Flattening the Curve

Hearing About Flattening The Curve While Listening to Dr Mike on YouTube As He Discuss Coronavirus.

I try to get information from multiple sources online. One of these sources is Dr Mike who is a family physician in the United States. In one of his latest videos titled ‘We NEED More Testing Kits!’, I came across a concept which I had forgotten about. At 2:10/11:40 he quickly refers to ‘Flattening The Curve’:

… Here in United States, we simply do not have enough ICU beds if everyone is to get this virus simulatenously, so by slowing the rate at which this virus infects others we doing “Flattening the Curve”

Screenshot of Dr Mike’s video https://youtu.be/DfMl6W6N7-A

What is the concept of Flattening The Curve?

A large number of people using limited resources at the same time will saturate and overwhelm the system. The system can provide better care if the same number of people access these resources over a longer period of time (versus all at once).

When it came to public health, disease prevention and elimination of spread were at the core of my thoughts. Now I have learned that slowing the spread of disease is not necessarily a total defeat. Even a slow down, is a success in better access to care (in the highly contagious disease when total isolation and zero spread is unrealistic).

You can watch the full video using the link below:

Link to Dr Mike’s video published on Mar 15, 2020 https://youtu.be/DfMl6W6N7-A , watched by Farzad Refahi on Mar 15, 2020

As healthcare providers, we can better educate the public about the nature of the disease and proper hand hygiene. Also, we can encourage unnecessarily gathering of people in public spaces. As a group, we can look after the vulnerable population.

On a personal note, my wife, who is feeling fine, cut her business trip short due to the quickly evolving situation with COVID-19. I purchased food and supplies to last her at least two weeks. I left for my parents before her taxi got to our place. She has decided to follow the recommendation of self-isolation for two weeks. We are lucky that my parents live close by and are more than happy to have me for the two weeks. Of course, it is not easy being apart even longer than planned, however it is a small price to pay for the greater good (especially when as an RT, I have face to face interactions with patients at work).

Farzad Refahi
http://respiratory.blog/flattening-the-curve/

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Free Online Course by the World Health Organization

Recently I came across a post by the World Health Organization (WHO) about a free online training course for clinicians. Curious about the information provided, I created an account with WHO. Enrolling for the course was instantaneous and easy.

This course is made of three “modules” :
1. An overview of Infection Prevention and Control measures
2. An introduction to COVID-19
3. Review of precautions with COVID-19

There is no actual interactive module. Each section is linked to a PDF file (22, 9 and 63 pages). If you work for any large health organization or have had access to COVID-19 resources, you have already seen most of the information. This is not to take any points away. This is still a valuable resource as we continue to try to control the spread of this virus.

To access this course visit: https://openwho.org/courses/COVID-19-IPC-EN

Screenshot of the course description