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Key developments for Thursday, October 8, 2020

5 Comments on Key developments for Thursday, October 8, 2020

The world has over 36.7 million cases.  The world has added 2.3 million cases since last Thursday. Case growth continues to accelerate. There have been over 1 million deaths. The US has almost 7.8 million cases and has had over 217,000 deaths. Over 800 Americans have died from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. The US has gained over 50,000 new cases since yesterday. India is first in the world for daily case growth, with over 70,000 new cases in the last day.

The city of Boston is closing its schools again:

We’ve been told recently (by the CDC and others) that spread by surface contamination is not a big driver of infection. Why, then, is New Zealand able to identify its cases through genomics right down to the shared surfaces people touched that got them infected? The moral of the story is to continue washing your hands or doing hand hygiene after touching any shared surface.

Some German scientists think herd immunity is not only unlikely, but perhaps not possible. It’s still not entirely clear how long immunity lasts. This is not a definitive announcement–it’s something to ponder:

Cases are rising again across the US:

Mass foreclosures have begun and will accelerate over the next few months. Huge numbers of Americans are facing this specter. Mortgage forbearance is still an option for some, but not permanently:

Vaccines are getting the lion’s share of investment monies, while treatments, like antibodies and antivirals, are getting less. This could lead to limited supplies for these kinds of treatments in the immediate future.

Could SARS-CoV-2 develop resistance to antivirals? It’s possible:

Pfizer and Moderna expect research read outs as early as November and certainly by the end of the year.

The virus can stay intact and infection for quite some time on your skin. Alcohol-based sanitizers of sufficient strength can inactivate it in seconds.

The NFL may pause its season as more and more players test positive for the pandemic virus.

Eli Lilly and Regeneron are seeking Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for their monoclonal antibody treatments. Even if the EUAs are granted expediently, there isn’t yet enough supply to match anticipated demand:

The US Army is 3D printing tens of thousands of nasal swabs per week to keep the military awash in needed supplies:

Stephanie Arnold | cosmicpixle

Stephanie Arnold is an advanced practice psychiatric nurse and a doctoral candidate in UA Tuscaloosa’s DNP program. Stephanie moonlights from time to time at UCLA teaching mental health nursing. She also likes making cold-process soap.

  • 5 Comments
    • Greg P October 9, 2020

      The potential tsunami of evictions is quite worrisome.  I wonder if there is any data on whether these will be concentrated in high cost cities?  At what point does this increase in homeless folks begin to destabilize society?  I suppose that at least some of them have family and/or friends that can take them in but…what sort of stressors does that add?  

      Makes one want to pull the covers over your head & leave a wake-up call for late 2021!  Trying hard not to freak out, but every day is another straw on the camel’s back.  

      Still 3.5-4 weeks before we know the election results and then we are stuck for almost another 90 days with a lame duck administration (best case scenario).

      All I can do is take a few deep breaths & make sure my family & I are as prepared as possible. Good luck to all!

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    • woodrow October 11, 2020

      I’ve been religiously wiping down the handle at the gas station, as well as most things coming in from ‘out there’, that I have to touch right away, e.g. things destined for the refrigerator. Everything else gets aged on the back porch for at least a day before it comes in. I do this despite official assurances that we are not to worry about surfaces, because I’m a hard case, feel that in the pandemic you have to make your own rules and follow them, and because 4 years in the Navy taught me that the time to worry, is when people are telling you not to worry.  So, thank you for that little item about trash can handles in New Zealand.  It’s not enough to keep my spouse from rolling her eyes when I wipe down the milk carton, but maybe there’s more research about this?

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