General Wellness

The numbers are falling. Deaths, cases and hospitalizations. All seem to be dropping but we need to keep it in perspective.

For the first time since November 2020, less than 100,000 new Covid cases in a week were identified and, under 3000 Covid-related deaths occured in one day! These are numbers we used to think were apocalyptic in the spring of 2020, and now they seem like a positive sign.

Why are the numbers dropping? A combination of better compliance with mask wearing and distancing, slow, but progressive vaccination as well as some degree of protection for those who actually got sick is all contributing. It seems that in the schools where proper PPE and limited, rotating class sizes are implemented, Covid rates are very low. Even the NFL, the professional league which seemed to be the strictest with PPE and Covoid-mitigation plans, seemed to do pretty well. I saw much better mask compliance on the sidelines and in the crowds during the Superbowl than the regular season. It was good to see.

The downward trend is certainly positive, but with a weekly doubling in cases of the British variant in the US, along with the S. African and Brazilian variants are likely already spreading more than we know (US ranks 42nd in terms of genomic testing), these numbers may just be temporary. Some epidemiologists are even predicting a worse scenario than we have yet seen in about 4-6 weeks. Hopefully not.

The recent loosening of social distancing and opening up of restaurants in certain hard hit areas in the country won’t help either. Why take your foot off the break when there finally seems to be some control?

As far as vaccine efficacy is concerned, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines seem to have some protection against both the British and S. African variants as does the new one from J&J although that one is still awaiting FDA approval. Administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine has been halted in S. Africa since a recent study showed very poor efficacy against their variant strain which accounts for 95% of their cases in recent months. Studies were small, but significant.

We need to continue to be careful and vigilant, if for no other reason than to give scientists more time to catch up with vaccine production and development of newer vaccines to cope with the new strains. This may not be as difficult as de-novo production of a vaccine, but they still need time to tweak the existing vaccine.

I am surprised how often I get comments about how I need to worry less about the virus since I’ve been vaccinated. Sure, I’m less worried for me, but I am just as worried for everyone else. I can still transmit the virus if exposed. If exposed to one of the variants, I can even spread it more so, I am changing nothing about my behavior. 

Whether you have been sick or not, whether you have been vaccinated or not, PLEASE continue to be safe and do what we know works, not just to protect ourselves but also to protect everyone else:

MASK

DISTANCE

WASH

DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE

EYE PROTECTION

VENTILATE

VACCINATE

GET HEALTHY

Stay Safe and Be Well. 

AC

Lessons from the NFL?

If you’ve perused the “Kids Health” section of my website, you know how much I am against sports where there is any chance of head injury. Football, soccer, hockey and other contact sports pose serious risks to the brain development of our kids. The frontal lobe, the part which controls emotions and complex behavior doesn’t even stop developing until your mid 20s. I think mine is STILL developing. The vast majority of head injuries do not occur during games but during practice and a recent study of hundreds of college football players confirmed this. A Harvard study of random retired NFL players in all positions showed that 100% of them had evidence of brain trauma.

All that having been said, what has this last NFL season taught us about Covid-19?

That the basics matter!. Masking, distancing, ventilating, proactive tracing… It works people!!!

Although they have had players and staff who have tested positive during the season, there have only been 3 short hospitalizations with no residual effects. They have had to postpone games, but none were cancelled. They have traced patterns of illness in the communities where their games have been played and, to their best ability, no outbreaks have been linked to games.

What did they do?

First of all, playing outdoors is a big plus. Clearly, there is less transmission with fresh air. This didn’t seem to help the baseball league though. More yahoos I guess.

They have very strict mask wearing policies, although in watching a few games and seeing what goes on, I question how rigid they are about that. Some pretty crappy and poorly worn masks from my perspective.

They have strict eating schedules with rotations of small numbers of players at a time.

They isolate any positive-tested players and they test everyone almost every day.

Small numbers of well separated live fans with no tailgating.

Compared to other professional team sports, they have done pretty well and they have the basic PPE and proper behavior and a well thought out plan to thank for it.

So, on Superbowl weekend, be thankful that they have done all the things necessary to try to resume some semblance of normalcy, despite the challenging times.

 

MASK UP!!! It works. Wear a good one. Wear it correctly. Stop touching it!

DISTANCE.

WASH YOUR HANDS.

VENTILATE. Even opening the window a crack provides some fresh, circulating air.

VACCINATE.

PROTECT YOUR EYES.

GET HEALTHY.

 

As far as the inevitable get-togethers are concerned, consider NOT getting together.

If you do, follow some basics:

• Know your company. Your friends may be responsible, but their teenager may not. Be mindful of the people and the number of people you watch the game with.
• No shared bowls of chips, snacks… Individualize.
• Label beverage glasses to avoid cross contamination.
• Consider a HEPA air filter. They do work.
• Keep a window open and a fan running to keep fresh air circulating. If it’s cold, add on a layer. It’s better to shiver because you’re cold rather than shiver in a week because you got Covid.
• Minimize celebratory cheering/screaming. Interestingly, as part of their attempt to run the olympics this summer, the IOC and Japanese organizers came out with Covid safety recommendations including limiting fan and participant celebrations including no high-fiving, hugging, cheering… It will be weird but hopefully they can pull it off.
• It’s not ridiculous to wear a mask when in an enclosed room. Don’t take offence. We all need to be comfortable. 
• Keep lots of hand sanitizer around and dedicate one bathroom as “public”.
• As much as I can’t stand all the waste this pandemic has generated, consider all disposable plates and cutlery. 

 

Have a great weekend.

Stay Safe.

AC