Thread by @Bob_Wachter

Covid (@UCSF) Chronicles, Day 16

1/ Before I get to #s, I want to highlight today’s @UCSFMedicine grand rounds: update on Covid spread, testing, clinical, & treatment bit.ly/2xK1eKi Geared for medical crowd but accessible 2 lay folks. Superb, if you're up for deep dive

2/ The #s: @ucsfhospitals, 16 Covid+ pts, no change (trend below). Still 9 in ICU (7 on vents, up 2). Still headscratching re where other pts went: typical night shift=20 admits, last nt<3. I’m glad, but v. worried there’s a powerkeg of illness out there that will reveal itself

3/ SF: also stable. 450 Covid cases, just 16 new (graph), lowest new daily # since March 21st. 7 deaths, zero new. Everybody’s kinda reluctant to say SF has “flattened the curve” for fear of jinxing or – far more dangerous – lowering our guard. But we have

4/ #s from NYC still monstrous: the city passed 50,000 cases (up ~2500 since yest), w/ 1562 deaths, up a staggering 463. Mt Sinai Health System – just one of many large systems – had ~1500 Covid patients in its hospitals last night, with 251 in ICUs. Those are mind-blowing #s

5/ Terrific piece @theatlantic by @EdYong209 on debate re: masks–hot topic bit.ly/2X6tl18 Feds poised to recommend masks everywhere–seems right: the more-than-expected # of asymptomatic carriers pushes toward “better safe…” position. Where will everybody get masks, tho?

5/ Enjoyed hearing the gr8 Tony Fauci on #TheDaily w/ @mikiebarb nyti.ms/2VaSYeD Fauci is so smart, authentic & nimble. Watching him say just enuf to keep integrity without running afoul of boss is a dance worthy of Astaire. He’s doing it as well as anyone possibly could

6/ Permit me a little @ucsf pride, esp. since it’ll be research that solves this mess. 2019 @NIH rankings out, key measure of research impact. @UCSF School of Medicine & my Dept of Medicine both #1 in US (below). A ton of hard work–congrats to my colleagues; many working on Covid

7/ Sadly, first Covid death from our @ucsf family: John Murray, a giant in pulmonary & ICU worlds and, ironically, one of the first to describe the lung disease that he succumbed to (ARDS)…from Covid-19. His lovely @NYTimes obit: nyti.ms/2X2iVzj by @jswatz (excrpt below)

8/ To appreciate vastness of tragedy, 1 need only scan new @nytimes “Those We’ve Lost [from Covid]” page nyti.ms/2R8Mdse Today lists 32 amazing people: musicians, activists, diplomats, athletes... ages 30-108. Alas, we’re closer to beginning than end of this

Stay safe…