CORONAVIRUS INFO PROVIDED BY DR. JIM HARRIS – 11/11/2020

11/11/2020

May you have a safe and thankful Veteran’s Day

Harrison County reports 6 new Covid cases on Tuesday, while Gregg County reports 38 confirmed and 54 probably for a total of 92 new cases. In Smith County there were 55 new confirmed cases with 52 more probably for a total of 107 new cases.

Folks, it looks like Covid is back! Do what you can locally and hope the hospitals in the area don’t fill up. Remember, we are dependent on them if we require significant hospitalization. Lets do the best we can to prevent disease LOCALLY.

Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)

(J. Harris: A stat site we haven’t looked at in months. It’s a keeper.)

Funeral homes and hospitals in parts of Texas brace for new wave of coronavirus infections and deaths

(J. Harris: Up to date and readable and IMPORTANT)

Don’t Get Too Excited About the Coronavirus Vaccine (YET)

(J. Harris:Good read, an opinion piece by a doctor. Easy read. Optomistic)

FROM JOHNS HOPKINS:

1. A National Covid-19 Vaccine Confidence Project: Job No. 1 for President-elect Biden (STAT News) Unless we increase people’s confidence in Covid-19 vaccines, we will fail to reach the protection that comes from community-wide immunity. What’s needed is a national plan to build confidence that is led by science and experts, heavily rooted in the community and grassroots, and not an extension of political campaigns or tempted by the false hope of a national celebrity campaign or public service ad campaigns offering special vaccine deals to Santa Claus performers. A national confidence-building plan cannot be monolithic. It must be tailored to different segments of the American public, each with different reasons for skepticism, different levels of trust in different people and institutions, and different attitudes and behaviors toward how they protect themselves today.

2. Aspirin to be Investigated as a Possible Treatment for COVID-19 in the RECOVERY Trial (RECOVERY Trial) Aspirin will be investigated in the world’s largest clinical trial of treatments for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. Patients with COVID-19 are at higher risk of blood clots forming in their blood vessels. Platelets, small cell fragments in the blood that stop bleeding, seem to be hyperreactive in COVID-19 and may be involved in the clotting complications. Since aspirin is an antiplatelet agent, it may reduce the risk of blood clots in patients with COVID-19. It is anticipated that at least 2,000 patients will be randomly allocated to receive aspirin 150 mg daily plus usual standard-of-care, and results will be compared with at least 2,000 patients who receive standard-of-care on its own.