From reader AB in Alabama yesterday –
…we’re both in our 50s, pretty healthy though my husband is a former smoker who suffers from a bit of COPD that’s always set off by seasonal allergies in the spring. We’re dedicated LCMPHF eaters, and are both avid walkers. Reading media reports, and talking to several friends who are full blown panic over the virus situation this weekend, my husband at one point turned to me and asked if it was time to panic yet? Is it? Should our daughter with two young children panic now?…
In a nutshell, no, it’s not time to panic.
Here’s several data points that you’ll find of interest and hopefully comforting, gleaned from CDC, WHO, and other medical reporting this weekend.
Young children (particularly those under 4) appears to have been thus far minimally impacted by the SARS-CoV-2 virus; I can find no record of deaths related to the virus in this age group as of yesterday morning.
Ordinary, otherwise healthy adults under 65 (give or take a few years pending metabolic fitness) appear to be at very low risk of having a serious (hospitalization required), critical (intensive or extraordinary support), or fatal outcome if infected by the SARS-CoV-2.
Of note, those older than 65, and particularly those older than 75, have been much more impacted by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (causing what is being termed the COVID-19 disease process), and the risk of a bad outcome rises almost exponentially with advancing (>65) age.
Also of critical note, those with significant medical conditions (co-morbidities in medical lingo) – particularly those co-morbidities which impact cardiopulmonary function, for example COPD, chronic asthmatics, concurrent pneumonia or other pulmonary dysfunction from yet another viral process have been impacted at higher rates, though people who are markedly above ideal body weight and those with T1DM or poorly controlled T2Dm appear to be at notably higher risk as well.
Again, given the information you’ve provided in your question – it’s not time to panic, but….
It is time to use common sense with regard to exposure risks? Hell yes, and count me – at least given the information available today – among those who agree that exposure to large groups, closely associated as in a church, concert, or movie venue for example, very likely offers an unacceptably high risk for those with elevated risk factors (age, the co-morbidities listed above). Any relative, friend, acquaintance, or co-worker who exhibits symptoms or is known to be infected MUST be avoided.
The vital importance of hand-washing simply cannot be overemphasized; make sure those grandkids understand that too.
Is it prudent to lay in a couple of weeks of any medications you take, food stocks, and household goods to tide you over through an (as of yet in North America) unlikely imposed home-based quarantine? Of course it is.
Stay with your healthy eating plan, and as the season turns to spring, keep walking, and make sure you’re pursuing a well-rounded (don’t forget to lift heavy things and sprint occasionally) fitness program. Your overall fitness, and metabolic/functional capacity, is one of the critical keys to battling off insults like this.
And finally, exercise caution in terms of what sources you consistently read and trust regarding news on the virus. By all indications, this will not lead to the collapse of civilization as we know it, despite the insistence by some in the media that’s the case. Those preaching that SARS-CoV-2 is the advent of the apocalypse should probably be avoided. My most trusted mentors continue to insist the biggest impacts will be financial over the long haul, and I’m inclined to agree at this point, despite the terrible medical burden some will bear.
No doubt, the virus is a damned serious one, and will be devastatingly impactful for those with cardiopulmonary compromise and the very old. Be vigilant, stay informed, and recognize that there’s still a truckload that we still DON’T know about this virus.
