April 30, 2020
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (click here) hosted a virtual town hall meeting to answer questions from the public related to the coronavirus pandemic
There were a wide variety of questions asked during the virtual meeting, ranging from auto plant changes to when we can expect to see and play sports again.
When asked about the possible changes there will be for auto plants to practice social distancing, Governor Whitmer said, "I've been having regular conversations with Rory Gamble, the president of UAW, and they've been working closely to make sure they've got protocols to keep people safe when they return to work whether it is implementing Plexiglas dividers, not having big shift changes, or having one third of the workforce. I believe the Big 3 have a lot of great protocols."...
People are concerned whether it is safe to start reopening and some wonder what that timeline looks like. However, it seems there is no timeline according to Governor Whitmer. "What we know at this point is we are comfortable turning that dial and re-engaging our construction industry," said Governor Whitmer, "There will be additional industries that will come online in the coming days, but we are watching these numbers."...
To add to the discussion, I would expect the graph of most states that reopen their economies to look similar to this. There would be a spike in the number of confirmed cases followed by a reduction before another aspect of the economy was opened. The defining factor is the ability of the health care system to respond to additional cases.
I think it is very important for Americans to understand the loosening of stay at home orders is not the end of continued vigilance. The population of people most vulnerable is still going to be vulnerable. It is the lethality of this virus and quite possibly the long-lasting effects of it that should be of most concern to Americans.
May 1, 2020
The rising number of COVID-19 deaths (click here) in Michigan has prompted the state to activate the Michigan Mortuary Response Team (MI-MORT) for the first time in its history.
MI-MORT is a collaborative effort of approximately 40 volunteers from across the state, including medical examiners and investigators, law enforcement, forensic scientists, chaplains and funeral directors....
Chilblains, (click here) the painful red inflammations that are normally associated with exposure to cold air. A similar condition has been showing up in Covid-19 patients.
There is a growing library of knowledge that points to the attack by the virus to all systems of the human body. Looking at that picture, one has to wonder if this is permanent damage to tissue that can lead to other more unfavorable outcomes, or will it heal? Whoever expected this level of disturbance of the human body by a virus?
May 1, 2020
By Roni Caryn Rabin
Before the coronavirus outbreak, Dr. Lindy Fox, a dermatologist in San Francisco, used to see four or five patients a year with chilblains — painful red or purple lesions that typically emerge on fingers or toes in the winter.
Over the past few weeks, she has seen dozens.
“All of a sudden, we are inundated with toes,” said Dr. Fox, who practices at the University of California, San Francisco. “I’ve got clinics filled with people coming in with new toe lesions. And it’s not people who had chilblains before — they’ve never had anything like this.”
It’s also not the time of year for chilblains, which are caused by inflammation in small blood vessels in reaction to cold or damp conditions. “Usually, we see it in the dead of winter,” Dr. Fox said....
The release of the first drug (click here) found to actually have an effect on SARS-CoV-2 is wonderful. I think some of the dialogue regarding this virus that is not engaged yet is the permanence of any damage the virus might have caused. This is not the flu. My concern is that Americans may come away with permanent damage and quite possibly handicapped because of their injuries from this virus. Basically, are the patients showing disorientation because of brain involvement, either cellular damage or brain swelling, continue to suffer from these deficits after they no longer test positive for the virus?
April 15, 2020
By Amy Norton
...But those severe infections (click here) are not only damaging people's lungs. Doctors are also seeing injuries to the heart -- from heart attack to inflammation of the heart muscle, to potentially fatal heart arrhythmias....
Here again, the issue is nervous system tissue. The heart has its own nervous system that innervates the heartbeat. So, we know there are red eyes, brain involvement, severe insult to the skin at the extremities, and heart impairments.
Where is this lousy virus getting a foothold? What mechanism of the cell does it find success with an invasion of it's RNA? Perhaps the first therapeutic for patients is to provide an IV of Normal Saline with potassium supplement to help the cells if they are being disturbed by the virus. It might soothe the inflammation and power the cell to mitigate any damage.
The sodium/potassium pump (click here) also known as the Na+/K+ pump or Na+/K+-ATPase, this is a protein pump found in the cell membrane of neurons (and other animal cells). It acts to transport sodium and potassium ions across the cell membrane in a ratio of 3 sodium ions out for every 2 potassium ions brought in. In the process, the pump helps to stabilize membrane potential, and thus is essential in creating the conditions necessary for the firing of action potentials.
No one should be taking the virus or the return of economic dynamics lightly. Testing is essential to avoidance of furthering it's advance through the society of the USA.
