Members get a daily Covid-19 topic focused on Covid in Tennessee.
Supporters are part of a self-improvement sub-group where value is dispensed daily on personal growth in all aspects of life, informed by many sources. New members welcome!
It turns out Tennessee started a trend by ending the daily reporting of Covid stats.
However, Ballad Health in northeast Tennessee and soutwest Virginia continues to report numbers for its region on weekdays. Since Friday, there's another big jump in hospitalizations, from 322 to 355 patients. The highest number reported in the delta surge was 410, if I recall correctly. Out of those, 10 are pediatric patients, 73 are admitted to critical care units, and 48 are on ventilators. The most recent breakdown of vaccinated vs unvaccinated was still high-90% range unvaccinated in critical care/on vent.
Nobody has been talking around me about suspending elective surgeries again, but, given the rate of increase we're seeing now, it wouldn't surprise me.
I have not been seeing any breakdown of vaccinated vs unvaccinated deaths from Covid.
If you have risk factors for developing severe disease with Covid (obesity, diabetes, hypertension, over age 65, immunocompromised, etc), and you develop upper respiratory symptoms, go immediately for testing. If you test positive, get a prescription for Paxlovid, the new oral anti-Covid pills. In Tennessee, you can get it for free. It is being distributed through Walmart pharmacies. Call around for availability.
In initial studies, Paxlovid reduced risk of severe disease and death by 88% if started within 5 days of onset of symptoms.
There are several medications with emergency use authorization for inpatient treatment of symptomatic Covid.
Baricitinib blocks JAK1 and JAK2, two signaling molecules in the immune system. It can be given alone or in combination with remdesivir, which is now fully approved.
Sotromivab is the GSK-manufactured monoclonal antibody that has shown effectiveness against omicron. The REGEN-CoV antibodies and the Eli Lilly preparation of bamlanivimab and etesevimab antibodies have been shown to be ineffective against omicron due to the extensive spike protein mutations of that variant.
It's being put forth that Uttar Pradesh, a state in northern India, used Ivermectin to control Covid to great benefit. However, there's quite a bit of statistical evidence that this just ain't so. All-cause mortality in Uttar Pradesh was easily double its normal rate during the first major wave of Covid there. So these numbers are not proof of anything.
I know a lot of folks want to accept conspiracy theories, and I am very familiar with that impulse, but it's not evident to me that the conspiracy theories are any more useful than the mainstream narrative. Rogue doctors are fun to follow and believe in, and they can get a lot of other doctors to agree with them, but they are usually not any more right than the experts.
As I've said in the past, I share the frustration that many of you feel with the "go home and wait for your symptoms to get worse" advice that was the mainstay of mainstream Covid advice. I think it was incredibly damaging. I also am not convinced by either side on the ivermectin or HCQ arguments. The pathway for zinc transport into cells is widely understood, and the benefit of zinc in fighting viruses is also understood. It is also not a cure. So maybe they work. Maybe they don't. Maybe it's faith healing. And maybe that's what a lot of people need.
Question your sources. Including me. We all have our biases. And we all can be wrong.
But the person who can give you the best advice for you is your physician.
Stay heathy!
I'm on a weekend night call schedule this weekend, which always leaves me feeling under-rested and generally icky.
But I wanted to remind you that outdoor exercise without screens is really good for your mental health.
Go outdoors, preferably into the woods.
Get in tune with those surroundings, the sights, the sounds, the smells, even the movement of air and the varying temperatures as you walk.
We were made to be outdoors.
We were definitely not made to work in cubicles.
One Degree!
What you want from your body will dictate what you need to set as goals, and the goals will determine what you'll end up having to change to attain them.
I've spoken many times about systems being better than goals, and my position has not changed.
But goals are easier to discuss and to understand, so for this week, we'll be very specific about goals.
Do you want more muscle mass?
Do you want to be stronger?
Do you want to run faster?
Do you want to gain weight?
Do you want to lose weight?
Do you want to improve general fitness?
Do you want longevity?
Do you want strong bones?
Do you want to earn a Black Belt?
Understanding the benefits and costs of each particular goal may help you decide what you want.
For example, if you want to compete in body-building competitions, you'll not be doing the same thing as if you were focused on longevity. Same with strength competitions.
But general fitness and longevity go fairly well together.
Running is great but will increase the likelihood of needing knee or hip ...
I'll make this one short and to the point.
Spring time change is hard on all of us. Having to get up an hour early doesn't make going to bed an hour earlier much easier.
Yes, it's nice to have more productive time in the evening.
But it's at the cost of forcing us out of be an hour earlier, as we all know.
Our challenge is to adjust our circadian rhythm to match the world's expectations around us.
My main strategy is supplementing with a dose of melatonin about a half hour before I need to be asleep. It helps most people fall asleep more readily.
If you need a nap during your day, take it between mid-morning and early afternoon. Limit it to 20 minutes.
Taking a longer or later nap may make it even harder to get off to sleep in time.
All of the other normal advice applies even moreso:
- Take a 20-minute walk after supper.
- No screen time for the last hour before bed.
- Listen to calm music after supper.
- Don't eat for 2 hours before bed.
- Don't have conflict-laden conversations ...
