Weekly Covid Updates – What’s Going on in Our World
October 7, 2020
- The decrease in cases didn’t last long. As of Monday night, Mr. Hickey, Seattle Prep’s President, announced that “Due to the recent increase in positive Covid-19 cases, we are delaying our intermediate phase of in-person classes…”, that the school had planned for mid-October.
- Vaccines are progressing quickly. Johnson & Johnson, a pharmaceutical company’s chief scientific officer said the company may be able to determine by the end of the year if the vaccine is safe and effective. With more than 150 vaccines in development worldwide, and some progressing into their stage three (vaccine given to thousands) of testing, we can hope that one or more will be ready soon. This week the Johnson & Johnson vaccine announced its movement into phase three trials being the first of the US pharmaceuticals to take a single dose vaccine this far.
- Two recent studies by Emerging Infectious Diseases and National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology suggest that planes, especially while on long haul fights, may not be as safe as we previously suspected. These studies infer that Covid-19 may be able to travel through the air on a plane via aerosol particles. Some experts are concerned that simply spacing out the seats may not be the answer.
- Public health experts are concerned that the poor air quality due to raging wildfires across the West Coast may worsen Covid-19 symptoms to those who have been in those areas. The smoke can weaken immune systems and inflame some peoples underlying health issues. Another issue faced is with people staying inside to escape the smoky conditions. Positive test rates are going up in Oregon and experts worry that they rates will continue to go up as it gets colder and people spend more time indoors.
- Relating to our Seattle Prep community, each Wednesday, King County updates the key indicators related to Covid-19 in our local area. This week is especially interesting because it marks two weeks since Labor Day where experts predicted there may be a spike in cases as there were after other holidays like Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. The results were published out and unlike some suspected, the cases continue to decrease, and other key indicators look positive for the time being.
