ABSTRACT
Sources from literature and art continue to offer perspectives on episodes of collective sense of loss and despair from unavoidable tragedies. The Doctor Stamp, based on the famous painting by British artist Sir Luke Fildes (1844–1927), was issued in 1947 by the US Postal Service to commemorate the first centennial of the founding of the American Medical Association. At the time of issue, the US was in the middle of the mid-century polio epidemic. The author obtained two First Day Covers of The Doctor Stamp, one of which was addressed to Dr. George Minot, who shared the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for developing the treatment for pernicious anemia. The conjunction of these events—an anniversary, an incurable virus epidemic, and a doctor who found a treatment for a devastating condition of unknown etiology—offer those suffering from a sense of loss and despair due to COVID-19 some hopeful anticipation of better days to come.
ABSTRACT
Sources from literature and art continue to offer perspectives on episodes of collective sense of loss and despair from unavoidable tragedies. The Doctor Stamp, based on the famous painting by British artist Sir Luke Fildes (1844-1927), was issued in 1947 by the US Postal Service to commemorate the first centennial of the founding of the American Medical Association. At the time of issue, the US was in the middle of the mid-century polio epidemic. The author obtained two First Day Covers of The Doctor Stamp, one of which was addressed to Dr. George Minot, who shared the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for developing the treatment for pernicious anemia. The conjunction of these events-an anniversary, an incurable virus epidemic, and a doctor who found a treatment for a devastating condition of unknown etiology-offer those suffering from a sense of loss and despair due to COVID-19 some hopeful anticipation of better days to come.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/epidemiology , Philately/history , Physicians , SARS-CoV-2 , History, 20th Century , HumansABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Little is known about the perinatal aspects of COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: To summarize available evidence and provide perinatologists/neonatologists with tools for managing their patients. METHODS: Analysis of available literature on COVID-19 using Medline and Google scholar. RESULTS: From scant data: vertical transmission from maternal infection during the third trimester probably does not occur or likely it occurs very rarely. Consequences of COVID-19 infection among women during early pregnancy remain unknown. We cannot conclude if pregnancy is a risk factor for more severe disease in women with COVID-19. Little is known about disease severity in neonates, and from very few samples, the presence of SARS-CoV-2 has not been documented in human milk. Links to websites of organizations with updated COVID-19 information are provided. Infographics summarize an approach to the pregnant woman or neonate with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: As the pandemic continues, more data will be available that could lead to changes in current knowledge and recommendations.