Dr. Stuart Weiss: COVID-19 Update Friday 4-December-2020
| By Dr. Stuart Weiss, Intelligent Crowd Solutions |
Rapid Test Center of New York
Dr. Stuart Weiss, FACEP, FAAP, CBCP
December 4, 2020
CoViD-19 News and Information you can trust.Welcome new readers from the Rapid Test Center.
Topics: CDC Update, Vaccine update
| CDC Update: Today, in its strongest language yet, the CDC issued guidance for Americans to slow the spread of Coronavirus. Perhaps, they are finally waking up from their four year coma! This new guidance was issued as we face record new case numbers, record numbers of people in hospitals and a healthcare system that is nearing collapse in some parts of the country. In today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which was released early this week, the CDC makes 10 recommendations. While some of these are not new, they are now pushing a coordinated multi pronged approach that is based on science. This is especially true when we know that half of those people who spread the disease are asymptomatic. The ten recommendations are: 1) Universal wearing of face coverings both indoors and outdoors when 6 foot separation cannot be maintained. At home, face coverings should be used when a member of the household is infected or had a close contact. 2) Physical distancing of at least 6 feet. 3) Avoid non-essential indoor spaces and crowded outdoor spaces. Indoor dining is a particularly high risk event.To reduce risk, some restaurants are providing take-away service and well-ventilated open-air dining, and in many cases, exercise or physical activity (individual or group) can be moved to outdoor settings where physical distance is maintained and face masks are worn. 4) Increase testing, diagnosis and isolation 5) Prompt contact tracing and case investigation 6) Safeguarding persons at high risk of severe illness or death 7) Protecting essential workers 8) Postponing travel: For those contemplating international travel, CDC recommends getting tested with a viral test for SARS-CoV-2 1-3 days before departure and getting retested 3–5 days after arrival. Domestic travelers should also consider testing. Testing does not eliminate all risk and should be combined with other recommended public health strategies. Both domestic and international travelers should stay home or reduce nonessential activities before travel, and for 7 days after travel if tested, even if test results are negative. If not tested, this period should be extended to 10 days. Travelers should be diligent about mask wearing, physical distancing, hand hygiene, and symptom monitoring. For 14 days after arrival, travelers should avoid close contact with persons at higher risk for severe COVID-19–associated outcomes and wear masks in household spaces shared with those who did not travel. 9) Increased room air ventilation, enhanced hand hygiene, and cleaning and disinfection. For indoor settings, increased room air ventilation can decrease the concentration of small droplets and particles carrying infectious virus suspended in the air and, thereby, presumably decrease the risk for transmission 10) Widespread availability and use of effective vaccines This strategy makes sense and is consistent with public health best practices. President elect Biden has asked all Americans to wear face coverings for the first 100 days of his presidency. That is good advice to help slow the spread of this virus. Vaccine Update: Yesterday, CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD, said he accepted the interim recommendation from its vaccine advisory panel earlier this week that healthcare workers and nursing home residents should be the first two priority groups for receiving the first vaccine doses. Moderna announced today that its early data from phase 1 trials showed that neutralizing antibodies in people who received vaccine remained high for three months. More study is needed to know how long protection will last and if other immune components will give longer lasting immunity. For the moment, keep using good public health practices and keep your distance. The person next to you probably isn’t getting vaccinated anytime soon. Stay safe, we will all get through this together. Be well, Dr. Stu Weiss |
COVID-19 HEADLINES FOR TODAY
| Coronavirus update for December 4, 2020 World Wide UpdatesThere are 4 key areas that can help end the coronavirus pandemic, according to WHO’s director-general London at risk of being placed under England’s highest Tier 3 restrictions as cases remain high Hong Kong reports more than 100 cases for the third time in ongoing “fourth wave” Global deaths from Covid-19 surpass 1.5 million in another tragic milestone Tokyo 2020 budget balloons to $15.3 billion on cost of Covid Indian Prime Minister says frontline healthcare workers and elderly will be vaccinated first Seoul to strengthen Covid-19 restrictions as city faces “desperate crisis” Wuhan, the original epicenter of China’s Covid-19 outbreak, wants tourists to come back South Korea reports its highest daily increase in Covid-19 cases since March UK receives its first batch of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine Coronavirus thrives “where science is drowned out by conspiracy theories,” World Health head says Moderna to have up to 125 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine available globally in early 2021 Bahrain becomes 2nd country to authorize Pfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine Brazil records further 694 deaths France reports 627 new Covid-19 deaths Greek officials accused of releasing misleading data Sweden to prioritize care home residents and staff in vaccination drive Total Cases Worldwide: 66,114,064 Total Deaths Worldwide: 1,522,153 Total Recovered: 45,713,994 US Updates San Francisco Bay Area issues stay-at-home order for nearly 6 million people US surgeon general expects a rise in Covid-19 cases over Christmas “We’ve got a lot of work to do” on vaccine distribution, Biden says CDC: Masks are critical to stopping coronavirus spread — sometimes, even at home 20 million Americans will be able to get a Covid-19 vaccine by the end of the year, health official says More than 1,000 migrant children in US government custody tested positive for Covid-19 since March Miami-Dade County’s coronavirus positivity rate has jumped 91% over 2 months HHS launches national ad campaign promoting Covid-19 vaccine This 23-year-old athlete may never return to sports after suffering from coronavirus “Shutdowns or lockdowns are really not on the table,” Biden-Harris transition team official says Covid-19 is the leading cause of death in the US this week, health institute reports America is coming up short as US added 245,000 jobs in November If everyone wears a mask for 100 days, US deaths could be decreased by about 66,000, expert says Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines should be authorized within a week after advisory meetings, top FDA official says University of Washington model projects almost 539,000 US Covid deaths by April Vaccine makers insist they didn’t cut corners in speedy development of coronavirus shot Biggest challenge for Covid-19 vaccine is still ahead, Biden Covid Task Force member says Vaccine makers describe the “incredible moment” they realized the shots worked US has its worst day yet, with more Covid-19 cases and deaths than at any stage of the pandemic California shatters daily Covid-19 case record Navajo Nation extends reservation lockdown for three more weeks Michigan to use National Guard to help distribute vaccines Los Angeles County sets another daily record for new Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations NYC health official reveals vaccination roll-out plan details saying kids under 18 won’t be vaccinated Obituary for man who died alone at Kansas nursing home slams people who ‘refuse to wear a piece of cloth on their face to protect one another’ Meat lobby group calls for vaccine priority for plant workers Total US cases: 14,716,550 Total US deaths: 285,132 Total Recovered: 8,627,816 Total Tested in US: 197,409,766 Total cases in TX: 1,325,720 Total deaths in TX: 22,959 Total cases in CA: 1,301,359 Total deaths in CA: 19,661 Total cases in FL: 1,039,207Total deaths in FL: 18,997 Total cases in IL: 770,088 Total deaths in IL: 13,782 Total cases in NY: 713,587 Total deaths in NY: 34,829 |
| YouTube Channel |
| The Doctor Stu YouTube channel is up and running but we haven’t added new videos in a little while. I’ll get back to that after the New Year. Go to www.DoctorStu.org to submit questions. |
