Thread by @Bob_Wachter, Covid (@UCSF) Chronicles, Day 161/ Before I get to #s, I want [...]

Covid ( @UCSF) Chronicles, Day 16

1/ Before I get to #s, I want to highlight today’s @UCSFMedicine grand rounds: update on Covid spread, testing, clinical, & treatment https://bit.ly/2xK1eKi Geared for medical crowd but accessible 2 lay folks. Superb, if you're up for deep dive

2/ The #s: @ucsfhospitals, 16 Covid+ pts, no change (trend below). Still 9 in ICU (7 on vents, up 2). Still headscratching re where other pts went: typical night shift=20 admits, last nt<3. I’m glad, but v. worried there’s a powerkeg of illness out there that will reveal itself

3/ SF: also stable. 450 Covid cases, just 16 new (graph), lowest new daily # since March 21st. 7 deaths, zero new. Everybody’s kinda reluctant to say SF has “flattened the curve” for fear of jinxing or – far more dangerous – lowering our guard. But we have

4/ #s from NYC still monstrous: the city passed 50,000 cases (up ~2500 since yest), w/ 1562 deaths, up a staggering 463. Mt Sinai Health System – just one of many large systems – had ~1500 Covid patients in its hospitals last night, with 251 in ICUs. Those are mind-blowing #s

5/ Terrific piece @theatlantic by @EdYong209 on debate re: masks–hot topic https://bit.ly/2X6tl18 Feds poised to recommend masks everywhere–seems right: the more-than-expected # of asymptomatic carriers pushes toward “better safe…” position. Where will everybody get masks, tho?

Everyone Thinks They’re Right About Masks

How the coronavirus travels through the air has become one of the most divisive debates in this pandemic.

https://bit.ly/2X6tl18

5/ Enjoyed hearing the gr8 Tony Fauci on #TheDaily w/ @mikiebarb https://nyti.ms/2VaSYeD Fauci is so smart, authentic & nimble. Watching him say just enuf to keep integrity without running afoul of boss is a dance worthy of Astaire. He’s doing it as well as anyone possibly could

A Conversation With Dr. Anthony Fauci

“We are in a war. I mean, I actually think this is exactly what generals or leaders in real, you know, violent combat wars feel.”

https://nyti.ms/2VaSYeD

6/ Permit me a little @ucsf pride, esp. since it’ll be research that solves this mess. 2019 @NIH rankings out, key measure of research impact. @ucsf School of Medicine & my Dept of Medicine both #1 in US (below). A ton of hard work–congrats to my colleagues; many working on Covid

7/ Sadly, first Covid death from our @ucsf family: John Murray, a giant in pulmonary & ICU worlds and, ironically, one of the first to describe the lung disease that he succumbed to (ARDS)…from Covid-19. His lovely @NYTimes obit: https://nyti.ms/2X2iVzj by @jswatz (excrpt below)

John Murray, Pioneering Lung Expert, Dies at 92

A leading figure in pulmonology, he helped define acute respiratory distress syndrome, a condition that led to his death, attributed to the coronavirus.

https://nyti.ms/2X2iVzj

8/ To appreciate vastness of tragedy, 1 need only scan new @nytimes “Those We’ve Lost [from Covid]” page https://nyti.ms/2R8Mdse Today lists 32 amazing people: musicians, activists, diplomats, athletes... ages 30-108. Alas, we’re closer to beginning than end of this

Stay safe…

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