Healthcare

The U.S. recorded more than 1 million cases of COVID-19 in the last seven days, Johns Hopkins University data shows, which is more than any other week since the pandemic began. There are 80,000 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and over 15,000 of these individuals are currently in intensive care units (ICUs) with nearly 5,000 on ventilators. These numbers are prodigious and make it clear to experts in the medical field that catastrophe in the health care world is not imminent — it has arrived.

Due to the extremely high virus activity level in Wisconsin, experts say there's no completely safe way to celebrate Thanksgiving with people who live outside your home. "Whenever you have so many people that are carrying the virus, then even small gatherings are a risk," Dr. Oguz Alagoz, who models infectious diseases at UW-Madison, said. That risk exists even at gatherings of close family if they aren't part of the same household. "We have so many people that are already carrying this virus, so it's very likely that one of your loved ones, knowingly or unknowingly, could transmit," he said.

What to do about Covid? With nearly 60 million cases and 1.4 million deaths worldwide as of the end of November 2020, there are still no consistently effective treatments or approved vaccines yet (though large-scale vaccine trials have already produced promising results). Social distancing, mask wearing, and infection control practices can reduce the rate of spread somewhat, but as long as infectious individuals circulate amongst susceptible persons, continued spread is inevitable, given that most populations have not built immunity against SARS-CoV-2 to any meaningful extent.

Paper products and other household staples are in high demand in stores and online again as the virus surges and lockdowns loom, but none more so than those essential rolls of soft cotton squares. Photos of bare shelves and public pleas to leave behind a few rolls for other shoppers are overflowing social media. “The toilet paper aisle is CLEARED!” one person wrote on Twitter. “March 2.0 is here folkssss.”

Delivering an effective vaccine is only part of the equation. The region's recovery from COVID-19 also will hinge on Long Islanders' willingness to take the shot, experts say. The public's appetite for inoculations will be a wild card, said Julie Swann, an expert in health care supply chains who advised the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the H1N1 outbreak in 2009.

Two drug companies have now reported highly successful results from phase III trials of COVID-19 vaccines. On November 18 Pfizer and partner BioNTech said their vaccine was 95 percent effective at preventing the disease, based on full trial results. Two days earlier Moderna reported its vaccine was 94.5 percent effective, based on interim data.

When Timothy Nuvangyaoma, chairman of the Hopi Tribe, heard there were two coronavirus vaccines that both showed promising data of more than 90 percent efficacy, he felt initial relief that soon transitioned to cautious skepticism.

Hospitals across the country are ramping up their efforts to figure out how to store, track and administer coronavirus vaccine doses following the recent news that an effective vaccine could be on its way within weeks or months. Hospitals will play a key role once a vaccine receives an emergency use authorization from the FDA, which could happen as soon as next month. They will move quickly to vaccinate their front-line healthcare workers and then their patients and surrounding communities.

Another wave of COVID-19 cases is now triggering another wave of panic buying across the country. But the Maryland Department of Commerce says it has no regulatory oversight on grocers in the state. At this point, it's up to each individual company to set purchasing limits on high-demand items. In some instances, stores are starting to see empty shelves again.

With COVID-19 cases rising across the country, the need for a safe and reliable vaccine is increasing. Both Pfizer and Moderna have announced vaccine trials with more than 90% effectiveness. Creating vaccines and getting federal approval are only the first hurdles which are followed by finding ways to transport the highly-perishable vaccines to millions of Americans.