Category Archives: Coronavirus

…in the northern hemisphere. Our flu season starts in November and runs through April, more or less. The coronavirus pandemic seems to have greatly diminished the flu season in the southern hemisphere. Remember, when it’s summer in the northern ‘sphere, it’s winter down there. And winter is flu season.

So if you think you’re going to die from the combination of flu and COVID-19, find something else to lose sleep over.

From Daily Mail:

“In Australia, just 14 positive flu cases were recorded in April, compared with 367 during the same month in 2019 – a 96 per cent drop. 

By June, usually the peak of its flu season, there were none. In fact, Australia has not reported a positive case to the WHO since July.

In Chile, just 12 cases of flu were detected between April and October. There were nearly 7,000 during the same period in 2019.” https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-8875201/Has-Covid-killed-flu.html

“And in South Africa, surveillance tests picked up just two cases at the beginning of the season, which quickly dropped to zero over the following month – overall, a 99 per cent drop compared with the previous year.

In the UK, our flu season is only just beginning. But since Covid-19 began spreading in March, just 767 cases have been reported to the WHO compared with nearly 7,000 from March to October last year. “

Read the article for theories on how the pandemic may be influencing influenza.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Artist’s rendition of Coronavirus

In July, the CDC published data on the characteristics of 50,000 U.S. residents who died of COVID-19 between mid-Feb and mid-May, 2020.

Some points:

• 55% were male
• 80% were aged ≥65 years
• 14% were Hispanic/Latino (Hispanic)
• 21% were black
• 40% were white
• 4% were Asian
• 0.3% were American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN),
• 3% were multiracial or other race
• race/ethnicity was unknown for 18.0%
• median decedent age was 78 years (median means half who died were over 78, half were under 78)

CDC didn’t have much clinical data on all 50,000 decedents. But they were able to collect supplementary data on close to 11,000 of them;

• 61% were male
• 75% were aged ≥65 years
• 24% were Hispanic
• 25% were black
• 35% were white
• 6% were Asian
• 3% were multiracial or other race
• race/ethnicity was unknown for 6%
• decedent age varied by race and ethnicity; median age was 71 years among Hispanic decedents, 72 years among all nonwhite, non-Hispanic decedents, and 81 years among white decedents. The percentages of Hispanic (35%) and nonwhite (30%) decedents who were aged <65 years were more than twice those of white decedents (13%)

What about underlying conditions among these 11,000 decedents for whom supplementary data was available?

At least one underlying medical condition was reported for 8,134 (76%) of decedents for whom sup­plementary data were collected, including 83% of decedents aged <65 years. Overall, the most common underlying medical conditions were:

• cardiovascular disease (61%)
• diabetes mellitus (40%)
• chronic kidney disease (21%)
• chronic lung disease (19%)
• among decedents aged <65 years, 83% had one or more underlying medical conditions
• among decedents aged ≥85 years, 70% had one or more underlying medical conditions
• diabetes was more common among decedents aged <65 years (50%) than among those aged ≥85 years (26%).

From the CDC report

Regional and state level efforts to examine the roles of these factors in SARS-CoV-2 transmission and COVID-19-associated deaths could lead to targeted, community-level, mortality prevention initiatives. Examples include health communication campaigns targeted towards Hispanics and nonwhite persons aged <65 years. These campaigns could encourage social distancing and the need for wearing cloth face coverings in public settings. In addition, health care providers should be encouraged to consider the possibility of disease progression, particularly in Hispanic and nonwhite persons aged <65 years and persons of any race/ethnicity, regardless of age, with underlying medical conditions, especially diabetes.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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…Connecticut and Massachusetts didn’t do very well either.

Artist’s rendition of Coronavirus

From New York Post:

More than 32,000 New Yorkers have died from the coronavirus, a toll higher than any other state. New York also ranks second to the worst out of all 50 states, in deaths per million residents. Only New Jersey did worse.

You wouldn’t know it, listening to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who brags that his administration “tamed the beast.” Or the media that praise him and chide states with much, much lower death rates.

Cuomo is doing everything he can to coverup the errors. He’s stonewalling bipartisan efforts in Albany to investigate the deaths of thousands of elderly in nursing homes ravaged by the virus.

Legislators need to persevere, and in fact broaden their investigation to include the poor performance of many hospitals in the state. On March 2, one day after the first coronavirus case in New York was disclosed, Cuomo told New Yorkers not to worry because “we have the best health care system on the planet.” That’s a whopper. Patients treated for COVID-19 in hospitals here died at more than twice the national average.

Source: COVID-19 death rates reveal NY and NJ are states that failed the test

Steve Parker, M.D.

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Are you tired of this pic yet?

From The Journal of Nutrition:

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses an occupational health risk to food system workers including farmers/producers, grocery store workers, emergency food system staff and volunteers (e.g., food pantry workers), and others. These food system workers have been pushed to the front-line of this pandemic, providing essential services that support food consumption for all Americans. Food system workers are some of the most economically vulnerable populations and are at risk of further financial disparities and contraction of COVID-19 during this pandemic. As we continue to grapple with the best strategies to support the food system and mitigate concerns around the spread of COVID-19, appropriate measures must be considered to better protect and support front-line food system workers that safeguard food access for all Americans.

Source: Food System Workers are the Unexpected but Under Protected COVID Heroes | The Journal of Nutrition | Oxford Academic

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Young Hank near the keyboard of my MacBook Pro

From Emerging Infectious Diseases:

To determine distribution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19] in hospital wards in Wuhan, China, we tested air and surface samples. Contamination was greater in intensive care units than general wards. Virus was widely distributed on floors, computer mice, trash cans, and sickbed handrails and was detected in air ≈4 [meters] from patients.

Source: Aerosol and Surface Distribution of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Hospital Wards, Wuhan, China, 2020 – PubMed

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Intubated to prevent death

DETROIT – Treatment with hydroxychloroquine cut the death rate significantly in sick patients hospitalized with COVID-19 – and without heart-related side-effects, according to a new study published by Henry Ford Health System.

In a large-scale retrospective analysis of 2,541 patients hospitalized between March 10 and May 2, 2020 across the system’s six hospitals, the study found 13% of those treated with hydroxychloroquine alone died compared to 26.4% not treated with hydroxychloroquine. None of the patients had documented serious heart abnormalities; however, patients were monitored for a heart condition routinely pointed to as a reason to avoid the drug as a treatment for COVID-19.

The study was published today in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, the peer-reviewed, open-access online publication of the International Society of Infectious Diseases (ISID.org).

Patients treated with hydroxychloroquine at Henry Ford met specific protocol criteria as outlined by the hospital system’s Division of Infectious Diseases. The vast majority received the drug soon after admission; 82% within 24 hours and 91% within 48 hours of admission. All patients in the study were 18 or over with a median age of 64 years; 51% were men and 56% African American.

Source: Treatment with Hydroxychloroquine Cut Death Rate Significantly in COVID-19 Patients, Henry Ford Health System Study Shows | Henry Ford Health System – Detroit, MI

I had trouble finding  a link to the primary research article.

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From covidtracking.com