Different Takes: More Proactive Moves Needed To Protect Nursing Home Patients; Nightmare Is Just Getting Started In Some Parts Of World

The Washington Post: Nursing Homes Are In The Pandemic’s Crosshairs. They Can’t Be Neglected. 
Fewer than half of 1 percent of Americans reside in nursing homes, but they account for roughly 3,600 coronavirus deaths, more than 15 percent of the 22,000 in the United States as of Monday, according to a tally by the Associated Press. More than 85 percent of those deaths have occurred in the past 10 days — and that may understate the actual numbers given that many nursing home patients die without ever being tested for the pathogen. In addition to the nation’s 1.3 million nursing home residents, nurses, orderlies and other workers at the facilities are also at heightened risk. Full coverage of the coronavirus pandemicIn Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is sending “strike teams” to nursing homes composed of doctors, nurses, health officials and National Guard members who will administer speeded-up tests; ensure segregation of confirmed and suspected covid-19 cases; determine equipment needs; and provide on-site care and medical assessment. (4/13)

The New York Times: The Global Coronavirus Crisis Is Poised To Get Much, Much Worse 
In some places in the United States and other developed countries hit hard by Covid-19, the question is when might it become possible to start getting back to work. For much of the rest of the world, the nightmare is yet to start. And part of the horror is that many poorer countries won’t have the means to do much about it. Nor, given the international community’s lack of organization and leadership in the face of a global crisis, can they count on richer nations to help them. (4/15)

CNN: The Second Pandemic That Awaits Covid-19 First Responders
As the daily death toll decreased for the first time in New York on April 5, many of us are bracing for the storm to end and hopeful for our lives to resume outside of our homes. The relief is not only that the threat may be peaking, or that we can stop disinfecting our groceries, but that our loved ones working on the front lines of this disaster will be out of harm’s way. I’m the daughter of a 9/11 first responder; I know as fear winds down, another battle is just beginning. (Samantha K. Smith, 4/14)

Stat: We’ll See More Shortages Of Diagnostic Tests If The FDA Has Its Way 
February was a frustrating month for my laboratory. We wanted to make tests to detect the virus that causes Covid-19. My virology colleagues had great ideas and solid testing platforms. The Food and Drug Administration told us to stop. (Brian H. Shirts, 4/15)

The Hill: Reentry After The Panic: Paying The Health Price Of Extreme Isolation
With a world-wide sense of relief, progress continues in containing the COVID-19 pandemic. Projections have been revised downward for virtually every major negative consequence of the disease… All of this is terrific news. But we will now pay a big price. (Dr. Scott W. Atlas, 4/13)

The Washington Post: The Science Is Challenging. But We Should Be Hopeful For A Covid-19 Vaccine Or Drug.
Peter Medawar once defined a virus as “a piece of bad news wrapped up in protein.” He wrote in 1983 that “no virus is known to do good.” The key to stopping the novel coronavirus is that no virus can multiply on its own. It must invade a living cell. All hopes rest on a drug, vaccine or other therapy to disrupt the virus attack or impede its replication machinery. This is complicated science, not the instant “game changer” that President Trump has touted in the unproven antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine. (4/14)

The Hill: Science Says Trump Was Right: Malaria Drugs Need To Be Pursued As A Coronavirus Therapy 
When President Donald Trump suggested that an off-labeled repurposing of a pair of old antimalarial drugs might prove to be a “game-changer” coronavirus therapeutic, pundits howled that he was irresponsibly peddling false hope to a weary American public like some late-night snake oil salesman… It’s true that the president may not understand the sciences of virology and pharmacology, but I do — and all the available data urgently demand that our government pursue chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as treatments for the novel coronavirus. (Dr. Jeffrey Segal, 4/14)

Boston Globe: How To Get Better COVID-19 Infection Data Without Universal Testing 
The state of Massachusetts could benefit from more granular data on COVID-19 infections and deaths, but far more problematic is the fact that epidemiologists are basing their COVID-19 projections on imperfect data regarding the number and severity of infections. We know how many people have tested positive, but given our limited supply and conduct of tests, that is probably a far cry from the true number of people who have been infected thus far in the state and across the nation. (David E. Bloom and David Canning, 4/15)

Stat: Covid-19 Opens Unexpected Rifts Between Health Care Workers 
My pager wakes me at 4:00 a.m. It’s from Jill, a nurse on the medicine floor. “Mr. M is on 4L of oxygen. I think he needs to go to the ICU. Please come assess.” (Sunny Kung, 4/15)

The Washington Post: The Coronavirus Is Depriving People Of Funerals
Kaye Whitehead was raised with old-school values, so she is not accustomed to raising her voice at her parents. But that is what the Baltimore author and radio host did when she learned that her 76-year-old father intended to attend a funeral. She begged him to change his mind and screamed into the phone as she reminded him that he faced many of the health challenges that placed him in a high-risk group for covid-19 infection. When he’d heard enough, Whitehead tried her mother, pleading with her to hide the car keys if her husband was leaving to attend the funeral service. (Michele L. Norris, 4/14)