Presented and explained by Mike Schmidt MD (Microbiologist MUSC), Satish Nadig, MD (Transplant Surgeon) and Tony Bartelme (researcher for Post & Courier) 

June 30, 2020 

• SC cases double every 7 days with, at that time 1740 cases in a single day. 
• Vaccines do not cure disease rather they prevent them. Currently there are 172 vaccines using 9 different product platforms. 13 candidates made it through initial hurdle to phase 2. 
• The US treasury invested 4 billion dollars in vaccines. They talked about the time span of bringing a vaccine to be approved and distributed. 
• Normally vaccines take 10-15 years to develop. They stated that from 01 January in 12 to 18 months going at what they termed transwarp speed. They discussed programming ones own cells to fight a virus. 
• 7 types of corona viruses … (ie: colds, SARS 1, MERS, SARS code 2 ) 
• The name corona is thus called due to looking like ‘crowns’ Crowns = Corona. The spike uses to attach Ace 2 receptors and can be in any area of the body not just lungs. 81% of people have mild symptoms, 3% die of acute infection with incubation time being 5-9 days. Antibody means you at sometime were exposed…. NOT that you are contagious. 
• A symptomatic carrier can shed viral proteins which is why masks are so important to protect fellow people. 
• A mild case is defined as showing general malaise ‘or’ one can feel fine but can’t taste or smell. If one were to get tested and it showed positive then yes, you have Covid BUT if you test negative – you may still have it as it may not be accurate. 
• Blood types…. Type A has more adverse reactions, but not enough studies have been done. 
• Distancing…. The more distant the better. Distance is your friend at 6’ or more 
• Humidity makes the virus heavier and with distance it will drop to the ground. 
• Donating Plasma – can donate if one has antibodies 
• Virus can last on a doorknob 3 days unless it’s under UV rays. 
• Cardboard holds the virus for 24 hours but with steel or plastic the virus can stay 72 hours. 
• Flying – Currently the air on aircrafts is recirculated but passes through a hep filter. A little Oxygen is added to the air that has been filtered. When flying use wipes to wipe down trays and armrests. And wear a mask 
• May 18 our state opened – a week later rates in Columbia and Charleston doubled. 
• Vitamins: vitamin C and zinc good in moderation but will ‘not’ help to get over covid. 
• MUSC with USC and CLEMSON are doing 2000 antibody tests a day. They said the spike in numbers is ‘not’ due to increased testing. 
• 15 people can potentially infect 759,000 individuals 
• Grocery stores: are fine, just wear masks and wash hands when getting home but they suggested avoiding bars. 

Calls to Action:

• MASKS
• HAND WASHING
• PHYSICAL DISTANCING
• REMAIN HOPEFUL
• DONATED BLOOD & PLASMA

Link to recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/65Mkd72t-j83Gt2RsASDUPN7W9S9eqOs0HRIqfNfzRqyV3YAY1OuY-BDNubDsfUbRIM1_eTi9_jJ94e6?continueMode=true&_x_zm_rtaid=-k-0ztJWQLmpYVGZiuBKLw.1594043691110.4bcf273bb271ec75b9ade7862a65338e&_x_zm_rhtaid=490