UNDERSTANDING COVID

THE TERMS

A lot of information has come at all of us in the last year and it can sometimes be hard to sort through it all. So, in an attempt to help navigate these new waters, here are just some of the words and phrases associated with COVID-19 and the quarantine that have come into our lives in the last year.

Asymptomatic

When a patient is a carrier of an illness but does not show symptoms.

Community spread

Circulation of a disease among people in a certain area with no clear explanation of how they were infected — they did not travel to an affected area and had no close link to another confirmed case.

Contact tracing

An attempt by public health officials to identify situations in which an infected person is transmitting the coronavirus, and then warn others who may have been exposed through that person.

Coronavirus

A family of viruses, seven of which are known to infect people. They get their name from the crown-like spikes — coronas — that appear on the viruses under a microscope. Coronaviruses can cause the common cold (which can also be caused by other viruses, such as rhinoviruses), as well as dangerous illnesses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). SARS COV-2, the coronavirus virus first discovered in December 2019, causes the disease now known as COVID-19.

COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019)

Just as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), the coronavirus causes COVID-19.

Endemic

The baseline, or expected, level of the disease in the community — meaning it always exists, like the common cold and flu, which are usually at low, predictable rates.

Epidemic

This refers to a sudden increase in the number of cases of a disease, above what is typically expected in a particular area. COVID-19 is thought to have reached epidemic proportions in China in mid-january.

Flattening the curve

Slowing the spread of the virus. “Flattening the curve,” which involves strategies to decrease transmission of the disease, would result in fewer patients during that peak period. This, in turn, would mean hospitals would be better able to manage the demands of patients.

Herd immunity

When enough people have developed immunity to a particular infectious disease that the risk of further community transmission is either eliminated or significantly reduced.

Incubation period

The time between when a person is infected by a virus and when he or she notices symptoms of the disease. Estimates of the incubation period for COVID-19 range from

2-14 days.

Isolation

Isolation involves keeping people with confirmed cases of a contagious disease separated from people who are not sick.

Outbreak

This shares the same definition as epidemic, with one exception — an outbreak usually refers to a more limited geographic area. COVID-19 started as an outbreak in

Wuhan, China.

Pandemic

An epidemic that has spread over several countries or continents, impacting many people. COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the WHO in early March 2020.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards that could cause workplace illness or injury.

Quarantine

Unlike isolation, quarantine involves separating and restricting the movements of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.

Screening

A basic series of questions posed by medical personnel to determine if someone should be tested for a particular disease or condition.

Social distancing

The practice of staying at least six feet away from other people, avoiding crowds and gatherings, and limiting or cancelling all unnecessary travel to reduce the spread of disease.

Super-spreader

One person who, for unknown reasons, can infect an unusually large number of people. Infectious disease specialists say it is common for super-spreaders to play a large role in the transmission of viruses. In what's known as the 80/20 rule, 20 percent of infected patients may drive 80 percent of transmissions.

Testing

The practice of using blood, urine, saliva, mucus or some other bodily fluid to determine if someone either has a specific condition or has been exposed to a particular infectious disease. In the case of COVID-19, patients must first undergo screening to determine if they need to be tested.

Vaccine

A vaccine triggers the immune system to help it build immunity to a disease. The immune system already has the capacity to react to diseases by producing antibodies that remain in the body to fight them in the future. With a vaccine, you don't have to get the disease to develop immunity — the vaccine triggers the same process by providing the body with a tiny amount of a germ that has been weakened or killed, but small enough that it typically won't make you sick.

Ventilator

This is a machine to help patients breathe when their lungs are damaged, and they can't get enough oxygen on their own. A ventilator takes over the work of breathing for a patient to allow the damaged lungs to heal.

THE NUMBERS

When not glued to Netflix, many people have spent the last year closely following the numbers; the number of cases, the number of vaccines, the number of hospitalizations. But the situation is ever-changing and it can become difficult to keep up.

To help out, here are just some of the numbers associated with the pandemic (as of print, Feb. 7).

36 — where New Mexico ranks out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of number of cases.

7 — the number of episodes of Tiger King that absolutely everyone watched

2-14 — the number of days in the COVID-19 incubation period

2 — the number of different coronavirus vaccines currently available (Pfizer and Moderna)

2 — the number of potential additional vaccines that may come to the market (Johnson & Johnson and Astrazeneca)