The New Worry Proofing Normal
Another day of social distancing, another newsletter. Keep on sending me those emails, links and memes. If you missed a prior newsletter, you can find it here . And continuous thanks for staying home, staying safe, washing hands and masking up!
Happy Tuesday, everyone! Just in case your brain is working like mine these days, I didn’t know it was Tuesday until just now. Today’s newsletter focuses on balancing the new normal with expectations of when we get to return to the (old) normal. Let’s start with raising kids this time, and then I’ll pass along some medical info.
When are they going back to school?! Perhaps the most common question I get these days. No one knows, though my prediction is that the answer will differ for older and younger kids. For a few days now, I have been predicting that grammar, middle and high schools stand a far higher chance of reopening in the fall – some maybe sooner – compared with colleges. I could be completely wrong, but my guess is simply based upon the fact that through high school most kids live at home, and so intermittent school-from-home becomes easier if they are already there. This isn’t the case for boarding school and college students, who live in dorms. Plus, dorm living offers up the added risk of close quarters and rapid viral spread. This morning I woke up to an article about preparations for virtual fall semesters at some east coast colleges.
When can we take them back to the pediatrician for routine care? Much has been written recently about the impact of stay at home orders on primary care doctors. My pediatrician friends have innovated their workflow in impressive ways, aiming to keep patients and staff safe and healthy. In some cases, they even examine kids in cars. But most offices are delaying routine visits for patients over 18 months, which could have significant downstream consequences, particularly delays in routine vaccination. This means we may see old infections coming back with a vengeance, worldwide (not you again, measles!).
A quarantine parenting solution I hadn’t considered until this article: walkie talkies!
Meanwhile, we continue to juggle the continuum of life under our individual roofs all day, every day. For anyone looking for a midday break in the form of laughter and connection, you can join “Lunchtime Laughter” Monday through Friday from 12:00 - 12:30. The brainchild of my friend and comedian Dani Klein Modisett, every day offers a different short comedy lesson, including improv, storytelling tips and stand up. Dani has people from all over the world joining. Interested? Email her at info@laughteroncall.com
And for those of you who find yourselves furiously scrolling through your phone desperate to find a good podcast to listen to while you multi-task things like household chores, dog walking, or meal prep, check out a new app called Goodpods. Here you can follow your friends and influencers to see what they're listening to. Finding your next favorite podcast just became very easy.
Okay… on to medical stuff. One of my closest friends in medicine is an infectious disease doc whom I constantly turn to these days. I asked her about antibody testing for coronavirus, because I keep hearing about tests arriving on the horizon. Her wise words to me: There are many unauthorized FDA tests out there – finger stick tests – and it’s hard for me to suggest any of these yet. We know they may cross react with other coronaviruses that cause the common cold and thus give false positives. Stanford did a big study with Premier Biotech Cassette recently, looking at antibodies. And if you live in Los Angeles, antibody testing is starting. But this is in a study format, trying to achieve validation. Here's a link to the FDA – if you are bored, you can take a look at the massive number of tests that people want to push through for antibody testing... the race to find the best test is mind boggling.
There remains much confusion around coronavirus tests. Which are legit? This story focuses on two new at-home tests not (yet) deemed kosher by FDA.
One of the reasons testing is so important boils down to this: mild coronavirus infection can look like other ailments. Do you have shortness of breath, dizziness, or fatigue? Could be anxiety or could be COVID.
There’s also on-going debate about magic bullet drugs to treat COVID. This piece by a physician/researcher nails it on why hydroxychloroquine isn’t a slam-dunk drug.
And finally, a little physiology for those of you who want to understand what happens inside the bodies of people who get seriously ill with COVID. It’s called cytokine storm.
Today’s meme is brought to you by Peeps. Yes, that’s right, the inedible marshmallow candies synonymous with Easter. Each year, Peeps hosts a diorama contest. This year’s victor: A Peep into the Life of a Data Scientist. (If you are loving this, click here for a complete list of winners – with pictures. You won’t regret it!)
