This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
03/31/2020 12:00 AMOn March 30, a handful of front-line health care professionals from Guilford joined a virtual video conference to answer questions and dispel various myths and misinformation about the coronavirus.
The panel was organized partly through the First Selectman’s office and promoted on the town’s website, with the impetus and organizing of the event coming from Dr. Barry Felson and Dr. Chris Moore. Moore also served as moderator on the panel, which featured seven medical doctors from Guilford, many of whom are currently serving on the front lines of the fight against the disease.
Live questions were submitted during the approximately 75-minute virtual discussion and Q&A, and panelists also answered questions that had been previously submitted via email.
Much of the focus was on the everyday practices that people needed to continue doing in order to combat the spread of the virus.
Dr. Vahid Mohsenin, a pulmonologist who said he has been mostly caring for critically ill people with respiratory failure during the pandemic, said that what places like Guilford are doing as residents practice social distancing and good hygiene is what will actually stop the disease—not some miracle treatment invented in a hospital.
“The control for this pandemic is not in the ICU...it’s in the community,” he said.
Every other panelist echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that stopping the spread of the disease, which has no cure, vaccine, or proven treatment right now, is the only way to end the pandemic.
Dr. Karen Goldberg, a pediatrician living and practicing in Guilford, said that was the number-one thing she has told both her patients as well as family and friends is: Don’t visit friends, don’t go out in groups, don’t congregate in close quarters.
“I have three teenagers who are not very happy with me right now,” she laughed
These practices will remain vital for significantly longer, the panelists said. Dr. Sunil Parikh, an infectious disease expert, decried the “mixed messages” about relaxing social distancing that have come from the federal government or the media.
“It’s gonna be a little while. We’re still on the upward slope,” he said.
Parikh said he was hopeful that the state, and the country even, might have more clarity on the trajectory of the pandemic within two weeks, but even that timeline was unsure.
Specifics regarding how best to protect yourself and prevent the spread of the disease were also the subject of a number of questions.
According to the panelists, there was still not a consensus on the efficacy of home-made masks, something they said has been a constant source of inquiry from the general public.
Dr. Marietta Vasquez, a pediatric infectious disease expert, said there simply wasn’t enough data to show that cloth masks worn by people going about their everyday lives were effective at preventing the spread of the disease.
There is also a “big potential danger” of people gaining a “false sense of security” from wearing a mask, according to Vasquez, and not being as careful with social distancing when they are wearing one.
Protective gear should never make someone feel comfortable going out in public if they have symptoms of the disease—shortness of breath, dry cough, and fever—according to Vasquez.
Panelists also emphasized that the hospital grade equipment—in particular, the N-95 surgical mask—were desperately needed at hospitals right now, and any resident using those just to walk outside or go to the grocery store could instead have helped out health care professionals much more in need by donating them.
Another question that came up was whether the virus could be contracted through mail or grocery items that other people had touched. Dr. Susan Kashaf, who works in internal medicine at the Veterans Administration, said this kind of transmission was “very unlikely” due to the small amount of virus particles present, and that simply washing your hands after shopping or picking up the mail should be plenty to protect yourself.
Goldberg and Vasquez, the two pediatricians on the panel, also made a point of pushing back against the idea that healthy children and young people were essentially at low- or zero risk of serious health consequences from contracting the virus.
Though older people with underlying health conditions are definitely more in danger if they contract the virus, Vasquez said residents should use the same measures to protect younger folks against the virus as they do for anyone else. She said healthy kids can absolutely end up in intensive care and with complications from the virus.
Adults are also in danger, according to Goldberg, and should not act like they are safe because of their age.
“There are lots of stories of healthy 40 year-olds that are dying from this, or on a ventilator from this,” she said.
Other questions focused on the current progression of the pandemic, and possible treatments. Mohsenin said that at Yale, there have been some drugs used in specific cases, but none that are “proven” or “robust.”
Vasquez said that while no one knows for certain, an optimistic timeline for a vaccine would be “within the year,” though both she and other panelists cautioned anyone from counting on these measures, instead saying to continue focusing on proven social distancing practices.
Other Guilford residents wondered exactly how prevalent the disease is in town, with only a handful of confirmed cases as of this week. There were also questions as to why there has not been a decrease in the spread of the disease around the state or the region, if social distancing measures are as effective as experts have said.
Panelists explained that due to the lack of widespread testing, the big increase in confirmed cases could likely be attributed to more people getting tests.
They also emphasized that evidence of the positive effects of social distancing measures would be delayed by a week or two, as cases transmitted before people began actively isolating were still showing up in statistics and reports.
Though it might feel like a long time, panelists emphasized that social distancing measures and bans on public gatherings were only implemented a relatively short time ago.
Panelists did make sure to advise residents to continue to take care of themselves despite all the restrictions placed on them by the virus. Parikh said that he had recently taken a 20-minute bike ride around town, and hadn’t seen anyone out in the yards enjoying the nice weather, which he found concerning.
“Folks need to continue to take care of themselves,” he said.
Kashaf specifically pointed out the incredible outdoor resources available in Guilford, including hiking trails and public open spaces.
“One of the things that I feel really strongly about is...we can still enjoy life in the outdoors and take care of our mental and physical health while doing so,” she said.