More and More Data About “Risk”

The horrific events unfolding in front of our eyes include constant updates on “number of people infected” and “number of people dead”.  With an increase in amount of testing the “number infected” is likely to soar although the numbers were probably soaring already, as we did not have the testing capabilities that are growing daily.  Next week we will have a “rapid” Covid-19 test in the office.

As more and more data becomes available, the picture becomes clearer as to a number of issues, including the actual mortality rate (as of this writing, that number was down to 0.66% from 1.3%), what medications may positively intervene (data is looking real good for hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin) and very importantly, who are most “at risk”.

The early data is suggesting that “age” is the most significant risk factor for having serious outcomes/death.   Although we are all seeing online and on TV the individual stories of younger people that succumb to the virus, the vast majority are over 70 years old.  As the data grows, it becomes apparent that these are other “risks” of importance:

• Males are more susceptible than females (could be an issue involving estrogen as a protector)
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Cancer patients, especially those on chemotherapy
• Hypertension
• Respiratory disorders such as COPD and asthma
• Immune disorders

As we are all home bound, this presents an opportunity to take a step back and self-evaluate you/your loved ones “risks” and try to intervene with the “modifiable” risks.   We cannot obviously change our age and some other risk factors but we focus on the ones that we can intervene with.

Let’s all work as hard as possible to improve our baseline health and show our middle finger to the virus.