COVID-19 Update: Tuesday, September 8

Long-haulers, Flu, treatment options, South Korea, and Numbers

1. The number of Long haulers, those experiencing symptoms for more than three months, is growing. According to reports out of the UK, over 300k people are reporting significant systems for months. The UK is calling for clinics dedicated to caring for these patients which include both physical and mental healthcare.

2. Could your flu have been COVID? Scientists who are reviewing flu cases from winter 2019 early 2020 say some of the flu cases may have been COVID. But even if they were, with immunity only lasting 4 months, chances are those people are once again susceptible and no longer immune.

3. Two brothers are working with AI to identify drugs that are currently in use but may be useful in stopping cytokine storms. So far, they have identified 6 potential drugs that may work to help fight COVID including vitamin D. Based on their work, clinical trials are underway to see if any of these actually work. Worth noting that we have already been studying vitamin D so that one is not new.

4. South Korea originally heralded as a country that “got it right” is experiencing its second wave and it is proving much worse than the first. They are facing severe shortages of ICU beds and have vowed to double that number in order to meet the current needs. In slightly related news, India’s numbers are progressing at an alarming rate moving them into 2nd place just behind the US.

5. America’s numbers looked good over the holiday weekend which is encouraging. While we have to remember there are lots of reasons the numbers could have looked better the last few days, (reduced workers over the holiday, reduced capacity at the labs, reduced testing due to the holiday, etc.) they still looked good with Monday’s numbers being the lowest we have seen in months. Hopefully, people continued using precautions over the holiday and this trend will continue.

FINAL THOUGHTS: The long weekend was hopefully a time of rest and recovery. A time of renewal in which you gave yourself a little break from social media, politics, and the news. But even if you did, returning to all of it today can feel overwhelming. There is a lot of bad news right now – certainly more than our fair share and it can easily sap your energy and motivation. I want to encourage you to treat yourself kindly. Listen to your body and mind and reduce your productivity expectations. Of course, there are some things you can’t alter, there are tasks that must be done and people who are counting on you. But there are other things that are self-imposed pressure. Those are the ones you can control. Those are the ones you can roll back. Take a look around today and determine where you can reduce those pressures that you yourself create. Remember that you don’t have to fight every fight and correct every ounce of misinformation, at least not today. Turn down the noise. Order delivery for dinner or have sandwiches. Reduce the pressure and expectations. Then continue to focus of the small little things that are going right. The coffee maker worked this morning, the shower water was hot, and I knew right where my shoes were. My car started; I got the kids off to school without incident…. on and on the list goes. Focus on those things. Focus on the wins, keep reminding yourself that there is good out there. Share the good and let the rest go.

1918 image. Interestingly, in 1918 schools in 3 places in the US remained open because they felt in those areas, school was a safer location than the children's homes. But schools had lots of nurses and public health workers at that time and if a child was found to be ill, one of them would escort the child home, evaluate the home and determine if the child should be left there to recover or taken to a hospital.