Category: Commentary

COMRADES! DON’T WAIT FOR THE STORM TO PASS!

I hope as we pass through the turbulent times of the election process and into the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, that you have managed to find or create ways to keep yourselves safe and mentally fresh amid the COVID pandemic.

(It really is the virus from hell that just seems to hang around like every other NFL team’s offense when pitted against the Seahawk’s defense.)

In spite of that, I do believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. Social distancing and masks certainly seem to be beneficial and positive controls. But hopefully we will soon have a vaccine in place as well, and several promising remedies for coping with the virus should any of us become infected. They are coming for sure.

But in the meantime, It can be very easy to become lethargic and get caught up with just waiting for the storm to pass. Most of us have never had to deal with anything like this before and it has been a bit of a learning process for sure. So I do hope you all are continuing to remain positive and moving forward with your lives. Embracing the spirit of the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons certainly provides us with many positive feelings that can help us immensely to do this. Also, just finding different ways to help others can actually help us!. Dusting off the old project that “I never have time to do!” and so on. These are just a few of many ways to avoid lethargy from settling in.

Remember….”The sun never quits shinning, it’s just that sometimes clouds get in the way”.

As any true Seattleite knows, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…. It’s about learning to dance in the rain!”

Continue to stay safe. 

Our country and the world will survive this pandemic.

Commander Joe Fitzgerald

By Robert Lehman, M.D., Post 3063 Surgeon

As a physician, public health officer, and member of this organization, I offer this brief update of where we are with COVID-19.

There are 7 corona virus strains that affect humans.  Four of them we have all experienced, as 25% of the common cold is a corona virus.  In 2003, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) killed 800 people in China and 3 other countries.  With very tight isolation and wearing masks, and with the luck that the virus was less contagious than the flu, the disease was controlled, and disappeared before a vaccine could be created.  In 2012, MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) affected 27 countries, primarily in the Middle East.  Although 900 people have died from this, (one-third of those infected), it has not easily been passed from human to human.  And now we have SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the disease COVID-19.

This virus is rapidly spread because 40% of those infected NEVER have symptoms, and thus continue to infect others, often for weeks.  This is a respiratory virus spread by an infected person when breathing out.  That is why EVERYONE needs to wear a mask when around others, as the person without symptoms does not know they are infected and thus can infect others.  It is breathing that infects others, and that is why it is vital that the NOSE and MOUTH be covered.  Face shields are NOT approved as there is no filtering when that person exhales, and bandanas have been shown to be worthless.

To emphasize this, masks are primarily worn to protect OTHERS; although there might be a small amount of protection to the person wearing the mask.  [Wearing a mask should remind people to wash their hands whenever they remove their mask, before they touch their face.].  People who stand out at rallies without masks and say “if I die, I die” don’t understand this.  They need to wear a mask as they can never tell if they themselves are infected and thus passing it to others.  It isn’t their lives at risk when they don’t wear a mask; they pose a risk to the rest of us.

This has been a confusing virus as 40% of people infected have no symptoms, and yet others become extremely ill and die.  I’ll skip the long scientific explanation, but a protein named ACE2 might be a key.  It appears that ACE2 receptor is a magnet for the virus.  Those with higher levels of ACE2 might get ill easier and far more severe than someone with a low level.  ACE2 is higher in chronic lung and heart diseases, diabetes, obesity, smokers, and pregnancy.  Genetically, it is higher in some families than others.  It does appear that it tends to be less in children.

Lastly, the world seems to be putting its hope on a vaccine.  But to use the annual flu vaccine as an example, flu vaccine is recommended to prevent people from DYING from the flu.  As we all know, some people will continue to get the flu despite having been vaccinated.  I hope that I am wrong, but I doubt a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine will prevent all cases of COVID, but hopefully it will dramatically decrease deaths and the need for hospitalization.

In the meantime, please wear your mask whenever around others to prevent infecting others if you happen to be one of those infected and without symptoms (and who may continue to shed the virus for 14 days or more).  AND, wear a mask to also remind yourself that your hands might be contaminated and might infect yourself.  ALWAYS wash your hands or use sanitizer whenever you remove your mask, particularly for eating, drinking, and smoking.