IPHAM Director's Message
Dear IPHAM,
COVID-19 has seized center-stage on our personal and professional lives. As we work to adapt to significant changes in both our households and workplaces, I want to acknowledge the high levels of stress in our lives and to share information and resources that I hope will be helpful to each of you during this time of constant change and uncertainty.
First, do not be alarmed or surprised as we begin to see the numbers of COVID-19 cases in Illinois increase briskly over the next several days. We should anticipate this as our city now has an increased capacity to test large numbers of people.
On Tuesday of this week, we were all disheartened to learn of the first Illinois death resulting from COVID-19 infection. This comes on a backdrop of 160 total cases diagnosed statewide over the past 3 weeks. It is important to recognize that, prior to this week, testing capacity in Illinois was very limited, and most individuals who were diagnosed with COVID-19 were those seeking medical attention for fever and more severe respiratory symptoms. People with milder symptoms were told to isolate themselves at home and to contact a doctor if their symptoms worsened.
We know from other parts of the country that a large majority of people with a COVID-19 infection have mild symptoms. In Illinois, most of these individuals are unlikely to have been tested, and they remain “undiagnosed.” Beginning Monday, March 16, several health systems and two commercial laboratories began providing increased capacity for COVID-19 testing. This makes it more likely that people with mild symptoms will receive testing this week and become diagnosed with COVID-19. This alone will result in a bump in COVID-19 cases. It is important that we do not interpret this as a failure of our efforts to contain people with symptoms or to practice “social distancing.” Realistically, we should anticipate that it may take 2 to 3 more weeks before we can know whether true cases are beginning to slow down.
Second, in this context, it is important that we all continue to practice social distancing and other public health recommendations designed to slow down the virus; these are the most effective actions we can take, and we should be prepared to stick with these measures for many more weeks.
In other parts of the world, most people who do develop symptoms from COVID-19 have already had the infection for 5 or more days, and most of those with symptoms wait another 2 to 5 days before seeking medical attention to have their symptoms evaluated. If a COVID-19 test is performed, it also then takes 24 to 48 hours for the result to be available. What this all means is that most people who are diagnosed today probably developed their infection 7 to 12 days ago.
Without steps to avoid close contact between infected and susceptible individuals, each infected person may pass the virus to other individuals before they are diagnosed and isolated. Efforts to identify and isolate individuals who have symptoms and to distance ourselves from one another, regardless of whether we have symptoms, remain the most effective steps we can take to prevent spread of the virus. We must remain diligent to these efforts.
We don’t really know how long this will last, but we do know that in other parts of the world, it can take 2 to 4 weeks for some infected people to fully recover from the virus to a point that they can no longer infect others. If our social distancing efforts are working, then current cases will become isolated (primarily in their own homes), and several more weeks should pass before those individuals can safely return to the community. If we begin to relax our social distancing efforts before infected individuals and their close contacts have recovered and developed immunity to the virus, then the virus will begin to spread again.
It is reasonable to expect that recommendations for social distancing policies will remain in place and may even be further intensified over the next few weeks. This introduces several challenges, not only for our work as researchers, educators, and clinicians, but also for our individual and social well-being. At such a time, feelings of stress, frustration, and anxiety are normal. Know that there are things we can do as individuals, and as a community to minimize and overcome these feelings.
IPHAM member Judith Moskowitz (Department of Medical Social Sciences) recently contributed to a Science Talk podcast from Scientific American with helpful tips for coping with social distancing. I would encourage that we all remain engaged in our work and connect daily via videoconferencing or other dynamic forms of communication. This helps us all to be reminded of our important roles, to see and hear our friends and colleagues regularly, and to contribute in positive ways through collaborative research or educational efforts.
Third, please know that many IPHAM members are actively engaged with our own health system affiliates, other health systems, public health agencies, and stakeholder groups to contribute our methodologic knowledge and expertise in ways that aim to inform policies and action.
IPHAM members are not known to sit on the sidelines. We are creative, knowledgeable, and passionate. Each of us has unique knowledge and skills that can be incredibly important during such a unique time in history. Many of us are engaged with our health system partners, public agencies, academic professionals at other institutions, and other stakeholder groups to learn, discuss, and contribute solutions. We are sharing valuable expertise in areas such as epidemiology, communications, psychology, bioethics, data science, predictive modeling, healthcare improvement, health policy, and many other areas. We each have important individual perspectives, but we can be truly exceptional when we collaborate. It is rewarding to be involved and I am proud that so many people in IPHAM are contributing their knowledge and expertise during such a trying time.
I want to commend everyone for remaining nimble as we continue to face new challenges that task us to perform our work in new ways, in new settings, and with new technologies. The FSM Dean’s Office has created a Feinberg COVID-19 page that provides information about university and health system policies and technical assistance resources across a wide array of areas. Some of this information changes daily, so I would encourage you to visit this site often for the latest information and guidance.
IPHAM has added a COVID-19 Resources page that we will update as more resources become available. Thanks to the Center for Community Health for creating a crowdsourced Chicago COVID-19 Resource Repository and to the Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research for pulling together resources for parents, children, and educators.
Also, NUCATS developed a COVID-19 Funding Opportunities page. There may be a strong opportunity for many of you to seek funding for your efforts to understand and address COVID-19. I encourage you to take a look.
Finally, the Galter Health Sciences Library has put together a GalterGuide on COVID-19. GalterGuides are a one-stop portal for library instructional content and expert-recommended subject resources.
Thank you again for your patience, your perseverance, and your amazing contributions during this incredible time in history. I salute you all and wish you the best of health.
Warm wishes,
Ronald T. Ackermann, MD, MPH
Professor of Medicine & Medical Social Sciences
Senior Associate Dean for Public Health
Director, Institute for Public Health and Medicine
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