Cotton cloth masks are effective preventing spread of virus

Posted on August 13, 2020 by admin

“Cloth face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus – particularly when used universally within a community setting.” Robert R. Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

A group of researchers from Duke University are providing answers to the continuing questions about the efficacy of masks. The researchers analyzed forteen different facial coverings ranging from hospital-grade N95 respirators to bandanas. Of the 14 masks and other coverings tested, the study found that some easily accessible cotton cloth masks are about as effective as standard surgical masks, while popular alternatives such as neck gaiters made of thin, stretchy material may be worse than not wearing a mask at all.

A fitted N95 mask proved was the most effective from the tests noting that the mask allowed “no droplets at all” to come out, according to researchers. Meanwhile, a breathable neck gaiter ranked worse than the no-mask control group.

Neck gaiters are extremely convenient since which they don’t restrict air and droplets which is the reason why they’re not doing much of a job helping people stopping the spread of the virus.

Several studies find that wearing masks will curb the transmission and reduce the risk of coronavirus infection. Masks do work and they do cut down transmission of the virus. And, some masks are better than others.

References:

55% of coronavirus patients still have neurological problems three months later | MarketWatch

Posted on August 9, 2020 by admin

Published: Aug. 9, 2020 at 9:11 a.m. ET By Nicole Lyn Pesce

Mounting evidence suggests COVID-19 could cause brain damage in adults and kids

“While lung scarring, heart and kidney damage may result from COVID-19, doctors and researchers are starting to clock the potential long-term impact of the virus on the brain.”

“Many COVID-19 patients have continued showing symptoms for months after the initial infection passed, reported neurological problems such as confusion and had difficulty concentrating (or brain fog), as well as headaches, extreme fatigue, mood changes, insomnia and loss of taste and/or smell.”

“The CDC recently warned that it takes longer to recover from COVID-19 than the 10- to 14-day quarantine window that has been touted throughout the pandemic. In fact, one in five young adults under 34 was not back to their usual health up to three weeks after testing positive. And 35% of surveyed U.S. adults overall had not returned to their normal state of health when interviewed two to three weeks after testing.”

“Now a study of 60 COVID-19 patients published in Lancet this week finds that 55% of them were still displaying such neurological symptoms during follow-up visits three months later. And when doctors compared brain scans of these 60 COVID patients with those of a control group who had not been infected, they found that the brains of the COVID patients showed structural changes that correlated with memory loss and smell loss.”

“The most severe illness and complications of COVID-19 appear to stem from the body’s immune response to the viral invader, as opposed to the virus itself causing damage.”

How Vaccines Work, How They’re Developed and What’s the Latest on One for COVID-19

Posted on August 5, 2020 by admin

By Andrea Klemes, DO, FACE, CMO MDVIP

Since the coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020, we’ve heard a lot about vaccines. There have been promises for quick vaccine development as well as warnings about how long it really takes to develop a safe, effective vaccine.

You’ve also probably heard that a coronavirus vaccine is necessary for us to return to normal. The good news? Surprising progress has been made in creating vaccines for COVID-19. As of now, there are more than 160 vaccines in various stages of development, and many are already into the human testing phase. While the path to success is still uncertain, never in human history have so many scientists and resources been devoted to a single public health crisis.

In July, multiple vaccine manufacturers released preliminary data from phase 1 studies that showed new vaccines are well tolerated and created antibodies. This is good news because it shows success in human subjects; in phase 1 trials, small groups of people receive the vaccine. Three vaccines are either currently in a later phase of development, where they are being tested on thousands of people, or about to enter that phase.

While it’s good news, there’s a long way to go. Here’s a quick primer on how vaccines work, how they’re developed and where we stand developing a vaccine for the current coronavirus outbreak.

How Vaccines Work
Vaccines work by mimicking a virus or bacteria that enters the immune system to build up antibodies. Ironically, vaccines are one of our oldest modern medical treatments. The first effective vaccination — to smallpox — was developed in the late 18th century. Over the last 220 years, scientists have advanced the process and effectiveness for vaccines.

Modern vaccines are simple in concept: create a synthetic compound that behaves like a real live pathogen that doesn’t cause illness. The compound will instead provoke the immune system to create antibodies that teach the body to react quickly and forcefully if the real pathogen invades the body.

Antibodies are an essential part of your immune system. When a pathogen, like bacteria or a virus, invades your body, antibodies bind to the invader and neutralize it, minimizing its damage. Your body came with some antibodies, which were passed from your mother. But most antibodies are developed over time when you’re exposed to pathogens. Vaccines make that natural process happen without infecting you with a real virus or bacteria.

How Vaccines Are Made
There are four basic types of vaccines, but regardless of the type, the process to produce safe and effective vaccines is typically long and difficult. When we’re not in crisis mode, vaccine labs can take anywhere from 10 to 15 years to develop a new vaccine. Of course, when we’re in the throes of a pandemic, labs generally move quicker. For example, during the mumps outbreak, a vaccine was generated in four years – the quickest in U.S. history.

Labs are currently working on an even faster timetable, with hopes that a COVID-19 vaccine might be available by the end of 2020 or by the middle of next year.

The reason it takes so long it that there are five phases of vaccine development:

Exploration: In this stage, drug companies investigate different approaches to the vaccine. Historically, this phase lasts between two and four years; however, evolving technology has help quicken the pace of this phase for some vaccines, including COVID-19. Another factor that has helped speed up the exploratory stage of the COVID-19 vaccine is information sharing among scientists; for example, scientists genetically mapped the virus as early as January — something that would have taken much longer 10 or 20 years ago. Also, since COVID-19 is similar to SARS — another coronavirus that caused a six-month pandemic in 2003 — scientists working on the COVID-19 vaccine were able to learn from those working on the SARS vaccine — a significant head start.

Preclinical: Once researchers develop a vaccine candidate, it’s tested in cell cultures and animals to see if it triggers an immune response without damaging cells. This takes about a year. And if the vaccine doesn’t work, researchers circle back to the exploration phase. But if it is successful, it moves on the testing phase.

Testing: Vaccines are tested through clinical trials – research studies that evaluate the effectiveness and safety of vaccines, medications, medical devices, surgical procedures or behavioral interventions on a group of people. Most trials start with a small group of people (phase 1), and, if they go well, they are expanded to include a moderate size group of people (phase 2) and then a large group (phase 3). Of course, if issues arise during clinical trials, the vaccine reverts to the preclinical phase.

Regulatory review: If clinical trials go well, the drug company submits a Biologics License Application and product label for the vaccine. In the United States, applications and labels are sent to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In the U.S., this process takes about 10 months, although in a circumstance such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the process will probably be accelerated.

Production: Once the drug manufacturers have been given a green light, they can begin producing the vaccine. In the U.S., the FDA continues overseeing the production of the vaccine.

Where COVID-19 Vaccines Stand
At the end of July there were 23 vaccines in clinical testing and another 137 in pre-clinical development, according to the World Health Organization.

Dr. Erica Saphire, an infectious disease authority and professor at La Jolla Institute for Immunology, recently told medical officials that the earliest a vaccine may be available is January 2021, but it’s more likely that a viable vaccine won’t be available until July 2021 or later. Even when one is available, it will take time to get the vaccine manufactured and distributed. Of course, once a vaccine is available, healthcare workers, first responders and those at the highest risk – nursing home patients, for example — will probably be the first to have access to the vaccine.

Until a vaccine is available, continue to take precautions such as wearing a face mask and social distancing to lower your risk of contracting COVID-19. And continue working closely with your physician to help you control chronic conditions and maintain a strong immune system that can lower your chances of developing serious complications should you catch COVID-19.

Wearing a Facial Mask in Public

Posted on August 4, 2020 by admin

Updated: August 5, 2020, 10:45 p.m.

Masks are important tools in slowing or stopping the spread of COVID-19.

Wearing masks in public has become a politically charged subject. Even with the rise of COVID-19 infections and deaths across the South and West, Americans continue to debate the need to wear facial coverings in public despite the plethora of scientific evidence showing mask effectiveness in preventing the virus spread.

Despite the universal recommendation to wear masks while out in public from government officials, epidemiologists and medical experts, there stills appears to be a reluctance by the American public to adhere to the guidelines.

Everyday while out in public, even in locations and inside establishments where facial coverings are mandatory, you can observe people out in public refusing to wear masks or wearing them incorrectly and ineffectually.

Periodically, you can observe people with their noses, a critical pathway of the respiratory system, exposed from beneath their masks or their masks worn on their chins.

Whether donning masks incorrectly was being done out of ignorance or political sensibilities, it accomplishes the same end, it does not help reduce the public spread of the coronavirus.

Cloth masks

Cloth masks are at their best when preventing the wearer of the mask from spreading the virus to other people, either when they are already sick, asymptomatic, or even pre-symptomatic.

N95 masks or surgical masks work

According to the CDC, N95 masks and surgical masks are best used in a medical setting, when the amount of virus in the environment is quite a bit higher. The intention of these masks is to reduce the transmission of the virus to the person wearing the mask.

Wearing a mask

Wearing a mask in your neighborhood, in your workplace, or around your community is a way to show you care about those around you. You are essentially saying, “I care about you. I am member of this community. And my intention is to not give this infection to you, even if I don’t know if I’ve got it.”

Washing cloth masks

Cloth masks should be washed every day. It’s helpful to have multiple cloth masks available so you can rotate through your supply while others are washing or drying.

N95 masks or surgical masks are intended to be worn through the course of one day and discarded.

USG Ordered 100M Doses of Experimental Covid-19 Vaccine | Barron’s

Posted on July 24, 2020 by admin

U.S. Government has ordered from Pfizer and BioNTech 100M Doses of Experimental Covid-19 Vaccine.

The U.S. government has put in an order for enough doses of Pfizer and BioNTech experimental Covid-19 vaccine to inoculate nearly every American.

Pfizer and BioNTech said that the companies are selling 100 million doses of the vaccine to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense for $1.95 billion, a deal that prices each dose of the experimental vaccine at $19.50.

The deal allows the U.S. government the option of buying an additional 500 million doses.

Americans would receive the vaccine free, according to the companies. Pfizer and BioNTech would provide the doses after the vaccine receives approval or emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, and the government will make the payment after the first 100 million doses are delivered.

Pfizer and BioNTech announced that two of the companies’ investigational COVID-19 vaccine candidates have received “Fast Track” designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Fast Track is a process designed to facilitate the development, and expedite the review, of new drugs and vaccines that are intended to treat or prevent serious conditions that have the potential to address an unmet medical need.

Heart Disease Leading Cause of Death in the United States

Posted on June 21, 2020 by admin

“Do Your Part, Care for Your Heart”

There is a silent and deadly pandemic raging in America every year. That pandemic kills on average more than fifty thousand Americans each month. That silent pandemic is called Heart Disease.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. More than 610,000 Americans die of heart disease each year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That’s one in every four deaths in this country.

Almost 70 percent of Americans are afraid of dying of cardiovascular heart disease. Despite this, only 38 percent know or monitor their blood pressure, and just 18 percent know their body mass index (BMI), both of which are essential factors in overall heart health. So, it’s clear that more Americans need to know their numbers and keep their blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar at normal levels. They need to learn more about heart health and how they can manage their risks.

The term “heart disease” refers to several types of cardiovasculaheart conditions. The most common type is coronary artery disease, which can cause heart attack. Other kinds of heart disease may involve the valves in the heart, or the heart may not pump well and cause heart failure. Some people are born with heart disease.

Americans at Risk for Heart Disease

Heart disease occurs when a substance called plaque builds up in your arteries. As plaque builds up in the arteries of a person with heart disease, the inside of the arteries begins to narrow, which lessens or blocks the flow of blood to the heart. Plaque can also rupture (break open). When it does, a blood clot can form on the plaque, blocking the flow of blood.

Smoking, eating an unhealthy diet, and not getting enough exercise all increase your risk for having heart disease. High blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, and smoking are key risk factors for heart disease. About half of Americans (47%) have at least one of these three risk factors.

Several other medical conditions and lifestyle choices can also put people at a higher risk for heart disease, including:

Diabetes
Overweight and obesity
Unhealthy diet
Physical inactivity
Excessive alcohol use

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States, including African American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Hispanic, and white men.

A healthy heart comes from lots of little lifestyle changes that become a habit. And, heart-healthy lifestyle changes can help lower your risk for complications. A heart-healthy lifestyle is all about listening to your heart and giving it what it needs to thrive (even if that means ignoring your stomach’s request for a second donut). A healthy heart is a reward that’s well worth some minor lifestyle changes.

Your doctor also may prescribe medication to treat the disease. Talk with your doctor about the best ways to reduce your heart disease risk.

Think fitness.

Spending time in natural environments can benefit health and well-being.

There’s plenty of science establishing the health benefits of exercise, particularly outdoors. A 2019 Scientific Reports study of nearly 20,000 Britons showed people who spent at least two hours per week in nature were far more likely to report good health and well-being than those who didn’t.

Think healthy eating.

The slogan…”healthy eating for a strong heart beating” is one to live by. You can lower your risk of heart disease by making several small changes at each meal and by choosing foods that are good for your heart. Eating a healthy diet of whole grains, high fiber and lean sources of protein, and exercising at least 30 minutes daily can help control or delay age-related health problems associated with aging, like high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Most standard American diets are based on foods you shouldn’t eat. Instead, Americans should focus on foods that are good for your heart. They should eat more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. The fiber in these foods helps lower “bad” LDL cholesterol. They should eat more beans, legumes (like lentils), seeds, and nuts. Additionally, Americans should:

Put healthier fats to work for you.
Favor unsaturated fats, such as canola, olive, and peanut oils.
Eat fish that are high in omega-3 fatty acids, including albacore tuna, salmon, and sardines. Omega-3s seem to lower triglycerides, fight plaque in your arteries, lower blood pressure, and reduce your risk of abnormal heart rhythms.
Eat lean protein.
Make beans, nuts, fish, and chicken your mainstays, and keep portions in check.
The American Heart Association suggests you eat at least two 3.5-ounce servings of fish a week.

Think canine companionship.

Dog ownership is associated with decreased cardiovascular risk and with lower risk of death over the long term.

Many studies have linked dog ownership to health benefits, including more exercise, lower blood pressure, improved lipid profile, and reduced stress. A meta-analysis published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation in 2019 examined 10 studies over seven decades involving nearly 4 million people. It concluded dog owners had a 24% lower risk of death from any cause than their petless peers during the course of the studies.

Be heart smart.

Make smart choices and improve your heart health. It’s about individuals taking care of their own hearts every day. Everyone can benefit by following heart-healthy practices:

Exercise regularly (at least 2.5 hours per week).
Quit smoking.
Lose weight.
Know your BMI, blood pressure and A1C.
Eat heart-friendly foods.
Eat chocolate and drink wine (in moderation).
Don’t overeat.
Learn to manage stress.

The fight for heart health awareness truly is just that: a fight. Heart disease is a formidable foe that’s responsible for almost 25 percent of all deaths in the U.S., more than any other cause of death.

Our health-care system would not be so overwhelmed by COVID-19 right now if it was not already overwhelmed with preventable chronic illnesses. About 75 percent of the $2.2 trillion we spend on health care each year goes to treat chronic illness like heart disease, the Centers for Disease Control estimates. And, it is estimated that 40 to 70 percent of those illnesses could be prevented.

In 2018 the United States shelled out $329 billion to treat heart disease and strokes, the American Heart Association calculated. About 80 percent of those cases — $263 billion worth — were caused by poor diet, lack of exercise, alcohol use and obesity.

References:

Military service academies plan for students’ return in fall | Military Times

Posted on June 7, 2020 by admin

“We cannot develop leaders for our nation’s military online”. Vice Admiral Sean Buck, USN, Superintendent, U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1982.

The U.S. Naval Academy is planning to have its 4,400 midshipmen return to campus in Annapolis, Maryland, for the fall, after students completed the last semester with online learning from their homes around the nation due to the coronavirus, academy officials said Monday.

Vice Adm. Sean Buck, the superintendent, told the academy’s Board of Visitors he has been communicating with the leaders of the nation’s other service academies, and they also plan to have their students on campus in the fall.

“I can tell you, as of this morning, every single military service academy in this country is opening in the fall,” Buck told the board in an online meeting. “We all are developing very detailed plans with regards to health, safety and the protocols that we need to put in place to manage risk.”

While academics can be done online, Buck said the other two pillars of the academy’s mission statement are developing midshipmen morally and physically, and those goals require hands-on experiences on campus.

Economy and Markets will Recover

Posted on April 4, 2020 by admin

“There are ‘tremendous opportunities’ in markets.” Larry Fink

To build wealth, it is advised that investors should take a long-term view of markets; and that they should take a long-term view in the way they manage their personal finances and investment portfolios. It is certain that the world will get through; and, the economy and markets will recover once the COVID-19 crisis has abated.

For investors who keep their focus on the long-term horizon, “there are tremendous opportunities to be had in today’s stock markets”, according to Blackrock’s Chairman and CEO Larry Fink. For many of Blackrock’s clients, “the recent sell-off created an attractive opportunity to rebalance into equities,” Fink said.

Take banks as an example, “the damage has already been done” to the industry according to most financial professionals and traders. Yet, the banks are in better condition financially than they were during the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Once the virus spread stalls and the economy returns to normal operation, the Fed will still be supporting the banking system.

Positive sign for comeback

“Don’t watch their lips, instead watch their feet.”

Extraordinary monetary stimulus measures by the Federal Reserve and fiscal stimulus measures by Congress and the White House have put a proverbial floor under the market in late March. As a result, many C-suite executives are buying up their own company’s stocks at a record pace, according to InsiderSource.

“Insiders have a 35+ year track record of buying on the type of extreme weakness experienced in Q1′20,” InsiderScore director of research Ben Silverman said in a note. “A dramatic increase in insider buying volume combined with dampened levels of insider selling has resulted in the generation of industry buy inflections – our strongest, quantitative macro signal – for the entire market.”

In his 2010 newsletter to Berkshire-Hathaway shareholders, Warren Buffett wrote: “When it’s raining gold, reach for a bucket, not a thimble.” Based on his vast and highly successful investing experience, he states that in period like the present, “Big opportunities come infrequently”.

Should You Wear a Mask | Mayo Clinic

Posted on March 30, 2020 by admin

Should you wear a face mask to protect yourself from the virus, even if you’re not sick?

In a video posted by Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases specialist, states CDC current recommendation:

“The current recommendations regarding masks are that if you yourself are sick with fever and cough, you can wear a surgical mask to prevent transmission to other people. If you are healthy, there is not thought to be any additional benefit to wearing a mask yourself because the mask is not airtight and does not necessarily prevent breathing in of these viral particles, which are very tiny,” says Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases specialist.

If you are going to a clinic or hospital to be seen by a health care provider because of concerns of cough or fever, Dr. Rajapakse recommends wearing a face mask to avoid transmitting possible infection or virus to other patients and medical staff. Face masks also are recommended for health care workers and people who are taking care of someone infected with COVID-19 in close settings (at home or in a health care facility).

“Most people who do not work in a health care setting have not received training on how to put on and take off the masks properly. Doing this incorrectly can actually increase your risk of infection. Also, people who are wearing masks tend to touch their face more than those who are not, which can paradoxically result in an increased risk of infection as well,” says Dr. Rajapakse.

She says instead of wearing masks, people need to:

Wash their hands frequently using soap and water for 20 seconds or an alcohol-based hand rub.
Avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth.
Practice cough etiquette. Cough into a flexed elbow or tissue, discard the tissue in the trash, and wash hands.
Stay home from school, work and public places if feeling unwell.

Nipunie Rajapakse, M.D./Infectious Diseases/Mayo Clinic
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/covid-19-when-should-you-wear-a-face-mask/

Coronavirus 2020 Outbreak: Latest Updates | By WebMD News Staff

Posted on March 29, 2020 by admin

Updated Mar 29 at 4:41 PM

Facts and Faith, not Fear

The United States leads the world in cases of “confirmed” COVID-19 infections.

We stress “confirmed” cases since it is difficult to believe the accuracy and reliability of the number of cases of actual COVID-19 infections within China. We do not know if China’s reported number of cases of confirmed COVID-19 infections stands lower than the U.S. because there were less tests performed or due to obfuscation. We will probably never know for sure.

WebMD provides the latest updates on cases, government response, travel restrictions, and more here.

Coronavirus cases in U.S.

“Just a little bit of separation can stop a fire from spreading” – CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield

The first coronavirus case in the U.S. was confirmed back on January 20 when a 35-year-old man went to an urgent care clinic in Snohomish County, Washington. He’d recently returned from visiting Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus was first noticed.

Since the first reported case, the virus has spread to all 50 states. The worst-hit state is New York, with more than 40,000 cases and 500 deaths. Other states with high case numbers include New Jersey, Washington, and California.

The first coronavirus death in the United States occurred in late February in Washington state. Since then, about 1,500 people have died in the United States. The only states not reporting deaths are Hawaii, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, citing “extensive community transmission” of COVID-19 in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut late Saturday urged residents to refrain from non-essential travel for 14 days effective immediately. The advisory does not apply to employees of critical infrastructure industries such as trucking, public health professionals, financial services and food supply.

Worldwide Coronavirus Cases

According to Johns Hopkins University, there are more than 701,525 cases and 33,174 deaths worldwide. More than 145,000 people have also recovered.

As of early Sunday afternoon, the U.S. has the most cases followed by Italy’s 97,689, and China’s 81,439:

United States: 131,366
Italy: 97,689
China: 81,439
Spain: 78,799
Germany: 60,887
Iran: 38,309
France: 37,611
United Kingdom: 19,522
Switzerland: 14,795
Netherlands: 10,923
Belgium: 10,836
South Korea: 9,583

The top five in COVID-9 deaths are:

Italy: 10,779
Spain: 6,606
China: 3,300
Iran: 2,640
United States: 2,328
France: 2,314

Rapid-Result Coronavirus Test

The FDA has authorized a coronavirus test that the manufacturer says can tell if someone is infected with the virus within 5 minutes.

The test is meant to be used in places like a doctor’s office, emergency room, or urgent care center. The test will provide results through a platform currently used by many of those locations for tests like flu and strep, instead of sending the throat or nasal swab to a lab for analysis.

The FDA’s emergency use authorization (EUA), does not mean that the FDA has approved the test, but that it is allowing its use because of the coronavirus outbreak.

To read more of the update, go to:

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200124/coronavirus-2020-outbreak-latest-updates

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/31/china-coronavirus-case-numbers-cant-be-compared-to-elsewhere-economist.html?__source=facebook%7Cmain

Sources:

* The respiratory infection, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO), is closely related to SARS and MERS.

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Category Archives: COVID-19

Cotton cloth masks are effective preventing spread of virus

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55% of coronavirus patients still have neurological problems three months later | MarketWatch

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How Vaccines Work, How They’re Developed and What’s the Latest on One for COVID-19

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Wearing a Facial Mask in Public

N95 masks or surgical masks work

Wearing a mask

Washing cloth masks

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USG Ordered 100M Doses of Experimental Covid-19 Vaccine | Barron’s

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Heart Disease Leading Cause of Death in the United States

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Military service academies plan for students’ return in fall | Military Times

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Economy and Markets will Recover

Positive sign for comeback

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Should You Wear a Mask | Mayo Clinic

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Coronavirus 2020 Outbreak: Latest Updates | By WebMD News Staff

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