COVID-19 Coronavirus and Lung Health: What can you do?

Joe- I am quoting Colleen to respond to your post: "The intent of this group is to provide a space for people maintain a social connection, help each other out and reduce anxiety during anxious times. The public should hold their elected governments to account. I suggest doing that in a constructive way on the channels where your voice will be heard, not here on Mayo Clinic Connect. Let's turn our focus to what we can do to stay healthy within the constraints and limitations of the current pandemic."
Should you wish to discuss this further, please contact Colleen here: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/contact-a-community-moderator/

I have to respectfully disagree. What my kids are learning from this is that as a country, we can band together to protect our weakest citizens and make small personal sacrifices for the greater good. Yes, some people are panicking but my kids are not. They are figuring out how to adapt to an unpredictable situation and take care of each other and their neighbors. As parents, I think that the example we set is important. The example that I am setting is to be calm and follow the advice of experts. Of course, it helps that my kids are all college educated and my daughter could explain the micro biology of coronaviruses to us.

@joelars I see a lot of numbers and percentages here. As a self-described research nerd, I am curious about the source of numbers for your calculations and the underlying assumptions in making them.
Remember that covid-19 is a new virus in humans and noone has immunity yet. While it currently seems to be mild in much of the population, we are seeing how it spreads rapidly and can overwhelm our medical care system very quickly. We also do not know how it will mutate as it progresses, and it could potentially increase in lethality.
The reality is that if we do not do something to try to "flatten the curve" our resources will be overwhelmed. Look at China and Italy, the situations there are the reason for the current initiatives here.
This morning I spoke to an ER nurse in a metro area of 3 million people. Their current metrowide inventory of available ICU beds is under 20. To say the medical professionals are alarmed is a gross understatement. In the event of a rapid increase in critical cases, who gets care and who dies? Who decides?
We know that most people will get covid-19, and a significant number will get quite ill, requiring hospitalization. We also know that if we "flatten the curve", drawing out the period of time for spreading the infection, that the system will be able to absorb the caseload. With enough time, a vaccine may even come available to protect the most vulnerable among us. Something else to consider: if covid-19 overwhelms the care system, young healthy people will not be able to get care either, for unrelated illnesses, accidents or injuries...so it is in everyones' interest to sacrifice for the common good.
I believe this is a fairly long-term situation we will be dealing with, but adjustment is possible. We are already seeing that there will be economic pain, and if all of our businesses and government at all levels pull together to make things work, we will weather it.
Like some others here, my milennial children and nieces and nephews are adapting, figuring out how to survive and help those around them. If anything, they feel we are not taking the concept of social isolation seriously enough.
Suggesting that a society not do whatever it can protect the vulnerable because it is costly and economically painful horrifies me. I have no other word for it.
Sue
PS Some people do remember being "locked down" or quarantined due to a pandemic - it was called polio, and while I have no knowledge of what it did to the stock market, it sure affected our lives before vaccine was available.

I appreciate but am surprised at your response. Why didn't you fact check my numbers and respond with your results? Because if you did you'd find the source is the CDC but there isn't any contrary numbers. Rather, than play hit and run, please tell me if you checked the numbers I quoted before your response, because if didn't why wouldn't you? And if you did then you knew my numbers were valid.
People, I'm losing faith her. I really thought the mayo Clinic was about the truth, the science.

how was my post non-constructive? I understand it wasn't your audience wants to hear. I believe science or truth was the guide regardless of personal bias

I think most do not have alcohol but are just used to clean organic materials from the surface so probably wouldn’t work in this case 🙁

@joelars I see a lot of numbers and percentages here. As a self-described research nerd, I am curious about the source of numbers for your calculations and the underlying assumptions in making them.
Remember that covid-19 is a new virus in humans and noone has immunity yet. While it currently seems to be mild in much of the population, we are seeing how it spreads rapidly and can overwhelm our medical care system very quickly. We also do not know how it will mutate as it progresses, and it could potentially increase in lethality.
The reality is that if we do not do something to try to "flatten the curve" our resources will be overwhelmed. Look at China and Italy, the situations there are the reason for the current initiatives here.
This morning I spoke to an ER nurse in a metro area of 3 million people. Their current metrowide inventory of available ICU beds is under 20. To say the medical professionals are alarmed is a gross understatement. In the event of a rapid increase in critical cases, who gets care and who dies? Who decides?
We know that most people will get covid-19, and a significant number will get quite ill, requiring hospitalization. We also know that if we "flatten the curve", drawing out the period of time for spreading the infection, that the system will be able to absorb the caseload. With enough time, a vaccine may even come available to protect the most vulnerable among us. Something else to consider: if covid-19 overwhelms the care system, young healthy people will not be able to get care either, for unrelated illnesses, accidents or injuries...so it is in everyones' interest to sacrifice for the common good.
I believe this is a fairly long-term situation we will be dealing with, but adjustment is possible. We are already seeing that there will be economic pain, and if all of our businesses and government at all levels pull together to make things work, we will weather it.
Like some others here, my milennial children and nieces and nephews are adapting, figuring out how to survive and help those around them. If anything, they feel we are not taking the concept of social isolation seriously enough.
Suggesting that a society not do whatever it can protect the vulnerable because it is costly and economically painful horrifies me. I have no other word for it.
Sue
PS Some people do remember being "locked down" or quarantined due to a pandemic - it was called polio, and while I have no knowledge of what it did to the stock market, it sure affected our lives before vaccine was available.

@ueinana sorry sue in my last response I didn't identify who I was responding to. First: I addressed your question about "my numbers".
Second: I have questions for you: you say "..we know it will mutate as it progresses. and potentially increase in lethality" that is reason for alarm but what is your source for that proposition? It is not a good idea to just act on an unsubstantiated assumption, particularly when others have to pay such a severe price.? Correct me if I'm wrong but hasn't the history of this family of viruses proved the opposite of your assumption? Don't we have similar lethality each year from influenza, without panic?
You state "no one has immunity" Again what is your source? Assuming the CDC isn't lying (and I can't find any statistics from other sources to cast doubts. If you can why aren't you disclosing them?) Further, we do know most (80+%) are highly resistant to the symptoms of this virus . While I don't know if that constitutes immunity if I don't get sick from a virus I'll take it as the functional equivalent of immunity.
You cite a nurse for the proposition that they(medical community) are alarmed and fearful of being overrun due to the virus. I agree with the nurse on both counts. And if you read the article from the infectious disease doctor working in the ER in the Toronto hospital the reason is panicky people come in with common colds and flus terrified they have this "deadly" virus. Who is responsible for that? If you didn't read his article and you are criticizing my response because you don't like it then what is the point of this? I promise you, give me any citations for your opinions and I will read them before I respond to you. And if the information provided is credible I will respect their opinions regardless of where it leads me. Fair enough?