Covid 19 - drug testing
Covid 19 - drug testing
Finding hope and truth in difficult and confusing times

The current COVID-19 numbers and what this tells us

According to the WHO Situation Report for the 21 st of June, 2020, there are 8 708 008 known COVID-19 cases in the world. That number has increased by183 020 from the previous day. 461 715 people have died - an increase of 4 743 souls. 4.8 million people worldwide have recovered.

 

The National Institute of Communicable Diseases confirmed that for the same date there were 97 302 confirmed cases in South Africa. 1 930 have passed away, but 51 608 have recovered.

Statistics can be controversial and do not reflect a 100% accurate picture. The numbers reflect only confirmed cases. Not every country, or province or state or district within a country has the same capacity for testing or protocols as to who gets tested.

We could dismiss these statistics as just too unreliable, or we can see it as a general indicator. I prefer to take a cautious version of the latter approach. What we can learn from these statistics is that way more people recover than those who do not. And for that, we can be grateful. We can see what effects certain interventions have and hopefully how to plan new ones.

We do know that about 19 out of 20 patients with coronavirus recover without being admitted to hospital. Of those who do need to be hospitalized, most will recover but may need to be treated with oxygen or mechanical ventilation.


Hope in a vial


During the last week, the World Health Organisation has welcomed new research findings that have shown that a commonly available anti-inflammatory drug, Dexamethasone, can help to save the lives of some of the most seriously ill COVID-19 patients. These are the ones who require oxygen or mechanical ventilators. The WHO stated that it will coordinate an extensive meta-analysis to increase our overall understanding of how the drug works in the case of the COVID-19 infection and will update its clinical guidelines to reflect how and when the drug should be used to treat the condition.

It is important to note this drug is not for everybody. Though it increases the chances of survival considerably, it is not a miracle cure and is no replacement for doing everything in your ability to avoid contracting the illness in the first place.

What we do know is this: Your body responds to an infection by creating inflammation as it tries to fight off the illness. Sometimes one’s immune system goes into overdrive. This reaction – the thing that is designed to attack infection – is sadly what often kills people. It starts to attack the body’s own cells. Dexamethasone calms this effect.

The drug does not help those who are less ill – who are not on oxygen or ventilators – since they need their immune systems to fight instead of being suppressed!


The wins so far

Dexamethasone cuts the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those who receive oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth.

The other good news is that the drug has been around since the 60s. This means that it is no longer patented, so generics can be produced and is widely available already. Generics are a lot cheaper than the originals. This means that poorer countries will be able to produce and/or access the medication more easily.

What we can take away from this

As with most life-altering events in life, progress is incremental and there may not be a linear path to healing or recovery. However, we can be cautiously optimistic – as long as we are careful to check the sources of our information.

This leads me to another point - my favourite Facebook fake news story at the moment. Some Clever People (read NOT) have been circulating a post that states that the WHO is paying governments a subsidy, based on the number of deaths reported. Governments, therefore, WANT more people to die.

 

SIGH!

Be careful out there. During times of crisis, when all the world is up in arms and chewing on their fingers in anxiety, it is easy to fall prey to false information. This is especially true if trusted names, such as the World Health Organisation is added to the mix. Even for those who are in the know, it can sometimes be difficult to tell the facts from scaremongering misinformation.

There are three things to look out for:
 
  1. Use of A Lot Of Capitals And Exclamation Marks!!!
  2. Very emotive language, particularly those that hype up fear and frustration and outrage. The message is often that this is the true and secret information No-One Wants You To Know.
  3. It suggests ways in which you can protect yourself – mostly by parting with your money (after you received the FREE e-book/seminar) and investing it in their products.
Our message to you

We are still here. We won’t sell you a tin hat or tell you to hoard baked beans and toilet paper. It is normal to feel stressed and to doubt your sanity from time to time. When you are faced with what seems to be a legitimate business deal or investment opportunity to Protect You and Your Family From The Secret Enemy… contact us. There are options available. Real and solid and dependable strategies that can minimize your losses, help you survive in the present and safeguard future earnings. If it sounds too good to be true it generally is, but check with us, just in case.

At 30, Jabu has just been promoted. He is now the youngest senior partner at his firm. He realizes how lucky he is in these difficult times and feels he should do something to mark his new sense of achievement, but also of responsibility. With all the regular updates of COVID-19 infections and deaths, he has started wondering … what would happen to his family, should he pass away?.

 
Writing a definitive thesis on the subject of Life Cover will take us at least 50 pages. World events, such as COVID-19, continuously influence the development of new legislation and policy options. Your needs may change in multiple areas of your life.

Contact Northwood Finance


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Covid 19 - drug testing
Covid 19 - drug testing
Covid 19 - drug testing
Covid 19 - drug testing
Covid 19 - drug testing
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