Originally posted March 28th, 2020

Good morning, Friends,
It’s good and bad news this morning. The good news is, our recent trend of a reduction in the rate of new cases in the US is holding! We’ve gone from being consistently in the 40% range, to consistently in the 20% range. This is good, but the bad news is, because our numbers are getting high, a lower daily percentage of new cases still means an increase in daily cases. Plus, in California, where many of you live, the rate has not trended down.

Unfortunately, the US now has more confirmed cases than any other country, surpassing China on Thursday.

So we doing better, but we need to to better still. The numbers are impacted by several things of course, one being our much improved testing rate. This certainly drives the numbers up, but I’m cautiously optimistic that the lock-down many you are experiencing will lead to big improvements soon. So keep it up! Your efforts are not in vain!

A few days ago, I mentioned that those with auto-immune disorders (like me) may be at higher risk. I still have not found an authoritative source for this. Since then, several news organizations have posted reports of people doing worse if they had taken non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), including ibuprofen. Since auto-immune sufferers often take these medications, this may be part of the reason for their higher risk. This information is evolving, and will likely continue to change for awhile. Myself, I have quit taking one of my anti-inflammatory medications. Check with your doctor before you stop taking a prescription!

Don’t fear, but be smart!
Erik

PS If you’re wondering why testing in the US was so slow to get rolling, check out yesterday’s post.