
to the SA Prof Fire Fighters Union Newsletter. His article attached.
COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE
The following commentary is my personal opinion. It is not connected to any other organization, including: The Fire and Police Retiree Health Fund, The Fire and Police Pension Fund, the Police Department, the Fire Department, or any other organization.
About the Coronavirus, I think about it every day. I have several friends and some of my children and grandchildren who are of the opinion that if they have had the Coronavirus infection in the past, it’s a certainty that they are immune to being infected again by the Coronavirus.
I pray that you don’t believe that nonsense. I read an article in the San Antonio Express News about a lady that thought she could not get reinfected.
This lady, I will not mention her name, was at a CVS pharmacy and while waiting she decided to take her blood pressure. Her blood pressure was very high. She was admitted to the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. The hospital insisted on testing her for COVID19. The lady laughed at the hospital team doing the exam.
She insisted that she did not have COVID-19 because she had already been infected by COVID-19. The hospital staff kept insisting on taking the test for COVID-19. After being tested, she found out that she was positive for COVID-19.
Armed with new antibodies, patients might think they no longer have to take precautions or worry about reinfections. Mark Pandori, director of the Nevada Public Health Laboratory, said that that is not the case.
Pandori was part of a team researching the case of a 25-year-old man from Reno Nevada who tested positive for COVID-19 in mid-April and recovered, but got sick again in late May with more severe symptoms.
Personally, I am not so scared of being infected by the COVID-19. If you get infected by COVID-19, you either get well or you will die. What I am really scared of is the after effects of the COVID-19 infection.
The after effects of the COVID-19 infection may include damage to: liver, kidneys, heart, brain, possibility of strokes, seizures, temporary paralysis, a high risk of developing Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, damage to the lungs, and especially long-term breathing problems.
While doing research on the after effects of COVID-19, I ran across important additional information. Guillain-Barre syndrome. This disorder often follows a viral infection. This is a condition in which the immune system attacks the nerves.
The condition may be triggered by an acute bacterial or viral infection. Symptoms start as weakness and tingling in the feet and legs that spread to the upper body. Paralysis can occur. Special blood treatments (plasma exchange and immunoglobulin therapy) can relieve symptoms. Physical therapy is needed. The sources for this information are: Mayo Clinic and others.
I’ll leave you with this thought.
BY ELIZABETH HANES, BSN, NOVEMBER 12, 2020
Let me jump right to business: Everyone needs to wear a face mask in public (and at home if you’re sick) -- even if you’ve already had COVID19.
That’s because, while we had hoped that recovering from COVID would provide lifetime immunity -- that it would be a “one and done” type of virus, like measles -- that does not seem to be the case.
While we do think there’s immunity for some amount of time for most people after infection with SARS-CoV-2, we still don’t know for sure how immunity works for this particular virus or how long it lasts. Some evidence suggests that a recovered patient’s immunity may fade within weeks or months after infection.
We also know there is a possibility you can get infected more than once with the coronavirus. If that happened, you could be
reinfected and not know it -- and if you’re not wearing a mask, you run the risk of spreading the virus to others.
Bottom line: Even if you’ve been infected with the coronavirus, you still should wear a mask in public (when it becomes safe for you to be around other people again).
And remember that masking is only one of the public health practices you should adopt to reduce the spread of this virus. When you’re out, stay at least 6 feet away from other people. Wash your hands frequently or use hand sanitizer regularly. By doing these three simple things, we can prevent more people from becoming sick (maybe more than once) with COVID-19.
Henry Trevino