THE ABCs OF THE CORONAVIRUS

A as in ASYMPTOMATIC. If someone has the coronavirus but doesn’t exhibit telltale signs, they are ASYMPTOMATIC. They need ANTIBODY tests to confirm whether they’ve been exposed or if they’ve recovered from COVID-19. They should do that test ASAP.

B as in the one and only Doctor BIRX. Swathed in BEAUTIFUL scarves.

C is a busy letter. There’s COVID-19, CORONAVIRUS, CONTACT TRACING, the CDC, CUOMO and … CLOROX (but let’s not put that stuff anywhere except in the Maytag.)

D is for DOCTOR Fauci, my hero.

E is for EPICENTER, a location with no curbside appeal.

F stands for FLATTEN THE CURVE which Doctor FAUCI says means “slowing the spread of the epidemic.” (Personally, I’m hoping the good doctor can help FLATTEN MY CURVES but he’s busy these days.)

G as in GROCERY stores which ran out of toilet paper in March. GRRRR.

H is for HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE. (I’m keeping my mouth shut on this one.)

I is IMMUNOCOMPROMISED, a frightening word for anyone whose loved ones are especially vulnerable. We all know people who are.

J is for JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY where wonderful Dr. Thomas Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security, offers savvy tips about social distancing.

K  is for KAWASAKI. We thought our children and grandchildren were safe. But COVID-19 is manifesting in young people as a multi -inflammatory disease of the blood vessels, similar to a horror called Kawasaki.

L is for LOCKDOWN. Cross your fingers we don’t have to go there this coming winter.

M is for MITIGATION by wearing MASKS which helps reduce the loss of life and the spread of this MEAN virus.

N is for N95 masks. Who knew masks would become the fashion “NECESSITY” of 2020?

OUTBREAK. OPERATION WARP SPEED.  OMG. Let’s hope the latter fixes the former.

P.   I’d heard of PANDEMICS, never thought I’d participate in one, but PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) was new to me.

Q.  What else but QUARANTINE? And hasn’t THAT been fun.

R. One of the most common R words is RESPIRATORY DROPLETS. Wear a mask and stand six feet away because you don’t want them to touch you.

S is for SOCIAL DISTANCING SIX FEET APART while you contemplate how to spend your STIMULUS check. It’s also SELF-ISOLATION as you SHELTER in place by STAYING home.  SMART!

T is for TRANSMISSION which is how COVID-19 spreads from person to person, and object to object. A potential THERAPY is to take your TEMPERATURE daily and watch for TELLTALE spikes.

U is for UNDERLYING CONDITION. (See “I” above for enhanced meaning.)

V is for VENTILATOR.  VIRUS. And VACCINE. I’m personally pulling for VICTORY over COVID-19.  

W.  Nothing but WUHAN.  Oh and WASH YOUR HANDS.

X is for XI JINPING, President of China whom we hope will reveal the Wuhan truth and nothing but the truth. X-actly.

Y.  YOU stayed home, washed YOUR hands, wore YOUR mask, kept YOUR distances. YOU were good. Keep it up, YOU.

Z can only be ZOONOTIC, a disease transmitted from animals to people, or a disease that normally exists in animals but can infect humans. Remember that four-year-old female Malayan tiger who tested positive for COVID?  That’s ZOONOTICS.  I’ll tell you more about it on our next ZOOM conversation.

So….what did I miss?