Originally Posted by
Heavyweight
Good morning guys.....I don’t post a lot. Never have. But this is something I’ve got some experience with. I’m seeing lots of comparisons to flu on this thread and I just want to set the record straight from my perspective.
I’m a healthcare worker in the North Texas area and am sitting at home having tested positive for COVID19
last Friday. I feel like hammered shit but my lung function is still very good. I’m moving air at a 97% saturation rate. I’m 50 years old and will probably be just fine. What I really want to talk about is what I’m seeing in my hospital and share some of my personal observations as to why this is affecting us so differently from the flu.
I work for a very large healthcare system. One major difference between COVID19 and seasonal flu is timing. Seasonal flu hits us over 6 months. Sure we get hit harder over a couple of months but nothing like what we are seeing now. As I type this almost all of my ICU beds are full. Not just from Coronavirus but heart attacks, strokes, post-op complications, etc. What’s happened that is unique is that all my capacity has been eaten up almost immediately and we are getting overwhelmed.
COVID19 is going to make a lot more people sick. The current numbers in the press are not accurate. We are estimating that at least 40% of the population in the US will get it. And that’s conservative. Flu affects about 8% annually because we have vaccines and because gestation is so much shorter. If you don’t believe my number think about it. You can go two weeks with Coronavirus before showing symptoms. One person infecting just two people will increase exponentially over 30 days growing to over 4,000 infected from one person.
COVID19 is not just affecting the old. Before I got sick I was seeing numerous adolescent and young adult cases. Granted some were compromised but many weren’t and were very ill needing hospitalization. I can’t give you percentages but it was significant. The truth is we don’t know how all the stats are going to shake out in the end. Particularly around mortality.
There are a host of other reasons why COVID19 is so different. Not the least of which is that nobody wants to get sick and pass this on to Nanna and PopPop....or their wife whose in chemo for breast cancer. Also, we’ve never seen such a rapid global pathogen spread. If I remember my history the Asian Flu pandemic in 1957 took months to reach the US and we had a vaccine developed before it hit us.
I’m starting to ramble and my head is pounding so I’m going to wrap up. No, you are probably not going to die if you wind up with COVID19. Do I think the public panic and media fear monger are overblown.....yes. But that’s no reason not to take it seriously. Please don’t downplay the risk or take unnecessary chances. Don’t play Russian roulette with your health.
Stay safe
Heavyweight