Coronavirus Update With Dr. Dennis Norem

Dr. Norem from MercyHealth made his weekly visit to the show to give us the latest on the coronavirus and COVID-19. 

Some of the topics of today's conversation include:

• Status of vaccines. There's a new 4th vaccine from Johnson & Johnson that joins Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca in Phase 3 of clinical trials. Vaccines could be ready to roll out in as little as 2 weeks.
• Vaccine rollout. Getting the vaccine to the public will be a monumental task. Some of the vaccines need super-cold storage, which could be a problem for some countries and rural areas. All of the vaccines are currently 2-stage vaccines, meaning multiple visits to the doctor for anyone receiving the vaccine. Dr. Norem also thinks that frontline medical workers and the elderly will be first in line to receive the vaccine, but would also recommend that essential workers of all ages should also be put towards the front of the line.
• Flattening the curve. This phrase was bandied about a lot during our first lockdown. While the curve doesn't necessarily look the way most thought a "flattened curve" would, Dr. Norem assures us that while infection numbers never went down, the rate (or curve) was definitely flattened and it prevented hospitals from being overwhelmed.
• Long term effects. Now that people have months under their belt of getting over the coronavirus. We asked Dr. Norem if any significant long term effects have been noticed in those that have recovered. Dr. Norem says that it's far too early to tell but prolonged respiratory and pulmonary issues have been observed.

Another educational visit from our favorite doctor, Dr. Dennis Norem. We thank him for his time and look forward to his visit next week.

Dr. Norem joins the show every Monday morning at 7 to give us the latest medical updates.