At The Table Episode 26: AUTO Ball COVID-19

Between May 16 - 20th, we took our AiArthritis Voices 360 Talk Show LIVE for the AUTO Ball Online to help teach more people who we are, what we do, and how we impact the lives of those affected by AiArthritis Diseases and to honor the 450 million people worldwide living with our diseases. It also served as the starting line for our 2020 fundraising efforts. This episode of AiArthrits Voices 360 was recorded during the AUTO Ball Online event.  For more information about the AUTO Ball, visit aiarthritis.org/AutoBall.

This week join your patient co-hosts Tiffany Westrich-Robertson, CEO of International Foundation for AiArthritis and Danielle Dass, recurring co-host of AiArthritis Voices 360 and career educator, as they provide an overview of the state of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tiffany and Danielle previously launched the COVID-19 special breakout series with “Episode 1: COVID-19 and AiArthritis” featuring special guest Joe Coe of CreakyJoints / Global Health Living Foundation. You can access all 10 of the other COVID-19 episodes on our website @ aiarthritis.org/covid19. 

In this episode, Tiffany and Danielle discuss the current spread of the virus and Danielle explains the concept of epidemiological models and flattening the curve. They discuss the efforts to reopen some areas that had been previously locked down, as well as how you can protect yourself from infection if you live in one of those newly opened places. Tiffany discusses the ongoing frustration with testing availability and how much we still don’t know about the impact the virus has on survivors. She also discusses options for patients who have been infected by COVID-19 to get involved in ongoing clinical research efforts.

 

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AiArthritis Voices 360 is produced by the International Foundation for Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Arthritis. Visit us on the web at www.aiarthritis.org/talkshow. Find us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook (@ifAiArthritis) or email us (podcast@aiarthritis.org).

 

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Show Notes: “AUTO Ball - COVID 19”

0:33 - Tiffany welcomes listeners to today’s episode

1:36 - Today’s episode was recorded LIVE during the AUTO Ball Online event on COVID-19 and the AiArthritis Community

3:52 - Today Tiffany is joined by fellow patient co-host Danielle, a retired educator with experience teaching about pandemics and epidemics

7:13 - Danielle has also co-hosted COVID-19 episodes about flattening the curve, wearing masks, and a mini-sode about wearing gloves

7:30 - Visit aiarthritis.org/COVID19 to access any of the 10 episodes of AiArthritis Voices 360 on the pandemic

10:20 - A pandemic is any disease that has a wide spread of cases across the globe with no single epicenter

11:43 - COVID-19 has a higher mortality rate than other common viruses

11:49 - COVID-19 is unique among viruses because it is dangerous to healthy adults without underlying conditions as well as the traditionally at-risk populations

12:53 - The United States currently has more cases of COVID-19 than any other country, even when accounting for population and physical size

13:50 - India stands out globally for being successful with containment of the virus

14:20 - India’s aggressive lockdown strategy raises concerns about the economic impacts that could result, especially how the poor could be affected

15:17 - Danielle explains epidemiological graphs and the concept of “flattening the curve”

17:22 - The unfortunate side-effect of flattening the curve is it tends to slow the progression of the virus so the pandemic lasts longer

18:22 - Many people underestimated the challenge of staying home and being socially isolated

19:53 - As areas begin to reopen, people must be flexible and responsive to the needs of the medical community in terms of keeping the influx of new patients at a manageable level

20:39 - People must trust their local medical professionals’ assessments of their capacity to care for the infected

21:06 - Carrie Beach from Rheumatology Nurses Society will be a special guest on a future episode of AiArthritis Voices 360 to discuss the pandemic from the perspective of medical professionals

21:44 - AiArthritis patients are accustomed to social distancing and can provide guidance to others coping with social isolation for the first time

23:30 - The mortality rate has been lower than originally feared because efforts to flatten the curve have been successful 

24:34 - The lack of availability of COVID-19 tests in the United States has been particularly frustrating for patients

25:09 - COVID-19 was originally believed to be a respiratory disease, but we now know that it can impact many other organ systems

27:00 - AiArthritis patients who know they had or believe they had COVID-19 should consider getting involved in the research efforts currently underway

27:53 - If you are living in an area that is beginning to reopen, please continue taking all safety precautions to avoid contagion.  Just because an area is reopening for economic reasons does not mean that you are safe from the virus.

29:09 - Many people are only focusing on the death toll, but we have no idea how survivors will be impacted longterm from the virus

29:53 - To learn more about COVID-19, visit our AiArthritis COVID-19 Facebook group (COVID-19 & AiArthritis) or our website @ aiarthritis.org/podcast

32:28 - To learn how you can get involved in COVID-19 and AiArthritis clinical research, visit AiArthritis.org/covid19 

34:50 - Please consider making a donation of any amount to support our ongoing work on COVID-19 or any of our projects

35:34 - Visit our Facebook page @IFAiArthritis to see all of the videos from the AUTO Ball Online