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“It was the question of every week,” Wilson said. “The cases per 100,000.
“Meeting the last one was hard and it took an adjust- ment. Our communication with the AIA are recommenda- tions. In the end they have the say as to whether football games will be played or not.”
Wilson still has data she points to that needs to be watched carefully as football and other sports continue to unfold.
“The numbers we’ve seen that have remained high for the last few weeks are number of cases in Arizona in the under-19 age group,” Wilson continued. “Arizona’s num- bers are the highest in the U.S.”
Numbers for age 19-and under in Arizona as of Sept. 3 was 1,380 cases per 100,000, compared to 680 cases per 100,000 national average for the age group.
Another area of concern SMAC raised is the aftermath from patients diagnosed and recovered from COVID-19, even mild cases. The aftermath is not limited to any one age group. The concern mostly centers on myocarditis - inflammation of the heart.
An example is a Sept. 11 article in The New Republic pre- senting results of a preliminary study from Europe showing nearly 50 percent of Covid-19 patients discharged from the hospital had heart dysfunction six weeks later. Another study of 100 people in Germany found that 78 percent of recovered Covid-19 patients had heart issues two to three months later, and most—60 percent—of those issues in- volved myocardial inflammation.
Most troubling, these conditions weren’t related to the severity of the respiratory illness or pre-existing conditions. Wilson has also seen preliminary studies of college ath- letes, who of course are not far removed from high school and need to be minded.
One of the first indications of how widespread coronavi- rus-related heart issues may be came from such athletes, whose health is monitored even when there isn’t a pan- demic. The preliminary results of one study revealed that nearly 15 percent of college athletes who recovered from Covid-19 had myocarditis—nearly all of them had mild or no symptoms. That news is surprising not just because ath- letes tend to be very physically active. It could signal that many people—even healthy young people with no pre-ex- isting conditions—are vulnerable to coronavirus-induced heart issues, and they may not even know they have had it.
All this information in tow, it’s a cautious full speed ahead for football. No pedal to the metal.
Hopefully this ride will be a smooth one.
Dr. Kristina Wilson
Sports Medicine Advisory Committee Chair
IMPORTANT RESOURCES
clickable links
• Recommended Guidelines for Return to Athletic Activity • • Sport Specific Modifications •
David Hines
Arizona Interscholastic Association Executive Director
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