How do healthcare workers feel about Coronavirus?

a reply to: JAGStorm

I had another Corona sample to transport today and was in and around several hospitals in the course of the day , the only thing that bothers me about Coronavirus is if I catch so much as a cold I will have to self isolate and have no income for two weeks.

I don't think this virus lives up to the hype it's being given but it is a reminder that we are just one virus away global meltdown.

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: JAGStorm

I don't think this virus lives up to the hype it's being given but it is a reminder that we are just one virus away global meltdown.

For once we are in agreement.

a reply to: face23785

So again, what backs up the claim that COVID-19 is unusually or highly infectious?

www.yalemedicine.org...

1.

While data from China show the new coronavirus to be both more contagious and associated with greater severity of disease than influenza,

2.

The virus is contagious, even before symptoms appear

If you want to dig deep into the data, a lot of it is here:
www.who.int...
& here
www.who.int...

The COVID-19 virus is a new pathogen that is highly contagious, can spread quickly,
and must be considered capable of causing enormous health, economic and societal
impacts in any setting. It is not SARS and it is not influenza. Building scenarios and
strategies only on the basis of well-known pathogens risks failing to exploit all possible
measures to slow transmission of the COVID-19 virus, reduce disease and save lives.
COVID-19 is not SARS and it is not influenza. It is a new virus with its own
characteristics. For example, COVID-19 transmission in children appears to be limited
compared with influenza, while the clinical picture differs from SARS. Such differences,
while based on limited data, may be playing a role in the apparent efficacy of rigorously
19
applied non-pharmaceutical, public health measures to interrupt chains of human-tohuman transmission in a range of settings in China. The COVID-19 virus is unique among
human coronaviruses in its combination of high transmissibility, substantial fatal
outcomes in some high-risk groups, and ability to cause huge societal and economic
disruption. For planning purposes, it must be assumed that the global population is
susceptible to this virus. As the animal origin of the COVID-19 virus is unknown at
present, the risk of reintroduction into previously infected areas must be constantly
considered.
The novel nature, and our continuously evolving understanding, of this coronavirus
demands a tremendous agility in our capacity to rapidly adapt and change our readiness
and response planning as has been done continually in China. This is an extraordinary
feat for a country of 1.4 billion people.

originally posted by: avgguy
a reply to: JAGStorm

I’m not worried about it. Hospitals are ready, staff are always ready, we've had precautions for this type of scenario for years now. Nothing is different from any other airborne illness.

As for older colleagues, idk do your job.If we get sick we get sick.

Could your hospital take 2,000 new patients today? What percentage of your beds are already full? If your hospital is anything like the rest of the hospital's in the U.S. then most of your beds are already full. Have you really thought this through?

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: MerkabaTribeEntity

I have nothing to add, sorry, I think those links speak for themselves.

One of the things that upsets me so much is how people are saying "Oh it only kills old people with pre-existing conditions"
like they are some kind of expendable garbage. I happen to like my old people and want them around.
I know we all must die sometimes, but I just hate that thought that this possibly man made virus is the way that is going to take them...

Exactly how I feel. I find it very upsetting.

originally posted by: Alien Abduct

originally posted by: avgguy
a reply to: JAGStorm

I’m not worried about it. Hospitals are ready, staff are always ready, we've had precautions for this type of scenario for years now. Nothing is different from any other airborne illness.

As for older colleagues, idk do your job.If we get sick we get sick.

Could your hospital take 2,000 new patients today? What percentage of your beds are already full? If your hospital is anything like the rest of the hospital's in the U.S. then most of your beds are already full. Have you really thought this through?

I've spent too many days recently (6 yrs) visiting sick and dying in the Boston area hospitals. Almost always there are patients in the halls. Not enough beds.

As a nurse i see sick people every working day. Lately there has been a lot young kids and elderly in intensive care but the reason has been RSV virus (tested ) not corona.
When Coronavirus in China reached our news, the discussion in work was light and not a big deal. Last week we got a a instructions what to do and how to deal Coronavirus patients when it arrives in our county and noticed that fellow workers were more concerned about it than before. Some had cancelled their vacation trips abroad etc.
I am in vacation now so i am not sure do we have prepared enough, all i can say that i asked weeks ago to prepare in time...

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: face23785

So again, what backs up the claim that COVID-19 is unusually or highly infectious?

www.yalemedicine.org...

1.

While data from China show the new coronavirus to be both more contagious and associated with greater severity of disease than influenza,

2.

The virus is contagious, even before symptoms appear

If you want to dig deep into the data, a lot of it is here:
www.who.int...
& here
www.who.int...

The COVID-19 virus is a new pathogen that is highly contagious, can spread quickly,
and must be considered capable of causing enormous health, economic and societal
impacts in any setting. It is not SARS and it is not influenza. Building scenarios and
strategies only on the basis of well-known pathogens risks failing to exploit all possible
measures to slow transmission of the COVID-19 virus, reduce disease and save lives.
COVID-19 is not SARS and it is not influenza. It is a new virus with its own
characteristics. For example, COVID-19 transmission in children appears to be limited
compared with influenza, while the clinical picture differs from SARS. Such differences,
while based on limited data, may be playing a role in the apparent efficacy of rigorously
19
applied non-pharmaceutical, public health measures to interrupt chains of human-tohuman transmission in a range of settings in China. The COVID-19 virus is unique among
human coronaviruses in its combination of high transmissibility, substantial fatal
outcomes in some high-risk groups, and ability to cause huge societal and economic
disruption. For planning purposes, it must be assumed that the global population is
susceptible to this virus. As the animal origin of the COVID-19 virus is unknown at
present, the risk of reintroduction into previously infected areas must be constantly
considered.
The novel nature, and our continuously evolving understanding, of this coronavirus
demands a tremendous agility in our capacity to rapidly adapt and change our readiness
and response planning as has been done continually in China. This is an extraordinary
feat for a country of 1.4 billion people.

First, this is the first substantive answer I've seen on this, so thanks.

However, I have to question some of it. For example, it says this:

While there has been sustained person-to-person spread in China, according to the CDC, the exact mechanism for transmission is still unclear. “There is still much to learn about how this pathogen is transmitted between individuals,” Dr. Martinello says. “Data is needed not only to better understand when those who become ill shed the virus, but also which body fluids contain the virus and how those may contaminate surfaces and even the air surrounding them.”

So they don't even really know how the virus is spread, but they can definitely say it's more contagious than flu?

Also, I like how that quote from Yale is from a section that says the flu is a greater danger to the public than coronavirus is. Here's the full quote, with the part you cherrypicked in bold:

People in the U.S. should remain calm, Dr. Martinello says. Data from China does show the new coronavirus to be both more contagious than influenza, and the number of people infected in the U.S. is growing. The potential public health threat is very high, both globally and in the U.S., according to the CDC. But influenza is still having a greater impact in Connecticut and across the country this year.

This is my favorite part:

“Therefore, the risk of influenza is much greater for the U.S. than the risk of the novel coronavirus,” Dr. Martinello says.

They say the data shows it's more contagious than flu, but don't provide the data. I guess I can take their word for it. I'll accept it's more contagious than flu, since there's at least a reputable source saying so, even though they don't really back up the claim.

They also say there's no need for panic and flu is the greater danger to the US public. Will you take their word on that?

a reply to: Alien Abduct

I don’t have anything to think through. If we’re getting 2000 cases a day in every hospital then there’s not much that can be done anyways 🤷🏻‍♂️.

a reply to: face23785

They also say there's no need for panic and flu is the greater danger to the US public. Will you take their word on that?

A friend of mine lost their life to the flu (a young healthy person at that), so yes I do take that seriously. I am not panicking, but I do also take coronavirus seriously and I think it is too premature for anyone to tell us that coronavirus is not as dangerous as the flu.
Let's just think about this rationally..

There is a vaccine for the flu, so at least we know that.
There is no vaccine for coronavirus.
A huge portion of the world is in quarantine
financial markets are being hit
Some are already calling it a pandemic
Fear is not just happening in the US, it's happening worldwide. That does not happen with the flu. So a lot of people
that know a lot more about this than you or I, feel this is worse than the flu.

Although we can compare the flu with coronavirus, the data is not complete enough, so what they are comparing is incomplete. I'm a number cruncher by profession. You can make guesses and hypothesis. Pretty much every number cruncher I know is totally freaked out by the numbers of coronavirus. It's like doctors doing a growth estimate for a baby, they can say he will likely be over 6ft tall as an adult based on data they have, but people are saying, hey he's not 5'9 like his dad right at this moment so don't worry about him ever being over 21" as a baby.... There is no way for us to compare because that baby is not grown yet.

Just like this cornavirus hasn't been around long enough for us to study true numbers. What I've seen in Korea isn't looking good. The numbers keep climbing every single time I look.

I don't doubt emergency accommodations can be swiftly set up should patients begin to overwhelm hospitals, but I'm not so sure about the equipment needed. Is there enough monitoring equipment, ventilators, etc.?

I get the panic people are feeling. This is potentially life or death for the elderly family members most of us have.

My husband checks in on his 90 y/o mother regularly. She is healthy, spry and still lives at home. He works around the public, and is afraid of unknowingly passing this virus on to her....or bringing it home.

For those who don't have elderly loved ones, it's just a cold; for those who do, it can be terrifying.

a reply to: Alien Abduct

Could your hospital take 2,000 new patients today? What percentage of your beds are already full? If your hospital is anything like the rest of the hospital's in the U.S. then most of your beds are already full. Have you really thought this through?

A few years ago I had to have surgery. I was shocked when they said I might have to share a recovery room because they were filled to capacity. Hospitals do not make money having empty rooms waiting. We all might be in for a rude awaking.

a reply to: face23785

You should do some research on covid-19 before asking such simple and easy-to-find answers to questions.

originally posted by: avgguy
a reply to: Alien Abduct

I don’t have anything to think through. If we’re getting 2000 cases a day in every hospital then there’s not much that can be done anyways 🤷🏻‍♂️.

There is something that can be done. And it should be done soon if not today. Declare covid-19 a pandemic. I believe this will happen within two weeks. I think it should happen now, today.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the covid-19 virus already meets two of its three criteria for a pandemic: it spreads between people, and it kills.

The third is that it has to spread worldwide. The virus is now in 50 countries – and counting – on nearly all continents, and those are just the ones we know about. How much more worldwide does it need to be?

a reply to: Alien Abduct

There is something that can be done. And it should be done soon if not today. Declare covid-19 a pandemic. I believe this will happen within two weeks. I think it should happen now, today.

It is frustrating because I believe by claiming it is a pandemic sooner it will save lives.

a reply to: Alien Abduct

What will that do? Serious question

a reply to: JAGStorm

Me and my wife, both HC workers, find it way overhyped.

originally posted by: avgguy
a reply to: Alien Abduct

What will that do? Serious question

According to WHO's pandemic preparedness plan, a response to a pandemic would require national governments to action the "full mobilisation of health systems, facilities, and workers at national and subnational levels", to "distribute personal protective equipment" and to "distribute antivirals and other medical supplies in accordance with national plans".

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the body responsible for public health in the United States, is already preparing for a pandemic.

It's a drastic measure but we need to start being proactive with this disease instead of reactive like we have been.

a reply to: face23785

Unusually highly infectious reasons :

Novel zoonotic pandemic : no existing antibodies ( or in affected mammals)

Pnumoenteric : virus causes pnumonia and diahorea , both ends infectious

Long infectious period , 2 days - 6 weeks

Coronavirus can enter body through skin abrasion and translocate within the body.

Intracellular operation causes cell damage , fights antibodies ,

Rapid mutation , adaptation

Also causes kidney damage

Danger of f secondary bacterial infections

In other words quite a bit worse than flu !?

If a person gets freaked out, their body histamine levels rise and they can have a cytokine storm event which causes their body to overreact to the virus. The same thing that causes the weird goat to pass out when it is scared and fall over can lead to people passing out. Think of how women used to have to carry smelling salts around because something triggered their immune system to go wild, then their BP dove and they lose blood flow to the head temporarily. Well, there is a lot more things that can happen if that woman who fainted actually was exposed to a real pathogen that triggered it..

Nurses should learn to not fear this disease, if they take the right precautions they should be ok, most of the mid aged nurses and doctors will be ok, but the oldest ones, maybe they should beware or they will never collect their pension next year.