POLIO has a 90% survival rate. One should not use survival rate as the benchmark on which public policy is decided. COVID is NOT a regular respiratory virus. The more we learn, the more apparent the virus is vascular in nature putting all major organ systems at risk.

My hypothesis on COVID as a vascular vs respiratory illness. O2sat decreases to dangerous levels without increasing dyspnea (silent hypoxia). COVID pneumonia has a distinctive appearance on imaging. It's not due to fluid infiltration or alveoli destruction like typical pneumonia.

It's due to the interruption of gas exchange at the level of the alveoli due to microemboli obstructing microvasculature. This is why dyspnea may not occur until O2sats reach the 70s and 80s. At that point alveolar destruction has occurred to the point of no return.

COVID pneumonia in that aspect is similar to emphysema on a hyper-accelerated scale. Stroke, heart attack, extremity loss, and kidney failure also occur in COVID due to these microemboli. No respiratory virus does this. COVID behaves more like diabetes at warp speed.

I believe the most impactful therapeutic to prevent hospitalization & poor outcomes will be anticoagulation. Many hospitals use this as a standard of care. COVID is not a respiratory virus & should be reclassified as a VASCULAR disease spread primarily through droplets.

@threadreaderapp unroll