COVID-19 Update: Wednesday, October 7th

MIS-A, TSA, FDA, CDC, India, and how it ends.

1. Remember MIS-c the syndrome we were seeing in children who were exposed to COVID? Well we have now seen cases of it in adults. The CDC has named it MIS-a (multisystem inflammatory syndrome- adults). The syndrome seems to be in response to being exposed to COVID even when the person doesn't get COVID. The good news is that people seem to recover well with medical intervention.

2. Roughly 2,000 TSA members have tested positive for COVID along with members of the EU's executive branch and members of the White House.

3. The FDA has released new guidance that they will require any vaccine to show 2 months of follow up data before approving the vaccine for emergency use. Typically we are able to see longer-term followup which helps identify any possible long-term issues but due to the urgency of the situation, they are allowing follow-up to be 2 months.

4. The CDC has formally acknowledged that COVID can be aerosolized in some non-medical settings. The science has been supporting this for some time so it doesn't change much - in practicality, it means that some of those respiratory droplets may be very small and therefore travel further than 6 feet. Again, we already knew this but it is now official.

5. India should surpass us in total case counts this week. US numbers are back in the 40k a day range but deaths continue to trend down. If we remain on this trajectory it should be about 4 or 5 days until India moves ahead of us. But of course, that is a complete estimate and something to watch.

6. People have asked me how this ends so I just want to offer a couple of reminders. Infectious diseases can be managed in several ways. Ideally, we develop a vaccine that is safe and effective and we all get said vaccine, develop immunity, and go on with life as usual never really thinking about the disease - think Polio. We may also develop a vaccine that requires boosters or yearly administration, so we have to think about it occasionally - think Flu. But we also manage some diseases with no vaccine at all - just really effective treatments. For example, we have no vaccine against Strep Throat, but when you get it, you go in and get treated and voila. As we have been working on a vaccine, we are also working on treatment options - so it may be that that is the road to recovery. It may also be that some combination thereof becomes the solution. But don't despair, this will end.

FINAL THOUGHTS: We are human. We make mistakes, we say things we wish we wouldn't have, we lose our cool, and we become exhausted. We are imperfect and flawed and we don't have endless positivity or patience. So while we strive to do better, to be better versions of ourselves, sometimes we fall short. Sometimes we fall very short. Forgive yourself and others in those times. Dust off, apologize when you need to, and move on. This year is way too stressful to beat yourself up for not being perfect. None of us are. Just do your best, we're only human after all.