Tag: social distancing

Those COVID-19 Death Comparisons

Don’t be mislead by the folks making false comparisons about COVID-19 deaths.

Have you seen folks trying to compare COVID-19 deaths to other things?

What other things?

All Dr. Phil revealed was that he shouldn't have been talking about COVID-19...
All Dr. Phil revealed was that he shouldn’t have been talking about COVID-19…

Basically anything and everything, from smoking, drowning, and car accidents to the flu…

Those COVID-19 Death Comparisons

It’s not that surprising that those comparisons were made when the COVID-19 pandemic first got going.

It’s like Jenga?

But it is disappointing that some folks are still making these arguments.

“I’m not denying what a nasty disease COVID-19 can be, and how it’s obviously devastating to somewhere between 1 and 3.4 percent of the population. But that means 97 to 99 percent will get through this and develop immunities and will be able to move beyond this. But we don’t shut down our economy because tens of thousands of people die on the highways. It’s a risk we accept so we can move about. We don’t shut down our economies because tens of thousands of people die from the common flu.”

Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

What’s even worse, they seem to be using the arguments to discourage others from social distancing and wearing masks!

Fortunately, most people understand that you can’t really compare COVID-19 deaths to those other things.

It is like comparing apples to oranges. Sure, they are both fruits, but they aren’t the same kinds of fruits.

So why do some people make these false comparisons?

They do it to make you think that both sides of the argument are the same or are equal. After all, it makes easier to downplay COVID-19 deaths if ‘they’ can make you think they are the same as deaths from car accidents, drownings, and the flu, etc.

Instead of the death rate, it is more appropriate to use the case-fatality rate, which factors in the folks who actually had COVID-19.
Instead of the death rate, it is more appropriate to use the case-fatality rate, which factors in the folks who actually had COVID-19.

So why shouldn’t you make these comparisons?

For one thing, deaths from COVID-19 spiked suddenly. They haven’t been spread out over a year or many years, like deaths from car accidents, drownings, and cigarette smoking, etc..

“The demand on hospital resources during the COVID-19 crisis has not occurred before in the US, even during the worst of influenza seasons. Yet public officials continue to draw comparisons between seasonal influenza and SARS-CoV-2 mortality, often in an attempt to minimize the effects of the unfolding pandemic.”

Faust et al on Assessment of Deaths From COVID-19 and From Seasonal Influenza

Also, unlike car accidents and drownings, COVID-19 is contagious.

And don’t forget, we go to great lengths to reduce deaths from car accidents and drownings, with everything from seat belts, air bags, and life jackets to fencing around swimming pools and laws against distracted driving.

Does anyone say “life is about risk,” while throwing their toddler in the pool and walking inside?

We make efforts to reduce that risk!

What is your risk of being in a car accident?
What is your risk of being in a car accident?

We also go to some effort to understand those risks…

“If we overestimate our risk in one area, it can lead to anxiety and interfere with carrying out our normal daily routine. Ironically, it also leads us to underestimate real risks that can injure or kill us.”

National Safety Council on Odds of Dying

So what is your risk of being in a car accident?

Believe it or not, it is fairly low, with the average person filing a claim for a car accident once every 17.9 years.

And since only about 3 in 1,000 car accidents are fatal, the chance of you being in a fatal motor vehicle accident is also fairly low.

“The total number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. exceeds 115,000, outnumbering each of the leading causes of preventable injury death (58,908 preventable drug overdose deaths, 39,404 motor-vehicle deaths, and 37,455 fall deaths in 2018). However, the full impact of COVID-19 is even greater than the number of deaths and confirmed cases. The rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, the uncertainty regarding how long the pandemic will last and the disruption to normal everyday activities is impacting society like no other safety issue in modern history.”

COVID-19 Cases in the United States

How does that compare to getting and dying from COVID-19?

Where do you live? Are folks around you wearing a mask?

If you are working from home in a small town with few COVID-19 cases, then your risk is obviously much, much lower than someone who works around the public in a bigger city with rising case counts.

Do you have any risk factors for a more severe case of COVID-19?

While the overall case fatality rate is about 1%, that starts to go up as you approach age 50 and is higher for those with many chronic health conditions.

Most importantly, what are you doing to lower that risk?

Just like your risk of dying in a car accident is going to be much higher than average if you drink and drive, don’t wear a seat belt, talk on your phone, and speed, your risk of getting and dying from a SARS-CoV-2 infection is going to be higher if you live in or travel to an area with a lot of cases, are around a lot of people who aren’t social distancing or wearing masks, and you are in a high risk group.

The bottom line though, whatever your risk, are you going to take steps to increase that risk for your self and those around you or are you going to lower that risk?

More on COVID-19 Deaths

Getting a Covid-19 Test Before Going to Summer Camp

Who told your child’s summer camp to test all of their kids for COVID-19?

Are your kids among the 11 million kids who usually go to a summer camp or day camp each year?

Do you have any memories about summer camp from when you were a kid?
Do you have any memories about summer camp from when you were a kid?

Are they going this summer?

Did you plan for a COVID-19 test?

Getting a Covid-19 Test Before Going to Summer Camp

While many parents are likely thrilled that their kids can still even go to camp, they might be confused on why they need to get a COVID-19 test if their child hasn’t been sick.

Your pediatrician is likely shaking their head about it too.

Memories of summer camp this year might include a weekly nasal swab for COVID-19 testing.
In addition to pushing tests while staff and kids are at camp, some camps want to have kids tested before they arrive.

After all, there is no recommendation for general testing in the guidelines for opening up summer camps.

Instead, the CDC says to “screen children and employees upon arrival for symptoms and history of exposure.”

“He said that optimally camps would retest each camper upon arrival and several times more through the summer: six times for a seven-week session and four times for a five-week session.”

Summer Camp Kids Are America’s Coronavirus Test Subjects

The CDC guidelines on Youth and Summer Camps do mention testing.

“Some camps might have the capacity to conduct COVID-19 testing. CDC has guidance for who should be tested, but these decisions should be made in conjunction with state and local health departments and healthcare providers.”

CDC on Suggestions for Youth and Summer Camps

But still, that guidance isn’t to test everyone, but only those who are high risk, with symptoms, or with suspected COVID-19.

What’s the problem with testing everyone at camp?

It could lead these camps to rely too much on testing instead of cleaning and disinfecting and encouraging hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, cloth face coverings, and social distancing, etc.

Remember, COVID-19 tests can give false-negative results, so some people might actually be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and have a negative test. Without a healthy environment at camp, that person might get many other kids and staff members sick.

And a true negative test just means that you are negative when the test was done. It doesn’t mean that you will remain negative until you have your next test.

Also, just because you aren’t testing everyone doesn’t mean that you can’t test those kids and staff members once they begin to show symptoms.

Are your kids going to summer camp this year?

Do they need a COVID-19 test before they go and while they are at camp?

More on COVID-19 Tests for Summer Camps

Why Are Social Distancing Kids Still Getting Sick?

Why are some kids still getting sick if they are have been our of school and stuck in the house for weeks because of COVID-19?

COVID-19 has kept most kids out of school for some time now. Many are also out of daycare. And few are out playing with friends.

So why are some still getting sick? What else is going on with kids stuck at home while we are all social distancing to flatten the curve.

Why Are Social Distancing Kids Still Getting Sick?

The first thought of some parents and pediatric providers upon reading this might be, wait, what, kids are still getting sick?

Flu activity is low in most of the United States.
Flu activity is low in most of the United States.

And that’s because it does seem that in addition to flattening the COVID-19 curve, staying home from school and daycare, washing hands, and general social distancing techniques has worked to keeps from getting sick with the flu and most other contagious diseases!

So while pediatric providers are available to do telemedicine appointments, it certainly isn’t business as usual, even as their days have gotten quite unusual.

Some kids are still getting sick though, and while we know what you are thinking, most probably don’t have COVID-19.

Why?

It might be because:

  1. they aren’t social distancing as well as they think they are, keeping in mind that with many diseases, people can be contagious for a few days before they show symptoms and you can sometimes catch germs from touching fomites, or objects that a sick person has recently touched. That still doesn’t mean that they have COVID-19 though. If they have contact with others, they could catch almost anything.
  2. they caught something from someone who had a disease a few weeks or months ago and is still shedding. For example, some infants can shed RSV for as long as 4 weeks after they get better. And they can shed the virus that causes hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) for almost two months! Human parainfluenza viruses (HPIV), a common cause of colds and croup (seal bark cough), can also shed for many months.
  3. they caught something from someone who had a viral disease that causes a lifelong latent infection with periodic reactivation and shedding. Wait, what? While herpes (cold sores) is the main disease you might think of as causing a lifelong latent infection, there are others. You may not realize this, but after getting roseola (causes a high fever for a few days, followed by a rash after the fever breaks), HHV-6 (human herpes virus-6) kind of does the same thing. The big difference is that while you shed HHV-6 in your saliva from time to time, you don’t have any symptoms. You can get other folks sick though, especially older infants, once they lose the passive immunity they got from maternal antibodies.
  4. they have a sore throat caused by a virus, allergies, or reflux, but have tonsil stones and a positive strep test because they are a strep carrier. Nearly 20% of kids are thought to be carriers of strep, which means that every time they get tested, they will be positive, whether or not they actually have strep throat. That means that you don’t have to worry about testing the dog to see if they are carrying strep…
  5. they were exposed to a disease with a long incubation period. While the incubation period (the time between getting exposed to something to when you get sick) is just a few days for many diseases, it can be several weeks or months for others. In fact, your child might not get sick until 30 to 50 days after being exposed to someone with mono!
  6. they had a virus a few weeks ago and now have Gianotti Crosti syndrome (GCS), a post-viral rash on a child’s legs, arms, and buttocks. Although GCS might linger for weeks or months, it eventually goes away on its own. Another rash, this one likely caused by reactivation of the virus that causes roseola, might have you thinking your child is covered in ringworm (how would they get that if they haven’t left the house??). Instead, they likely have pityriasis rosea.
  7. their symptoms are caused by a non-contagious infectious disease that is spread from an animal or insect and not from another person – think Lyme disease (ticks), Cat scratch disease (cats), and West Nile virus (mosquitoes), etc.
  8. they got sick (bacteria, virus, or parasite) from contaminated lake or well water, which can cause diarrhea – giardiasis, Crypto, shigellosis, norovirus,
  9. they got sick (bacteria, virus, or parasite) from eating raw or contaminated food – giardiasis, shigellosis, norovirus, E. coli, salmonellosis
  10. their symptoms are caused by a non-infectious disease, which could be anything from allergies and asthma to poison ivy or herpes zoster (shingles).

It is also possible that their symptoms are being caused by anxiety, fear, and stress, which is not unexpected as they see schools closed, people getting sick and wearing masks, and are likely unsure about what’s coming next.

Has your child been sick recently?

Do you have a pet turtle or chickens in your backyard? They could be a source for Salmonella…

Do you understand why now?

Now call your pediatric provider if you have questions and need help getting them well, especially if they seem anxious or have extra stress from being home all of the time and away from school and their friends.

You especially want to call if you think that they might actually have COVID-19. While most kids have mild symptoms or are asymptomatic, if your child has a fever, cough, and difficulty breathing, you should call your pediatric provider or seek medical attention.

More on Covid-19 Kids Getting Sick

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