Covid-19: Doctors turn to social media to develop treatments in real time

For Covid-19, a kind of medical hive mind is on the case. By the tens of thousands, doctors are joining specialised social media groups to develop answers in real time. One of them, a Facebook group called the PMG COVID19 Subgroup, has 30,000 members worldwide. — AFP Relaxnews

The step-by-step protocols that doctors learn in medical school just weren’t stopping the new coronavirus from killing people.

There is a classic process for treating respiratory problems: First, give the patient an oxygen mask, or slide a small tube into the nose to provide an extra jolt of oxygen. If that’s not enough, use a “Bi-Pap” machine, which pushes air into the lungs more forcefully. If that fails, move to a ventilator, which takes over the patient’s breathing.