A month ago, I announced that “It is the beginning of the end…of the pandemic”. (FYI, the dramatic pause was unintentional)
It turns out, I was more right than I knew. Since the end April, the number of new Covid pts being admitted to St. Barnabas has plummeted. My team and I are actually getting consulted to see pts with other infections. Two weeks ago back in the CCU, I was talking to some nurses and one, who didn’t know me, asked me if I was an Infectious Disease doc. I said “Well, yeah, Infectious Diseases, not just one.” Another nurse retorted “Not this month. This month it’s singular.” She was correct. Though trained and educated on literally hundreds of different infections, for the prior 6 weeks, my team and I have essentially treated only one Infectious Disease. But things have changed. Over the past 7 days, only 20% of our new consults are Covid pts. Our other new pts actually do have other infectious diseases.
What happens next in anyone’s guess. I don’t understand why some prognosticators are predicting a resurgence in the fall. That makes no sense to me. And, historically, doctors made predictions from prior observations. We, the collective We of all doctors over all time, would observe what happened, and then make predictions based on those empiric observations. But nowadays, it seems everyone is in a rush to wrongly predict the future.
We have no such prior observations with SARS-CoV-2. I will refrain from guessing, because I have learned the hard way that predicting things is really tough, especially about the future (credit Lawrence Berra). People ask me why the number of infections have dropped so precipitously. Is it social distancing? Is it herd immunity? Is it medications?
My answer is simple. I have no idea. I do know that Nature doesn’t care that we don’t understand why viruses come and go, but, in the old days, doctors didn’t either, they just watched closely.
I will go out on a limb and state that I am pretty sure the virus didn’t just get up and leave. Maybe it has, but let’s find out, empirically. We have technology. We have the capability to go out there and find out who has the virus, have them self-quarantine until virus negative (with or without treatment). This idea is not very novel. It’s older than the Germ Theory.
The Swab Mob is up and, well, swabbing. Garrison, Leon, Dory, Pat, Will, Craig & Lori, and the Jim’s are out there swabbing away. You can catch them every day at 189 Eagle Rock Ave, Roseland from 10 AM – 2 PM and also you’ll see them at various locations. Stay tuned to this website to find when the Swab Mob might at a location near you.
The more volunteers we have, the more people we can test.
If you want to become a Swabber, email us at
Tim Cutting and his buddies, Cheryl, Wendy, Michael, Joe, Mike, Scott and Peter, are setting a up a program in the Basking Ridge area. They’ll need more volunteers soon as well.
I know I have seen enough Covid pts to last a lifetime. I assume you have had enough social distancing and working from home as well. Let's get together and end this thing. The enemy is on the run, time to track them all down til they, like Nedimyer, are all dead.
You are welcome to pre-register for Covid-19 virus testing at the website below.
Or you can register at the site at the time of testing.
We just need your name, DOB, and contact info.
Stephen M. Smith, SINC
Remember – All tests are paid for by the Smith Center for Infectious Diseases & Urban Health, a 501(c)3. You can help by donating at