COVID-19 Update, Wednesday, October 28th

Ginger Cameron, PhD
Oct 28, 2020
3 min read

It's a little heavy today. Cases are increasing, vaccine updates, candida, COVID-kids, and possible cognitive effects.

Is there anything more American than baseball? The Dodgers won the World Series - and I have to say I am proud of the way MLB handled the pandemic overall.

1. Case increases and hospitalization increases are starting to cause PPE shortages and ICU shortages around the globe. Iran for example is reporting they have run out of beds – they are reporting a death every 5 minutes. But the US is now inching toward similar issues, Utah is reporting they could be a week away from ICU bed shortages. Keep in mind that other health issues have not stopped needing ICU beds, so COVID cases add additional need – and as we enter flu season the demand for ICU beds will increase. The CDC reports there are anywhere from 140k to 800k flu hospitalizations each year depending on how severe the year is. I have provided links to all these stories below.

The US passed the 9 million mark for total cases, nearly ½ million of which were in the last 7 days. States seeing especially steep increases are Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Wisconsin. In contrast, Melbourne Australia ended a 111-day lock-down. They are requiring masks in public places and work-from-home orders remain in place there.

2. Vaccine storage issues may make the global distribution of the vaccine challenging. Vaccines have specific storage instructions generally speaking. If vaccines are not stored at the proper temperate, they lose their potency and can become unsafe. Current anticipation is that the COVID vaccine will need to be stored at -95 degrees. It seems there are not enough cold storage systems around the world to do this. Storage issues are not new, this has been a long-standing issue particularly among developing nations, and in response, solar-powered vaccine refrigerators have been developed but in developing nations, even that has infrastructure issues. This is nothing to fret about, but it is one more piece that will need to be addressed.

3. AstraZeneca is reporting that their vaccine is producing an immune response in both older adults and the young – so this is promising news. Keep in mind this is self-reported success via a news conference/announcement (link below) and does not include evidence of their success yet. In related news, both the AstraZeneca and J&J vaccine trials are set to resume after being paused to investigate possible serious side effects. (link to news story below).

4. Hospital infections of Candida auris (a drug-resistant superbug) is said to be increasing at an alarming rate. This increase has been attributed to COVID-19 patients. At this point this is just a theory but something to watch.

5. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there has been a 14% increase in COVID among kids over the last 2 weeks with nearly 800k cases among children. They now make up a full 11% of all cases. Keep in mind that children are often not tested unless they require hospitalization or it is required to return to school etc., so this number is most likely low. Link to the report below.

6. Finally, a pre-print study that has not yet been peer-reviewed, (so take it with a grain of salt) indicates that people who have recovered from COVID-19 are showing significant cognitive issues. This is something to be aware of and watch for if a loved one gets COVID, it is also an area for further research but not something to get too concerned about just yet.

There is actually quite a bit of news right now and lots of things I wasn’t able to share today (trying to keep these bite-sized) so I may well do another one tomorrow. Stay tuned for that. Also, Friday I hope to share some trick-or-treating tips for those planning to participate in Halloween this weekend as well as an update on current treatments available.

FINAL THOUGHTS: As things start to ramp up it can be quite overwhelming given how long this has been going on. It is easy to get discouraged or even fatigued and give up. I just want to remind you that this doesn’t have to rule your life. Wear a mask, wash your hands, space yourself out from others and avoid crowded places. Following these simple steps will allow you to resume as normal a life as possible in 2020. As fires continue to rage, riots pop up, and yet another hurricane comes barreling in – it really can be too much. Reach out if you need help because you are not the only one struggling and there is no shame in the struggle. Tonight may be a good night to put your feet up and watch something really funny. Oh…and don’t forget the cheesecake.