Transcription:
COVID-19 Fall Update

Riverside Healthcare puts the health and wellness information you need well within reach.

Carl Maronich: I'm Carl Maronich, Director of Marketing at Riverside. And today, we are joined once again by Dr. Keith Moss. And Dr. Moss is a Chief Medical Officer at Riverside, also an internal medicine physician. Dr. Moss, thanks for being with us again.

Dr. Keith Moss: Thank you.

Carl Maronich: And Dr. Moss is here to again talk about COVID and we had Dr. Moss on a few times, but it's been a little while and things have certainly changed in the world of COVID. And so we wanted to bring Dr. Moss back in and talk a little bit about we're seeing an increase in cases, which was something that was predicted back in the spring that we would see a kind of a resurgence, a spike in March, or excuse me in the fall now. And that's what we're seeing. So Dr. Moss, tell us a little bit about what may be different with this go-round of COVID and the increase in cases that we're seeing?

Dr. Keith Moss: Yeah. So unfortunately, this was predicted that we would start to see a spike with cooler temperatures and return to school. And we are seeing that as predicted. So we are seeing higher numbers of cases than we've seen since the March-April peak. So we are treating everyone. And we seem to be doing a good job of treatment, but we are seeing a higher number. The difference is this time we've had some time to prepare and we have some things that we can use, which are much more helpful in terms of therapeutics.

That is we have steroids. Most of you have probably heard about the use of dexamethazone or Decadron, which is a steroid, which we use in COVID-positive patients who need oxygen. And also, we have another drug called Remdesivir, which was originally developed in the Ebola crisis, but now seems to be helpful in terms of reducing length of stay of hospitalizations in these COVID patients. So we are also using them in our sicker patients. And that does seem to be helpful in terms of treatment. But yes, we are definitely seeing a resurgence and a larger number of patients hospitalized than even in April.

Carl Maronich: And as you say, the medical community knows more about the virus now, so that would seemingly be undoubtedly as a positive thing but, you know, because of that, people shouldn't put their guard down, correct?

Dr. Keith Moss: That's correct. The most important things right now are the same things that were important in the spring. And that is wearing your mask, keeping your social distance, staying home if you're sick, you know, keeping things clean and keeping your hands washed. Those are the things that are basics that can help this to stop the spread.

They are just as important now as they were then. And I can't emphasize the importance of those enough, because we have so many vulnerable people out there and they can all get sick and we don't know who's going to get sicker. It's just, you know, we just don't know that much about the virus, except for that we know the elderly are more susceptible and we know people with a lot of chronic medical conditions are more susceptible. We still know that even younger people can get extremely sick. So we don't want anyone sick. So again, the most important thing is to maintain those same public health measures that we keep talking about.

Carl Maronich: And that includes crowds, trying to minimize being in large crowds.

Dr. Keith Moss: Absolutely. Absolutely. A lot of what we're seeing is the result of people being in crowds and people being close without masking and even small groups and small gatherings among family members causes the spread, because again, probably up to 30% or sometimes even more, cases are asymptomatic cases. So you don't know if you're spreading it. And that's the reason why we still want to make sure that people are wearing those masks and doing all of those other things, regardless of where they're at and what they're doing.

Carl Maronich: One phrase or term that we've heard is pandemic fatigue. People are getting tired of all this, which is understandable. But again, can't be a reason that people stop following some of the guidelines that you're talking about.

Dr. Keith Moss: That's absolutely correct. And you know, COVID fatigue is real. Nobody wants to keep wearing a mask all the time and doing this distancing. And people miss their families, we totally understand that. You know, I'd like you to think about though, think about that poor nurse or that poor tech on the floors here who's trying to work so hard to make things better for their patients. Those people are fatigued and we're doing everything we can to support them.

I recognize that there's a lot of COVID fatigue out there. People are not used to wearing masks. They're not used to not being social. It's a big deal to not be able to gather with family and friends at holidays and for other things like weddings, et cetera. It's a very difficult situation, but it is not a permanent one.

We are right on the cusp of getting some really great vaccines and therapeutics to help out. And it's not going to be very long before those are widely available. So while I recognize that everyone is fatigued from this, we all have to stay vigilant and stay safe and be patient.

Carl Maronich: Dr. Moss, one thing we haven't talked about is how the flu factors into that and, you know, how that may change the landscape with winter here now. What do people need to be thinking about?

Dr. Keith Moss: I think again, the most important thing is to get your flu shot. We know that COVID is bad enough. Influenza an also be very bad and getting the two together is something that we have already seen. We don't want people to get either of those. And for the flu, at least we have something that can be very helpful and that as the vaccination. So get your flu shot. That is critical in order to keep yourself healthy from getting that particular illness.

Carl Maronich: A lot of great information, Dr. Moss. And if folks are looking for more, what reputable sites would you direct them to get their own information and kind of to keep updated on what's happening?

Dr. Keith Moss: I think the CDC's website is an excellent one. There's a lot of stuff for lay people on there. They have some really great graphics and, you know, pictures as well as a lot of links to literature and other things where you can educate yourself on the pandemic and on potential treatments, vaccinations, et cetera.

The state of Illinois has a lot of information on their IDPH website. That also is a good site. And then there's other ones that are-- things like Medscape is a very good website that you can take a look at.

So there's a lot of good information out there. I would just advise not to go to websites that are touting things that are cures, because we don't have a cure. If we had a cure, we would do everything we can to get it here and give it to people, but we don't have that yet. So just be careful as to what you're looking at.

Carl Maronich: And I would put in a plug for the Riverside website as well, which has links to the CDC site and the state of Illinois site also.

Dr. Moss, we always appreciate your time. In parting, one last reminder to the public about what they should keep foremost in their mind when it comes to COVID.

Dr. Keith Moss: Again, keep your masks on, keep yourself distanced, keep washing your hands. And if you don't have to, you know, if you don't have to gather, don't do it, because right now you don't know who is infectious and who is not.

Carl Maronich: All right. Good. Well, Dr. Moss again, thank you. Keith Moss, Chief Medical Officer at Riverside Healthcare, internal medicine physician, and we appreciate your advice.

Dr. Keith Moss: Thank you very much.