16 Jun To Your Health: The End of the Pandemic Is…?
Part-time Telluride local Dr. Alan Safdi, a world-renowned internist and gastroenterologist with encyclopedic knowledge of mind-body wellness and preventative medicine, posts on Telluride Inside… and Out under the banner of “To Your Health.” His blogs feature the most current information in his field: health, wellness, and longevity. Which now has to mean Dr. Alan’s podcasts are all about what’s on everyone’s mind: COVID-19.
The links a few of Dr. Alan’s podcasts on COVID-19 are below.
In this week’s podcast, Dr. Alan talks about an end – or not – to the pandemic.
Will summer heat burn out the pandemic? Short answer: Nope.
Summer is not going to make this go away: neither temperature nor latitude seem to alter COVID-19 infection rates substantially. On the other hand, school closures, masks, social distancing, hand disinfection, and other public health measures do. As has been widely published, states that have relaxed their preventative measures are seeing increases in Covid-19 cases.
To arrive at the conclusion about summer and the other variables, researchers analyzed data that looked at virus transmission and weather statistics across more than 3,700 locations between last December and April 22. So far scientists have found only a slightly lower transmission risk, about a 1.7% reduction per 1 degree Fahrenheit, once temperatures rose above 77 degrees F. The finding underscores the need to continue social-distancing, quarantining and hand-washing as many U.S. states reopen their economies.
Bottom line: As of now, it is impossible to predict with any accuracy when we will see the end of the horrific COVID-19 pandemic. But will go out on a limb and provide predictions for the U.S. and the world in general.
We are currently fighting a lethal enemy with our hands tied behind our backs, without a vaccine or a safe, effective, definitive treatment. With insufficient, noninvasive rapid testing still unavailable, the only tool we have to control COVID-19 is social distancing. With the COVID-19, we are paying the price for our lack of interest in public health and underinvestment in health care infrastructure globally.
I fear it will be many more months or even several years before we will see improvements in care, including better ways of treating the extremely ill in the ICU to improve survival and at least modestly effective antivirals to reduce the inpatient burden of COVID-19.
And because the virus is so clearly here and widely distributed, only a very effective vaccine can really change the pandemic trajectory toward full control.
But even with a vaccine, challenges persist. We will need massive scale production and global distribution and administration. What’s more, we are significantly hampered by the fact that only about 50-70 percent (I hope not more!) of our population has said they will accept the vaccine.
Dr. Alan on Covid-19, more podcasts:
Podcast 1: Proper hand-washing technique and more!
Podcast 2: Testing for Covid-19 and what are the differences and indications for each type of test?
Ways to boost your natural immunity during this pandemic.
A report on a rising “Danger to Kids.”
What to stockpile at home during the coronavirus outbreak.
Safe-distancing from runners and bikers.
Dr. Alan, more:
Dr. Alan Safdi is board-certified in Internal Medicine and in Gastroenterology and is a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology. A proven leader in the healthcare arena, he has been featured on the national program, “Medical Crossfire” and authored or co-authored numerous medical articles and abstracts. Safdi has been involved in grant-based and clinical research for four decades and is passionate about disease prevention and wellness, not just fixing what has gone wrong. He is an international lecturer on the subjects of wellness, nutrition and gastroenterology.
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