I wish I could say something uplifting. Something hopeful. Something positive. But given the state of things, I’m not sure what to say exactly.
If you’ve been living under a rock, basically as Sebastian once said, “the human world, it’s a mess.” In a nutshell, we’ve succumbed to the threat that is coronavirus disease 2019, otherwise known as Covid-19. I took a continuing education lecture on Monday and here is what I learned that I can impart to those who are looking for the current facts.
What is Covid-19?
It’s a virus discovered in 2019, first detected in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China and has since then expanded all over the world and become a major global threat to the point where it has been officially declared a pandemic.
Major symptoms of Covid-19 include:
Fever -99% incidence
Cough-59% had dry cough
Dyspnea-31%.
Myalgias -5%
Runny nose
Sore throat
Headache
Covid-19 can sometimes lead to lower-respiratory tract illnesses, such as pneumonia or bronchitis. This is more common in people with cardiopulmonary disease, people with weakened immune systems, infants, and older adults.
How is it spread?
The air by coughing and sneezing.
Close personal contact, like touching or shaking hands.
Touching an inanimate object or surface with the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes before washing your hands. The virus can live for up to 3 day on contaminated surfaces. This is why prevention is important.
Prevention
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. We were actually taught the proper hand washing technique (yes, there is actually a proper technique) at work last year at work and we all laughed about it at first until this happened and now we learned how relevant this became. We were tested on it and that’s how I remembered every step because it was so silly.
If using alcohol-based hand sanitizer, make sure it is at least 62.5% alcohol.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Clean and disinfect objects and surfaces frequently
Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects daily (e.g., tables, countertops, light switches, sink handles, doorknobs, and cabinet handles) using a regular household detergent and water.
If surfaces are dirty, they should be cleaned using a detergent and water prior to disinfection.
The American Chemistry Council's (ACC) Center for Biocide Chemistries (CBC) has compiled a list of products that have been pre-approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use against emerging enveloped viral pathogens and can be used during the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak: https://www.americanchemistry.com/Novel-Coronavirus-Fighting-Products-List.pdf .
Most every common household product seems to be on the list.
Most of your household products can destroy coronavirus.
Though there is not yet a vaccine available for COVID-19, staying up-to-date with seasonal flu vaccinations is important in preventing the spread of common coronaviruses and—since flu symptoms can be similar to COVID-19—seasonal vaccinations can help avoid complicating the diagnostic picture for your healthcare professional.
WHAT SHOULD A PATIENT WHO GETS CORONAVIRUS DO?
Stay home while you are sick, except to get medical care.
Avoid close contact with others.
Take pain and fever medications (avoid aspirin in anyone under age 18). ***Currently there is mixed opinions about the use of ibuprofen(also known as Motrin or Advil as it's brand names) being believed to aggravate symptoms so the World Health Organization recommends to use Tylenol also known as acetaminophen or paracetamol in the meantime.***
Manage sore throat and cough symptoms by:
Drinking plenty of liquids
Staying home and resting
Using a room humidifier or taking a hot shower can help ease dryness and congestion.
If you are concerned about your symptoms, contact your healthcare provider.
Recovery time appears to be around two weeks for mild infections and three to six weeks for severe disease. Once a person has returned from visiting an epidemic area 14 days or more ago, s/he is no longer considered to be infected.
MASKS -For most patients, wearing a mask actually increases your chances of getting coronavirus because you are touching your face, mouth, and nose while wearing and adjusting the mask.
This CE titled A New Virus in Town: COVID-19 (Coronavirus) was given as a live presentation from Freece.com and is available again on March 24, 26 and 30 for any pharmacist that has a freece membership and is interested in taking it. Unfortunately, information regarding the virus is changing quickly and on a daily basis so take everything you learn with a grain of salt until more information is available and more reliable. Remember to always check your sources as well. There is another live CE on March 31st going to be given at 6pm, called COVID-19: Navigating the Unchartered Pandemic Waters if you’re interested in checking that one out too if you are a pharmacist and have freece.com. I’ll be taking that lecture too and reporting back if there’s anything new to report.
So what ware my takeaways from this? Why is this important? The world today is not the same world we knew a month ago, a week ago, hell even yesterday. If you’ve been keeping up with the news, like I said, everything is changing on a daily, if not hourly basis. I’m not going to include numbers and statistics because they are constantly changing. The gist of it is, enough people are dying from it, that is is becoming a major issue disrupting every day life as we know and unfortunately, we can no longer ignore it. At first we watched from the sidelines as China descended into chaos and darkness. And if you watched medical disaster movies like Contagion, there’s a big hint as to how real this virus became and came to be as it traveled all over the world after the holidays. I remember hearing about this around the holidays too, as my sister said there was stigma about international students coming back to the US after break, since she goes to a school with a high percentage of international students. At first we didn’t take as seriously, but as weeks grew on, more information and news seem to keep popping up. There was something new week to week. And then as it reached the US, at first we didn’t seem to grasp the seriousness of it. But again, as weeks went on, things started to change. The progression of the disease spreading became logarithmic and this is how we are here today, in a state of panic and fear.
I say the world is not the same as we know it because literally a week ago, I would have never believed that all the Disneys in the world would ever be closed at the same time. And then this week, they announced they are shutting down all the Disney stores around the country as well, as other companies and stores followed suit. That’s HUGE. A nationwide shut down of major businesses. NYC is on the brink of a major shutdown as restaurants, bars, theaters, etc are forced to shut down to prevent mass gatherings to slow down the spreading of this disease. Photos online show my beloved city looking like a ghost town. It’s like we’re on the set of I Am Legend. Events all over the country have been cancelled, from weddings to conventions to sporting events/seasons to concerts to festivals to marathons to movie releases. I’m talking major stuff. Schools have been closed, colleges have been sending students home and struggling to figure out how to shift everything online for the time being. San Francisco is telling its citizens not to leave their house.
Jobs have either been laid off or told to work from home or to temporarily close. There are so many different unfortunate scenarios for people regarding their jobs too. There are those fortunate enough to work from home, but the transition is tricky. One of my sister teaches lab at a college in NYC and she’s been struggling to figure out how to put together a new syllabus and lesson plans and do it all online with a new program she’s unfamiliar with and having to buy new supplies to work from home in order to comply with the school’s mandates. She worries that her students may not graduate on time. She worries for those who may not make it through this terrible time due to finances and not having a place to stay as college shut their doors and force students home. What are international and out of state students to do in such short notice? They have to evacuate their dorms in sometimes less than 48 hours notice. It’s insane. I fear for the small businesses that will be hit hard by this, as this will occur in a loss in business and income and will possibly have to close. Who will pay them? Not everyone gets paid in a shutdown. And not everyone has healthcare to make it through this precarious time.
I also feel for those in retail jobs that need to remain open to help the general public, like grocery stores, pharmacies, food places (as many restaurants have had to change over to take-out and delivery only), and taxi/Uber drivers as they deliver local goods to everyone that can not afford to travel out for their own goods. Let’s not forget the mail carriers, the UPS and Fedex drivers and all other delivery services as they risk their own lives out their handling and delivering everyone’s packages as online orders soar due to scarcity in stores and high demand of necessary goods. The gas station workers that are still out there working instead of at home safe in quarantine with their families. The janitors and sanitation workers who have been asked to work later and longer hours than usual, late into the night to decontaminate schools, hospitals, offices, stores, and other public places of high foot traffic. Be kind to the police officers, firefighters, EMT workers, medical assistants, TSAs, all the public health and public service workers still going out there everyday putting their lives on the line so that we can still function as a society and have running ambulances, fire trucks, hospitals and offices open. There are also the factory workers who are still heading to work to help produce, package and ship all the goods we still need at this time, like medicines and all the goods we need to restock the stores in times of a national health crisis. My mom works in a factory and although I wish she would listen to me and stay home, she still feels a sense of duty to head into work. My dad too. He works in construction and is still reporting to work every day because it just has to get done. I asked them both to please stay home, worried for their safety as they are older and their health isn’t exactly top notch but I'm not really one to talk to convince them as my husband and I are still also reporting in for work. Although we are in a different situation as both of us are considered essential personel, I still understand my parent's sense of duty. They lived through wartime in Vietnam and experienced having to carry on through tough times. There was no such thing as 'stay home and wait it out.’ They’re used to keeping busy and trying to do their part.
I feel for the families struggling as schools close and they somehow have to figure out childcare or take off from their job as they can't afford a sitter or have any family members or friends who can help. The kids who rely on school for meals and/or a means of escape from a bad home life or an unfortunate situation.
There are numerous jobs that many are still working, risking their own lives and safety so that everyone else has a better chance. Some people have to keep working not because they want to, but because they have to. They still have bills to pay. They can not afford not to work. And not every job can be worked from home and these people still working to keep your life as normal as possible are truly heroes as they put their own lives at risk to make sure the general public is able to get what they need, while their own families struggle to prepare against this global crisis. One of my friends still works in retail pharmacy and because she’s been busy working this entire time, found herself not able to find her own groceries to stock up when she finally got a minute to herself because her usual shopping list of items she needed, were all out of stock because of people panic buying and hoarding. This is the price we pay for being on the frontline.
As you can imagine this is affecting everyone's Iives in some way as our normal everyday lives are uprooted. There is no real answer that will fix everything as there are always two sides to everything and someone is somehow paying the cost for something. If you're fortunate enough to work, you’re also risking exposure, and not being able to shop properly in a time where people are panick buying so even if you're just trying to go to the store for your regular items, you might not be out of luck. If you're fortunate enough to not work and be home safe with your family, you risk not getting paid in this uncertain time. Those fortunate enough to work from home are also struggling as they learn how to navigate working from home as I imagine the transition isn't exactly easy for all jobs and there are challenges faced in all careers and tasks. For those who do have it easy, well, I hope you give a little bit of time and patience the next time you are being serviced by someone struggling as they help you. There are so many different ways lives and life as we know it has been disrupted and complicated because of this viral mess. There are two sides to every coin and story as everyone fights what the right thing to do is moving forward. There is no winning currently without some type of loss or sacrifice in the current state of things.
I’m fortunate enough to keep my job, as healthcare and hospitals are always essential. This is the one time I will say my parents were right when they barred me from going to fashion school and forced me to pick a career in medicine instead but I’ll never say it to their face, as my job has stood the test of time through snowstorms, hurricanes, gas leaks, and now a global emergency. My hospital has mandated an “all hands on deck” policy, barring anyone from vacations for the next two months, at the very least. Anyone trying to travel must make a formal request from the hospital first, as they don’t want you traveling to a high risk area. All entrances to the hospital are now closed off and everyone is required to go through the main entrance to get screened before entering. What this means is we all have to pass a temperature scan before reporting for work, get checked to see if we are in compliance with our flu vaccine, fiitted for masks if required, and sanitize our hands before entering the building. We have suspended visitor privileges for the time being as well. In some areas of NYS, I heard they have asked retired nurses to come out of retirement to help.
Healthcare has become such an essential role in this time, as hospitals get overwhelmed with patients needing testing as well as the usual patients needing urgent care. It’s also become a dangerous place because of the overflow and influx of patients. What I mean is, you could walk in with minor symptoms thinking you have covid-19, paranoid and just want to be tested to be certain, but because tests take some time, you won’t know until a day or two or even a week later, but in that time, you could pick it up during that hospital visit since you’re exposing yourself to a lot when you step in that emergency room waiting to be seen. And then when you get your test results, it can tell you you’re negative for it when you’re really positive because you picked it up after. And because you feel safe, you’ll be less cautious before it’s too late. Imagine everyone doing this and boggling down the hospitals with admissions and testing and now the regular patients with heart problems, strokes, broken bones, car accident traumas, etc, are being delayed care because of this. Think of how long you have to wait in a doctor’s office when you need to be seen for a regular check-up because your doctor is backed up with several patients needing to be seen for various other medical issues. Now imagine that 10X worse because of all this. Please remember to be patient with your doctors, nurses, aides, pharmacists, technicians, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, etc. Everyone is working overtime currently to save someone’s life, even if in small ways.
I would never in my life imagine such a mass shutdown such as this. It’s also scary because it shows how much of the government controls our lives. Through mass hysteria and panic, freedom has been limited overnight through the guise of for the greater good. It’s scary because we’re living in 2020 but it feels like the setting of a dystopian novel. I honestly think we’re finally paying for all the warnings we’ve ignored about climate change, the lack of basic human rights, not understanding the importance of access to healthcare to all, how paid sick time helps everyone and not just the sick person, the problems with anti-vaxxers, the list goes on.
But from this, it hasn’t been all bad things. China rushed to build an entire hospital dedicated to coronavirus in 10 days. And while it is slowly recovering from this tragedy and yet, it is still willing to help out other countries. China just stepped in and flew medical supplies and a team of medical staff to help Italy, which became the worst affected nation in the world right after China, seemingly overnight as the contagion came to light there around Feb 21. The US government is slowly trying to figure out how to deal with the current state of things as they change daily, scrambling to make up for lost time, racing to find a vaccine and a plan to stop and contain this rapidly spreading disease.
Despite the looming dangers that threaten our life and survival on a daily basis, I still have hope. I want to believe that we will get through this. That we as humans will stop fighting each other and find some common ground to help fight a common enemy. The scary part is this has never happened before on such a global scale. We really need to work together, do our part and combine superpowers to make it through. I know that we are definitely living in an monumental and important piece of history that hopefully we learn from when all this is over, as life will definitely not be the same when it IS over. But my hope is that, in a few months this will be behind us and in December when I reflect upon 2020, this will feel like a distant nightmare that we barely remember happened. But we will move forward, hopefully with a smarter head on our shoulders regarding the future when it comes to dealing with global threats like this. We need Earth to assemble our own team of Avengers currently to make it out alive, in the form of our world leaders working to combat Covid-19 together and eradicate it.
May the odds be ever in your favor as it sure feels like the Hunger Games, given the current state of things. Let’s hope most of us make it out of here alive. Until then, this begins the Quarantine time of 2020.
