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How Soon Will COVID Be “Normal”? |

On Thursday, six medical experts close to the White House published three op-eds in the Journal of the American Medical Association, arguing that the time had come for a new approach to the pandemic—one that sets aside the campaign for eradication in favor of living with the disease. covid-19, one op-ed argued, should no longer even be tracked on its own but monitored together with other respiratory viruses, such as the flu—the sort of thing that might be done by epidemiologists rather than by all of us refreshing graphs on the Times’ Web site day and night. The argument was particularly notable because the six experts had all been advisers to President Joe Biden’s covid-19 transition team. “A ‘new normal with COVID’ in January 2022 is not living without COVID-19,” Ezekiel Emanuel, of the University of Pennsylvania, Celine Gounder, of N.Y.U., and Michael Osterholm, of the University of Minnesota, wrote. But they believed that the long era of emergency—the one defined by a wartime feeling and frequent briefings from Anthony Fauci—should draw to a close.

“The Biden Administration’s intentions are usually quite good, but it's messaging is often contradictory,” the epidemiologist William Hanage said.

Even as the Omicron wave spikes, some outside experts believe that the time has come for Anthony Fauci and the White House to declare a new phase in the pandemic.

How Soon Will COVID Be “Normal”?

“A ‘new normal with COVID’ in January 2022 is not living without COVID-19,” Ezekiel Emanuel, of the University of Pennsylvania, Celine Gounder, of N.Y.U., and Michael Osterholm, of the University of Minnesota, wrote. But they believed that the long era of emergency—the one defined by a wartime feeling and frequent briefings from Anthony Fauci—should draw to a close.

That same morning, I spent half an hour interviewing Fauci by Zoom, to try to understand how the Administration saw the current state of the pandemic. Lately, he had been dropping some hints that his view might not be too different from that of the JAMA experts: on ABC last Sunday, he’d said that it might make sense at some point to focus not on covid cases but on hospitalizations, a change that would organize policy around the medical effort to identify and treat the very sick rather than a social campaign to stop the spread of the disease. I asked him what time line he had in mind. “It’s not necessarily something that we’re going to do—or even seriously consider doing—tomorrow,” 

Fauci said. But eventually the Omicron wave would come to an end, 

How Soon Will COVID Be “Normal”? | 

‘Killer’ immune cells still recognize Omicron variant

It is important to remember that most serious complications from a Covid 19 infection are due to immune reactions that result in inflammation in the lung and other vital organs such as the heart, and kidneys.

The body's defense mechanism also includes "killer T cells" a type of white blood cells that capture and destroy foreign organism including bacterira, viruses and other microbial organisms.  This takes place with the assistance of antibodies, and can also take place without antibodies.  The most effective response is to due the synergy of both working together.

In the race against emerging coronavirus variants, researchers are looking beyond antibodies for clues to lasting protection from COVID-19.

How ‘killer’ T cells could boost COVID immunity in face of new variants

Concerns about coronavirus variants that might be partially resistant to antibody defences have spurred renewed interest in other immune responses that protect against viruses. In particular, scientists are hopeful that T cells — a group of immune cells that can target and destroy virus-infected cells — could provide some immunity to COVID-19, even if antibodies become less effective at fighting the disease.

Researchers are now picking apart the available data, looking for signs that T cells could help to maintain lasting immunity.

“We know the antibodies are likely less effective, but maybe the T cells can save us,” says Daina Graybosch, a biotechnology analyst at investment bank SVB Leerink in New York City. “It makes sense biologically. We don’t have the data, but we can hope.”

Coronavirus vaccine development has largely focused on antibodies, and for good reason, says immunologist Alessandro Sette at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in California. Antibodies — particularly those that bind to crucial viral proteins and block infection — can hold the key to ‘sterilizing immunity’, which not only reduces the severity of an illness, but prevents infection altogether.

That level of protection is considered the gold standard, but typically it requires large numbers of antibodies, says Sette. “That is great if that can be achieved, but it’s not necessarily always the case,” he says.

A T cell targeting coronavirus particles (illustration).

Killer cells

Alongside antibodies, the immune system produces a battalion of T cells that can target viruses. Some of these, known as killer T cells (or CD8+ T cells), seek out and destroy cells that are infected with the virus. Others, called helper T cells (or CD4+ T cells) are important for various immune functions, including stimulating the production of antibodies and killer T cells.

T cells do not prevent infection, because they kick into action only after a virus has infiltrated the body. But they are important for clearing an infection that has already started. In the case of COVID-19, killer T cells could mean the difference between a mild infection and a severe one that requires hospital treatment, says Annika Karlsson, an immunologist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. “If they are able to kill the virus-infected cells before they spread from the upper respiratory tract, it will influence how sick you feel,” she says. They could also reduce transmission by restricting the amount of virus circulating in an infected person, meaning that the person sheds fewer virus particles into the community.

T cells could also be more resistant than antibodies to threats posed by emerging variants. Studies by Sette and his colleagues have shown that people who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 typically generate T cells that target at least 15–20 different fragments of coronavirus proteins1. But which protein snippets are used as targets can vary widely from person to person, meaning that a population will generate a large variety of T cells that could snare a virus. “That makes it very hard for the virus to mutate to escape cell recognition,” says Sette, “unlike the situation for antibodies.”

So when laboratory tests showed that the 501Y.V2 variant identified in South Africa (also called B.1.351) is partially resistant to antibodies raised against previous coronavirus variants, researchers wondered whether T cells could be less vulnerable to its mutations.

Early results suggest that this might be the case. In a preprint published on 9 February, researchers found that most T-cell responses to coronavirus vaccination or previous infection do not target regions that were mutated in two recently discovered variants, including 501Y.V22. Sette says that his group also has preliminary evidence that the vast majority of T-cell responses are unlikely to be affected by the mutations.

If T cells remain active against the 501Y.V2 variant, they might protect against severe disease, says immunologist John Wherry at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. But it is hard to know from the data available thus far, he cautions. “We’re trying to infer a lot of scientific and mechanistic information from data that doesn’t really have it to give,” he says. “We’re kind of putting things together and building a bridge across these big gaps.”

Updating vaccines

Researchers have been analysing clinical-trial data for several coronavirus vaccines, to look for clues as to whether their effectiveness fades in the face of the 501Y.V2 variant. So far, at least three vaccines — a protein vaccine made by Novavax of Gaithersburg, Maryland, a single-shot vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson of New Brunswick, New Jersey, and a vaccine made by AstraZeneca of Cambridge, UK, and the University of Oxford, UK — were less effective at protecting against mild COVID-19 in South Africa, where the 501Y.V2 variant dominates, than in countries where that variant is less common.

In the case of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, the results were particularly striking: the vaccine was only 22% effective against mild COVID-19 in a sample of 2,000 people in South Africa. However, that trial was too small and its participants too young for researchers to draw any conclusions about severe disease, says Shane Crotty, an immunologist at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology.

Could mixing COVID vaccines boost immune response?

Some coronavirus vaccine developers are already looking at ways to develop next-generation vaccines that stimulate T cells more effectively. Antibodies detect only proteins outside cells, and many coronavirus vaccines target a protein called spike that decorates the surface of the virus. But the spike protein is “quite variable”, suggesting that it might be prone to mutating, says Karlsson, and raising the risk that emerging variants will be able to evade antibody detection.

T cells, by contrast, can target viral proteins expressed inside infected cells, and some of those proteins are very stable, she says. This raises the possibility of designing vaccines against proteins that mutate less frequently than spike, and incorporating targets from multiple proteins into one vaccine.

Biotechnology firm Gritstone Oncology of Emeryville, California, is designing an experimental vaccine that incorporates the genetic code for fragments of several coronavirus proteins known to elicit T-cell responses, as well as for the full spike protein, to ensure that antibody responses are robust. Clinical trials are due to start in the first quarter of this year.

But Gritstone president Andrew Allen hopes that current vaccines will be effective against new variants, and that his company’s vaccine will never be needed. “We developed this absolutely to prepare for bad scenarios,” he says. “We’re half hoping that everything we did was a waste of time. But it’s good to be ready.”

Nature 590, 374-375 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00367-7

References

Killer’ immune cells still recognize Omicron variant

9 Schema That Change The Way You See The World, and will effect your Health

About the Author

Dr. Monica Johnson

Dr. Monica Johnson is a clinical psychologist and owner of Kind Mind Psychology, a private practice in NYC that specializes in evidenced based approaches to treating a wide range of mental health issues (e.g. depression, anxiety, trauma, and personality disorders). Additionally, she has a focus on working with marginalized groups of people including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and alternative lifestyles to manage minority stress. She is also dedicated to contributing to her field professionally through speaking, training, supervision, and writing. She routinely speaks at conferences, provides training and workshops at organizations, supervises mental health trainees, and co-authored a book for professionals on addressing race-based stress in therapy.

Dr. Johnson earned her bachelor's degree from the University of South Carolina, completed her Psy.D. at the Arizona School of Professional Psychology, and completed her postdoctoral training year at Cherokee Health Systems in Knoxville, TN. She currently lives in Manhattan where she indulges in horror movies, sarcasm, and intentional introversion. You can find her on Instagram and online at kindmindpsych.com. 

Schemas are not obvious Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). 

THE QUICK AND DIRTY

There are 18 different schemas that can develop in childhood that may have an adverse effect on how you view the world. You may not even realize you have one of the schemas—in fact, the belief system may feel entirely normal to you. That's why awareness of a schema is the first step towards changing it.For instance, children who develop a schema that they aren’t good enough rarely challenge this belief, even as adults. They can be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company and still go home feeling as though they're inadequate. Schemas, like emotions, are self-serving. They attempt to mold your experiences and encourage you to engage in actions that keep them around.  Today, we're going to discuss early maladaptive schemas. There are so many of them that this will be a 2-part episode, so listen through to the end and make sure you're ready for next week!

Have you ever heard of a schema before? A schema is a stable and enduring negative pattern that develops during childhood or adolescence. It persists and expands throughout our lives.

We view the world through the lens of our schemas. Schemas are closely held beliefs and feelings about yourself, others, and the world. Typically, you accept these beliefs without question and many people are not aware that they have them. They are self-perpetuating and are very resistant to change, but with appropriate treatment, you can change them!

For instance, children who develop a schema that they aren’t good enough rarely challenge this belief, even as adults. They can be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company and still go home feeling as though they're inadequate. Schemas, like emotions, are self-serving. They attempt to mold your experiences and encourage you to engage in actions that keep them around.

Usually, schemas operate in subtle ways, outside of our awareness. However, when a schema is triggered by stimuli in our environment, our thoughts and feelings are dominated by schema-related content. In these moments we may experience maladaptive thinking, extreme and/or intense emotions, and have urges to act in ways that might not be in the interest of our psychological well-being.

(1) An Upgraded Hippocratic Oath Is Needed In The Digital And A.I. Era | LinkedIn

The Hippocratic Oath is the most famous text in Western medicine. It constitutes the ethical basis of the medical profession. For centuries, it has provided an overview of the principles of this noble mission and doctors’ professional behaviour. At the dawn of a new era in medicine, it is high time to rewrite the Oath so that it would reflect the state of technological development, changes in social structures and in general, the requirements of the 21st century.

What is the Hippocratic Oath?

Used by many medical schools at graduation ceremonies, the medical profession adopted the Oath of Hippocrates as its ethical code of conduct centuries ago. That’s not a mere chance. The text articulates perfectly what the noble profession of being a doctor entails and in a compact overview takes a side in every major ethical issue a physician might encounter during their career.

Only a few know that although the oath bears the name of Hippocrates, the well-known Greek physician, there is no evidence that he wrote it. It is claimed that the document was created 100 years after his death; still some 2500 years ago.

The intimacy of a doctor patient encounter has changed since telehealth, electronic medical records have increased social distancing in the past 20 years.  Many people now have access to the medical record, given implied consent to perform their duties.  Can patients still be assured of their privacy and confidentiality of the visit with their physician(s)?  What do physicians think of the HIPPOCRATIC OATH?  As in other modern interpretations of oaths and features of the U.S. Constitution the interpretation varies widely among today's physicians. Some (few) take it's meaning literally.  Others have been influenced by bureaucracy, regulations and common peer behavior to abandon it's meaning as written by our forefathers Upon graduation, many medical students take a modern version of the oath written by Louis Lasagna in 1964.  

MODERN VERSION.  Upon graduation, many medical students take a modern version of the oath written by Louis Lasagna in 196

4. 

CLASSICAL VERSION

The bottom line for patients is do your trust your physician, and will he keep your innermost secrets, sins and indiscretions.  Most will, and will not include any specifics in the electronic medical records. It is up to you to instruct him to not include that which  you do not want passed along.  Most will do so.

Digital Health Space advises. you to not disclose sensitive information on a telehealth visit, nor to an assistant.

Our message to you, get vaccinated against Covid 19 and have a Happy and safe New Year, 2022

1) An Upgraded Hippocratic Oath Is Needed In The Digital And A.I. Era | LinkedIn

Longevity Insider

 

Our daily newsletter curates innovations from the most reputable sources then delivers to your inbox for free.

Thanks to Peter Diamandis, these suggestions for 2022 could turn your life around.

My first suggestion is to ignore the media blitz about Covid.  Get your vaccination, and wear a mask where it is required. Most of what you read or hear about Covid is hype and is aimed at you to maximize readership. Boosters are important as recommended. Reduce your anxiety and focus on your own health.  Do not postpone important doctor visits, and avoid delaying needed treatments.  Use telehealth as your first go to for doctor visits.

VIOME: IMAGINE NO CHRONIC DISEASES OR CANCER

This is a bit far-fetched, aging will always take place, however we can slow it down.

What if we could reverse or even prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and cancer?

That’s the mission of Viome: a revolutionary biotech company that uses an AI-driven platform to analyze the biochemical activity in your body by looking at your saliva, blood, and stool. Their goal is to give you an accurate picture of your unique health, and what you can do to optimize it through food and made-to-order, precision supplements and probiotics. (Full disclosure: my venture fund BOLD Capital is an investor in Viome.The web site offers you the opportunity to purchase supplements.  None of these are FDA approved and peer reviewed studies are limited.  Remember the supplement industry is a multibillion dollar business.  If you spend $150 a month on these products you will feel better whether you are or not.  Many studies have shown antioxidants are worthless.  Many natural foodstuffs that contain bioflavonoids in a natural vegetable or fruit are healthy. Hard evidence reveals that vegetarians do live longer. (studies at Loma Linda University, where a vegetarian life style predominants reveal longer life spans in that region. (Loma Linda, California). The University in Loma Linda teaches this nutritional lifestyle. The students and medical staff live this on a daily basis.  My observation as an outsider M.D. that taught there is it is a lean healthy demographic that age well without many chronic illnesses.

Here are some claims Viome makes,

"Viome recently did a study of 10,000 people to measure the effects of receiving Viome’s recommendations of supplements over a period of 4 months.

Here are some of the findings:

Clinical scores of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) came down by 40%;

Depression among participants decreased by 36%;

The participants’ diabetes risk score also decreased by 30%--simply with changes to diet and recommended supplements.

In another study, 550 people in Japan and 500 people in the United States were put on continuous glucose monitoring and then given 35,000 different types of food.

Viome then used a machine learning model that analyzed microbial activity, which was able to actually predict the glycemic response of different foods: if you eat this food, then this will be your body’s sugar response in your blood.

Viome then combines this analysis with predictive biomarkers and precision diagnostics to detect cancers, metabolic and autoimmune disease, inflammation, and other chronic conditions."

Our current healthcare is actually “sick care”—passive, reactive, and focused on damage control. It is "revenue based care".

Our goal needs to actually be “healthcare.” wherein we use advanced diagnostics and exponential tech to achieve an outcome that is personalized, precise, predictive, and preventive. (probably a well meaning hype).

More food for thought and perhaps good health are Peter's Laws.  Some of this post must be taken with a grain of salt and perhaps a modicum of supplements. Peter Diamandis is an excellent speaker and a visionary of things which have taken place and to come.

I recommend his books

Longevity Insider

Eight substances added to 15th Report on Carcinogens | National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Our civilization produces and uses many compounds that do not exist natively, except for those trapped in underground  petroleum deposits.   Many have been identified in the past and identified as dangerous to humans, especially children.

Eight substances added to 15th Report on Carcinogens

A chronic bacterial infection, a flame retardant, and six water disinfection byproducts are listed in a new HHS cancer report.

Eight substances have been added to the Report on Carcinogens, bringing the total list to 256 substances that are known, or reasonably anticipated, to cause cancer in humans. This is the 15th Report on Carcinogens, which is a cumulative report, mandated by Congress and prepared by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) for the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The release of this report coincides with the 50th Anniversary of the National Cancer Act of 1971, which initiated the nation’s war on cancer.

In the new report, chronic infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is listed as known to be a human carcinogen. The flame-retardant chemical antimony trioxide, and six haloacetic acids (HAAs) found as water disinfection byproducts are listed as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.

“Cancer affects almost everyone’s life, either directly or indirectly,” said Rick Woychik, Ph.D., director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and NTP. “As the identification of carcinogens is a key step in cancer prevention, publication of the report represents an important government activity towards improving public health.”

The Report on Carcinogens identifies many different environmental factors, collectively called substances, including chemicals; infectious agents, such as viruses; physical agents, such as X-rays and ultraviolet radiation; and exposure scenarios. A substance is listed as either known to be a human carcinogen or reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen, to indicate the potential hazard.

The report does not include estimates of cancer risk because many factors affect whether a person will or will not develop cancer. Those include the carcinogenic potency of the substance, the level and duration of exposure, and an individual’s susceptibility to the carcinogenic action of the substance.

Chronic infection with H. pylori

H. pylori is a bacterium that colonizes in the stomach and can cause gastritis and peptic ulcers. Most people do not show symptoms. Chronic infection may lead to stomach cancer and a rare type of stomach lymphoma. Infection primarily occurs from person-to-person contact, especially in crowded housing conditions, and may occur by drinking well water contaminated with H. pylori.

People living in poverty and certain racial, ethnic, and immigrant groups are disproportionately affected by H. pylori infection. Treatment of infected people who have stomach ulcers or signs of stomach infection can decrease their risk of cancer.  H.pylori can be treated with antibiotics orally.

There are natural treatments available.  One should consult with their physician before trying any treatments, natural or otherwise.  if you suspect you have H.Pylori there is a breathe test that detects the bacteria, which is also an oral disease.

Antimony trioxide

Antimony trioxide is primarily used as a component of flame-retardants in plastics, textiles, and other consumer products. Highest exposure occurs among workers who produce the substance or use it to make flame retardants.

Other people are potentially exposed to low levels of antimony trioxide from breathing contaminated outdoor air or dust from the wear and tear of flame-retardant-treated consumer products, such as carpets and furniture. State and federal agencies limit exposure to the substance in the workplace and the environment through regulation.

Six haloacetic acids (HAAs) found as water disinfection byproducts

Water treatment removes contaminants and disease-causing agents from drinking water. HAAs are formed during the disinfection of water from a reaction between the chlorine-based disinfection agents and organic matter in the source water.

Approximately 250 million U.S. residents use community water systems and are potentially exposed to HAAs in disinfected water. Municipal water systems monitor for some HAAs. Improvements in disinfection technology, such as filtration methods, can reduce the levels of HAAs in drinking water.

The following six HAAs are included in the report:

• Bromochloroacetic acid (BCA)
• Bromodichloroacetic acid (BDCA)
• Chlorodibromoacetic acid (CDBA)
• Dibromoacetic acid (DBA)
• Dichloroacetic acid (DCA)
• Tribromoacetic acid (TBA)

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) is a federal inter-agency program within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Three federal agencies comprise NTP: The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health; the National Center for Toxicological Research(link is external), part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health(link is external), part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) supports research to understand the effects of the environment on human health, and it is part of the National Institutes of Health. For more information on NIEHS or environmental health topics, visit https://www.niehs.nih.gov/ or subscribe to a news list.

Eight substances added to 15th Report on Carcinogens | National Institutes of Health (NIH)

If you developed serious complications from the Covid 19 Vaccine (Moderna, Johnson and Johnson or others you may be eligible for compensation.

Claim Alleging Injury or Death From a COVID-19 Countermeasure to Be Compensated

More than 4,000 other claims await decision by the U.S. government compensation program. For the first time amid the pandemic, the U.S. government compensation program will pay out one of the 4,751 claims alleging injuries or death arising from the administration of a covered countermeasure used to diagnose, treat, or prevent COVID-19.  Countermeasures may include emergency authorized or federally approved vaccines, drugs, and medical devices that the Food and Drug Administration allows for use during a public health emergency. 

The compensation program is run by the HRSA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Established in 2010 through the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act of 2005, the CICP not only provides benefits to people who’ve suffered serious injuries or death as a result of being given a countermeasure, but it also protects individuals and companies involved in producing or administering the countermeasures from lawsuits, unless it can be shown that there was willful misconduct.

In the past the CCIP program covered vaccine complications from HN1 vaccinations and others. Complete medical records must be submitted.  To be considered for benefits, people must file a claim within one year of the date they received a countermeasure, or their claim will be rejected. All three COVID-19 vaccines—Pfizer, Takeda/Moderna, and AstraZeneca—administered in Japan are covered in the compensation program

But in the event that the CICP develops a COVID-19 Countermeasures Injury Table and the HHS Secretary publishes it on the Federal Register, people have one year from the effective date of the injury table to file a claim even though their previous claim was denied.  Because of the rapidly evolving Coronavirus these tables may not be available in a timely fashion. 

The CICP is the payer of last resort and can only reimburse or pay for medical expenses or lost employment income that are not covered by other third-party payers. To date, the CICP has paid compensation for 29 CICP claims, totaling more than $6 million. An additional 10 CICP claims were eligible for compensation after a review of the required medical records and documentation; however, in these cases there were no eligible reported medical expenses or lost employment income for the CICP to compensate.

How to electronically file a CICP Request for Benefits

By US Postal Mail:

Your petition must be filed with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

Submit your petition, one original and two copies, including cover sheet, medical records, and other documentation plus the appropriate filing fee to:

Clerk

U.S. Court of Federal Claims

717 Madison Place NW

Washington, DC 20439

Electronic Filing

Claim Alleging Injury or Death From a COVID-19 Countermeasure to Be Compensated

Even before COVID, Dr. Michael Greiwe, knew that telemedicine technology would help his orthopedic practice, OrthoCincy, grow as well as increase his patient’s satisfaction and engagement. So he developed the OrthoLive telemedicine platform because there was nothing that met his needs as an orthopedic provider.In this episode, hosts John Ellis and Jennifer Thompson chat with Dr. Greiwe, Founder of Ortholive, which provides convenient, secure access to care while increasing efficiency, revenue, and user satisfaction without a steep or unnecessary learning curve. Listen as we discuss how telemedicine has affected the healthcare industry, the challenges, and the opportunities and what it may look like a few years from now.

Post Covid demand for healthcare continues as the cycle continues to be a seasonal one.  The latest iteration of Covid 19 is now called "Omicron". It is even more easily transmitted and highly infections.  Current rates of growth are double daily.

Even in non related medical specialties physicians are finding it helpful if not necessary to use telehealth to improve patient access, decrease transportation and diminish exposure especially to elderly patients with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, or immun-compromise. The key ingredient for prevention was and always will be vaccination.  The third jab is recommended for all those who are eligible.

 

Tune in to discover:

 

• The process and the challenges of implementing telemedicine
• The evolution and role of improved technology
• What happens to telemedicine post-COVID?
• Is there data that correlates to increased revenue for practices?
• Is telemedicine a sustainable model where healthcare clinics use telemedicine to fill empty appointment slots?
• The accessibility of telemedicine for rural communities and healthcare practices

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) continues to reshape the globe.

New York's COVID Surge Is Back and So Is Its Mask Mandate.

The resurgence of Covid 19 appears to have become regional, and appears in waves. The earliest cases in the United States were easily found to be near and around international airports originating from airline traffic from South Africa.  It did not take long for community outbreaks to occur.  Twenty-first Century travel and transportation makes case tracking very difficult, since public health resources are already strained.

Mask fatigue and vaccine resistance by the public add a troublesome component to the war on COVID. Facing a winter surge in COVID-19 infections, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday that masks will be required in all indoor public places unless the businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement.  Though supported by many, mask mandates also have become a hot-button issue. Republican elected officials reacting to Hochul's announcement called it an unnecessary burden on businesses.

"This newest mask mandate is government overreach at its worst," said Republican Assemblyman Mike Lawler of suburban Rockland County. "Across New York state, we are getting shots in arms and our vaccination rate is one of the highest in the nation."

COVID disinformation has also affected good judgment amongs caregivers. The Federated Board of State Medical Boards of Medical Examiners and the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners have issued warnings and reprimands to those M.D. issuing false information about COVID vaccinations and treatments.

12 State Boards Have Disciplined Docs for COVID Misinformation

The FSMB board of directors warned physicians in July that they risked disciplinary action if they spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation.

“Physicians who generate and spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation are risking disciplinary action by state medical boards, including the suspension or revocation of their medical license. Due to their specialized knowledge and training, licensed physicians possess a high degree of public trust and therefore have a powerful platform in society, whether they recognize it or not. They also have an ethical and professional responsibility to practice medicine in the best interests of their patients and must share information that is factual, scientifically grounded and consensus-driven for the betterment of public health. Spreading inaccurate COVID-19 vaccine information contradicts that responsibility, threatens to further erode public trust in the medical profession and puts all patients at risk.”

The organization said 15 state boards have now adopted similar statements.

Chaudhry said the FSMB was "encouraged by the number of boards that have already taken action to combat COVID-19 disinformation by disciplining physicians who engage in that behavior and by reminding all physicians that their words and actions matter, and they should think twice before spreading disinformation that may harm patients."

Only 12 state medical boards have taken action against physicians who have spread false or misleading information about COVID-19, according to a new survey from the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB).

The FSMB reports that in its 2021 annual survey two-thirds of its 71 member boards (which includes the United States, its territories, and Washington, DC) reported an increase in complaints about doctors spreading false or misleading information.

"The staggering number of state medical boards that have seen an increase in COVID-19 disinformation complaints is a sign of how widespread the issue has become," said Humayun J. Chaudhry, DO, MACP, president and CEO of the FSMB, in a statement.

COVID-19 Infections Among Vaccinated More Common and Severe in Immunocompromised: Study

Breakthrough COVID-19 cases are more common and severe in people with weakened immune systems, according to a new study.

Breakthrough infections are those that occur in vaccinated people.

Immunocompromised vaccinated people were three times more likely to contract COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, according to researchers, who published their findings in the Journal of Medical Economics.

The Epoch Times refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.

The study found that just 0.08 percent of fully vaccinated people had a breakthrough case, but that 0.18 percent of immunocompromised people had a breakthrough infection. While immunocompromised people represented 18 percent of those studied, they accounted for over 38 percent of infections, nearly six in 10 hospitalizations, and all the deaths.

Researchers analyzed nearly 1.2 million U.S. HealthVerity database records between Dec. 10, 2020, and July 8.

The study was conducted by Pfizer scientists and funded by the company, which makes one of the three COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States.

“The results supplement other real-world studies, and support the introduction of a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to increase protection among the immunocompromised individuals,” Manuela Di Fusco, the lead author and a part of Pfizer’s health economics and outcomes research team, said in a statement.

The cutoff date means researchers excluded records from the time period when other research indicates vaccine effectiveness against infection waned significantly, as many Americans were vaccinated in late 2020 or early 2021. Breakthrough infections, hospitalizations, and deaths have risen over time.

Booster doses, or third doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, were cleared by U.S. drug regulators in recent weeks because of the waning effectiveness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which initially recommended the additional shots for those 50 and older, announced on Nov. 29 that its now advising all individuals 18 and older to get one.

The agency cited the emergence of the Omicron CCP virus variant, although many scientists say it’s too soon to tell if the variant evades immunity better than other strains.

The new study was published after researchers in the Netherlands reported that an examination of 378 breakthrough infections identified in the country between January and July signaled the emergence of the CCP virus Delta variant and “a strong increase in breakthrough infections,” with more seen in people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson jabs than people who got a Pfizer or Moderna shot.

Researchers said in the pre-print paper that they saw many severe breakthrough cases among the elderly, although symptomatic cases were recorded in a number of younger people.

“Altogether, these results indicate that the emergence of the Delta variant might have lowered the efficiency of particular vaccine types to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections and that, although rare, the elderly are particularly at risk of becoming severely infected as the consequence of a breakthrough infection,” they said.

COVID-19 Infections Among Vaccinated More Common and Severe in Immunocompromised: Study