COVID-19 What We Know-What To Do

As time passes in a pandemic there is a greater chance of survival for those getting infected 3 months later say in June 2020 than those who were infected 3 months earlier in February 2020. The reason for this is that doctors and scientists know more about COVID-19 now than 3 months ago and hence can treat patients better. I will list 5 important things that we know now that we did not know in February 2020 for your understanding.

1. COVID-19 was initially thought to cause deaths due to pneumonia- a lung infection and so Ventilators were thought to be the best way to treat sick patients who could not breathe. Now we are realizing that the virus causes blood clots in the blood vessels of the lungs and other parts of the body and this causes the reduced oxygenation . Now we know that just providing oxygen by ventilators will not help but we must prevent and dissolve the micro clots in the lungs. Therefore, we are using drugs like Aspirin and Heparin ( blood thinners that prevents clotting) as protocol in treatment regimens in June 2020.

2. Previously patients used to drop dead on the road or even before reaching a hospital due to reduced oxygen in their blood- OXYGEN SATURATION. This was because of HAPPY HYPOXIA - where even though the oxygen saturation was gradually reducing the COVID-19 patients did not have symptoms until it became critically less, like sometimes even 70%. Normally we become breathless if oxygen saturation reduces below 90%. This breathlessness is not triggered in COVID-19 patients and so we were getting the sick patients late to the hospitals in February 2020. Now since knowing about happy hypoxia we are monitoring oxygen saturation of all COVID-19 patients with a simple home use pulse oximeter and getting them to hospital if their oxygen saturation drops to 93% or less. This gives more time for doctors to correct the oxygen deficiency in the blood and a better survival chance in June 2020.

3. We did not have or aware of drugs to fight the corona virus in February 2020. We were only treating the complications caused by it, hypoxia. Hence most patients became severely infected. Now we have 2 important medicines, FAVIPIRAVIR & REMDESIVIR which are ANTIVIRALS that can kill the corona virus. By using these two medicines we can prevent patients from becoming severely infected and therefore cure them BEFORE THEY GO TO HYPOXIA. This knowledge we have in JUNE 2020 but did not in February 2020.

4. Many COVID-19 patients die not just because of the virus but also due the patient’s own immune system responding in an exaggerated manner called CYTOKINE STORM. This stormy strong  immune response not only kills the virus but also kills the patients. In February 2020 we did not know how to prevent it from happening. Now in June 2020, we know that easily available medicines called Steroids, that doctors around the world have been using for almost 80 years can be used to prevent the cytokine storm in some patients.

5. Now we also know that people with hypoxia became better just by making them lie down on their belly- known as prone position. Apart from this a few days ago Israeli scientists have discovered that a chemical known as Alpha Defensin produced by the patients White blood cells can cause the micro clots in blood vessels of the lungs and this could possibly be prevented by a drug called Colchicine used over many decades in the treatment of Gout.

So now we know for sure that patients have a better chance at surviving the COVID-19 infection now in June 2020 than in February 2020 for sure. India has not peaked in March or April because of the lock-down. This strategy has postponed the COVID-19 pandemic in INDIA by 3 crucial months that has enabled us to save thousands of lives.

Going forward there’s nothing to panic about COVID-19 if we remember that a person who gets infected later has a better chance at survival than one who got infected early.

Let’s all follow simple precautions like

-6 feet distancing from others

-Wear proper masks

-Work from home whenever possible

-Order delivery and take away of food groceries and vegetables

- Stay at home during lock-down

- Hand wash & hygiene

With this we can beat the virus, together as one. We are all in this together.