Oct. 15, 2021
Dear Members of the Baylor College of Medicine Community,
COVID-19 numbers are improving in some areas and not in others. The bottomline is we are going to be living with this virus for some time.
In this week’s video, I review the specifics of what has happened in the United Kingdom and Italy. As you recall, both have had struggles with the levels of COVID in their countries and approached the pandemic with different strategies. I present the data that shows how the UK got it wrong and how Italy got it right. Around the same time the UK was celebrating Freedom (from COVID) Day this summer, Italy was requiring vaccine passports. In Italy, the daily average of cases on Oct. 2 was 3,122; and in the UK, that number was 34,254.
In the United States, only 56 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. We are seeing 108,000 cases per day, and almost 2,000 deaths daily. So far in this pandemic, we have recorded more than 700,000 deaths in the U.S. That represents more deaths than caused by AIDS, the 1918 flu outbreak, World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and the Korean War. In fact, the lives lost in those four wars combined is a lower number than deaths from COVID in the U.S. That is a sobering statistic.
Also presented this week are updates on boosters, a new pill to treat COVID-19 and comparisons of antivirals.
Hope you have a great weekend. Stay Safe.
Paul Klotman, M.D.
President & CEO
Executive Dean
