Dr. Paul Carson, professor of practice at NDSU and director of antimicrobial practice at Sanford, provides his weekly updates on COVID-19.
Attention: some of the data mentioned at the beginning of the podcast will be outdated.
In this episode:
Treatment Options
In the podcast above, Dr. Carson covers a wide range of treatments in the news. He notes that remdesivir is in the last set of clinical trials and has good theoretic potential. If it does prove to be successful, it could be available in a couple of months.
Ultimately, there are 3 ways to overcome COVID-19: herd immunity, herd immunity through a vaccine or a blockbuster drug.
Herd immunity is the level of the population that has to be immune to stop the spread. For COVID-19, it is about 60%.
Should ND have a stay-at-home order?
As of now, North Dakota is amongst the top 10 states for tests and top 5 states for number of deaths. With that said, and the fact that our curve has stayed flat, Dr. Carson believes what we are doing now is appropriate.
“I think some states should be asking North Dakota what they should be doing.” – Dr. Paul Carson
Care 19 App
The Governor recently encouraged North Dakotans to download an app called “Care 19” to track their movements. Dr. Carson believes this technology is a good idea and says, in a sense, this is a lot like the measures South Korea has used and has seen success. He believes as a voluntary program, it could be useful.
Should we be encouraging out-of-state hunters and anglers to come to North Dakota?
Being outdoors is not a danger. But, maintaining good social distance is still important. The good news is that respiratory droplets disperse more quickly outdoors.
The Economy’s health vs. Public health
They are directly tied, it is not one or the other. The health of the economy plays directly into the health of people. Opioid use and alcohol use rises with joblessness and, as we know, family connection is important to our health. At some point, we will need to balance these competing risks to our health.
Sterilizing with Fog?
A device that emits a hydrogen perioxide vapor could work. And while the environment is a plays a role, how we care for those who are infected are most important.
Almost all the cleaning agents we use already will kill the virus.
Testing
North Dakota is in better shape for testing. If you are sick, get tested. North Dakota has enough tests and encourages anyone with symptoms to be tested.
When are we getting back to normal?
Dr. Carson believes will be over the ‘crest’ in the next 4 weeks. And, we won’t look completely normal for quite some time, until we get to herd immunity.
The Health Department is doing research now about antibody testing, which could be helpful in getting things back to normal sooner.
Asymptomatic Cases
Dr. Carson says the 3 rural ‘asymptomatic’ cases may be ‘pre-symptomatic’ cases. These are people who may have developed symptoms in 48 hours of being tested. So, continuing to test those with symptoms is still the best course of action.
A Vaccine
Who is developing a vaccine? In the podcast above, Dr. Carson notes there are many public/private partnerships right now in trying to develop a vaccine.
Are states really competing for supplies?
Dr. Carson says it is an interesting phenomena. And, he thinks after this, there will be high level discussions on how to do this more appropriately.
Summer
What is it about summer that MAY help? Most respiratory illnesses are seasonal and children are often the spreaders of them, so school being out is helpful. In additional, warmer, more humid temperatures. With a higher humidity, droplets (from coughing, sneezing or even talking) will fall to the ground faster.
Is it possible people had COVID-19 and didn’t know it?
Yes. It is Dr. Carson’s hope in the next few months we have a robust antibody testing. This testing will ensure people can safely be back in the workforce. He even envisions some sort of identification – like a wrist band – that says you have been tested and are immune.
–Additional Content–
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Expect June Primary to be Mail-In Only
Cleanup Week Rescheduled to Mid-September
ND COVID-19 Testing & Community Spread Tracing
The Blenders Release Tribute to Bill Withers with “Lean on Me”
Legally Speaking – Hear from Lawyers During the Pandemic
Cleanup Week Rescheduled to Mid-September
(Amy Iler & JJ Gordon are talk-show hosts at 790 AM KFGO in Fargo-Moorhead. “It Takes 2 with Amy & JJ” can be heard weekdays 11am-2pm. Check out the show page on FACEBOOK. Follow Amy on Twitter @AmyKFGO . Follow JJ on Twitter @JJGodon701 )
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