Kenna Morton's Journal, 02 January 2021

This is a great reminder. I’ve been reading up on this and also the initial recommendations about surface cleaning. It’s super interesting that when they first instructed to wash everything in sight—now they’re saying social distancing and ventilation (cleaning the air, etc.) is now more powerful than cleaning surfaces. Honestly it all goes hand in hand! 

And that is the take away— cleaning frequently touched items in our homes should be a standard part of daily home maintenance. When I worked at the hospital infectious disease people periodically came by and cultured everything and then presented the results at a monthly staff meeting. The dirtiest things in one ER was —#1 the telephone, #2 the refrigerator and microwave door handle. The cleanest— the toilet.. crazy, right. We always think of the bathroom as being sooo dirty and they often are, but we are at least aware of the need to keep it clean. But, we forget about these other things. And good grief don’t forget the door handles. Filthy. 

We wash our hands on entering the house, so it is our sanctuary . I also wash groceries that need refridgerated or needed immediately. The rest sits for 3 days in a closet. My aging parents in their home are my only other contacts, so I am careful. 

Unlike most airborne pathogens that disperse in the air, this virus has the capability of clumping and hanging in the air, especially in humid areas. The dose of virus that a person is exposed to is called inoculum. Because of this clumping phenomenon, two people standing close together can receive two very different exposures to inoculum. One person exposed to a large clump and the other to just scattered amount. Open areas with good ventilation help break those clumps up and keep them moving. Unless there is good ventilation the concentration of virus can become considerable. In humid areas the heavier moist air prevents the clumps from breaking up and dispersing. 

I'm always hand sanitizing before and after entering a store . I wear my mask I get to the car And if I do not have to open a door by hand I push it with my foot or my arm. I don't wipe my groceries down never really thought of that. but may start doing that. 

You do not really need to wipe groceries down. I do wash my vegetables and Frits. 

Remember that hand sanitizer is for use when soap and water are nor available. Soap is your first line of defense. Wash for 20 second at least.. 

I also use paper towels in my bathrooms. I buy the commercial use ones just like found in most store restrooms. Right now, cloth towels are not your friend and probably never were. But if you choose to use cloth, change them every day. 

Kenna, would you repeat this in a few weeks when all the new people start reading things? Practical and useful in easily understood terms.  

Always worth a reminder. There are no do overs if you catch Covid. I mask up every where I go and believe me, grocery store and medical visits are my highlight now 🤣! Our local Safeway/Albertsons is finally offering curb side delivery. I feel relieved to do my shopping through the app and have them deposited directly into my car. I always that the store is a giant Petri dish, lol. So many older people especially are getting sloppy and wearing their masks as chin straps!  

This may only be more infectious, but to add to that the virus is the same, as it is just as deadly.🥲 

Also remember that the typical mask we are wearing does very little for the wearer— it’s primary purpose is to protect the other person from you. That is why it is important for everyone to wear a mask and maintain a physical distance. Your mask protects them and THEIR MASK PROTECTS YOU. This is a team effort . Nothing we are being asked to do is perfect but for now it is all there is. Just another piece of this to ponder. Once you get your first vaccination you will be covered at about 56%. after 2 weeks. After you get the second shot the coverage is 95% or there about after 2-3 weeks. Here is the big BUT. But it is still unclear whether the vaccine will prevent you from passing the virus to someone else. In other words, the vaccine will protect you but more research still needs to be done to determined if will prevent you from passing the virus along. It does not KILL the virus it just attacks and disarms the messenger protein that allows the virus to get into your cells and start a cascade of symptoms and illness IN YOU. So it appears that we will continue to practice our social behaviors until we have more information and or we have achieved about. 90% vaccination rate. We have a long way to go unless something else miraculous happens so mentally just be prepared to deal with it.  

Exactly, Kenna. Total population vaccinations are realistically probably a year away, hopefully sooner. 

We are not talking of 90% just here in the US. We are talking world wide. Research is going to continue at a frantic rate to come up with better options but until some magic bullet is found this is how it is . I think we are looking at a considerably longer period of time..The other thing is that this is PROBABLY going to be a vaccine that will need to be repeated yearly so we will be in a constant state of maintaining that suggested 90% compliance rate . 

Thank you Kenna for writing this! 

Thank you Kenna 🤗