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We have all been through a lot. Take a look at the diagram
below. Some or all of it might apply to you. Thank you LF
for forwarding this to me. There is no doubt that the last
month has been emotionally exhausting. And yet, going
through this makes us appreciate so many things in our lives
and we perhaps emerge with a different view. Perhaps we are
stronger, more grateful, more grounded. Who do I choose to
be during COVID-19?
So often, obstacles create opportunities for personal growth
and change. And here we are.
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The numbers:
US:
706,856 cases 37,087 deaths
5.2% fatality rate (up)
Maryland: 12,308 cases
463 deaths 3.76% fatality rate (up)
Always remember when you look at these numbers, we only test
people who have a high probability of being infected. And as
noted below*, once the prevalence of the infection is
understood, only then will we really know the fatality rate.
New York (New
York Tough - click it): hospitalization numbers
in NYC continue to go down.
Diagnostics and Therapeutics:
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We are learning about how many people are
asymptomatically infected. This is important because it
reduces our fatality rate. Stanford researchers announced
that they just completed a study of 3,000 people in
Santa Clara, CA. *The prevalence estimates represent a
range of 48,000-81,000 people infected in Santa Clara
County by early April, which is 50-85-fold more than the
number of confirmed cases. If more studies confirm this,
the fatality rate will significantly fall.
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Quest Diagnostics announced yesterday that they now have
an antibody test, and once they are up and running, they
say they should be able to run 45,000 tests per day.
This will be very helpful clinically to confirm for
patients who had symptoms compatible with COVID-19 and
for many reasons we elected not to get the RNA swab to
confirm its actual presence. The test should give
accurate results 14 to 21 days after the infection
symptoms have resolved.
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Remdesivir, an antiviral drug initially used for Ebola,
seems to be very helpful in COVID-19 patients who are
moderately to severely ill. There are multiple trials
going on and major medical centers have the drug for
compassionate release.
On a musical note:
Changes by
David Bowie
On a lighter note: |
