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"Preventive Medicine"
Day 4 of Week 2: We are all in self-quarantine in our circles of safety, or should be, and approaching the very small tail end of likely infection from prior exposure. Covid-19 infections are most likely to continue increasing substantially in our communities at least through the end of April. Our office is staffed by our nurses for communications, but we are arranging all visits and contacts remotely. That has worked well so far. We request email contacts to alleviate the phone burden. PPE’s are still needed to be redirected to hospitals in short supply.
Covid-19 continues to show more cases, more hospitalized, and more rapid spread. We are increasing testing but it remains inadequate, while personal protective equipment (masks and such) is running low for medical personnel. A small bright spot is the possible utility of an old drug in preventing secondary spread. We need to rigorously continue our self protection. April and May are unlikely to be better.
Schools closed, restaurants and theaters off limits. Governor Baker weighs in. Community spread is around. Older people and those with chronic diseases or immunosuppression are at higher risk of severe infections. We describe social distancing in more detail. Establish your circle of relative safety and stick to it. Wash your hands.
We are adjusting our office procedures for dealing with patients with respiratory illness to allow for presence and risks of Covid-19 infections. We believe normal office care is safe and can continue. Quest labs told us yesterday that they in fact will be immediately testing for Covid-19. Great news. We will make regular use of those tests.
Quest labs reneged this morning on its announcement of immediate availability of viral testing for Covid-19 infections. We are seriously disappointed. We explain the role and importance of such testing for your protection during a period of community spread that is now evolving.
The Covid-19 infection continues to spread and challenge our ability to contain it. Here are multiple updates on where we are and the challenges we likely will face, together with good news on availability of viral testing for our OHC office.
Shingles vaccine is an important vaccine for everyone over 50. It is highly effective. Supplies are finally improving. We are giving the shots in our office and have recently solved the bureaucratic puzzle to get patients Medicare Part D reimbursement. Pharmacies also can administer the vaccine.
We canceled a long-planned trip scheduled today to Los Angeles to visit our young grandchildren after the NY Times announced that LA County officials this morning declared a state of emergency following the confirmation of six new cases of Covid-19. We all have to carefully reevaluate planned travel and its health risk.
The coronavirus, now called Covid-19, that originated in China last fall, is spreading fairly rapidly and somewhat surreptitiously. It likely is now in the US Northwest. This infection can be serious and cause for self-protection, even though many cases are mild. I update the status and summarize what you can do to protect yourself and your family in this almost unprecedented viral disease outbreak.
Covid-19: Day 1 of Week 3: Safer, But at Least a Month to Go
Today marked beginning of the third week of our collective quarantines. Our practice has had just several possible or likely cases of Covid-19. We will be in “lockdown” certainly through April and most likely through May. We are not providing any off label treatments at this time. Much more testing of active and past disease is needed to enable us to eventually come out of quarantine safely, as well as face masks for all. These of course are not available as yet. But a good card game to try is.