COVID-19 Update, Thursday, August 27th

More CDC changes, new reporting rules, T-cell immunity, and misleading headlines.

1. The CDC has changed another recommendation. While changing and shifting information is very normal under these circumstances this one has garnered some angst. The change involves no longer recommending testing people who don’t have symptoms even if they have been exposed. Some people are concerned this will reduce our ability to find asymptomatic spreaders. The CDC said their motives are to reduce false negatives which give a false sense of security and to reduce testing waste. The tests are not great, as we know, and performing them at the right time seems to be a critical factor. The CDC says they are concerned with the timing of asymptomatic individuals that a false positive will cause the person to reduce precautions and potentially contaminate others.

2. A new rule came out changing how hospitals report data. This is the sixth such change since February. Hospitals that do not immediately comply with the new rule may lose their Medicare and Medicaid rights. The new rule is to send hospitalization data to the DHHS instead of the CDC.

3. Some people have T-cells that will provide immunity to COVID according to the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology in the UK. How many and how much is unknown, but it does appear due to T-cells some people are immune. More research in this area is needed.

4. Misleading headlines: headlines are making their way around regarding children being more infectious than adults based on a study that found the viral load of children with COVID was higher than some adults in the ICU. While this is true, we must remember there is a difference between viral load and viral shed. The study did not look at how much virus the children were shedding (i.e. spreading) so to draw the conclusion they are more contagious is inappropriate.

5. Another study that is being used out of context is one out of the UK that found viral spread was not significant in schools. This too is true but there is a caveat….spread in schools is reflective of community transmission. So in communities where transmission is low, transmission in schools is also low. In communities where it is high, schools are also high. Schools seem to reflect the community. Also note worthy was that teachers and staff were at higher risk than the students. You can read more about this in JAMA Pediatrics.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Remember when this all started, and we went into quarantine? Remember how foolish we were that we were going to get so much done and develop new skills and read tons of books etc.? We quickly figured out that wasn’t reality. Now we are back there. There is so much happening, schools reopening, colleges opening and closing, hurricanes, tropical storms, elections, etc. Productivity is in a slump for most people and now is not the time to beat yourself up over that. Things are hectic and your body is processing a lot. Take it easy on yourself, don’t push too hard and just know that it is normal to feel exhausted mentally and physically. Stay safe. Love yourself and love others.