Category: Health Care

Canadians Getting Vaccinated but Americans Aren’t

CNN: “Sitting in her hospital room in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Aimee Matzen struggled to breathe as she described how exhausting it is to have Covid-19.

“The fact that I am here now, I am furious with myself,” she told CNN between deep, deliberate breaths. “Because I was not vaccinated.”Matzen, 44, finds herself in the Covid-19 intensive care unit at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge. She is receiving oxygen treatments and hopes she stays well enough to avoid getting hooked up to a ventilator.”

Let’s understand what is happening in the United States. Half of all adult Americans believe that they have the right to go unvaccinated and spread COVID-19. I think a good comparison to this is drinking and driving. You have the right to drink at home but you don’t have the right to drink and drive.

Why are Canadians more responsible than Americans? Maybe some Canadians will answer the question.

Vaccine Passports are Coming Very Soon

The Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, may be trying to prevent vaccination proof to board cruise ships emanating from Miami and other Florida ports but he can’t prevent the public from demanding vaccination proof for those wanting to book a cruise.

Now reported in the Los Angeles Times is reporting the Hollywood Bowl’s plan to require 85% of all attendees to provide proof of vaccination.  The remaining seats will be reserved for those arriving to provide a negative test result.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are providing sections of the stadium for fully vaccinated guests.  The San Francisco Giants have a check in verification booth.

The San Francisco Giants have a check in verification booth. “Of course, it is a form of a vaccine passport,” said Dr. John Swartzberg, a UC Berkeley infectious-disease expert. “What is happening to vaccine passports is the same thing that happened with masks,” Swartzberg said. “It has become politicized, and that is really just unfortunate.”

In real life, the United States has had vaccine verification campaigns to curb smallpox outbreaks. At the turn of the 20th century, proof of vaccinations was required in some places to go to work and school, ride trains and even attend theaters. Health officials often demanded to see a vaccination scar rather than rely on certifications that could be forged.

President Biden does have the rule of law if he should decide to implement vaccination passports. In 1905, the Supreme Court upheld state laws that require vaccination for communicable diseases. In a 7-2 decision, Justice John Marshall Harlan wrote that “the rights of the individual … may at times, under the pressure of great dangers, be subjected to such restraint, to be enforced by reasonable regulations, as the safety of the general public may demand.”

It’s OK with me if you the government gives the passports another name. 

150.4 million vaccinated

The number of people who have received at least one dose of the vaccine, covering 56.3% of the eligible population, 16 and older and 45.3% of the total population of the United States

Now come the hard part. convincing the remaining. The job of convincing the remining unvaccinated to get the shot.

The Year Old Pandemic

I looked at my posting on the blog last year in March.  On March 12, 2020 I posted my comments on a President Donald Trump speech along with a Youtube of the speech.  I was not reassured.

Things are far better today than they have been in a year.  President Joe Biden gave us an assurance today that there is light at the end of the tunnel.  Here is what I wrote on March 12, 2020.

Are you reassured?

I’m not. This was not a speech of reassurance like George W. Bush’s speech after 9-11 nor was this a speech of the kind given by Winston Churchill as England was under attack by the Germans nor FDR after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Nothing up lifting at all. It was a speech read from a teleprompter in which Trump seemed more concerned with the economics of this country than the health of its citizens.

There was not a word about the development of a medicine to cure the disease nor was there any words about the development of a vaccine. The President did not mention, for example, the shortage of testing kits, which means officials cannot even get a strong read on how far the disease has spread across the nation.  Instead the government will close travel from Europe for 30 days.

Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 Vaccine

Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine is 66% effective in global trial, but 85% effective against severe disease, company says.

Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, said that under normal circumstances, there might not be much of a market for a vaccine that is significantly less effective than two others already on the market. But he added that these are not normal times, with a pandemic raging and shortage of vaccines.

How effective is the flu vaccine?
CDC conducts studies each year to determine how well the influenza (flu) vaccine protects against flu illness. While vaccine effectiveness (VE) can vary, recent studies show that flu vaccination reduces the risk of flu illness by between 40% and 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are well-matched to the flu vaccine.

So why is there a discomfort in taking this vaccine? The single-shot vaccine was 66% effective overall at preventing moderate to severe illness and that report makes some people leery of accepting it over the Pfizer or Moderna. That it will keep you out of the hospital or dying may be enough to over come concerns.

How effective is the seasonal flu vaccine?
CDC conducts studies each year to determine how well the influenza (flu) vaccine protects against flu illness. While vaccine effectiveness (VE) can vary, recent studies show that flu vaccination reduces the risk of flu illness by between 40% and 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are well-matched to the flu vaccine.

Why do we sustain life of those who have no chance of recovery?

2003 and no Alzheimer’s disease at my home. She passed away in 2011

My mother had Alzheimer’s disease.  Her last three years was spent in a nursing home.  For most of that time she was unaware of her surroundings.  She did not speak at all.  When I visited her she was unaware of my presence.  When awake she simply stared into space.  Sadly she was a vegetable.  She died two months before he 96th birthday.  She was a smart woman who graduated cum laude from college at 20 years old. She taught school for almost 20 years and traveled in her retired years to many parts of the world.

The question is why do we sustain the life of someone who will never recover from a disease?

This topic was brought up again by this article in the February 1, 2021 issue of Bloomberg BusinessWeek.  The article is titled “how I helped my dad die”

The article is engrossing.  You might cry.  It starts with these words:

I was finishing up breakfast in New York when my dad sent me a text message. He was ready to die, and he needed me to help.

The request left me shaken, but that’s different than saying it came as a shock. I’d begun to grasp that something was really wrong 10 months before, in May 2019, when he’d come to California from Maine. He was there to meet his first granddaughter, Fern, to whom I’d recently given birth. But he couldn’t bend down to pick her up. He was having trouble walking, and he spoke of the future in uncharacteristically dark terms. We’d traveled to see him in Maine four times since then, and each time he’d looked older: his face more gaunt, his frame more frail.

The entire article is worth your time. Here is the link. “how I helped my dad die”

Water Quality

The issue of dirty water is not new. Texas may be feeling the impact of the Big Freeze but other cities have faced similar issues. Flint Michigan comes to mind as a good example of mismanagement.

I live in Los Angeles. When the city was hit with an earthquake in 1994 we were told to boil our water during the following week. Instead we started buying bottled water. We bought the 2 ½ gallon Arrowhead containers at Costco. We have continued buying bottled water since that time. We consume 5 to 7 gallons a week. I keep six to eight containers in the garage and an additional five gallons in a storage shed.

The city Department of Water and Power (DWP) sends out an annual water quality report. Of course it reports that that the water is safe to drink. I just don’t trust the report. When we re-piped our house in the year 2000 the old pipes were filthy and clogged. Am I to believe that the city’s pipes are cleaner than the 60 year old pipe that lead to my house?

In July 2014 the massive Sunset Boulevard water main break brought geysers of water, a sinkhole, flooding on the UCLA campus — the risks that come with expansive water line systems installed decades ago. The main line trunk that burst and turned UCLA into a swimming pool was 93 years old.

The failure also led to a familiar “Band-Aid approach” that experts say is common when pipes in an aging system fail.

Water main breaks continue in the city every month. That those breaks are a continuing problem says that we have a serious problem that the city DWP has yet to confront. One of the latest was near my home on Topanga Canyon Boulevard. After posting this item another break on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks reported on February 24. These breaks tell me that the pipes are deteriorating everywhere. Anything breaking off inside those pipes that ends up at my house? Oh no they say. Everything is OK.

Contaminated pipes are everywhere. Lead pipes are everywhere.  This map shows where it is most prevalent.

Once again money is the issue.


America is Turned Upside Down

The hell of 2020 is now the hell of 2021. It all started with the shutdown of almost everything in March 2020. Five events that happened (or didn’t happen) that cause me to predict that 2021 is just an extension of 2020.

1. A virus but no approved vaccine. Yes you read that correctly. I just had my first Pfizer vaccination after someone handed me some documentation that read the following day. In part the document says (I bolded the last line) “The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine is an unapproved vaccine that may prevent Covid-19. There is no FDA-approved vaccine to prevent Covid-19.”

2. Conspiracy theorists that have been around since people have had the printing press to promote their ideas. It has now become a mainstream reality that have been promoted by QAnon. While the identity of the original author or authors behind “Q” is still unknown, the history of the conspiracy theory’s spread is well-documented — through YouTube videos, social media posts, Reddit archives, and public records reviewed by NBC News. With most of us staying home more than ever and little to do we are more likely to read and perhaps accept conspiracy theories. Many of those people at the riot at the Capital on January 6 were carrying signs and dressed in what they believed to be part of their purpose. One rioter at the Capital is known as the “QAnon Shaman” now regrets his entry and said after his arrest, “I deeply regret and am sorry that I entered the Capitol building on January 6, 2021. I should not have been there.”

3. A majority of Republican senators and house members have no problem with the president of the United States attempting to overturn the results of a national election. After the acquittal the Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “There is no question – none – that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it. The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president.”

4. The economy is in shambles. Restaurant and retail workers may never have jobs again because remote work at home jobs have supplanted those people who drove to work and had lunch out and did their shopping during their lunch breaks.

5. Two years after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida not one piece of legislation to deny the mentally unstable to obtain a weapon has been passed by congress. On Feb. 20, 2020, candidate Joe Biden made this statement. “My first day of office, I’m going to send a bill to the Congress repealing the liability protection for gun manufacturers, closing the background check loopholes and waiting period.” It didn’t happen. There is no legislation at this time said the Biden Press Secretary, Jan Psaki.

And you thought things would be getting better in 2021.

Bill Gates Daughter Jennifer Gates

Bill Gates Daughter Jennifer Gates posted this message on her Instagram page.  She definitely has a sense of humor. 

The quip is a reference to her father Bill Gates, the billionaire tech mogul, who has centered his philanthropic efforts with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on improving vaccine technology and access in the developing world. He has also long warned about the possibility of a viral pandemic, well before Covid-19 spread across the globe.
 
His vaccine advocacy has made him a central figure in anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. One outlandish belief is that Gates is using the pandemic to push a vaccine with a microchip that would control people’s minds or track their location.

jenniferkgates
 
It’s been over a year since the SarsCOV2 variant emerged, and we now have more solutions, including immunizations, to help protect individuals and communities. 🙏

I am beyond privileged to receive my first dose of mRNA to teach my cells to amount a protective immune response to this virus. As a medical student and aspiring physician, I am grateful it will give me protection and safety for my future practice. I’d urge everyone to read more and strongly consider it for yourself and your families when you are provided the option. The more people who get immunized, the safer our communities are for everyone.

Saying thank you doesn’t begin to describe my gratitude for the physicians, scientists, public health experts, pharmacists and so many others who made this achievement in modern medicine possible. Our healthcare workers have been working tirelessly to save as many lives as possible, and this vaccine will only increase their ability to succeed.

PS I’ll still be wearing my mask (or two!) after receiving my second dose- hope that’s self explanatory, and if it’s not lmk if I can provide resources

PPS sadly the vaccine did NOT implant my genius father into my brain – if only mRNA had that power…..! 😜

Jenn
 

Here’s Why Vaccinated People Still Need to Wear a Mask

I’m scheduled to be vaccinated on this coming Saturday. I have an appointment. The new vaccine will probably prevent me from getting sick with Covid. No one knows yet whether that will keep me from spreading the virus to others.

It may seem counterintuitive, but health officials say that even after you get vaccinated against COVID-19, you still need to practice the usual pandemic precautions, at least for a while. That means steering clear of crowds, continuing to wear a good mask in public, maintaining 6 feet or more of distance from people outside your household and frequently washing your hands.

The new Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna seem to be remarkably good at preventing serious illness. But it’s unclear how well they will curb the spread of the coronavirus.
That’s because the Pfizer and Moderna trials tracked only how many vaccinated people became sick with Covid-19. That leaves open the possibility that some vaccinated people get infected without developing symptoms, and could then silently transmit the virus — especially if they come in close contact with others or stop wearing masks.

Before approving the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, the FDA asked the vaccine manufacturers only whether their products protect people from COVID-19 symptoms. They didn’t ask if the vaccines stop people who’ve been vaccinated from nevertheless spreading the virus to others. The emergency authorizations by the FDA that have allowed distribution of the two new vaccines cite only their ability to keep you — the person vaccinated — from becoming severely sick with COVID-19.

The Washington Post daily tracker indicates a very slow vaccination rate of less than 1% new recipients daily. That sends the message that unless there is a consequential increase in available vaccine we will be waring masks for all of 2021.