Replies to post #232206 on Biotech Values

[BioCocktail]

Elderly people living at home are only exposed to their immediate family, who presumably try to avoid exposing their relative to any virus, let alone multiple exposures.

Correct.

Pure speculation on my part, but restricting an elderly person's contact to a few people, even if one of them has Covid-19, would reduce the degree of their exposure.

I wouldn't count on getting an elderly person in contact with even one infected person on a regular basis...

In a family setting, an elderly person might get immediate and continuous care.

Lots of 'elderly' persons that are still at home (alone or with their partner) don't even need care. My parents are both 84 years old and happily living alone, quarantining themselves for 8 weeks now in a very restrictive bubble. No need for care there...

In contrast, in a nursing home facing a Covid-19 outbreak, several caretakers call out sick, which leaves the burden of care to a reduced staff who probably can't handle a significant number of patients in need of advanced care.

In Belgium (where I live) the biggest issue, in hindsight, has been the mixing of elderly and working age people in nursing homes. Even before the general lockdown they shut down visits to the nursery homes. But the staff was still migrating from their respective social bubble to the nursery home.
After a while some nursery homes where the virus took hold was decimated.

[Doc328]

Also, NH residents have higher rates of Vit D deficiency compared to healthy elderly patients. Low vitamin D has correlated to higher risks of ventilation and death in Covid-19

[caravon]

Spoke to my colleague in Easter Europe.

His entire family (3 generations) got COVID-19. They got from mild to severe forms of the disease. One single contact has made all sick. The virus is terribly contagious. Thanks God they all do very well.

I had a very interesting conversation about symptoms, treatment, drugs, and the disease statistic manipulation.