The common cold ain’t so common in the age of COVID-19
In a normal year, I come down with at least three colds— one in January, one in late spring and, finally, one in early fall. These illnesses start with a tickle in the back ofmy throat, progress into my nose and finally end up inmy lungs, causingme to cough conspicuously for aweek or two.
I attack these minor illnesses with the usual arsenal of semieffective nostrums and palliatives — lozenges, sprays and decongestant capsules laced with sedatives to make sleep possible— and they always pass without significant disruption inmy daily life.
SinceMarch, though, I’ve not had even one sniffle. No wheezing, no sneezing, no hacking into my elbowor rubbingmy neck to alleviate the sensation of painful swallowing. During a 10-month period when respiratory illness has been top of mind as COVID-19 rampages around the world, I’ve been unusually and ironically healthy.
But not coincidentally.
The reason seems pretty obvious. I’ve beenwearing face coverings when out and about, keeping as much distance as possible between me and strangers and diligently using hand sanitizer after touching public surfaces— the major measures public health researchers tell us to take to minimize our exposure to the novel coronavirus. I’ve stopped shaking hands, crowding into jammed CTA trains and, sadly, singing with friends, an activity that I’ve learned is basically a droplet exchange disguised as a musical event.
I offered the observation on Facebook recently and I can sum up the vast majority of nearly 250 responses with twowords: “Same here.”
Other responses: “I maywear a mask forever.” “Lots of allergy issues but no colds.” “I have two young kids and they have been so healthy I’ve crossed over toworrying about whether they should
be getting sick to build up their immune systems. ” “Iwas just thinking that but didn’twant to articulate it because it might be bad luck.”
“My daughter has three kids under seven. No colds. They are usually a rotating snot circus.” “‘Lucky’ arewe who followthe guidelines.” “Scienceworks.”
Dr. Mariana Glusman, a pediatrician at Lurie Children’sHospital, told me she and her colleagues have seen a significant decline in the number of patients complaining of cold symptoms, a decrease accompanied by a decline in visits related to asthma attacks triggered by viruses.
In its earnings report Thursday, theWalgreens Boots Alliance reported pandemic-related “weaker sales of products to help with colds, coughs and the flu,” whichwould certainly correspond tomy own recent purchasing habits. A company spokeswoman declined to quantify the drop in sales.
This evidence is admittedly anecdotal. TheU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has charted dramatic reductions in the seasonal flu, but the CDC’s public affairs office said in an email that the agency didn’t have any statistics for me because the viruses that cause common colds “are not nationally notifiable.” I translated this to mean “colds are not serious enough to gather data on, particularly whenwe’re dealing with a deadly pandemic.”
And fair enough. A little less phlegm in our lives is exceedingly meager compensation for the social isolation, economic devastation, the suffering and the deaths of more than 360,000 people our nation has experienced.
But it does strongly suggest that masks are effective, that hand-washing is important and that it pays to mind your distance from strangers when possible.
When the pandemic is over,
these truths will remain. Like some ofmy friends on Facebook, I used to scorn those whowore medical face coverings on buses, trains and airplanes. Never again.
Coming clean on my mistake
Inmy columnWednesday I wondered howPresident Donald Trump could possibly rate as America’s most admired man in a recent Gallup Poll when he exhibited only one of the 12 virtues listed in the famous Boy Scout Lawthat tells a Scout to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
“He is clean,” I wrote, thinking ofTrump’s personal hygiene, which appears exemplary if only given the attention he pays to his hair. “Let’s give him that.”
Well, shortly after the column posted Iwas inundated with notes fromcurrent and former
Scouts pointing out thatmy understanding of “clean” was inaccurately hollow. It’s not merely an exhortation to shower regularly andwearwell-laundered clothes.
“A Scout keeps his body and mind fit,” is the organization’s official definition of “clean.” “He chooses friends who also live by high standards. He avoids profanity and pornography. He helps keep his home and community clean.”
This is an updated take on the original, 1911 formulation that read, “A Scout is clean in thought, word and deed. Decent Scouts look down upon silly youths who talk dirt, and they do not let themselves giveway to temptation, either to talk it or to do anything dirty. A Scout is pure and clean-minded and manly.”
Well, all I can say is that the columnist regrets the error.
Re: Tweets
The winner of thisweek’s reader poll to select the funniest tweetwas “No one is writing the wrong year on their checks this January I can tell you that,” by @rakeshsatyal. The poll appears at chicagotribune.com/zorn where you can read all 20 finalists. For an early alert when each new poll is posted, sign up for the Change of Subject email newsletter at chicagotribune.com/ newsletters.
For a rollicking discussion of chaos at the Capitol, the upcoming drama in Springfield and the confounding allegations against the Rev. Michael Pfleger, listen to WTTWreporterHeather Cherone, Illinois Policy Institute vice presidentAustin Berg, WGNhost John Williams and me on theMincing Rascals podcast, availablewherever quality podcasts are served.