1/ Why do doctors like me & @meganranney ask how high the POTUS' fever has been, if his O2 levels have been low, whether he's required supplemental oxygen? It's the difference between moderate & severe COVID. This tells us a lot about prognosis & what treatments are indicated.
2/ If the president required supplemental oxygen, he has SEVERE COVID and should hand power over to VP Pence until he is clinically improved.
3/ POTUS was given remdesivir. *Assuming* evidence-/guideline-based use of remdesivir, this would also indicate that the president has SEVERE COVID (i.e. oxygen saturation less than or equal to 94% on room air, requiring supplemental oxygen/ventilator/ECMO).
4/ But we know the president doesn't abide by evidence and guidelines, so it's hard to know for sure if that's what his receiving remdesivir means.
5/ Dr. Sean Conley, the president's personal doctor, ended the press conference when asked whether the president had received dexamethasone. Dexamethasone is indicated in severe/critical COVID, but not mild/moderate COVID.
6/ Assuming a non-denial = tacit affirmation, the president has received dexamethasone. This would mean he has (at the very least) SEVERE COVID. He should transfer power to VP Pence until he's clinically improved.
7/ There are reasons NOT to give dexamethasone if COVID is not severe enough: psychiatric side-effects (e.g. agitation, confusion), suppression of adrenal glands, risk of bacterial/fungal infection. I don't think the decision to give dexamethasone would be cavalier.
8/ The questions Dr. Conley is avoiding / refusing to answer (highest temperature, lowest oxygen saturation, requirements for supplemental oxygen, need for dexamethasone) would tell us something about the president's prognosis. THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY IS, ITSELF, A DIAGNOSIS.
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1/ New Hope Against Dementia: study says singles vaccine also appears to delay onset of dementia
with @CBSMornings' @tonydokoupil @AdrianaDiaz @nateburleson
2/ A study published yesterday in Nature Medicine found that the new Shingrix vaccine was more protective than the old Zostavax vaccine in delaying dementia.
The Zostavax shingles vaccine was discontinued after the Shingrix vaccine was approved.
1/ Tick-borne infections are on the rise around the country
with @CBSMornings @GayleKing @tonydokoupil @nateburleson
2/ A unique collaboration among hunters,
the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department @TPWDnews,
& researchers at @Baylor University
is helping to map what tick-borne diseases can be found where.
3/ Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne infection in the US, but it's far from the only one. hopkinslymetracker.org
1/ #H5N1 bird flu update on @CBSMornings with @GayleKing @vladduthiersCBS @nateburleson
Who's at risk for bird flu right now?
🔹You're at risk if you're a dairy farmworker &/or if you drink raw milk.
2/
🔹If the virus mutates (which is what viruses do!) & becomes transmissible between humans, we could have a pandemic virus on our hands.
3/ 🔹Flu viruses can mutate incrementally (drift) or dramatically (shift).
🔹We see dramatic shifts when 2 flu virus strains infect the same animal or person.
🔹Those 2 flu strains can swap "body parts" & form a Frankenstein virus.