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Does anybody really know what
time it is?
I love Chicago. I've probably seen this group in concert
more than any other. This song stresses the importance of
taking the time to appreciate the small pleasures in life
instead of rushing from one place to another against the
clock. Robert Lamm, keyboardist, singer, and songwriter,
wrote the song in 1969; at that point the group was called
Chicago Transit Authority. In 1970, they changed their name
to Chicago.
Recently, we have had a lot of time to ponder life and time.
Take a look back at the past 6 weeks. Things always look
different in retrospect. So many questions and answers that
have changed over time. Why? Context changes. At first, I
think that erroneously, many of us were under the impression
that the lock-down would solve the COVID problem entirely.
Now, of course, it has become clear that it was the solution
to make us ready for any surges. Many are now questioning,
was the lock-down necessary? My answer is yes, but now we
can cautiously go forward with the incremental layering of a
reopening. We now need to learn to safely live with
COVID-19. This should evolve in Maryland soon. It has to, we
need to get back to our new normal.
My message for this Friday: the constant in life is that you
can count on change. Be present, show the people you love
that you care about them, you are there for them, and that
they matter. Time is precious and slips by quickly.
The numbers:
Maryland:
23,462 cases -/- 1,098 deaths -/- 4.67% fatality rate.
The Maryland Ro:
(see April 22 Update for explanation of Ro) No real change,
we remain in the green zone,
0.89; lower is better.
Locally, all remains stable.
Diagnostics and Therapeutics:
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Remdesivir has been crowned by NIH as an effective
treatment in severe illness; my take is that it's a
start, but not a knockout punch,
particularly when you look
at this article
in Lancet.
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We now understand that severe infection has an effect on
blood vessels which causes clotting when we should not
be; an old drug, unfractionated heparin, will help and
now we know when to start it and hopefully, this will
change outcomes.
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India is using
hydroxychloroquine
early and prophylactically; they lock-downed early and
with 1.3 billion people, it appeared they were heading
for a disaster. Yet they have not, as cited
in
this CNN report.
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