The local Star Tribune, quoting this update by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), writes that almost 82% children of Minnesota “have been infected with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19”. The CDC’s information was reportedly based on a “doublecheck of 675 blood samples submitted in May and June for various medical tests, and likely indicates a high rate of prior COVID-19 cases among Minnesota adults as well”.

I think the number is likely correct; this virus has saturated our population.

– Dr. Michael Osterholm of CIDRAP

Dr. Michael Osterholm, executive director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), told Star Tribune that people shouldn’t wait for the new vaccination instead to get shot now which provides “short-term immunity from infection but longer-lasting protection against severe illness”.

“Never postpone getting your dose today if you can, if you’re eligible for it,” Dr. Osterholm added.

According to the findings of the U of M clinical trials, there was “no benefit from taking low-dose fluvoxamine, an antidepressant, or moderate- to high-dose ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug that some have championed as an off-label treatment”.

The Tribune writes “The U’s COVID-OUT trial failed to find any drug that lowered aggregate health scores for patients — as measured by whether they died, needed hospital care or suffered dramatic declines in blood oxygen as a result of coronavirus infections. However, participants who took the diabetes drug metformin showed lower rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths.”

Dr. Carolyn Bramante, the U researcher who led the trial, told the Tribune “The virus is continuing to change, so we want to continue to be prepared with new tools. We don’t know exactly what this virus will be doing next.”