Q: What does a #pandemic offensive line look like?
A: The pandemic offensive line has 5 players: #SocialDistancing, #testing, #Isolation, #contact tracing, and #treatment. The goal is to find the virus, trap it, and prevent it from finding other hosts (people) and harming them.
#Social_Distancing makes it harder for the virus to find the next host, but doesn’t tell us where the virus lives. All alone, social distancing is really the defensive line.
#Testing flags the positive cases. With Covid-19, this is very important as many positive cases are asymptomatic allowing this creepy virus to hide and spread.
#Isolation of positive cases, many of whom you would never find without testing, prevents further spread of the virus.
Contact tracing tracks all the people who have come into contact with positive cases. These individuals are then tested and isolated as appropriate so clusters of new infections are unable to sprout.
Last, #treatment systems are designed and implemented to address the needs of the sick and those at risk of infection.
You can’t win the fight with just a defensive line (social distancing) and you need investment and planning in the offensive line to beat the rival, #Covid_19
1/ Q: Has almost everyone been infected with COVID by now?
A: Recent estimates suggest around 58% of the population in the US and over 70% in England have been previously infected, with BIG increases during the Omicron wave.
3/ ➡️ During the Omicron wave from December 2021-February 2022, this estimate increased from 33% to 58%.
➡️ Rates vary a lot by age, ranging from 33.2% for those over age 65 to 75% for those under age 18.
2/ Not likely. If your kids are suddenly getting sick a lot, this is likely due to “catching up” on exposures rather than a weakened immune system.
3/ Many families w/ young kids have been hunkered down for the better part of 2 years– a good % of a young child’s entire life. While isolation had *many* downsides, we can agree that not having to suction snot out of infant noses or clean up norovirus puke was a happy upside.
1/ Q: Are cases peaking? That means it’s all downhill from here, right?
A: Sort of…. Remember that even if cases come down as quickly as they rise, there will be as many cases *after* the peak as before (think area under the curve).
2/ ➡️ And if the downward slope is *slower* than the rise, we will see *more* cases during the decline from a surge.
3/ Burning fast could be a silver lining of super transmissible #Omicron. Cases rose & fell quickly in S. Africa (w/ hospitalizations & deaths still lagging). The UK appears to have turned the Omicron corner. Many US states appear past their peak in cases, w/ regional variation:
Unfortunately, this includes New Year’s Eve plans. The perfect storm of a new variant & holiday get-togethers is hitting communities & health care w/ FORCE! Testing is in short supply.
3/ Health care is under extreme pressure with surging cases. If you can avoid even one additional contact, you are helping. This is a temporary and urgent request (from a health care provider).