Q: Dr. Michael Luther, we talked several months ago about how your practice was dealing with the COVID-19 virus. How have things progressed since then?
A: I was hopeful two months later that we would have been slowing down and moving past what we hoped was our opportunity to have a spike, but unfortunately since that time, it did not happen and the numbers have continued to steadily grow.
Q: Have things gone from not-so-bad to worse?
A: Statistically, around the country, the death rate has gone down, but our rate of daily deaths in Alabama has doubled from March to now. Hopefully that means the most vulnerable people are staying home, but those who are getting out and going back to work are now getting the disease.
The bottom line is, yes, there really are more and more people sick with this.
Q: Has Alabama hit its peak yet?
A: In April and May, our percentage of positives was in line with the state average. The seven-day average for daily percent positive is around 18%. It had gotten as low as 5% back in May but is now almost back to the high as a percentage rate. What worries me is that we thought we were going to be past it and got comfortable, and then there were too many interactions of people not protected with masks. That could lead to a true peak in the next 4-6 weeks.
Q: What can people do to stop the spread?
A: We have a way to slow it down and decrease it when we lock down and stay away from each other. Too many have gotten lax about not only protection from getting it but also giving it if they are asymptomatic.
Q: How are the test result rates?
A: The testing has gotten higher, but the positive rate has also gone higher. That's where things get scary. Unfortunately, we found the more we tested, the higher the percent the positives were. Now, the hospitalization rate is steadily increasing and the death rate is also increasing.
Q: Flu season is approaching soon. How will that impact the COVID-19 situation?
A: Coronavirus is going to overlap with the normal flu season starting in November/December. When that happens, if we are still having a similar amount of daily cases of coronavirus, we will have to make drastic changes in how we triage in outpatient settings and also have a good emergency plan in place to handle that increase. We will have to treat both of those patients the same. We won’t know what they have until we test them.
If for some reason, regionally or nationally, coronavirus is just as bad during that time, we will definitely have to have a drastically different plan.
Q: Can your office test for both?
A: Yes, our office has a 15-minute test for both flu and coronavirus.
Q: What are some myths out there about COVID-19?
A: One of the most prevailing myths is that if there is one person who tests positive, then their whole family is counted. That’s not true. The only person who gets reported to the CDC and state health department is the person who had a positive test.
Another is that the death rate is high because anyone who dies of any reason while having COVID-19 is counted as a COVID-19 death. That’s statistically not true. Those occurrences are so rare, I don’t think they affect the data rate up or down.
Next would be the idea that the tests are tainted and boxes are already testing positive when the box is opened. Those are proven false. Any kind of quality control we run on our machines and devices catch those kinds of manufacturer errors, and we don’t use anything that fails our control testing.
Another myth is that aCOVID-19 swab will show positive if a person has a common cold. That’s not true. They are programmed to only pick up the new coronavirus.
Q: Some people may be delaying health care so they can avoid going to the doctor’s office or hospital. What is your advice on that?
A: Don’t delay care. If you need care from your outpatient doctor, call their office and ask them what their policies and procedures are and go see them. We offer people to be seen in our parking lot so that they never have to leave their car. We also offer telemedicine visits by phone.
The same thing goes for the hospital. If you have an emergency, go to the emergency room. There has been an uptick in the number of non-coronavirus related deaths because people didn’t seek care for emergency situations. It’s sad the number of preventable deaths that have happened because people didn’t seek medical treatment.
