age your brain by up to 10 years. This seems like a good time to remind everyone that death is not the only measure of severity.

4. England canceled trick-or-treating in some high-risk areas.

5. A company out of Seattle says they are making a spray for your mask to make it even more effective. If this pans out, I will share that info with you.

6. There is a variant of the virus that was found in Spain that scientists believe contributed to the rise in cases in Europe. 80% of cases throughout Spain are this new variant. But they don’t yet know if this new strain is more lethal or more easily transmitted. Remember RNA viruses mutate more quickly than DNA viruses making them harder to eliminate and making vaccines more difficult to develop (but not impossible by any means) so mutations are expected and don't necessarily mean "worse"

FINAL THOUGHTS: Halloween this year will be a Blue Moon. A blue moon is when you have two full moons in the same month, something that happens every 2.5 to 3 years. For most of us, Halloween won’t be on a blue moon again until 2039. Once in a Blue Moon is a nebulous expression, we use to mean something doesn’t happen very often. We can think about this pandemic as something tragic that is happening to us, (and certainly there are very tragic elements so this would be justified) or we can realize we are living through history – a once in a blue moon moment. Instead of trying to ignore it and escape it we may be better served to document it as history. In 100 years some other epidemiologist may find our notes and photos and journals during their pandemic and include them in their posts – or whatever wild technology they are using. Accepting this situation does not make it less awful. It does not mean we hate it any less. But it just may preserve our mental health a little better. Things are weird right now for sure and it does not look like we are going to wake up to normal tomorrow. So let’s make the most of our once in a blue moon moment. Take the weekend off all of this madness and find ways to have some fun. Take lots of pictures for prosperity. I’ll see you back on Monday.