No Covid -19 vaccine this year, the darkest days may still be ahead of us

 

Why we will not have a Covid-19 vaccine this year and why the darkest days of the pandemic may still be ahead. Do you have Covid fatigue? We all do, and the level of anxiety in my patients is higher than I have ever seen it in 30 years. Be that as it may we have to handle it, and quickly. The darkest days of the pandemic may still be ahead. The second wave is just beginning. In Maryland in the summer the numbers in the hospital had been steadily decreasing, now they are static. We currently have 455 people in the hospital and almost a quarter of them are in the ICU. In the West and Mid West numbers are rising exponentially, hospitals are being overrun. My guess is after Thanksgiving the numbers here, will rise even higher. Added to this, immediately after Thanksgiving the flu season starts, what a cocktail for disaster. People are still refusing flu shots because “I never get the flu”. Please re-read the email I wrote on what it takes to make a vaccine and what kind of trials have to be done to make a safe vaccine. There are over 100 vaccines in the works but that doesn’t mean we will get one anytime soon. Even with “Warp speed“ and all. It has been proven that people have to have a significant illness to produce significant amounts of antibodies. But it appears that even those antibodies may only provide partial immunity at best. This is just one concern that vaccines need to overcome. When “the vaccine” for Covid finally gets here, it is going to be a logistical nightmare to get it to the billions of people in the world who need it. Anyway suffice to say this is NOT something that is going to be available this year to ordinary citizens like you and I. You don’t believe me? All I will say is: HIV/AIDS has been around 30 years and there still is no vaccine. That tells you something: you can’t just pull a vaccine out of thin air or on an artificial deadline. If anyone tells you otherwise it is political rhetoric (or as the Scottish say malarkey!). So forget about the vaccine! Spend your goals and energy on prevention elsewhere.  Please rethink your Thanksgiving plans, get creative. I am going to have a zoom Thanksgiving with my family. It takes some planning but most importantly, it is safe! My next email will discuss “Covid fat” and tips for working at home. For those of you who like the outdoors remember to get out there now, winter is coming. There are still lots of places you can go and still have social distancing. https://youtu.be/WSErlYsnGSA

Ecotherapy. A must to stay sane with covid-19!

Yesterday's shocking display. Sets us back on road to pandemic recovery

  Just for the record!

What happened yesterday was outrageous and disgraceful and I hold the doctors completely responsible. Being quarantined and in isolation does not mean going for a joy ride as a photo op!

The doctors are trained to manage patients with infectious diseases with a responsibility to both the patient and the community. They failed miserably. I question their principles and medical ethics.

Any patient can sign out of hospital AMA (against medical advice) that is their right. If this occurs with someone who is harmful to others the doctors should then notify the health department and seek  legal recourse with law enforcement up to and including a legal injunction.

Please understand, this is NOT “Ha Ha, look what just happened!”

It is nonsensical and should be condemned but the entire medical and public health community.

For the record that is how I would handle any of my patients who are ridiculous enough to behave in that manner.

Strategies for prevention and a presidential Covid cocktail

 

Stand back! .... at least 6 feet or more to be precise. Remember to step back and stand firm. Cleveland clinic has a rule that everyone on their campus must wear a mask but they did not enforce these rules on the day of the presidential debate because people get intimidated by power and celebrity. My colleagues should have known better and now we see what happens, an outbreak. 11 of the staff at the clinic so far plus, not to mention the president and his team. I’ll tell you what doesn’t get intimidated: the corona virus! If the most protected person on the face of the earth got Covid what does that tell you? I told you back in the spring it is an equal opportunity virus, anyone can get it, let alone ordinary people on the street like you and me. I am hoping that this will now motivate people to do the things they need to and finally overcome this pandemic. More people should be wearing masks, washing their hands and staying home. Each week I hear of people who thought they would take a quick trip out of state for the weekend and they come back with Covid. Please be consistent and who knows? If everyone does their part we could get this over with by the end of the year. Especially now that we have proven that even people in high places can get sick. Then again, if you recall Boris Johnson had Covid in May and now England is going through a second wave because things are opening up and people are continuing to go to pubs and resist wearing masks. Let’s talk about therapies for Covid: We know that taking Hydroxychloroquine as a preventative doesn’t work. The president has proven that. Now we hear about a cocktail under investigation that was administered to the president. What is it, who makes it and what is the motivation for promoting it and/or the company? Why didn’t they just give him Remdesivir? What is a monoclonal cocktail? So, the president’s physician announced that he gave him vitamin D, Zinc, Pepcid, aspirin and a Monoclonal antibody cocktail. As for zinc and vitamin D I have written about them ad nauseam this year so I assume you are taking them (in my opinion they should have added a mega dose of vitamin C as well). Aspirin is because he is high risk and a lot of people who get seriously ill with Covid develop a blood clotting problem. I assume the Pepcid is to protect his stomach from the aspirin. Back to the cocktail: it is a combo of two antibodies which are thought to have shortened the recovery time and amount of virus in the nasal cavities of a small number of volunteers. I’m not sure why the doctor felt it appropriate to mention the company by name. Particularly since this product is not authorized by the FDA, even for emergency use, and they knew people would start asking for it. Interestingly, the CEO of the company is a member of the president’s golf club in Westchester and has known him for a long time. His company was awarded more than 500 million dollars by the federal government to develop its product.. Also the company has an arrangement with the department of defense to distribute the first 300,000 doses once it is available. Before you run over to my office requesting this cocktail, remember that even if it was available (which it is not), any medicine that is made to affect the immune system is probably going to cost more than half your year’s salary.  It's much cheaper to wear your mask and keep social distancing. Stay well. Take special care of the seniors.