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I hope you had a great Mother's Day weekend. Locally, on
Sunday, the sky was blue and as the day's chilly air slowly
warmed, all seemed almost back to normal...well, not quite.
Some of my immediate family sat on our deck with ample
distance between one another and we talked about what our
summer might look like. Yesterday, there was more optimism
that things are slowly changing. We now know, with more
evidence than before, that the coronavirus may only be able
to survive for literally just minutes in the sun, and being
outdoors also minimizes the risk of spread from person to
person. Welcome sunny and warm days ahead!
Nonetheless, we are in agreement to keep our distance from
one another, wear our masks when out and about. And continue
to use hand sanitizer when out of a safe zone. We need to
continue to resist the natural tendency to shake hands, hug
and kiss...and not being afraid to admit you miss these
simple socialization staples of daily life.
"The things we take for granted, someone else is praying
for."
And on this Mother's Day, I will be grateful for my wife, a
terrific mom, and our kids and grandson.
The numbers:
Maryland:
33,373 cases -/- 1,544 deaths -/- 4.7% fatality rate
Close
to 2/3 of the deaths in Maryland are those over the age of
70.
The
Maryland Rt
was updated on 5/10 and is 0.98 (tracking upward); the lower
the better. Note that the model was updated (explaining the
change from Ro to Rt) to reflect corrections for the amount
of testing done over time in each state. An increase or
decrease in testing in each state should not affect the
accuracy of values in the future.
Diagnostics and Therapeutics:
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Roche
now has an antibody test
with very high specificity and sensitivity. In other
words, if antibodies are present, it will accurately
(99%) find it (100%) and we do believe that antibodies
are likely to confer some degree of immunity.
-
Pluristem Therapeutics
uses placenta cells to modulate the extensive
inflammation found in patients with COVID-19 respiratory
failure. The FDA has approved a Phase II trial, it looks
like a promising approach.
My book update: Just as a reminder, it's here - both as a
paperback and Kindle e-book! I have one request of you
when you finish reading this email, and that is, to please
consider purchasing a copy or copies of my book to help fund
important COVID-19 research.
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Instructions for ordering the book:
Paperback version -
Click
here to go directly to Amazon.
Kindle e-book –
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If you are purchasing the Kindle e-book from a
computer/laptop,
click
here to have the e-book version
delivered to a Kindle app on your tablet or phone. This
is the easiest method. Note, you will need to have the
Kindle app installed on your tablet or phone. To do
this, go to the App Store.
-
If you are purchasing the Kindle e-book from an iPad or
iPhone, you'll need to have the Kindle app installed.
Open Safari on your device and go to
this
link.
Then, in the top search bar, type in 'Oken BOOM' and it
will bring you to the page to purchase it.
On a Musical Note:
The older I get, the more closely I listen to the lyrics of
songs. This is one of my favorites,
My Wish for You
for You by Rascal Flatts.
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