I’m really appreciating @TexasDSHS Chief Dr. John Hellerstedt’s update to legislators today. A summary:
1. We are seeing an encouraging downward trend in hospitalizations. We’re not out of the woods, but it’s encouraging. Things are still worse in south Texas. 1/x
2. This virus is just as dangerous as predicted. If we assume 5 million Texans have had COVID (a very high estimate), then it going through 1/6 of the population still resulted in some hospitals being overwhelmed. We can’t handle the virus quickly going through the other 5/6. 2/x
3. What we’re doing is starting to work, but now is definitely *not* the time to stop. Keep social distancing, keep wearing masks, keep washing your hands, and hopefully we’ll see the trends continue. If we let up, it *will* get worse again. 3/x
4. Buckle in for the long haul. Social distancing, mask wearing, and frequent hand washing must continue until we have a vaccine or an effective antiviral. Per Dr. Hellerstedt, it’s “incontrovertible” that the reason our numbers are trending down is b/c of these behaviors. 4/x
5. Flu season will complicate COVID response and strain resources. DSHS is scaling up for this, and the same behaviors that slow COVID, slow flu. But more important than ever to get your annual flu vaccine. 5/5
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