A growing body of evidence suggests that masks for everyone might be a beneficial strategy. In the US that strategy has been rejected in order to encourage conserving PPE for health care providers.  In Czech Republic, where national leaders have successfully waged a masks4all campaign (in combination with quarantine), COVID19 GROWTH seems to have stabilized. I previously discussed droplet vs. aerosol spread. The WHO and CDC have officially labeled COVID19 as droplet spread.

Droplets fall to the floor and surfaces, they do not linger in the air. Disease transmission can occur by touching a contaminated surface and then touching your face. Droplets coughed or sneezed into your face (even from a distance) will transmit disease. Singing, yelling, or loud talking can probably do the same. Face to face conversation without cough or sneeze can transmit COVID19.

Aerosol represents smaller particles that linger in air for hours making a confined space infectious for hours and allowing for disease transmission just by breathing the air, a more contagious situation.

Certain medical procedures such as intubation produce aerosol, increasing risk for health care providers.

On March 10, 60 members of a choir rehearsed in the state of Washington. None were symptomatic. They did not share music and distanced themselves. 45 members became ill, 28 tested + for COVID19, 2 died. It is likely all 45 who are symptomatic have COVID19 (there is a 37% false negative rate for nasal swab PCR test, 28/45=62%, very close to expected # of positives if all 45 have the virus.)

Those without symptoms should be tested, they are likely carriers.

If they all had been wearing masks transmission rates would probably have been lower.

As described in a previous post, an advisory letter from Stanford ENT Surgery Dept., warned about highly contagious circumstances in the OR during ENT surgery. In one case all 14 personnel who entered and left the OR contracted COVID19 despite wearing PPE including N95 Masks. Multiple reports of deaths among ENT and eye surgeons who work close to the nose have been reported from other countries.

These examples and many more suggest that there is a continuum between droplet and aerosolization and both may be present. Although not completely protective, masks would decrease the viral load associated with an exposure. A lower load of virus would be less likely to overwhelm the immune system. COVID 19 is also called SARS-COV-2.

The virus enters human cells by attaching to a specific protein on the cell surface. These proteins (ACE2) are in high concentrations in the NOSE.

There is no discrete safety with a distance of 6 feet. That degree of separation is just a guideline. A forceful cough or sneeze might project droplets much further.

B

Based on these considerations MASKS4ALL might help contain this virus AND flatten the curve with greater efficiency.

THIS WEBSITE PROVIDES INFORMATION FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. CONSULT YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER FOR MEDICAL ADVICE.

Eat clean, drink filtered water, love, laugh, exercise outdoors in a greenspace, get some morning sunlight, block the blue light before bed, engage in meaningful work, find a sense of purpose, spend time with those you love, AND sleep well tonight.

Doctor Bob

I received notes taken from a ZOOM session with Dr. Wen Hong Zang, chair of the Society of Infectious Diseases, China Medical Association. About 7000 attendees, mostly US listeners, including Stanford Health Care, Santa Clara County hospitals, and NYC hospitals.

First the most salient points, then comparison to US approach, then the full notes from the COVID CRITICAL CARE GROUP.

• Key to mitigating spread in Shanghai was doing diagnostic COVID test on every suspected case. (anyone with symptoms)
• Tests are done within 4 hours in China, or frozen at -20C, otherwise there is increased false negative.
• False negative rate of COVID PCR even with two serial swabs was 10-30%!  Next Generation Sequencing for COVID was used as the gold standard.
• Molecular diagnostics was needed, and even two negative PCRs, for suspected cases on CT – they sent Next Gen Sequencing, a PCR to National Lab, a 3rd local PCR, and local PCR in another swab location (e.g. anal) (e.g. sent all 4) before they would rule out COVID. Thus SIX TESTS: SAMPLING DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, using DIFFERENT LABS, multiple METHODS and multiple SITES WERE REQUIRED to absolutely identify all positives.
• All patients with positive COVID PCR were admitted to a designated COVID hospital regardless of their level of illness. (ACHIEVING GUARANTEED ISOLATION FROM FAMILY/COMMUNITY) 
• Cases went down to zero or near zero by late-Feb, and there is now a small second wave from imported cases.

Compare this with the US situation.

• Testing is usually done once (Missing many positives because of high FN rate)
• Testing is NOT done on all symptomatic people, in most areas criteria for testing include symptoms AND exposure to a known case (BUT WITH LOW TESTING RATES THE SECOND CRITERIA WILL NOT BE MET FOR MANY who have actually been EXPOSURED)
•  Only very sick patients are hospitalized, so mildly symptomatic are sent home where their families/communites will be exposed, enhancing spread of the virus, hampering containment.
•  Our guidelines are to stay home for mild symptoms so we are testing even fewer patients and exposing more households to symptomatic patients.
• Test turnaround at Quest and Labcorp is as high as 10 days in some areas.
•  LabCorp and Quest are not accepting specimens in some locations because of the tremendous backlog. (therefore turn around time > 10 days (indefinite) when a sample is refused)
• With delays in testing, and long turn around times, the false negative rate increases (viral decay in sample over time) thereby sending more positive cases back to family/community and under-reporting positives.
•  US is not routinely employing CT scan, which can be positive in the face of a negative PCR.

With very stringent widespread multiple testing for everyone with symptoms, utilization of chest CT scan, and hospitalization of all positives, China achieved near zero growth within 2 months with subsequent small second wave from imported cases.

The US approach thus far has clearly been TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE, and appears destined to fail unless significant changes are immediately instituted.

Based on the experience in China, in order to achieve adequate control, we need:

1. Intensive widespread testing (multiple tests for every symptomatic person)
2. If CT scan is positive, even if two PCRs are negative, further repeat testing is required to discover all positives.
3. rapid turn-around and frozen samples for remote testing
4. complete isolation of all positives, away from family/community.
5.  we cannot send symptomatic patients home or let them remain in the community unless they repeatedly test negative.
6. Aggressive use of CT scan for evaluation.

Here is the full set of notes I received.

From Physician anesthesia group on FB…

Posted in Covid Critical Care Group & to be shared : 

Predicted number of cases in Shanghai with exponential growth was calculated to be nearly one million by March 1, but social distancing avoided this. (editorial Bob Hansen MD: Along with stringent testing of all symptomatic individuals, multiple testing, CT scan part of workup, isolation of all positives in hospital)

Cases went down to zero or near zero by late-Feb, and there is now a small second wave from imported cases.

Key to mitigating spread in Shanghai was doing *diagnostic COVID test on every suspected case* .

All patients with positve COVID PCR were *admitted to a designated* *COVID* *hospital* *regardless* *of their level of illness.* 

Coinfection was very common with other respiratory bacteria and common cold viruses, and >50% patients were positive for a co-infection with a respiratory organism.

False negative rate of COVID PCR even with two serial swabs was 10-30%!  Next Generation Sequencing for COVID was used as the gold standard.

RSV, Mycoplasma and Parainfluenza virus also caused similar bilateral CT findings to COVID.  Molecular diagnostics was needed, and even two negative PCRs, for suspected cases on CT – they sent Next Gen Sequencing, a PCR to National Lab, a 3rd local PCR, and local PCR in another swab location (e.g. anal) (e.g. sent all 4) before they would r/o COVID.

Mean incubation was 6.4 days, and patients were quarantined mean 5.5 days from symptom onset, with this approach the “curve” was 1 month in duration.

Hydroxychloroquine is in a multicentre RCT in China and will be published “very soon”.

LDH and D-Dimer was associated with development of ARDS.

He felt there is a narrow window between positive CT findings and deterioration to ARDS, where corticosteroids have been helpful and further studies are required to investigate this.

Approxiatemately 5% of patients will need ICU level care, and mortality depends on availability of ICU.

How to protect medical personnel* – China protocol:

1) Standardized process in terms of patient care areas and flow.

2) PPE – double-layer gloves, double-layer shoe covers, isolation gown, masks, googles, etc.  “The most important is to cover the head”

3) Positive pressure masks – for aerosol generating procedures.

Q&A:

Time window until infection and test positive? 3d by PCR, and 7d by Serological.

Who did you test?  They abandoned risk factor criteria quickly and just tested anyone with symptoms.

What is the best test?  PCR is better than Antibody test for sensitivity.  But the Antibody test is helpful, as PCR can have false negative by week 3.  Antibody test is helpful to see the overall population prevalence in terms of patients with mild or no symptoms.

Does viral RNA degradation of samples happen?  Tests are done within 4 hours in China, or frozen at -20C otherwise there is increased false negative.

What is risk for pregnant women?  These cases were mild, and no severe/intubated cases were seen so far in Shanghai (no Wuhan data presented).

What is the underlying medical conditions that are high risk?  Heart disease do the worst – the virus causes myocarditis as well.

 What percentage of patients have antibodies?  Every recovered patient tested have found to have antibodies on testing but it is unclear if these are actually protective.

What is the dosage for hydroxychloroquine? 400mg bid x1d, 400mg po qd.  They did not treat with azithromycin due to hepatotoxicity observed.

 What is the risk to health care workers? There were none of his colleagues who went to Wuhan to help that became infected with COVID, and this is attributed to PPE.

What is the outcome of COVID survivors?  Lung fibrosis is definitely less than SARS and most patients had a good long-term outcome.

THIS WEBSITE PROVIDES INFORMATION FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. CONSULT YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER FOR MEDICAL ADVICE.

Eat clean, drink filtered water, love, laugh, exercise outdoors in a greenspace, get some morning sunlight, block the blue light before bed, engage in meaningful work, find a sense of purpose, spend time with those you love, AND sleep well tonight.

Doctor Bob

From an immunologist at Johns Hopkins University. Maybe this will make just one person stop saying “it’s been around forever, it’s just the flu.” It hasn’t and it’s not. Read why.

THIS IS A VERBATIM QUOTE.
🧐
Feeling confused as to why Coronavirus is a bigger deal than Seasonal flu? Here it is in a nutshell. I hope this helps. Feel free to share this to others who don’t understand…
It has to do with RNA sequencing…. I.e. genetics.
Seasonal flu is an “all human virus”. The DNA/RNA chains that make up the virus are recognized by the human immune system. This means that your body has some immunity to it before it comes around each year… you get immunity two ways…through exposure to a virus, or by getting a flu shot.
Novel viruses, come from animals…. the WHO tracks novel viruses in animals, (sometimes for years watching for mutations). Usually these viruses only transfer from animal to animal (pigs in the case of H1N1) (birds in the case of the Spanish flu). But once, one of these animal viruses mutates, and starts to transfer from animals to humans… then it’s a problem, Why? Because we have no natural or acquired immunity.. the RNA sequencing of the genes inside the virus isn’t human, and the human immune system doesn’t recognize it so, we can’t fight it off.
Now…. sometimes, the mutation only allows transfer from animal to human, for years it’s only transmission is from an infected animal to a human before it finally mutates so that it can now transfer human to human… once that happens. We have a new contagion phase. And depending on the fashion of this new mutation, that’s what decides how contagious, or how deadly it’s going to be..
H1N1 was deadly….but it did not mutate in a way that was as deadly as the Spanish flu. It’s RNA was slower to mutate and it attacked its host differently, too.
Fast forward.
Now, here comes this Coronavirus… it existed in animals only, for nobody knows how long…but one day, at an animal market, in Wuhan China, in December 2019, it mutated and made the jump from animal to people. At first, only animals could give it to a person… But here is the scary part…. in just TWO WEEKS it mutated again and gained the ability to jump from human to human. Scientists call this quick ability, “slippery”
This Coronavirus, not being in any form a “human” virus (whereas we would all have some natural or acquired immunity). Took off like a rocket. And this was because, Humans have no known immunity…doctors have no known medicines for it.
And it just so happens that this particular mutated animal virus, changed itself in such a way the way that it causes great damage to human lungs..
That’s why Coronavirus is different from seasonal flu, or H1N1 or any other type of influenza…. this one is slippery AF. And it’s a lung eater…And, it’s already mutated AGAIN, so that we now have two strains to deal with, strain s, and strain L….which makes it twice as hard to develop a vaccine.
We really have no tools in our shed, with this. History has shown that fast and immediate closings of public places has helped in the past pandemics. Philadelphia and Baltimore were reluctant to close events in 1918 and they were the hardest hit in the US during the Spanish Flu.
Factoid: Henry VIII stayed in his room and allowed no one near him, till the Black Plague passed…(honestly…I understand him so much better now). Just like us, he had no tools in his shed, except social isolation…
And let me end by saying…. right now it’s hitting older folks harder… but this genome is so slippery…if it mutates again (and it will). Who is to say, what it will do next.
Be smart folks… acting like you’re unafraid is so not sexy right now.
#flattenthecurve. Stay home folks… and share this to those that just are not catching on.

This is Dr. Bob speaking now.

Since this immunologist provided this explanation it has gotten worse. 20% of COVID deaths are in the 20-64 year old age group.

I have been in contact with physicians and nurses with boots on the ground in many states. They work in ICUs and ERs. The back-log for testing is 10 days in many areas. Quest and LabCorp cannot handle the volume and in some places they are not accepting new swabs for testing. Our data are therefore behind by a few weeks so reports that CDC provides are looking at the past, not the present. South KOREA,  a much smaller country has done more tests than in the US and by virtue of immediate effective action (early social distancing, stay-at-home, widespread testing, public health teams tracking down contacts and placing them in quarantine, etc) they have flattened the curve.

Fortunately a company has developed a rapid test with turn-around time of 45 minutes. FDA approved it. Production expected to hit the market soon. Hopefully it can be in use soon which will give more accurate information.

In the US some anti-science governors have still not instituted minimally effective measures to flatten the curve. (example Florida)

Spring break college students who went to Florida to party were eventually sent home (after great pressure on the governor by critics) and have delivered the virus to their family and friends at home. Remote body temperature monitoring data showed high rates of fever in Florida during spring break.

But today, as of 12 noon,  Florida did not show RED so the spring break dissolution and social distancing may be having an effect.

Stay at home and practice social distancing. Tips from two Stanford doctors/researchers provided in previous post.

THIS WEBSITE PROVIDES INFORMATION FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. CONSULT YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER FOR MEDICAL ADVICE.

Eat clean, drink filtered water, love, laugh, exercise outdoors in a greenspace, get some morning sunlight, block the blue light before bed, engage in meaningful work, find a sense of purpose, spend time with those you love, AND sleep well tonight.

Doctor Bob

Ultraviolet Light Kills Viruses and Bacteria and it is “free”.

But we do not know whether exposing clothing and other articles to outdoor light will kill COVID-19. So washing machine + Dryer is the best advice unless you have a medically approved UV sanitizing device. Soap and hot/warm water works.

Viruses are not really “alive” in the sense that bacteria, parasites, algae are alive but they can cause great harm. For the rest of this discussion “alive” and “dead” in reference to harmful viruses will refer to “probably infectious/viable” and “not probably infectious/viable”.

A Stanford professor and viral researcher posted how he goes about grocery shopping and engaging in other tasks. His comments are worth considering.

You can find them here.

These are some of his salient points.

A recently published paper in the NEJM studied viable virus duration on various surfaces.

Copper – no viable COVID-19 after 4 hours
Cardboard – no viable COVID-19 after 24 hours
Stainless steel – no viable COVID-19 after 48 hours
Plastic – no viable COVID-19 after 72 hours
Not tested – glass, rubber, clothing, carpeting, tile, wood, stone, paper, and foods. No documented food transmission, cooked or uncooked, has been reported to my knowledge.

From Dr. Utz:

It is important to understand several things about these numbers:
–    The virus decay over time is “exponential”. 
o    This means that half of the virus on stainless steel is dead after 5.6 hours, and half of virus on plastic is dead after 6.8hours.
o    So for stainless steel at 24 hours, only about 5% is still alive. For plastic at 24 hours only about 10% is still alive. That’s not much. With hand washing and not touching eyes, ears or nose, my personal interpretation for typical exposure out in the community is that there is not much to worry about.
–    The studies were done under very controlled conditions – room temperature and 40% humidity.
–    There is no way to know what happens in fridges and freezers. 
–    It is thought that warmer weather and sunlight make it harder for viruses like this to survive.
–    The data on cardboard was “noisy”, that is was more variable, and should be interpreted with caution.

Here is Professor Utz’s practical tips.

–    Assume public surfaces could be contaminated. Wipe down surfaces, like door handles, gas pumps, and keyboards. Use Purell, wash hands frequently, and don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth unless you have washed your hands. Gloves are really not needed in the community. Healthcare workers on the front lines need gloves way more than any of us. Our risks are extremely low if we follow the guidance.
–    Assume the virus can be aerosolized (the length of time in air is still being studied and is very hard to estimate given all of the variables in the community). Minimizing time in closed spaces with others in the public, and staying 6 feet apart is good practice and reduces this risk greatly. Personally, I only used an N95 mask once last week in a massively overcrowded grocery store. The mask I used was from my garage that I have used for years when sanding my decks. Again, healthcare workers on the front lines need masks way more than any of us. Moreover, unless properly trained, the masks don’t work and can even increase your risk if in a high-risk environment like a hospital ICU (but not uncrowded places like stores – these are low risk places). The same with gloves – most people don’t know how to properly put them on and take them off, potentially increasing the risk of getting the virus to aerosolize. MGH sent out an email this morning about this topic. They described how to use masks if on the front lines, and how to clean them in the event there is a shortage (a worrisome message). The take home point is that we don’t need masks, but our caregivers and first responders do. Donate unused masks if asked. The MGH video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfTVPCDami4&feature=emb_logo&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTVdabE1ERmhPVFV5TURFdyIsInQiOiJQQWNSZFJaTjBRNHYzWk01cUphbmEzRVNScXVtWG1FMmZsUEZQWUtJT25NTEs2RmdBVzEyS3ZHdTlVS1h5VFNETzFpalo1U0h3V1wvOWxRQjdNVElSVUpFNFMrZE1MdU5MdVhYYTFoemhydW9rK2FJb3ROWnlaaFdCUFpYOGJ0cFQifQ%3D%3D
–    There have not been any documented cases of food transmission. We should assume for now that we should be washing fresh food as usual, and preparing food hygienically.
–    Based on available data, I personally am doing the following (again, this is not a recommendation, just a description of my approach):
o    At grocery stores. I try to get in and out as quickly as I can. I used to go to our local store almost daily, but now go every 4-5 days to buy for several households. This means going in with a list of only what is needed. I keep my 6 foot distancing. I don’t wear gloves or mask. I go alone and if I had kids I’d not bring them in the store (yes, I still am seeing this happen – parents should STOP). If the store is crowded, I come back when it is not crowded. I pay with a credit card and not cash. After shopping I take the cart out to the car and then load into my own canvas bags myself. (Note some stores in our area are now banning customers bringing in their own bags). I bring the groceries home and unload them on the porch (that is, I don’t bring the bags in the house and I don’t place them on my kitchen floor like I used to do). I deliver to some at risk relatives and friends and just leave the bags on the front porch and text them to grab them. When I am done unpacking groceries, I leave the bags out in the sun and consider them OK to use again when I shop again 4-5 days later.
o    At restaurants. I am now starting to get take out again regularly. The restaurants clearly need the business. I distance myself, pay with a credit card, carry to my car, unload like I do for groceries, and I transfer food to plates (ie I don’t eat from containers). 
o    Delivery. Many people are using delivery services which is one way to cut exposure at grocery stores and restaurants completely, and to provide income to drivers. 
o    When returning home from work or these rare outings.
§    We have always had a “no shoe rule” in our home because we work in hospitals and have no idea what is on the floor. 
§    For those who do wear shoes in the house – based on the data in the NEJM paper, it sees unlikely that enough virus would land on the floor, then get transmitted to shoes, then somehow make it to the mouth, eyes or nose and cause an infection. Since carpeting has not been tested in studies yet, there is no way to know for sure. 
§    For days where we are in the clinics or in a crowded grocery store only, we change clothes and shower when we get home out of an abundance of caution. How long the virus can remain in clothing, and whether it is transmissible, is not known and is hard to study. Follow the CDC guidelines:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/cleaning-disinfection.html.
§    We wash hands regularly, and particularly after unloading new purchases. And before, during and after preparing and eating food.
§    We wipe down cell phones, and we use speaker phone wherever possible so we don’t get the cell phone close to our face.
§    And to end with some levity, we don’t bite our nails, apply cosmetics while pumping gas (I observed this last week, I kid you not), pick our noses, or pick other people’s noses.

Some information on disinfectants from Michael Lin PhD-MD:

• Hand sanitizer is just 60-70% ethanol with moisturizers.
• The ethanol you want to use is 95% non-denatured ethanol
– 95% denatured ethanol has toxic additives to prevent drinking (will have a health hazard logo).
– 100%/dehydrated/absolute/anhydrous ethanol has benzene, also toxic, from the purification process.
• Isopropanol can be substituted for ethanol, but just takes longer to evaporate
– 60-70% isopropanol is just as effective as 60-70% ethanol as a disinfectant.
– 99-100% isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) can be purchased by the consumer as a cleaning and disinfecting agent.
• The moisturizer can be aloe vera gel (available in drugstores) or glycerol (a common lab reagent, and an ingredient in moisturizers and makeup).
Lin Lab recipe: Mix two parts 95% non-denatured ethanol or 99-100% isopropanol with 1 part aloe vera gel or 90-100% glycerol. That’s it!

Hygiene recommendations from Dr. Lin:

• Don’t shake hands and stay 6 ft away from people outside your household – these are easy.
• But ”wash your hands often” and “don’t touch your face” are confusing without context – how often is often? Why can’t I touch my face? Should I ask someone to scratch my itchy nose for me? Shouldn’t I also worry about what I’m touching, not just my hands? If so, what cleaning solutions should I use?
• I’ll provide some details. I treat hands and objects similarly, and I am pretty strict:
– To protect yourself, sanitize your hands right before eating and right after touching things touched by others.
– To protect others, use clean hands to touch others’ things or when handling things to others.
– Sanitize objects you get, and only give out sanitized objects. For example, I have hand sanitizer open and ready to clean my credit card right after I get them back from cashiers, before I put it back in my wallet.
– Outside your house, sanitize smooth surfaces you will touch directly with your hands (e.g. tables and chair edges, wherever you put your phone and computer).
– I keep track of whether hands/objects are clean. As long as they have not encountered unknown/dirty things after their last cleaning, they don’t need to be recleaned. This is why I suggest immediate sanitation of hands after touching unknown/dirty things, so you can resume using your clean things without worry.
– You can open doors with your body or foot, and use paper towels to handle faucets or knobs.
– Create clean zones – your house, your office (if you’re allowed to work), your car.
– Sanitization can be done by soap and water (hands) or hand sanitizer (hands or objects) or Windex (objects).
– “Disinfectants” like bleach or quaternary amines are for large areas for which soap (due to the need to rinse) or alcohol (due to fumes, expense) are not practical. If you can use soap or alcohol, you don’t need them.
– Finally, if your hands are clean, you can touch your face! But remember to sanitize them before you touch other people’s stuff.

Because this information is practical I have created a separate page on this website to include it’s contents.

THIS WEBSITE PROVIDES INFORMATION FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. CONSULT YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER FOR MEDICAL ADVICE.

Eat clean, drink filtered water, love, laugh, exercise outdoors in a greenspace, get some morning sunlight, block the blue light before bed, engage in meaningful work, find a sense of purpose, spend time with those you love, AND sleep well tonight.

Doctor Bob

PLEASE READ THIS AND SHARE AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE:

CDC recommending hospital staff use bandanas when masks run out. Hospitals are asking the public to sew masks. Here is a physician responding:

Please don’t tell me that in the richest country in the world in the 21st century, I’m supposed to work in a fictionalized Soviet-era disaster zone and fashion my own face mask out of cloth because other Americans hoard supplies for personal use and so-called leaders sit around in meetings hearing themselves talk. I ran to a bedside the other day to intubate a crashing, likely COVID, patient. Two respiratory therapists and two nurses were already at the bedside. That’s 5 N95s masks, 5 gowns, 5 face shields and 10 gloves for one patient at one time. I saw probably 15-20 patients that shift, if we are going to start rationing supplies, what percentage should I wear precautions for?

Make no mistake, the CDC is loosening these guidelines because our country is not prepared. Loosening guidelines increases healthcare workers’ risk but the decision is done to allow us to keep working, not to keep us safe. It is done for the public benefit – so I can continue to work no matter the personal cost to me or my family (and my healthcare family). Sending healthcare workers to the front line asking them to cover their face with a bandana is akin to sending a soldier to the front line in a t-shirt and flip flops.

I don’t want talk. I don’t want assurances. I want action. I want boxes of N95s piling up, donated from the people who hoarded them. I want non-clinical administrators in the hospital lining up in the ER asking if they can stock shelves to make sure that when I need to rush into a room, the drawer of PPE equipment I open isn’t empty. I want them showing up in the ER asking “how can I help” instead of offering shallow “plans” conceived by someone who has spent far too long in an ivory tower and not long enough in the trenches. Maybe they should actually step foot in the trenches.

I want billion-dollar companies like 3M halting all production of any product that isn’t PPE to focus on PPE manufacturing. I want a company like Amazon, with its logistics mastery (it can drop a package to your door less than 24 hours after ordering it), halting its 2-day delivery of 12 reams of toilet paper to whoever is willing to pay the most in order to help get the available PPE supply distributed fast and efficiently in a manner that gets the necessary materials to my brothers and sisters in arms who need them.

I want Proctor and Gamble, and the makers of other soaps and detergents, stepping up too. We need detergent to clean scrubs, hospital linens and gowns. We need disinfecting wipes to clean desk and computer surfaces. What about plastics manufacturers? Plastic gowns aren’t some high-tech device, they are long shirts/smocks…made out of plastic. Get on it. Face shields are just clear plastic. Nitrile gloves? Yeah, they are pretty much just gloves…made from something that isn’t apparently Latex. Let’s go. Money talks in this country. Executive millionaires, why don’t you spend a few bucks to buy back some of these masks from the hoarders, and drop them off at the nearest hospital.

I love biotechnology and research but we need to divert viral culture media for COVID testing and research. We need biotechnology manufacturing ready and able to ramp up if and when treatments or vaccines are developed. Our Botox supply isn’t critical, but our antibiotic supply is. We need to be able to make more plastic ET tubes, not more silicon breast implants.

Let’s see all that. Then we can all talk about how we played our part in this fight. Netflix and chill is not enough while my family, friends and colleagues are out there fighting. Our country won two world wars because the entire country mobilized. We out-produced and we out-manufactured while our soldiers out-fought the enemy. We need to do that again because make no mistake, we are at war, healthcare workers are your soldiers, and the war has just begun.

Thank you my fellow healthcare workers for working on the front line.
I pray for you and your safety.
Copy & Paste!

PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH YOUR ENTIRE NETWORK OF FRIENDS, FAMILY, COLLEAGUES.

DR. BOB

I highly recommend this webinar from Israel. The medical leaders there really have their act together. Possible treatments on horizon discussed around 20 minute mark.

WEBINAR FROM ISRAEL MARCH 17

The early part discusses some basics everyone can/should understand.

Some key points.

COVID 19 is an RNA virus. After entering the cell it must use it’s own enzymes to replicate and this is one place an anti-viral might work. (Block replication). DNA viruses can use the host cell’s own DNA replication enzymes/machinery.

Blocking entry into the cell is also a possibility (Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine) These drugs (that treat malaria) may be useful in that regard based on small studies in-vitro and in-vivo. I have several papers in my files on both relative to COVID-19 if anyone is interested.

Because RNA viruses mutate quickly, vaccine production is more difficult as compared to DNA viruses (darn!)

Singapore got things under control very quickly because they had a plan ready to go (after experiencing previous virus outbreaks). For example, they had already built a 400 bed hospital with 250 negative pressure rooms just to be used for a SARs type situation. (Large facility for a very small country). They had travel restrictions, stay at home, rapid testing, etc., all immediately in place. Public health teams were immediately dispatched to investigate all contacts and institute isolation and quarantine. Japan seems to have done very similar quick containment. The Japanese culture is also conducive to social distancing and compliance with public health recommendations (they follow rules/recommendations, including the teenagers and young adults,  unlike Americans).

Back to the Israeli Webinar.

So blocking viral entry into the cell and blocking viral replication seem to be the best targets for potential drugs. The Protease Inhibitors used to treat HIV are much less likely to be useful according to the virologist (Susan Weiss) on the webinar. I have already read a paper and editorial in NEJM demonstrating no benefit.

The fatality rate in Germany is about 1/4 that of Italy. These societies are very different. Italian households often include multiple generations, Germany less so.

The virus has hit Northern Italy (colder) much harder than Southern Italy (warmer) and we know that many viruses are temperature sensitive relative to replication/survival/epidemiology.

Also observed has been less viral activity in the Southern as compared to Northern hemispheres.

Israel has been tracking data from multiple perspectives. # cases went from 30 to 300 in one week (double every 2 days approximately, which I have discussed appears to be the case in US). They project 600 cases in 4-5 days (as of the Webinar), 4,000 cases in 2 weeks, and as many as 20,000 cases at peak which they anticipate will be late April or early May.

Israel is working on technologies for remote monitoring of isolated positive patients who are mildly symptomatic and has already converted a building into that kind of facility (US take a hint)

The webinar is an hour long and well worth the time.

I applaud the governor of California for taking decisive action for state wide stay-at-home and essential services open only. This should prevent the degree of crisis seen in the Lombardi region of Italy.

Finally, another note on improving and maintaining your immune status.

Immunity and Morality in COVID-10

There are two general aspects. We must do everything we can to support our immune system and at the same time follow an anti-inflammatory lifestyle so our immune system does not over-react to an infection producing a cytokine storm.

People who develop COVID-19 related pneumonia and progress to multi-organ failure and death follow a path led by excessive inflammation. The immune system produces various inflammatory chemicals and cascading events that are not resolved in time to save the host. The host’s own immune system response causes friendly fire damage and death. What keeps the immune system in check?

Resolvins are produced by humans to contain excessive inflammation. They are produced from the marine omega 3 fats (EPA and DHA) which are widely deficient in modern diets. That is one advantage of the anti-inflammatory diet.

The dietary approach on this website provides for a more healthy intake of  anti-inflammatory omega 3 fats relative to pro-inflammatory omega 6 fats. The latter are consumed in great quantities in the standard American diet.

But that is just one aspect of the diet that can contribute to your body being more able to handle an infection.

With regards to maintaining a properly functioning immune system a few simple lifestyle habits are essential,

1.  Avoid alcohol consumption (alcohol wreaks havoc with your immunity)
2.  Get plenty of sleep (without adequate sleep your immune system does not work well )
3.  You must follow good sleep habits
4.  Exercise, especially out of doors in a green space, supports the immune system
5.  Get some sunshine and make sure you have adequate Vitamin D levels.
6.  Eat an anti-inflammatory diet rich in micronutrients.
7.  Practice stress reduction like meditation and yoga which improves the immune system

Now would be a good time to address all of these areas to enable your body to withstand the stress of social isolation and COVID-19.

Hopefully, with warmer weather coming and most states taking the lead in stay-at-home policy (federal leadership still lacking tremendously) if independent-minded American culture can overcome our innate distaste for following rules we may see a rapid turn-around and ability to resume modest amounts of economic and social activity. But this will take very aggressive behavior changes (especially among the young) and a united-we-stand approach.

More to come so stay tuned. I will stay on top of this crisis and provide filtered and up to date information.

THIS WEBSITE PROVIDES INFORMATION FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. CONSULT YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER FOR MEDICAL ADVICE.

Eat clean, drink filtered water, love, laugh, exercise outdoors in a greenspace, get some morning sunlight, block the blue light before bed, engage in meaningful work, find a sense of purpose, spend time with those you love, AND sleep well tonight.

Doctor Bob