Coronavirus prep

lgfrie wrote: »

MikePfirrman wrote: »

Potential great news but it's too early to tell if this will work. I'm hearing of rapid potential treatments, not vaccines. One is the one Snowflake mentioned around a week ago -- the RA drug which slows the progression in the lungs. This other one, which slows the replication of the virus, might show a lot more promise. It was developed for Ebola.

https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/coronavirus-remdesivir-gilead-antiviral-drug-covid-19/573261/

There's also another strategy I've heard of as well. They take the antibodies from those that have had it and recovered and administer them to people that haven't had it yet. That would be a longer term play, though.

It's not they won't find a vaccine, I think they will, but these are strategies meant to minimize deaths until we find a vaccine. World wide, pharmaceutical companies are working hard to find solutions.

The RA drug is hydroxychloroquine, otherwise known as Plaquenil. I've been on it since 2004. The data coming out of China and S Korea as far as the impact of the drug on COVID-19 is very encouraging, both as a treatment to lessen severity, and as prophylactic. They really need to speed up the evaluatory process of that one. Hydroxychloroquine is generic, cheap, and widely/easily available - a paradigm shift from the whole "18 months to develop a vaccine" mantra, although it is not a vaccine.

The notion that something good might come from having the disease process that led to being on the drug all these years is so twistedly ironic and bizarre I can't even describe it. I've got family members hounding me for a handful or two of those things.

I'm actually reading about five different ones at the same time. They aren't a vaccine, so it doesn't really change the time frame for vaccines (though I've read they just skipped the animal testing, going straight to human trials on vaccines). What the RA pills do is reduce your immune system, which isn't great for prevention of the COVID-19. But when it attacks the lungs, there's a cytokine storm, where you immune system attacks itself and (from a very layman's perspective), what's left of your lungs turn to fluid and you can't breathe. The RA meds are for those that progress to the stage where the lungs are filling with fluid. That can stop that enough until you recover.

Ohio closed bars, gyms, trampoline parks and indoor water parks. Oh, and movie theatres.

Connecticut is closing all bars, restaurants, gyms, movie theaters, etc. Recommending gatherings of less than 50. Restaurants may only sell take out/delivery.

The state also ordered all casinos to close, but Mohegan and Foxwoods are sovereign nations(tribal law), and do not need to follow Connecticut law. Mohegan Sun has announced its process to closing(they're running one gaming area from what I understand). They have already closed many areas of the casino. Foxwoods doesnt appear to be planning on taking any action towards closing, but I could be wrong! We are currently at 26 infected, but who knows where that number truly is now, as it has been there since last night. Edit: our total is now at 41, governor updated a few minutes ago

One of my coworkers left work this morning, two hours after starting his shift due to breathing problems... they ordered him to stay out of work until the 30th. I don't know if he was tested, and I am getting to be on edge...

As crappy as this whole situation is, I feel better reading what all of you have to say all over the world. We are all going through this right now, and none of us are alone in this. We can learn from others, and hopefully change the course of this!

Here is a picture I found on facebook. It kind of gives an idea of why we really need to just spread out to help everyone else. Another perspective.

missysippy930 wrote: »

I’ve got a slight sore throat today. I’ve been taking Zicam and cough drops today. I grocery shopped on Saturday. No cases in my county or adjacent county I shop in. I’m retired (husband is still working, cases in that county, but none of his coworkers have it) and that’s pretty much the only place I’ve been in the past 10 days. Hopefully it’s a regular cold🤞🏻

I hope you feel better soon. If it's any consolation during these unsettling times, I've heard lots of reports that it's unusual for a sore throat to be the first symptom. Only 14% of patients even reported having a sore throat over the entire course of their illness. 💙

Reporting from just outside Atlanta. Our confirmed cases are now in the triple digits with the one death being the only one thus far. One of the early confirmed patients is deemed recovered and should be released from quarantine this week. I went to Kroger today to pick up my elderly aunt's thyroid medication for her. Right now myself, my brother and sister-in-law are doing essential errand running, since we're the youngest and in the best health. Today I wore disposable gloves to the grocery store and saw many others doing the same. Friday I'm going to attempt to grocery shop for two weeks worth of groceries, but doubt I'll get my hands on toilet paper or paper towel.

In other news, my husband works at a factory with over 1,000 people. I'm guessing it's only a matter of time. I'm trying to not worry too much, but it's still unsettling.

Finally closed my gym. I was surprised they waited as long as they did.

MikePfirrman wrote: »

Bry_Fitness70 wrote: »

I see a ridiculous amount of posts on fitness sites about people angry about not being able to swap sweat at the gym temporarily. Where is the disconnect from reality at this point?? Defiance of social distancing is not some admirable display of rebellion, it is sad and selfish.

Governor of KY had to place a police officer at the door of someone that refused to self-quarantine.

We may need to push for a law for people like this to be IVC to an isolation room at their expense. I know that is extreme, even to me as I wrote it, but maybe charging people with assault or attempted something if they don’t stay home. I just can’t even with people like this! LEOs have other things to do and shouldn’t have to babysit an idiot like that. 🤬

My bestie is one of the side that is of the opinion that being on the social distancing train is overreacting. I imagine she will understand my point of view when I don’t go to the dining room with her for lunch when she returns to work tomorrow.

Hell, imagine her shock when she sees the cafeteria the way it was today! (As I was leaving work, one of my team texted me and said they have closed the cafeteria to the general public.) Also, the one door I enter through isn’t the only door requiring badges to enter. All but the main, ER and Admitting enterences are now badge access only.

*kitten* is getting real in my area.

Because I’d prefer to start bringing lunch (even a $2.99 Lean Cuisine is cheaper than the $7.99 I paid for my less than mediocre lunch today) and I am out of bubble bath, which I know sounds really minor to many, but an adult bevy and a bubble bath chill me out like nobody’s business, I had to stop at the grocery store on the way home. I also had hoped to pick up a can of Lysol, but 😂. Thanks, hoarders! 🤦🏼‍♀️ Holy crap! Social distancing, my *kitten*! I was in line (self checkout) for what seemed like forever. I was tenth in line, but, there are six scanning stations, and most in line only had a handful of items. The checkouts had baskets FULL, lined into the aisles.

I felt soooo dirty by the time I got home after running to the liquor store and filling my car up at a glorious $1.74.9/gallon that I raced to the sink, washed my hands (for the 18th or 19th time today) and antibacterial wiped my phone, debit card and hospital badge.

I’m glad to be home! ❤️

kimny72 wrote: »

My parents are in their mid 70s and I typically go over twice a week to have dinner with them. Should I stop going? I can't tell if I'm being cavalier to go over or being overly anxious to not visit them the whole time this is going on. I know they'll say to come over, that's just how they are!

We’re in our late 60’s. Our daughter is refraining from visiting us for fear of possibly bringing it to us. My husband is a 6 year cancer survivor being monitored every 3 months for a very slow growing cancer at the site where the cancer was removed. So he has a compromised immunity system. I wish I would have known how quickly this would progress. I’ll miss not seeing her every week. We talk and text a lot, but it’s not the same. It’s a dilemma that you children of older parents have, and very hard decisions for you.

spiriteagle99 wrote: »

Beka3695 - I can understand why your mom went out. We went to Walmart today to pick up a prescription and a few other things (still no TP) and just washed our hands afterwards. The kind of errands your mom was doing shouldn't put her at much risk, unless someone coughs on her.

I have read that several places are requiring everyone to 'shelter in place' which includes not walking or running outside. I also read that our Governor has closed the state parks, including hiking trails. Given the benefits of spending time outdoors, I don't understand. What is the rationale for that? An individual walking or running alone shouldn't be at risk or pose much risk to anyone else.

I was reading about the regulations for sheltering in place in the Bay Area and they were saying it did not include walking outside - you could walk a dog, walk with a family member, or walk with another person not of your household if you remained 6 feet apart.

I’m not a germaphobe by nature. I’m pretty sure I consumed my fair share of dirt growing up, practiced good hand hygiene daily, and until this mess started? Washed when I needed to, foamed in and out of patient rooms, etc. I am also of the generation that didn’t get antibiotics for every sniffle, but dang!

This is, by far, the most unsettling thing I’ve experienced since getting into healthcare. H1N1, swine and bird flu weren’t really on the radar like this is, so of course I’m sitting up and paying very close attention. I’ve been at my hospital 19 years.

The tension at work is very similar to that of an incoming hurricane, and the changes made at work, just today, have a lot of us on edge. I’m hoping that those at my facility that aren’t, start to grasp that this threat is real and act accordingly.

kimny72 wrote: »

My parents are in their mid 70s and I typically go over twice a week to have dinner with them. Should I stop going? I can't tell if I'm being cavalier to go over or being overly anxious to not visit them the whole time this is going on. I know they'll say to come over, that's just how they are!

How is your social distancing? If you have contact with no one, that's one end of the scale. If you're out and about to a job, maybe errands, with live-in immediate family doing likewise, worse yet some younger family member dodging isolation and then coming home, that's the other end of the scale. Contact locations may matter, too (health care facilities, say, vs. some others), as do factors others have mentioned.

Personally, I'd stay away from my elderly parents (if I still had any), unless I was pretty much 100% isolated myself, and had been so for a bit, but ramp up other kinds of contact (phone, video chat, email, whatever media they were comfortable with) so they knew I was still caring about them. But that's just me.

I'm not an anxious person, I'm not in a major hotspot, but I'm isolating myself as much as practical anyway, for my own and others' benefit.