Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #105

[LaborDayRN]

.
Round Two:


“Today I exercised my power... to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so,” Mr Hawke said in a statement.

“In making this decision, I carefully considered information provided to me by the Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Border Force and Mr Djokovic.

“The Morrison government is firmly committed to protecting Australia’s borders, particularly in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I thank the officers of the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Border Force who work every day to serve Australia’s interests in increasingly challenging operational environments.”

Novak Djokovic has visa cancelled by immigration minister and will be deported from Victoria before Australian Open

I'm glad. But it does seem odd now that he's been out on the practice courts, unmasked practicing. I'm sure these facilities have employees that aren't happy about that.

 

[Cool Cats]

According to science, the unvaccinated are the most likely to get really ill. Science says vaccinations protect almost everyone from extreme, treatment needing illness. I really believe we need to follow the science on this. JMO

Regarding the unvaxxed getting Covid treatment and the vaccinated not getting the treatment........

They should continue to do what most hospitals still do when you arrive in the emergency ward = triage.

Give the medications to the sickest first.

Person A is sick with Covid and person B is sick with Covid. Person B is sicker than person A or has underlying conditions that person A doesn't have.

Person A gets the Covid treatment because they are not vaccinated while person B gets none because they are vaccinated.

This is what people don't like because it's "bad" medicine.

 

[CharlestonGal]

Regarding the unvaxxed getting Covid treatment and the vaccinated not getting the treatment........

They should continue to do what most hospitals still do when you arrive in the emergency ward = triage.

Give the medications to the sickest first.

Person A is sick with Covid and person B is sick with Covid. Person B is sicker than person A or has underlying conditions that person A doesn't have.

Person A gets the Covid treatment because they are not vaccinated while person B gets none because they are vaccinated.

This is what people don't like because it's "bad" medicine.

Very bad medicine that flies in the face of every triage protocol I've ever seen. I'm hoping the doctor quoted in the article was misunderstood or misquoted and didn't really say what she was quoted as having said. jmo

 

[CrimeAway]

I want to state that I don't view people who are unvaccinated as one homologous group.

I have friends who are unvaccinated, some who have previously had Covid, and aren't sure that they need to be vaccinated, others who have been advised not to get vaccinated, and some who are afraid of potential vaccine side effects. I have shared my belief in vaccination, and my experiences, but I don't look down on my friends, or think that I am superior to them.

My concern with the allocation of monoclonals is that vaccinated individuals who may have not mounted an adequate immune response, have undiagnosed immune dysfunction, or other co-morbidities may be overlooked for treatment due to their vaccination status, in favor of those who are vaccinated.

It's a difficult issue, IMO., but ultimately I think that clinical need should be the main factor, but what should hospitals do when there are too many patients, and not enough treatments?

I really hate that this virus has been used by the media and politicians to fuel their own agendas, and divide people.
I'm not a part of that. I don't watch much MSM, and try to share unbiased, scientific sources here, and with my friends and family.

This pandemic has been awful, and I view every death as a tragic loss (whatever the vaccine status). I cannot wait until we can put this behind us, and I never thought it would go on for this long. All JMO.

 

[Cool Cats]

Very bad medicine that flies in the face of every triage protocol I've ever seen. I'm hoping the doctor quoted in the article was misunderstood or misquoted and didn't really say what she was quoted as having said. jmo

Tennessee limiting monoclonal antibody treatment to unvaccinated residents

In Tennessee, the patients first in line for the monoclonal antibody Covid-19 treatment are likely to be the ones who landed in the emergency room because they did not get vaccinated.

Extraordinary demand coupled with the federal government’s need to cap shipments of these scarce drugs has forced Tennessee health officials to recommend limiting the treatment to unvaccinated patients with the worst cases of Covid-19.

But doing so raises ethical questions, public health experts said, about who should get this treatment and who shouldn’t.

“For example, if a patient who had a heart transplant had received the vaccine but is still at risk of severe Covid-19 infection was denied access to antibody treatment that could have reduced the severity of their infection, how is this fair?” asked Dr. Sadiya Khan, an epidemiologist at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Dr. Lisa Piercey, Tennessee’s top health official, agreed that the state’s “logical” decision is not likely to be popular.

How monoclonal antibody treatment can protect high risk Covid patients

“Clinically, it makes sense,” Piercey said Friday, The Tennessean reported. “But the doctor in me thinks about all these ‘what ifs?’ What if there is a super-high-risk older person, but they are not technically considered immunocompromised? Do they not get it but a 22-year-old unvaccinated person with asthma – they get it?”

Under the Tennessee recommendations, vaccinated people who are immunocompromised will also be eligible for the treatment, Piercey said.

 

[CrimeAway]

Morning Medical Update from The University of Kansas Health System (Friday, 1/14/22):

They discuss local and national Covid cases, hospitalizations and trends. Also, explanation of statistics from Amber Schmidtke PhD.

 

[Satchie]

I hear ya.

Everyone in my immediate family is triple vaxxed. But we have a very close family friend that is adamantly rejecting getting his shots.

He is an enigma to me because he is NOT a selfish young man and he is every bit a true humanitarian. He has built about a dozen Habitat for Humanity homes over the years. He volunteers for several non-profit charities.

So WHY does he refuse the vacs?
Several reasons and we have had this intense conversation a dozen times. And at the end, he is very convincing.

In reality, he is the healthiest, most athletic person I know. He does marathons and mountain climbing and expert rock climbing. He is a VERY strict VEGAN. He eats NO processed food of any kind, no meat, no dairy, no eggs, and everything is raw and fresh. He occasionally drinks beer or wine but only on special occasions.

I have never seen him get sick with the flu or a cold or anything. He is in his late 20's. He insists that his immune system is working at a peak level and he does not think that he will have a severe case of covid if he catches it.

Meanwhile, he is tested 2x a week for his job. And he ALWAYS wears masks and socially distanced and pretty much quarantines the rest of the time with his girlfriend and their 2 dogs. She works from home.

His body is very sensitive and reactive to any type of medicines and always has been. His father and uncles had heart problems and he does not feel safe taking the shots because he feels vulnerable to heart issues down the road.

He feels that he would rather take his chances with the virus using his own immune system which appears to be working well.

OH, AND BOTH HIS PARENTS AND HIS BROTHER AND COUSIN HAVE ALL HAD COVID ALREADY, AS BREAKTHROUGH CASES, AS THEY ARE AL TRIPLE VAXXED.

So he has very good arguments that seem logical and well thought out. His vaccinated family members have had the virus while he has not. None of them had severe cases and I have told him many times that he might not be so lucky.

But I cannot say that he is stupid or selfish or reckless. He is none of those things. He is far more health conscious and responsible with his food and lifestyle and exercise routines than anyone I know.

So it does bother me when I hear some of the vitriol against 'the unvaxxed' ----speaking about them all as if they were an inferior race that deserved to die. I think there are conscientious, logical people who have come to their own conclusions and if they have GOOD REASONS, I support their decisions.

If someone is being lazy or reckless or political----and they are not young and extremely healthy, then I think it is a very poor decision. But if someone is doing everything possible to avoid the virus, by taking precautions, and are being tested routinely for work, and have very healthy immune systems, then I don't think they have a negative affect upon the rest of us. JMO

That's very typical of his peer group. Being super fit and eating right etc, is great. But the question for me is, why not also protect yourself, even further, by getting the vaccine? Why can't he do both? However, there's no point debating, you won't change his mind.

Curiously, where I live, the only person I know who was sent to the ICU with Covid was the local fitness instructor! The undoubtedly fittest person around.

Fortunately, she had to get vaxxed in order to keep her fitness business open, and very reluctantly got two doses, but wasn't yet eligible for a booster.

She had a severe heart reaction to Covid (which she caught from a visiting family member) and nearly died several times if not for the constant attendence of a medical team for several days.

She made a video in the ICU, once she started to recover which shows how scared she was and how grateful to medical staff - but curiously, she gives no credit to the vaccine for saving her, instead promoting that it was her physical fitness that prevented permanent heart damage (time will tell).

But, of course, it's her business to sell fitness, it's not her business to sell vaccines.

People are not really very rational, they just try to appear that way. And yes, I have no doubt I'm irrational too, I just can't see it in myself, the way I can see it in others.

JMO

 

[tabitha111]

Virginia has a new governor starting tommorrow who is going to rescind our school mask mandates. He held his first assembly meeting *all maskless* today.
Lovely.
moo

Youngkin will rescind school mask mandate order but state law may complicate local policy changes | 8News (wric.com)

 

[WichitaFalls]

Virginia has a new governor starting tommorrow who is going to rescind our school mask mandates. He held his first assembly meeting *all maskless* today.
Lovely.
moo

Shooting yourself in the foot seems to be an art form for way too many politicians. The governor of the state I live in has tried to do the same and has spent his time in court fighting county judges of all of the major metropolitan areas, fortunately he's lost every challenge, but what a waste of time, money and resources. Why is the simple act of wearing a mask the mountain they are determined to die on? I'll never understand.

 

[Cool Cats]

China's massive COVID-19 lockdowns reportedly trapped a woman at her blind date's house
Fri, January 14, 2022, 8:25 AM

The caprice of China's uncompromising "COVID zero" policy may make for the occasional romantic comedy plot — or horror movie, depending — but it's no joke for the people confined to home with little warning.

China currently has more than 20 million of its citizens in strict lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but one woman in particular earned special sympathy for being trapped by quarantine orders in the house of a blind date.

Lockdown in China's Henan province

The woman, identified as Yang, disclosed on Chinese social media that she had traveled to Zhengzhou from her home in Guangzhou, where because "I am getting older, my family introduced me to more than 10 blind dates," NBC News reports.

It was on blind date No. 5 that Chinese officials locked down Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province. Wang agreed to meet at the blind date's house last Friday so he could "show off his cooking," Yang told Shanghai's The Paper on Monday. The unnamed date barely spoke but "everything else is great," she added.

He "cooks, cleans up, works." Wang later said she had removed some of her social media clips because their popularity had affected her date's life. "It is unclear whether Wang is still stuck at the apartment," NBC News reports. COVID-19 cases are still rising in Henan.

 

[Simply Southern]

Regarding the unvaxxed getting Covid treatment and the vaccinated not getting the treatment........

They should continue to do what most hospitals still do when you arrive in the emergency ward = triage.

Give the medications to the sickest first.

Person A is sick with Covid and person B is sick with Covid. Person B is sicker than person A or has underlying conditions that person A doesn't have.

Person A gets the Covid treatment because they are not vaccinated while person B gets none because they are vaccinated.

This is what people don't like because it's "bad" medicine.

Its not workin g that way in Virginia. Its a point system related to race, living conditions and vaccination status. Each of these categories receive and extra two points, placing them in a prior status verse the actual health condition.

COVID-19 Outpatient Monoclonal Antibody Therapy Resource Center - Monoclonal Antibodies

• December 29, 2021: Due to the current limited supply of COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies and oral antiviral medication, VDH has developed clinical prioritization criteria for the use of these medications. Please note these criteria are recommendations, not mandates or directives. The NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel issued guidance on clinical prioritization on December 23, 2021. While the VDH and NIH criteria are similar, they differ in some respects.

 

[RANCH]

Non-white race or Hispanic/Latino ethnicity should be considered a risk factor, as longstanding systemic health and social inequities have contributed to an increased risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19.

COVID-19: Outpatient Therapeutic Information for Providers - NYC Health

https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/s...f_mabs_during_resource_shortages_20211229.pdf

 

[Simply Southern]

The government stopped direct ordering of monoclonal antibody directly and they control the supply.
COVID-19 Outpatient Monoclonal Antibody Therapy Resource Center - Monoclonal Antibodies

• December 29, 2021: Due to the current limited supply of COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies and oral antiviral medication, VDH has developed clinical prioritization criteria for the use of these medications. Please note these criteria are recommendations, not mandates or directives. The NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel issued guidance on clinical prioritization on December 23, 2021. While the VDH and NIH criteria are similar, they differ in some respects.

Here is an interest in chart provided by USHHS of distribution. I notice days in DEC ZERO, NONE, NADA, NOT one does of certain MA were not distributed. I noticed the large increase in the oral medication, which so many can not take without great risk or contraindication.

https://www.phe.gov/emergency/events/COVID19/therapeutics/distribution/Pages

 

[Cool Cats]

Its not workin g that way in Virginia. Its a point system related to race, living conditions and vaccination status. Each of these categories receive and extra two points, placing them in a prior status verse the actual health condition.

COVID-19 Outpatient Monoclonal Antibody Therapy Resource Center - Monoclonal Antibodies

• December 29, 2021: Due to the current limited supply of COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies and oral antiviral medication, VDH has developed clinical prioritization criteria for the use of these medications. Please note these criteria are recommendations, not mandates or directives. The NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel issued guidance on clinical prioritization on December 23, 2021. While the VDH and NIH criteria are similar, they differ in some respects.

Would you link to where it says this:

"Its a point system related to race, living conditions and vaccination status."

Looking through your links I can't find this point system.

 

[Simply Southern]

Where does it say:

"Virginia prioritizes on race"

In the clinician protocols, in the link. I became interested when my neighbors was denied and the Governor announced at a Covid update. Retired from HC administration and I always go directly to the source and read all those boring guidelines.
Moo..

 

[CrimeAway]

DW News report on Covid in Europe and India:

 

[Cool Cats]

Non-white race or Hispanic/Latino ethnicity should be considered a risk factor, as longstanding systemic health and social inequities have contributed to an increased risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19.

COVID-19: Outpatient Therapeutic Information for Providers - NYC Health

https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/s...f_mabs_during_resource_shortages_20211229.pdf

Thank you!

This points out that race is only considered a risk factor and is not the same as prioritizing one race over another.

No one does that, it is just one of the dozens of health factors they look at when calculating your over all health, age, underlying conditions, severity of illness, current and past access to medical care, and so on.

Coronavirus in African Americans and Other People of Color
Disproportionate Rates of COVID-19 Illness and Death in Black Communities

I see this as a positive.

 

[KALI]

Totally get that. We took Grandpa in for 2 years before he died. When the land line would ring, he would pick up the TV receiver and yell " hello? Hello?".

Thanks...it is hard because she gets so sad when we have to postpone....
And I am saying this with total love and adoration, yet I have to say that Mom has kind of regressed and is more like a child in many ways now so it is hard to explain some things as easily as before....In many ways it is comical and endearing, as my brother and I laugh because all of our phone convos with Mom now start the same way---Mom answers the phone happily, says 'let me turn down the TV'---and then she points the phone towards the TV as if it was the remote---and she always disconnects the call....lmao---every time......so we call right back and then continue the convo.....

Only explaining to set the context as we then have to discuss world pandemics again, and sometimes she responds as if she is hearing it for the 1st time---last week she said 'OHHHHH, I wondered why you sent me those colourful masks with my Christmas basket.' lol

So when we make plans and she is really excited, it just kills me to have to say ' Oh, sorry but you're not allowed visitors just yet.'
My brother said he told her yesterday and she assured him that was last year and things are OKAY now, no problem.

 

[Simply Southern]

Would you link to where it says this:

"Its a point system related to race, living conditions and vaccination status."

Looking through your links I can't find this point system.

Sorry, I used an incorrect term. The correct term is Teir.

Prioritization schemes should consider how to equitably distribute these scarce resources to populations that may include individuals who may have less knowledge of and/or access to these therapies. The availability and distribution of recommended therapies should be monitored to ensure that access to the products is equitable.


Patient Prioritization for Treatment
The Panel prioritized the following risk groups for anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapy based on 4 key elements: age, vaccination status, immune status, and clinical risk factors. The groups are listed by tier in descending order of priority.

For a list of risk factors, see the CDC webpage Underlying Medical Conditions Associated with High Risk for Severe COVID-19.

Conditions Associated with High Risk for Severe COVID-19.

Tier Risk Group
1

• Immunocompromised individuals not expected to mount an adequate immune response to COVID-19 vaccination or SARS-CoV-2 infection due to their underlying conditions, regardless of vaccine status (see Immunocompromising Conditions below); or
• Unvaccinated individuals at the highest risk of severe disease (anyone aged ≥75 years or anyone aged ≥65 years with additional risk factors).

2

• Unvaccinated individuals at risk of severe disease not included in Tier 1 (anyone aged ≥65 years or anyone aged <65 years with clinical risk factors)

3

• Vaccinated individuals at high risk of severe disease (anyone aged ≥75 years or anyone aged ≥65 years with clinical risk factors)

Note: Vaccinated individuals who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose are likely at higher risk for severe disease; patients in this situation within this tier should be prioritized for treatment.
4

• Vaccinated individuals at risk of severe disease (anyone aged ≥65 years or anyone aged <65 with clinical risk factors)

Note: Vaccinated individuals who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose are likely at higher risk for severe disease; patients in this situation within this tier should be prioritized for treatment.

I don't know how to Link a PDF. There are several PDFs requires reading in depth to put the entire program together. Part of the programs are from NIH and some specifically by Virginia.

The unvaccinated inmates from the jail were Teir 1 and my vaccinated neighbor was Teir 3 and didn't receive them.

Virginia designed the program with input from clinicians, prison system and our ethnicity committee. All communicated over the past several months in press conferences and media articles.

It will take a month of Sundays to look up all the links, and copy and paste from all the different agencies with input. So its my
Moo based on hours of reading. Yeap, I'm a bit of an addict for policy manuals at 2am.

 

[Cool Cats]

Sorry, I used an incorrect term. The correct term is Teir.

Prioritization schemes should consider how to equitably distribute these scarce resources to populations that may include individuals who may have less knowledge of and/or access to these therapies. The availability and distribution of recommended therapies should be monitored to ensure that access to the products is equitable.


Patient Prioritization for Treatment
The Panel prioritized the following risk groups for anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapy based on 4 key elements: age, vaccination status, immune status, and clinical risk factors. The groups are listed by tier in descending order of priority.

For a list of risk factors, see the CDC webpage Underlying Medical Conditions Associated with High Risk for Severe COVID-19.

Conditions Associated with High Risk for Severe COVID-19.

Tier Risk Group
1

• Immunocompromised individuals not expected to mount an adequate immune response to COVID-19 vaccination or SARS-CoV-2 infection due to their underlying conditions, regardless of vaccine status (see Immunocompromising Conditions below); or
• Unvaccinated individuals at the highest risk of severe disease (anyone aged ≥75 years or anyone aged ≥65 years with additional risk factors).

2

• Unvaccinated individuals at risk of severe disease not included in Tier 1 (anyone aged ≥65 years or anyone aged <65 years with clinical risk factors)

3

• Vaccinated individuals at high risk of severe disease (anyone aged ≥75 years or anyone aged ≥65 years with clinical risk factors)

Note: Vaccinated individuals who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose are likely at higher risk for severe disease; patients in this situation within this tier should be prioritized for treatment.
4

• Vaccinated individuals at risk of severe disease (anyone aged ≥65 years or anyone aged <65 with clinical risk factors)

Note: Vaccinated individuals who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose are likely at higher risk for severe disease; patients in this situation within this tier should be prioritized for treatment.

I don't know how to Link a PDF. There are several PDFs requires reading in depth to put the entire program together. Part of the programs are from NIH and some specifically by Virginia.
Moo

Thank you very helpful.

It really bothers me when headlines make it sound like being a certain race would stop you from getting Covid treatment. That one race gets treatment over another.

That's not how the Tier Risk Group works. They look only at the individual's many health and risk factors making a treatment plan based on that.

Risk factors include the past and current access an individual has to medical care which is not equal with everyone.