Pa. passes 100,000 coronavirus cases: What have we learned along the way? - PennLive

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Much remains unknown about COVID-19 as the Pennsylvania recorded more than 100,000 cases of the novel virus on Saturday. Fortunately, much has been learned. Here’s a rundown of some of the most significant knowledge we’ve learned about the coronavirus since March:

• 77 percent of people who have come down with COVID-19 in Pennsylvania have recovered.
• One of the big treatment lessons is that breathing ventilators aren’t as beneficial as originally thought. People put on breathing ventilators often do worse, doctors have found. They often breathe better, and recover, after being turned onto their stomachs.
• There’s a growing belief that tiny airborne particles released through breathing and talking, along with coughing and sneezing, is the main transmission route. The emerging view is you are more likely to catch COVID-19 from airborne particles than from a surface. Further, the risk seems especially high in settings where people are close together for more than 15 minutes. Poor ventilation likely increases the risk. Concentration of the virus can build in a room. All this has contributed to the recent restrictions on bars, restaurants and nightclubs in hotspots all over the country.
• So far, there’s only one medication proven to increase the survival rate of COVID-19 patients, a common steroid called dexamethasone. Another medicine, remdesivir, has been shown to help people recover faster, although it doesn’t necessarily lower the death rate. Convalescent plasma is another treatment generating hope. It involves blood from people who have recovered, in the idea their antibodies will transfer to the sick person and help them fight it off. It’s being widely used and is proven to be safe. There are anecdotal reports of success, but more study is needed. Meanwhile, doctors are optimistic combinations of existing drugs will prove beneficial. Studies are in progress. Two drugs long used to treat malaria, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, haven’t been proven safe or effective. There are ongoing tests to find out if they might prevent infection.
• There’s a massive global effort to create a vaccine. The United States has a goal of a vaccine by January. But that’s a steep, uncertain goal. About two dozen vaccines are being tested. The University of Oxford in England has received much attention for a vaccine that could be ready in fall. Moderna, an American company, recently announced its vaccine produced antibodies against the disease. But the timetable for a vaccine — or even if one will ever exist — is highly uncertain. Producing a vaccine even within 18 months of the emergence of COVID-19 in early 2020 would be a record, by far. Plus, there are some diseases, including coronaviruses, where scientists have never been able to come up with a vaccine.
• The United States on Thursday registered more than 70,000 cases — the most ever in one day. Daily deaths remains well below the earlier peak, although they are starting to climb. Doctors attribute the lower death toll to several possible factors: Better treatments; doing a better job of protecting nursing home residents; increased testing resulting in illnesses being caught earlier, while less severe and less likely to be fatal.
• The most common COVID-19 symptoms are fever, cough and shortness of breath. Not everyone gets all three. There are others which are less common and less known. These include loss of sense of taste or smell, which are often experienced by people who don’t get especially sick. Some people experience stomach pain or nausea or diarrhea.
• COVID-19 is best known for attacking the lungs. However, a doctor who cared for more than 1,000 COVID-19 patients recently said, “This virus seems to let nothing untouched.” Autopsies of some patients found their lungs had turned shockingly thick, with oxygen essentially blocked from reaching the rest of the body. Some peoples’ hearts have been affected, with their hearts turning flaccid and too weak to pump blood. Some people, including younger people, have sustained strokes caused by blood clots, with the clots being another occasional harm of COVID-19. Clots have led to problems in limbs of some COVID-19 patients. Some people have experienced kidney and liver failure. Some patients don’t feel normal again for months. It’s unknown how much COVID-19 damage might be permanent.

Note: Those who cannot see the graphic at the beginning of the story can click here to view it.

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