COVID-19 Update: Thursday, October 1, 2020

HCQ, NY face mask fines, mask study, Conspiracy fun fact, and CDC chart comparison.

1. You may recall clinical trials found that HCQ did not improve people’s chances of survival if they were hospitalized with COVID, but we were still researching it’s effect as a preventative. A study was published in JAMA yesterday that states, “In this double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial that included 132 participants and was terminated early, there was not a significant difference in reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction–confirmed SARS-CoV-2 incidence between hydroxychloroquine and placebo cohorts” Important to note this was one study and it was a small one – so it doesn’t mean that HCQ won’t help with prevention, but it is the first indicator that it may not. Further research is ongoing. You can access the study here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2771265?utm_source=Global+Health+NOW+Main+List&utm_campaign=9ff74aa395-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_09_30_03_00&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8d0d062dbd-9ff74aa395-3016733

2. NY has threatened fines of up to $1000 for people who don’t wear masks in public.

3. A study published in the journal Extreme Mechanics Letters looked at the efficacy of homemade face masks in blocking droplets and aerosols containing COVID. (Droplets are the bigger particles that come from you when you speak, sneeze, cough, etc. – they are heavier and drop to the ground fairly quickly, aerosols are the smaller particles that float in the air for longer/further). The study looked at 11 typical materials of homemade face masks, with a medical mask to act as a control. The fabrics included used clothes, quilted cloths, dishcloths, and bedsheets. They found, similar to prior studies, that the masks were effective and when you use multiple layers of fabric you increase that effectiveness. People are encouraged to use homemade or non-medical masks in order to help reduce any shortages of medical masks among healthcare workers.

4. Fun Fact: conspiracy theories are super annoying but they are not new or unique to this pandemic. During the Spanish Flu of 1918 pandemic, one popular conspiracy was that the Germans (remember it was WWI time) had intentionally released the virus to help them win the war. Another popular and widely held belief was that Bayer had done it to improve drug sales. So don't let the conspiracies get to you, psychologists say people cling to them because they provide quick, easy "answers" in times where answers are slow in coming and often complex.

5. As we approach Flu season I thought this chart from the CDC may be useful.

Chart showing the differences between flu and COVID

FINAL THOUGHTS: Don’t be content to live life simply biding your time. Make every single minute count because you don’t know how many minutes you have, and they are far too precious to waste a single one. Squeeze them dry, wring them out and get what you paid for. This is your one life, there is no do-over, no next time, no going back. So, resolve to flood the earth with love and kindness and compassion and get every single second of life that you can out of what you have. Don’t waste minutes on things that don’t matter – arguing, holding a grudge, fear, anger, resentment, etc. Those are corrosive thieves. Things right now are tough, exhausting, and honestly a huge drag. But we don’t have to be, and we can choose to suffer through it or dance our way through it. Today, choose to dance.