Ok to be scared (pandemic) - you are not alone.

[deleted915203]

Over the past several weeks, my anxiety level has increased (due to the pandemic). Even though I won't have it nearly as bad as the vast majority of Americans, I am having a lot of anxiety. This week has been very difficult to focus. Honestly, I am embarrassed to admit that I could not focus on work today.

I think anxiety / fear is the only reasonable reaction to such a historic and widespread disease. Weren't people who lived through the plague fearful? They must have been.

I think that acknowledging a problem is the first step toward dealing with it. I am a pathologist and I am scared of this pandemic.

However, I am also blessed to be alive and healthy, blessed to be in America, blessed to be a pathologist, blessed to have a loving family, and I have many other blessings. Sometimes when I count my blessings, I feel better. I hope this helps someone out there who is scared.

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[KeratinPearls]

With all these polls you are creating I can see the anxiety is real .

 

[CDX-2]

Thank you Path of Most Resistance.

I think some of the anxiety is also due to discomfort with uncertainty. Uncertainty re: the disease process, and also with regards to how governments / institutions respond to it.

Currently I'm feeling quite anxious, not so much for myself but more for my parents who have medical comorbidities, and I fear would decompensate quickly if they were to contract COVID-19...

I'm worried that there won't be enough ICU beds and/or ventilators for all the patients that may need them once the SHTF.

Our board exams have been postponed, but this week I've been finding it hard to concentrate on study because of the ongoing events with COVID-19.

I feel frustrated that our (Australian) government has been somewhat slow (IMHO) in the response to COVID-19 given what has been happening in Asia and Europe in particular. I suspect a lot of the seemingly poor leadership and the "wishy washy" decision-making process has to do with being very economically dependent on certain countries...

I feel that the government's slow response (in comparison to perhaps Taiwan) has exacerbated the anxiety and frustration (and possibly anger) in many people as this will exacerbate the oncoming medical and economic sequelae.

Given the graphs to date, I fear that Australia will be like Italy within 3-4 weeks' time (due to community spread) unless drastic lockdowns (within the country) and school closures etc etc occur ASAP.

 

[Deucedano]

Ive been to busy at work the last few days trying to prevent a blood product shortage to have anxiety about COVID. I do have anxiety about not having enough blood for the non-COVID patients in the next two weeks since people are too scared to donate and blood drives keep getting cancelled. Everyone should go donate blood and/or spread the word it’s safe to donate even in the shelter in place areas since it is a medical need.

 

[WEBB PINKERTON]

Buy some running shoes and hit the road. You will thank me later.

Nothing better than hitting the trails in Kentucky and doing a 20 miler.

 

[cmz]

I am concerned about the blood product shortage in the months to come. I am also concerned about my business but I can rebuild that empire later. You can't bring the dead back to life.

 

[LADoc00]

I literally am taking like 3 different substances to sleep at night...I could go randomly go out Carrie Fisher style before the Wuhan virus thing actually gets me!

 

[D1b()4]

I have changed my vote from neutral to agree. It is definitely getting more concerning every day, especially given the lack of appropriate response by the federal government.

 

[LADoc00]

Hey I heard they taking pathology residents and prepping them for work as Chernobyl liquidators for this viral apocalypse.

Anyone confirm that?

 

[WEBB PINKERTON]

I have changed my vote from neutral to agree. It is definitely getting more concerning every day, especially given the lack of appropriate response by the federal government.

And you believe the other party would have take the appropriate action early on? This was going to happen regardless.

 

[Spikebd]

And you believe the other party would have take the appropriate action early on? This was going to happen regardless.

The other party’s response would have gotten much more love from the press, that much I can assure you

 

[WEBB PINKERTON]

I'd love to see some examples of when we haven't made mistakes at the beginning of crises. The solution is going to cause a lot of pain and no one wanted to go there months ago.

 

[D1b()4]

And you believe the other party would have take the appropriate action early on? This was going to happen regardless.

I didn't comment or imply anything about what the other party would have done.

 

[Dave CX]

This "deadly" virus is being way overblown. The fatality rate will most likely be less than most annual flu strains. America will be better on the other end. No more talk of open borders. Globalization will reverse. The stock market will shoot up. And already no more Greta Thunberg.

 

[D1b()4]

This "deadly" virus is being way overblown. The fatality rate will most likely be less than most annual flu strains. America will be better on the other end. No more talk of open borders. Globalization will reverse. The stock market will shoot up. And already no more Greta Thunberg.

I think it is pretty clear that fatality is higher than that of most annual flu strains.

 

[Dave CX]

I think it is pretty clear that fatality is higher than that of most annual flu strains.

The South Koreans peg it at .6% Italy is an outlier for reasons that nobody understands

 

[D1b()4]

The South Koreans peg it at .6% Italy is an outlier for reasons that nobody understands

Even 0.6% is above most annual flu strains.

 

[WEBB PINKERTON]

I like Dave's optimism. How long will your GI practice be able to go without business?

 

[Dave CX]

Webb

I am now at 30% volume. Very annoying but I have no overhead other than my malpractice. But I have short days now so I can catch stripers which are starting to show up on my Chesapeake cottage waterfront!!!

 

[Med Director New England]

Dave some of your volume will come back in a rebound once this passes. The self employed GIs I know have been slow to stop endoscoping patients and I know a couple that only stopped scoping this past thurs b/c they felt like they couldn’t in good consious consume PPEs any longer. My self employed GIs will be doing Sat cases to make up for lost volume as soon as they are allowed. GI volume is about 1/3 of our business. the hospital employed GIs we work with stopped scoping the Friday before last.

your model might be the safest right now, you take a break and fish. come July you’ll likely be signing out on Saturdays to catch up.

 

[Dave CX]

Dave some of your volume will come back in a rebound once this passes. The self employed GIs I know have been slow to stop endoscoping patients and I know a couple that only stopped scoping this past thurs b/c they felt like they couldn’t in good consious consume PPEs any longer. My self employed GIs will be doing Sat cases to make up for lost volume as soon as they are allowed. GI volume is about 1/3 of our business. the hospital employed GIs we work with stopped scoping the Friday before last.

your model might be the safest right now, you take a break and fish. come July you’ll likely be signing out on Saturdays to catch up.

That's what I'm afraid of!!! Summer is going to be a bear!!

 

[Napoleon1801]

This "deadly" virus is being way overblown. The fatality rate will most likely be less than most annual flu strains. America will be better on the other end. No more talk of open borders. Globalization will reverse. The stock market will shoot up. And already no more Greta Thunberg.

If anything, people are not taking this virus seriously enough. This is most definitely not the flu. Despite local orders to limit contacts and gatherings, I'm still seeing crowds of people congregating at stores and parks. Even after opening up all extra beds available, we're not going to have the capacity to ventilate all those who go into respiratory distress. This is headed down the same path that Italy took and it does not look pretty.

 

[KeratinPearls]

This will last a long time.....USA is on a very very bad trajectory.

But still Americans still enjoying their lockdown...

 

[KeratinPearls]

 

[deleted314957]

I am afraid the beach and boat *****s are going to be introduced to Charles Darwin. And they are selfish, inconsiderate m *******. Alas Babylon.


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[LADoc00]

Yet we are still at a roughly 1.3% case fatality rate...while EU is several times that. Only Ze Germans seem to be doing as well as us.

 

[D1b()4]

Yet we are still at a roughly 1.3% case fatality rate...while EU is several times that. Only Ze Germans seem to be doing as well as us.

It is at least 1.2%. Most of the US cases are in early phase of the infection, and fatality rate will definitely increase.

 

[WEBB PINKERTON]

As long as the hospitals aren't overrun, the fatality rate will stay low. Time will tell.

 

[deleted915203]

I get anxiety from driving in routine city traffic. I am amazed that there are people who don't have anxiety from a global viral pandemic!

God bless you fearless ones!

 

[Thr0mbus]

It is at least 1.2%. Most of the US cases are in early phase of the infection, and fatality rate will definitely increase.

It may decrease when testing becomes more liberal.

 

[D1b()4]

It may decrease when testing becomes more liberal.

It doesn't seem to be the case in other countries with more liberal testing. It also seems to produce long-term lung damage in some of the survivors.

 

[D1b()4]

I knew pathologists were dorks, didn't realize that they were snowflakes too.

If there were no causes for concern, China would not have shut down its economy over this. This virus is a serious threat and people not taking it seriously is part of the problem. To put things in perspective, Spanish flu, the worst pandemic on record, had death rate of about 2%.

 

[Dave CX]

Dear Snowflake. China has NOT shut down its economy. Read the news.

 

[Dave CX]

I get anxiety from driving in routine city traffic. I am amazed that there are people who don't have anxiety from a global viral pandemic!

God bless you fearless ones!

I do too!. Urban traffic stresses me way more than the CV cold.

 

[D1b()4]

Dear Snowflake. China has NOT shut down its economy. Read the news.

Dear Ignoramus, China did shutdown its economy for a brief period of time to get the virus under control. Where have you been in the last couple of months? Here is a link to an article for you: Halting China’s Economy Was Hard. Restarting It Is Harder.

 

[Thr0mbus]

It doesn't seem to be the case in other countries with more liberal testing. It also seems to produce long-term lung damage in some of the survivors.

many upper respiratory viruses produce long term lung damage (bronchiectasis, etc). Do you have evidence other countries test more liberally? Other than S Korea?

 

[D1b()4]

many upper respiratory viruses produce long term lung damage (bronchiectasis, etc). Do you have evidence other countries test more liberally? Other than S Korea?

I don't think it is common for seasonal respiratory viruses to produce long-term lung damage unless they are complicated by bacterial pneumonia. ID experts claim that this virus is different from seasonal flu and produces unusually high morbidity and mortality; I have no reason to disagree with them.

Italy has performed a lot of tests, but South Korea probably has run the highest number of tests, I think US number of tests will increase drastically over the next couple of days/weeks. Regardless, even if the fatality rate drops, it is still well above seasonal influenza.

 

[HeyDalaron]

If there were no causes for concern, China would not have shut down its economy over this. This virus is a serious threat and people not taking it seriously is part of the problem. To put things in perspective, Spanish flu, the worst pandemic on record, had death rate of about 2%.

China lies about everything.

They haven't eradicated it. They just stopped testing.

 

[WEBB PINKERTON]

Data shows the fatality rate is pretty small as long as hospitals aren't overrun and patients have access to equipment. Keep cases down and we will be fine.

 

[D1b()4]

Data shows the fatality rate is pretty small as long as hospitals aren't overrun and patients have access to equipment. Keep cases down and we will be fine.

What's your definition of pretty small?

 

[KeikoTanaka]

China lies about everything.

They haven't eradicated it. They just stopped testing.

I'm curious too what else they're lying about. If the government kills you before COVID-19 does, doesn't count as a Corona death!

 

[LADoc00]

Im starting to think this is bogus...4 deaths in all of California by 3/23? FOUR? FOUR??

We just destroyed entire industries, annihilated the dreams of hundreds of thousands of small business folks, derailed schools, nuked tax revenue, put 100,000+ homeless people up to ransack our finest hotels, stopped all elective procedures...FOR FOUR PEOPLE?!

This is insane. Where is the huge body count? All the emergency beds needed to care for the tens and tens of thousands of dying patients??

At what point are we gonna collectively call B.S.? A month from now? 2 months? When no small business is standing and 10,000 people commit suicide from being broken?

California has 40 million people and Italy has 60 million. CA is the size of a large country and we have 4 dead.

This originated in China right? Not Italy?? Follow me here...Its not like Italy has some epic head start on Chinese visitors to their country, there are Chinese people everywhere in California. What the f- is going on?

 

[KeikoTanaka]

Im starting to think this is bogus...4 deaths in all of California by 3/23? FOUR? FOUR??

We just destroyed entire industries, annihilated the dreams of hundreds of thousands of small business folks, derailed schools, nuked tax revenue, put 100,000+ homeless people up to ransack our finest hotels, stopped all elective procedures...FOR FOUR PEOPLE?!

This is insane. Where is the huge body count? All the emergency beds needed to care for the tens and tens of thousands of dying patients??

At what point are we gonna collectively call B.S.? A month from now? 2 months? When no small business is standing and 10,000 people commit suicide from being broken?

California has 40 million people and Italy has 60 million. CA is the size of a large country and we have 4 dead.

This originated in China right? Not Italy?? Follow me here...Its not like Italy has some epic head start on Chinese visitors to their country, there are Chinese people everywhere in California. What the f- is going on?

Im not trying to be offensive here, but I just can't fathom a physician writing this.

 

[LADoc00]

Im not trying to be offensive here, but I just can't fathom a physician writing this.

Imagine it bud. Im pissed, I had hoped people in charge contemplated the immense impact of what they were doing. That they were doing this with some scientific input, with measured balanced to do more good than harm. That shutting down everything was the ONLY WAY.

How many have committed suicide now mere weeks into this? Let's compare numbers. Im guessing a vastly greater number than 4 in CA.

Im getting emotional whiplash from being bombarded with an apocalypse scenario, a total lack of stuff to wipe my butt with, the death of entire industries to what is appearing to be quite lackluster.

This is totally insane...1/3 of ALL coronavirus deaths in the state of Arizona are due to people taking unnecessary chloroquine...let that sink in.

It's like evidence based medicine was totally abandoned in favor of a total hysteria.

 

[D1b()4]

Im starting to think this is bogus...4 deaths in all of California by 3/23? FOUR? FOUR??

Where are you getting your news? As of 03/23/2020, there have been 43 deaths in California, and it is unfortunately just the beginning.
Here is my source: The novel coronavirus in the U.S.

 

[KeratinPearls]

Imagine it bud. Im pissed, I had hoped people in charge contemplated the immense impact of what they were doing. That they were doing this with some scientific input, with measured balanced to do more good than harm. That shutting down everything was the ONLY WAY.

How many have committed suicide now mere weeks into this? Let's compare numbers. Im guessing a vastly greater number than 4 in CA.

Im getting emotional whiplash from being bombarded with an apocalypse scenario, a total lack of stuff to wipe my butt with, the death of entire industries to what is appearing to be quite lackluster.

This is totally insane...1/3 of ALL coronavirus deaths in the state of Arizona are due to people taking unnecessary chloroquine...let that sink in.

It's like evidence based medicine was totally abandoned in favor of a total hysteria.

4 deaths in california? Yeah it must be at least 40+ Deaths now. This article was from March 22.

 

[KeratinPearls]

 

[Dave CX]

Dear Ignoramus, China did shutdown its economy for a brief period of time to get the virus under control. Where have you been in the last couple of months? Here is a link to an article for you: Halting China’s Economy Was Hard. Restarting It Is Harder.

Only in the affected area and only for a few weeks.

 

[Dave CX]

Imagine it bud. Im pissed, I had hoped people in charge contemplated the immense impact of what they were doing. That they were doing this with some scientific input, with measured balanced to do more good than harm. That shutting down everything was the ONLY WAY.

How many have committed suicide now mere weeks into this? Let's compare numbers. Im guessing a vastly greater number than 4 in CA.

Im getting emotional whiplash from being bombarded with an apocalypse scenario, a total lack of stuff to wipe my butt with, the death of entire industries to what is appearing to be quite lackluster.

This is totally insane...1/3 of ALL coronavirus deaths in the state of Arizona are due to people taking unnecessary chloroquine...let that sink in.

It's like evidence based medicine was totally abandoned in favor of a total hysteria.

The mental health aspects of this shutdown cannot be ignored!!1

 

[Dave CX]

I'm curious too what else they're lying about. If the government kills you before COVID-19 does, doesn't count as a Corona death!

I agree that the Chinese Govt are liars, however we have lots of American companies on the ground there like Starbucks and Apple, and their CEO's have verified that the outbreak has been contained.