COVID-19 Continues

photo courtesy by Commissioner Dianne Edmondson by Precinct 4 Commissioner Dianne Edmondson

PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS FIGHT COVID-19

It warms my heart each time I hear about a mattress firm making face masks, or car manufacturers retooled to produce ventilators, enterprising college students designing/making face shields, the hundreds of women who are stitching face masks for medical workers and first responders, and many others.

These unique and productive privatepublic partnerships give our country its best chance to beat this pandemic --- together. Government alone cannot do it. The CDC is the first line of defense against such an enemy, but they are no longer the only ones working on a vaccine: At last count, there were at least a dozen private laboratories whose researchers are feverishly seeking the inoculation to prevent future COVID-19 infections. Increased testing has been called for, and once again, our private sector jumped into action, answering that call. Abbott Labs has developed (and the FDA has approved) a 15-minute test for COVID-19 virus which is currently in production and quickly will be rolled out across the country. Other labs are also developing the quicker tests.

CLINICAL TRIALS IN PROCESS FOR POSSIBLE COVID-19 TREATMENT

The Food and Drug Administration has announced that the Mayo Clinic will lead a clinical trial initiative to treat COVID-19 patients with plasma from someone who recovered from it, utilizing the antibodies produced by the recovered patient to neutralize the virus or cause an immune response in the sick patient. This trial test now has more than 100 sites working on implementing convalescent plasma as a possible COVID-19 treatment.

The Mayo Clinic also is focusing on determining how long that immunity lasts, thus targeting populations who can safely go back to work.

The National Institutes of Health announced a clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine as a potential therapy for COVID-19 to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment in adult patients who have been hospitalized.

Some 140 other treatment drugs are being tested around the globe, including ones from America’s Pfizer and Gilead companies.

Here in Denton County, our testing numbers are up (third highest per capita testing in Texas), resulting in more COVID-19 cases being discovered. Most cases do not require hospitalization, but are quarantined at home.

Your County Commissioners are following Governor Abbott’s lead in dealing with this crisis, and anticipate soon allowing our economy and our lives to return to normal. Please follow current data and all that our County is doing on our special website: https://covid19.

dentoncounty.gov/

Yes, these are tumultuous times. But with these joint efforts, coupled with fervent prayer, America will defeat COVID-19. Thank you for what you individually are doing to defeat our invisible enemy.