CORONAVIRUS INFO PROVIDED BY DR. JIM HARRIS – 03/01/2021

J. Harris: Some on the number folks don’t work weekends; also, there has been some sort of change in tabulation of “Est. Active Cases” in Gregg and Smith Counties. I hope the current lower counts are accurate, and I suspect that they are. I still wear masks and will continue to do so as well as avoiding crowds or close situations with outsiders. Once we see what the ‘Mutants” are going to do, we’ll know how safe immunized people are. Don’t start doing dumbe stuff at this late date

NOTE FROM HARRISON COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT:

“If you received your first dose of the Moderna COVID 19 vaccine at the Marshall Convention Center from the Marshall Harrison County Health District on Wednesday, February 3, 2021 you have an appointment to received the 2nd dose of the Moderna COVID 19 vaccine on Wednesday, March 3, 2021 at the Marshall Convention Center. Your appointment is scheduled at the same time as you made the appointment for the first dose. If you are not able to get the second dose on Wednesday, March 3, 2021 as scheduled please contact our office today. We can be reached at 903-938-8338. It is VERY important that you contact us if you are NOT able to make your scheduled appointment.

18% of US adults now say they’ve received at least one vaccine dose: 5 survey findings

Dexamethasone in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19

(J. Harris: This NEJM presentation has a new feature called a “Quick Take” which allows to reader to hear a good, quick, understandable — if somewhat incomplete —summary. However, much more data could be gleaned by reading the article and an editorial on the same issue. Basically, Dexamethasone is worth taking if available, and I would, but it is really not absolutely necessary in most cases; it only improves outcomes a few percentage points except in patients already on ventilators where it is more helpful. Lastly, here’s Hopkins summary of the same article:

Dexamethasone in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19 (NEJM) In this controlled, open-label trial comparing a range of possible treatments in patients who were hospitalized with Covid-19, we randomly assigned patients to receive oral or intravenous dexamethasone for up to 10 days or to receive usual care alone. Here, we report the final results of this assessment. A total of 2104 patients were assigned to receive dexamethasone and 4321 to receive usual care. Overall, 482 patients (22.9%) in the dexamethasone group and 1110 patients (25.7%) in the usual care group died within 28 days after randomization (age-adjusted rate ratio, 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.75 to 0.93; P<0.001). The proportional and absolute between-group differences in mortality varied considerably according to the level of respiratory support that the patients were receiving at the time of randomization.

Association of Convalescent Plasma Treatment With Clinical Outcomes in Patients With COVID-19

“Treatment with convalescent plasma compared with placebo or standard of care was not significantly associated with a decrease in all-cause mortality or with any benefit for other clinical outcomes. The certainty of the evidence was low to moderate for all-cause mortality and low for other outcomes.”

(J. Harris: we had seen a preliminary report last week. It is now published and another form of treatment is found to be of no value. Better to get this out on a Monday along with the routine use of Dexamethasone disappointment on a Monday and not spoil your weekend. VACCINES WORK.

NYT Cited by BECKER:

Single dose of Pfizer’s vaccine strongly protects COVID-19 survivors, studies suggest

(J. Harris: A great antibody response was found in most subjects who’s had Covid Infection or infestation as manifest by the presence of antibodies in their blood. When given the Pfizer vaccine, their antibodies to Covid went up significantly. This suggests that Covid survivors may not need only one Vaccine injection rather than two.)

Contact-tracing apps help reduce COVID infections, data suggest

PROFESSION MODEL WEARING BALL CAP WITH BUTTONS ADDED ON EACH SIDE WHICH ENABLES PROLONGED, COMFORTABLE MASK WEARING AS WELL AS EASY DOUBLE MASKING, EVEN WHILE WEARING SAFETY GLASSES. THE MASKS ARE NOT HOOKED TO THE EARS. “WHY BE HALF SAFE?”