Assorted
For regions shut down due to Covid-19 to safely begin to reopen, we need ways to keep R — the average number of additional people infected by each infected person — under one, the threshold below which epidemics contract and ultimately die out. Among the proposals for how we can do this in the United States, one calls for frequent population-wide testing to identify and isolate those who are infected. Others suggest that the country will be hard-pressed to get through this without either prolonging lockdowns or intermittently reinstating them whenever infections rise until we have enough testing and contact tracing to control the spread or enough people become immune through infection or vaccination. The former requires testing on a scale that, barring a breakthrough, will not be possible anytime soon. The latter would inflict ongoing social and economic damage with the specter of lockdowns constantly looming over us.
2. Without More Tests, America Can’t Reopen
We should target four groups. First, all health-care workers and other first responders who directly interact with many people. Second, workers who maintain our supply chains and crucial infrastructure, including grocery-store workers, police officers, public-transit workers, and sanitation personnel. The next group would be potential “super-spreaders” — asymptomatic individuals who could come into contact with many people. This third group would include people in large families and those who must interact with many vulnerable people, such as employees of long-term-care facilities. The fourth group would include all those who are planning to return to the workplace. These are precisely the individuals without symptoms whom the CDC recommends against testing.
3. What the Proponents of ‘Natural’ Herd Immunity Don’t Say
Some countries are attempting strategies intended to “safely” build up population immunity to the coronavirus without a vaccine. Sweden, for instance, is asking older people and those with underlying health issues to self-quarantine but is keeping many schools, restaurants and bars open. Many commentators have suggested that this would also be a good policy for poorer countries like India. But given the fatality rate, there is no way to do this without huge numbers of casualties — and indeed, Sweden has already seen far more deaths than its neighbors.
4. What’s A Pulse Oximeter? Is It A Good Idea To Buy One?
A pulse oximeter is a small electronic device that estimates the saturation of oxygen in your blood. You want a number in the 95% to 100% range. If the number drops to 92% or lower, that’s a cause for concern. That’s generally the level where a doctor might put you on supplementary oxygen and keep you in the hospital for observation.
5. Where The Latest COVID-19 Models Think We’re Headed — And Why They Disagree
6. Covid-19 spreads too fast for traditional contact tracing. New digital tools could help