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Are Temperature Checks an Ineffective Testing Method for COVID-19?
Monica Martinez
Temperature checks are commonly used during the COVID-19 pandemic in public spaces like LAX, or retail stores using "non-contact infrared thermometers" to identify people who might have and could spread infectious disease. Since many people infected with the virus are asymptomatic, temperature checks could prove to be an ineffective response to the pandemic.
A growing body of science suggests that smell tests could be a more useful way to detect the virus. The Transportation Security Administration told reporters that temperature checks do not guarantee that passengers who don't have an elevated temperature do not have COVID-19, and vice versa.
The loss of the sense of smell, also known as anosmia, could work well as an add-on to temperature checks. The smell test could significantly increase the ability to identify infected people by screening in airports, workplaces, and other public places.
Andrew Badly is a physician who oversees a virus lab at the Mayo Clinic stated that anosmia is an early symptom of COVID-19. Anosmia is relative to fever, and some infected individuals can have anosmia with no other visible symptoms.
A recent study conducted by Badley and colleagues discovered that Covid-19 patients were 27 times more likely than others to have lost their sense of smell. COVID-19 patients were only 2.6 times more likely to experience fever or chills, suggesting that anosmia produces a more precise signal and could be a better COVID-catching net than fever.
As experts have searched for other screening tools, some have zeroed in on smell tests, which could be as simple as asking people to identify a particular scent from a scratch-and-sniff card. Loss of sense of smell is one of the earliest signs of COVID-19. Support cells in the olfactory epithelium, the tissue that lines the nasal cavities, are coated with the receptors that SARS-CoV-2 uses to enter cells. They become infected early on in the disease development, usually before the body has mounted the immune response that causes fever.
In an evaluation of 24 individual studies, with records from 8,438 confirmed COVID-19 patients from thirteen countries, 41% reported they had lost their sense of smell partially or entirely, according to researchers' data reported in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Though in studies that used objective measurements of smell rather than asking patients, the chances of anosmia was 2.3 times higher.
A Monell analysis of 47 studies finds that nearly 80% of COVID-19 patients have lost their sense of smell as determined by scratch-and-sniff tests. Approximately 50% include that in self-reported symptoms meaning people don't realize they had partially or entirely lost their sense of smell. This could be because they're suffering more severe symptoms, causing them to miss this sign, or because the smell isn't something they focus on.
In a recent study of 1,480 patients led by otolaryngologist Carol Yan of UC San Diego Health, someone with anosmia was "more than ten times more likely to have Covid-19 than other causes of infection," she said. Nasal inflammation from cold, flu and other viruses can cause it, she said, but especially during the summer, when those infections are not as common the possibility that anosmia is the result of Covid-19 increases.
In contrast, a fever has multiple possible causes. Therefore, temperature checks will flag people as potentially infected with COVID-19. The likelihood that anosmia indicates someone will test positive for COVID-19 the predictive value increases.
UC San Diego Health is currently doing that by asking about the loss of smell (and taste) when screening visitors and staff before allowing them to enter its buildings. Since many people are unaware of their anosmia, testing would be better rather than asking.
The gold-standard test is the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test, called UPSIT. It uses 40 microencapsulated scents — including dill pickle, turpentine, banana, soap, licorice, and cedar that are released by scratching it with a pencil. The tester has a choice of four answers for each, and the entire test takes 10 to 15 minutes.
A screening test for anosmia to detect those who could potentially be infected with COVID-19 could be much simpler instead of relying solely on temperature checks that could be inaccurately detecting the virus according to experts.
https://www.statnews.com/2020/07/02/smell-tests-temperature-checks-covid19/
https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/penn-physician-blog/2020/june/upsit-article
https://wordofhealth.com/2020/03/24/coronavirus-how-do-we-flatten-the-curve/
https://wordofhealth.com/2020/03/02/key-questions-surrounding-the-coronavirus/
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The motivation to stay active during quarantine can be quite difficult, especially with many opting to use garages or bedrooms as a personal gym without any equipment or legroom available. Even as gyms reopen, understanding what your body needs to become stronger, leaner, & fitter can be a difficult challenge to tackle.
Keep in mind that your level of progression is widely based on your total time off, and your level of fitness before it. If you start by placing a high demand on your body, you risk the possibility of injury and a quick regression backward. Being extremely sore the next day does not indicate a quality workout. Here is an outline to guide and help you ease back into your workout without losing motivation or risking injury.
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1. Start with Flexibility Workouts
Your first progressive step should be to incorporate a couple of days of flexibility workouts to increase blood flow and circulation while supporting range of motion and joint mobility. Developing flexibility is one of the most overlooked protocols of fitness routines, and building these protocols early on will allow your body to properly readjust to the new demands that will be placed on it. Signing up or participating in a beginner yoga class or videos you can do at home to increase flexibility and build strength. Choose 10 to 15 stretches, performing each flexibility movement for up to one minute.
2. Add Easy Cardio
The next step is integrating light cardiorespiratory workouts after a couple of stretching or yoga sessions. An excellent way to start is a brisk 20-minute outdoor walk that will revitalize your mind and get your body moving again. Other options you can include in your workout, such as low impact HIIT workout (high-intensity interval training) for beginners. Machines you can use at your gyms include treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes are great indoor options. If you had a well-established fitness base before a month-long break, your first week might consist of light jogging instead of walking.
3. Start Strength Training
After your first week of flexibility and light cardio, start to incorporate strength workouts into your routine by trying gentle strength training workout for getting back into the gym. The time apart from the gym most likely involved a fair amount of sitting that causes weakness in your posterior chain, which refers to all the muscles on the backside of the body from your head down to your heels. These particular muscles are essential for basic everyday movement and keep your spine upright when at the desk. That is why incorporating exercises that improve your posture, develop core strength, and activate muscles throughout your glutes and hamstrings are essential.
Exercises like squats, lunges, bridges, TRX hamstring curls, stability ball mobility, and core work will help activate these muscles. Bodyweight workouts are ideal for working these muscles and establish a safe transition back into your fitness regimen, and you can work within your fitness level.
4. Begin your workout with a proper warm-up and end with a good cool-down
It is important to begin your workout with a proper warm-up that prepares your body for the increase in activity, and a cool-down helps your heart rate return to normal resting rate. Don't jump into any physical activity without easing into it. Muscles that have not been accustomed to strenuous activity for a while, and will experience some form of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), which means you will be tight and achy for 24-72 hours after your workout. You may also experience this when you work out regularly but up to your intensity. With a proper cool-down session, you can help some of the soreness you could experience the day following your workout.
5. And spend a few minutes stretching.
Stretching is an important dynamic when getting back into your fitness routine to help loosen those tight muscles before starting your workouts. After your workout, its good to release that muscle tension.
6. Focus on your form
When you're getting back into your regular routine, quality will always trump quantity. Maintaining proper form will help target and work your muscles without straining or overexerting yourself. Take your time to focus on your form, breathing, and control. This is extremely important because proper technique and form are crucial to help prevent injury.
7. Don't skip rest days!
Don't jump into working out a six-days-a-week workout routine too soon. Recovery is a big part of being active. When you don't take a day off, your body doesn't get to take the necessary time to replenish your muscles. Rest days are vital to long-term wellness, and the lifestyle you are recreating for yourself now should consist of frequency. Promoting recovery is a good way to build habits of your workouts without leading to a sprain or strain delaying your workout and fitness routines.
Your body will let you know when it is working hard, but learning the difference between hurts-so-good and hurts-not-so-good will save you a trip to the doctor's office. If something feels uncomfortable or causes you pain, stop doing whatever is causing your body to feel that way. There is a not-so-fine line between muscle discomfort from a good workout, and pain lets you know something's not right. Be attentive to your body to help you progress through your workouts safely.
Slowly easing your way to recreating your fitness regimen will help you stay consistent and achieve your fitness goals. It's important to remember we are all on our fitness journey, so take your time and stay motivated!
https://wordofhealth.com/2020/05/05/gov-newsom-announces-california-to-begin-reopening-at-end-of-this-week/
https://wordofhealth.com/2019/05/09/a-brief-guide-to-injury-prevention/
https://www.shape.com/fitness/how-get-back-working-out
https://www.self.com/story/heres-exactly-how-to-ease-back-into-working-out
https://www.shape.com/fitness/tips/what-is-posterior-chain-exercises
UCI graduate Chen Cao became the first of 35 individuals to be vaccinated in NantKwest Inc. and ImmunityBio's phase 1 clinical trial for COVID-19. This trial is only happening at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, CA.
According to the WHO, there are 44 vaccine candidates in clinical evaluation worldwide and another 154 in preclinical evaluation. Most are targetting the coronavirus' signature spike protein, which leads to its name "corona," meaning "crown" in Latin.
NantKwest/ImmunityBio's vaccine also does the same, but it also targets structures within the virus' cytoplasm called nucleocapsids that have been shown to stimulate T-cell responses.
Philip Robinson, Hoag's medical director of infection prevention and principal investigator for the vaccine trial, states, "This vaccine is novel because it stimulates the second arm of the immune system, the cell-mediated immunity, the T-cell response."
Based on SARS-CoV 1, he added that patients who developed that T-cell and cellular immune response have long-lasting immunity that can be measured 17 years after they got infected. T-cell responses are more durable than antibody responses activated by the spike protein alone and develop a much longer-term immunity, the company states.
This vaccine's dual-edged approach is a "key advantage" that could also prevail in mutations in the spike proteins, which might reduce the efficacy of "S-only" vaccines moving forward. There are several other features that the NantKwest/ImmunityBio vaccine has that is generating enthusiasm.
While several vaccine candidates are using adenoviruses — which cause the common cold — to transfer the coronavirus' genetic material into the human body to hopefully induce an immune response, however, there's a potential risk that the body's immune systems could recognize the cold virus and attack before it can complete its task. This vaccine overcomes this challenge by making deletions to the adenovirus that render it invisible, Robinson said.
Similar to other vaccine candidates, this one will consist of two shots, three weeks apart. But apart from many others, it won't need to be stored in frigid temperatures, which can pose significant logistical challenges.
Instead, it just requires standard refrigeration and can remain viable at room temperature "for quite a long time," Robinson said. Down the line might also be delivered by mouth or by nasal spray, rather than just by injection, making administration even easier.
Last Wednesday, five volunteers received their first injections at Hoag, and five more will get their first injections this week, according to Deborah Fridman, Hoag's director of clinical research. There will be a pause after each set of 10 to review the safety, side effects, and immune system reactions.
This phase 1 trial's primary goal is to confirm the vaccine's safety and induces immunity, Fridman said. If proven successful, it will expand into phases 2 and 3 next year, recruiting hundreds, and then thousands, of participants.
Hoag Hospital has participated in more than 20 COVID-19 clinical trials since caring for the state's first known COVID-19 patient in January. Hoag has given patients access to advanced therapies and innovative treatments, officials said. Though, this vaccine is its first COVID-related vaccine trial.
The hospital has expanded its research department in recent years. Hoag has a relationship with Los Angeles County-based NantKwest, Inc., and ImmunityBio is the only Orange County hospital. It is the only nonacademic institution to offer the companies' phase 2 immunotherapy clinical trial for solid tumors.
Patient No. 1 Chen Cao must report any side effects to Hoag immediately. She has a diary to record how she's feeling and will return regularly for evaluation and blood draws.
Anyone interested in participating should email clincialresearch@hoag.org.
https://www.ocregister.com/2020/10/21/hoag-memorial-selected-as-trial-site-for-promising-covid-19-vaccine/
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/novel-coronavirus-landscape-covid-19cc0232c16129498983a6a0e30ca94000.pdf?sfvrsn=87aa8dc9_1&download=true
https://nantkwest.com/immunitybio-study-shows-positive-t-cell-and-antibody-immune-responses-to-its-covid-19-vaccine-candidate-that-targets-both-spike-and-nucleocapsid-virus-proteins/
https://www.hoag.org/news/clinical-trial-for-pancreatic-cancer-patients2/
Fall has officially begun with another flu season in store, but this year, public health officials and politicians are warning the flu could increase the demand on Orange County's health care grid, which has been stressed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A second outbreak is a primary concern with cooling temperatures approaching, and relaxing pandemic rules could lead to more people gathering in tighter quarters.
County leaders are urging residents to maintain their pandemic habits, to help prevent a so-called "twindemic" of influenza and the coronavirus, and advise residents to get a flu shot.
Andrew Noymer, an epidemiologist and professor of public health at UCI, states that the driving factor is COVID, a new virus, and the flu shot is not.
Both are respiratory diseases with similar transmission modes such as coughs and sneezes spouting infectious droplets around – the flu has been around for centuries, and health systems know how to manage it, Noymer stated.
The COVID-19 countermeasures like wearing face masks, social distancing, and frequent hand washing will also work against the flu.
One concern is that both diseases share symptoms that could cause the lesser-studied COVID-19 to spread undetected if a sick person believes they have the flu, Noymer said. That will be a challenge for an already stressed healthcare system, he said.
Annual flu hospitalizations could cause hospitals to maintain pandemic surge plans that added beds and staff. Healthcare providers are spreading the message to their patients ahead of the expected strain.
This week, Kaiser Permanente emailed Orange County members with a video explaining the differences between a seasonal cold, the flu, and COVID-19.
The differences between all three can be hard to distinguish, which is why mild coronavirus cases might go undetected, the video explains. The main symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, shortness of breath, with onset up to two weeks after exposure. As with influenza or the flu, it starts suddenly with fever, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, and body aches.
Meanwhile, common colds slowly take hold with symptoms, including a runny nose, sore throat, sneezing, headaches, and high fevers are rare.
The flu kills 60,000 people per year nationwide, Noymer said, but "COVID-19 has killed 200,000, and the year is not even over yet,"
According to public health data, since 2017, influenza and pneumonia have killed an average of 576 people per year in Orange County. Since March, the COVID-19 death toll among residents has climbed to more than 1,100 people.
For health experts, the coronavirus still is the wildcard as winter approaches. Noymer further added that the county's population is more susceptible to COVID than the flu because they have flu shots and currently don't have a COVID shot.
The ongoing coronavirus spread could create a second wave of cases caused by business and school reopenings as well as changes in temperature and humidity.
Recently, Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a Senate subcommittee he suspects a COVID-19 vaccine will be available in the U.S. by December in limited supply.
For more information on disinfecting and sanitization measures click here.
https://www.ocregister.com/2020/09/17/orange-county-health-officials-warn-of-coronavirus-and-flu-twindemic/
https://www.ocregister.com/2020/09/08/orange-county-gains-ground-against-coronavirus-advances-from-purple-tier-to-less-restrictive-red-tier/
https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/health-wellness/videos/covid-19/symptoms-cold-flu
https://wordofhealth.com/2020/09/18/coronavirus-sanitize-or-disinfect/
https://wordofhealth.com/2020/07/13/disinfecting-medical-masks-and-n95-respirator-masks/
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