Dear Reader:

Worldometer (August 9): getting close to 20 million cases and over 731 thousand deaths worldwide. Over 5 million cases and over 165 thousand deaths are in the U.S.; over 54 new cases and 976 new deaths reported yesterday, fewer new cases and fewer new deaths Aug 8 than in Aug 7.

CNN: Americans are moving around too much and taking coronavirus with them, experts say (Aug 8): “When case numbers start to come down, people tend to interact more, and more movement predicts how the virus will spread… health experts have predicted the national death toll will get worse through the year, and many have called for a stronger national leadership against the virus. In a list ranking countries’ response to the pandemic assessed by Foreign Policy Magazine, the United States ranks near the bottom… we’re almost back to pre-Covid levels of mobility, so we’re just not being as cautious as other people are in other countries.. Precautions can bring and keep the numbers down while the nation waits on a vaccine, US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said in a news briefing Friday. All it takes is what he calls his ‘Three W’s.’ ‘Number one, wash your  hands. Number two, watch your distance… number three, wear a mask,’ Adams said.

“IHME’s model (IHME stands for the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, an independent  global health research center at the University of Washington, located in Seattle) projects more than 295,000 deaths in the US by December 1, it also shows that consistent mask wearing could save more than 66,000 lives…

“Currently, only symptomatic people are frequently tested, meaning 40% to 50% of all spreaders, those who don’t show symptoms, aren’t being tested and told they may be contagious.. You have to know that as soon as possible, and then limit transmission.. That’s the whole ball game.’ But even testing primarily symptomatic people been impacted by backlog, many states report…

“A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supports the early belief that most coronavirus cases in children appear to be either asymptomatic or mild. But, the report said, when children are hospitalized, they need the intensive care unit as often as adults do… One rare but serious complication children can develop from a coronavirus infection is known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C, and at least 570 cases have been reported, the CDC said.”

Wikipedia, Immune system:(I am paraphrasing & simplifying): the immune system is a defense system against disease, it detects a pathogens (anything that causes disease, infectious agents, mostly viruses, bacteria, protozoa, fungi, parasitic worms), and defends the body against the pathogens.

In humans, as in other animals, there are two major parts to the immune system: the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system.

The innate immune system protects the body from pathogens quickly, is not specific to the type of pathogen, and it provides short term protection, protecting the body from the current infection, but not from future infections. It consists of anatomical barriers, the biggest one is the skin, protecting us from invading pathogens, liquids such as tears that wash off pathogens from our eyes,  acid that kills pathogens in our stomachs, and mucus that removes pathogens from our respiratory tract. The innate immune system also consists of many types of cells that fight infection, including white blood cells that eliminate pathogens, and cytokines that cause inflammation; inflammation is a way to fight infection by pathogens.

The adaptive immune system aka acquired immune system takes time to protect the body from pathogens, it is highly specific to the type of pathogen, and it can provide long-lasting protection, protecting the body not only from the current infection, but from future infections by the same pathogen. Examples: someone who recovers from measles is protected against measles for their lifetime.

My comment: the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children is an over-activation of the innate immune system as a result of infection by Covid-19. It is an immediate, non-specific response to the virus.

CBS News: 97,000 kids test positive for Covid-19 in two weeks, reports says (Aug 9): “Nearly 100,000 children tested positive for the coronavirus in the last two weeks of July, a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics finds… Out of almost 5 million reported Covid-19 cases in the U.S., CBS News’ Michael George reports that the group found that more than 338,000 were children… More than 25 children died of the coronavirus in July alone.”

To be continued.

anita