Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #91

[SouthAussie]

Large Numbers Of Health Care And Frontline Workers Are Refusing Covid-19 Vaccine

".... a lack of faith in the government to ensure the vaccines were safe."

I hope that President Elect Biden and his team are able to turn this thinking around, with scientific proof and calming messaging. (Even if it has to be at Grade 5 level, as some here have suggested.)

 

[FrostOwl]

That's exactly what I was thinking. They mostly only know basic first aid and are not medically trained to determine who can survive any particular ordeal or won't. And if they decide a patient isn't worth saving, will they just leave the patient at home, on the streets, or...? What a horrendous situation.

What kind of education is needed to work as an ambulance crew? Here in Sweden at least one in the ambulance crew has to be a registered nurse, and in most places the other one has to be an assistant nurse (a three-year-long education) to be able to work in the ambulance. Very often the ambulance nurses have worked at an emergency department (or ICU) before they go to the ambulance service.

 

[SouthAussie]

What kind of education is needed to work as an ambulance crew? Here in Sweden at least one in the ambulance crew has to be a registered nurse, and in most places the other one has to be an assistant nurse (a three-year-long education) to be able to work in the ambulance. Very often the ambulance nurses have worked at an emergency department (or ICU) before they go to the ambulance service.

EMTs/paramedics are not allowed to pronounce 'dead at the scene' or 'dead in the back of the ambulance' for good reason. I think that with whatever amount of extensive training they get, it will be very difficult for them to say that the patient would have died regardless of transportation or oxygen given.
Especially if the patient could be (hypothetically) placed on a ventilator if they could just get them to the hospital.

Once at the ER, the EMT/paramedic's responsibility is over. It will be very difficult for them to change their mode of operation and try to guess if a person will die regardless of what they do. It is not as if these people are losing copious amounts of blood from being mangled in an accident. The state of their condition is hidden inside their bodies.

Let's hope that no lawsuits arise from these kind of possible future situations in California.

 

[GRT]

EMTs/paramedics are not allowed to pronounce 'dead at the scene' or 'dead in the back of the ambulance' for good reason. I think that with whatever amount of extensive training they get, it will be very difficult for them to say that the patient would have died regardless of transportation or oxygen given.
Especially if the patient could be (hypothetically) placed on a ventilator if they could just get them to the hospital.

Once at the ER, the EMT/paramedic's responsibility is over. It will be very difficult for them to change their mode of operation and try to guess if a person will die regardless of what they do. It is not as if these people are losing copious amounts of blood from being mangled in an accident. The state of their condition is hidden inside their bodies.

Let's hope that no lawsuits arise from these kind of possible future situations in California.

When I volunteered on the ambulance -- nearly a decade ago -- the EMTs would obtain a "phone patch" with the doctor who was on call, or the patient's actual physician, and call th death over the phone, depending on the state of the patient. But, they had to be obviously dead, not someone who could be rescuitated.

Not transporting a patient because an EMT thinks their chance of survival is low, is risky, in my opinion. I think lawsuits will arise, especially because emergency workers are paid by tax dollars and every taxpayer has a right to be treated in an emergency situation.

It's so sad it's come to this.

 

[GRT]

What kind of education is needed to work as an ambulance crew? Here in Sweden at least one in the ambulance crew has to be a registered nurse, and in most places the other one has to be an assistant nurse (a three-year-long education) to be able to work in the ambulance. Very often the ambulance nurses have worked at an emergency department (or ICU) before they go to the ambulance service.

Maybe it varies by state or community in the US, but in my community, the person has to have obtained, at a minimum, certification as an EMT, although I think my community pretty much restricts it to EMICTs. I volunteered for a few years after being certified as ERT (emergency response team), but we were only there to assist, never to make suggestions or take any action on our own.

 

[GRT]

Being able to see family is key. It’s the lack of physical contact for almost a year that’s drained our older population. Some are unable to sit outside. Just waving at people from a window. We’ve managed but just barely holding on.
It would be wonderful if the family lived nearby and could safely visit.

I see my mother almost daily, but that's only because my sister and I take turns shopping for her and doing all her chores and errands. She's elderly now, and getting frail, but we don't want to put her in long-term care as long as covid is ravaging nursing homes. We have a unique situation. My husband and I built a home for my parents about 13 years ago on acreage we sold them--at that time it was because my dad was becoming unable to walk and he needed a home with wide doorways and other elements of universal design in order for my mom to use lifts to put him on the pot, in his powerchair, etc.

He passed 8 years ago and my mother has gone downhill substantially since then. My husband and I also deeded land to my sister who move here after her divorce and built her a small house (husband is a contractor), so now, the three families all live on an 80-acre parcel. My mom needs meals made, housecleaning done, etc., so we take turns. She sees one of us daily (we both work from home now), but she still feels isolated. When the weather permits, she takes walks down the long drive with her walker and her cat. It's the best we can do right now, but I'm hoping we can get her vaccinated soon.

 

[IceIce9]

Social distancing just means staying 3 feet away from another person. We have been able to manage it for 10 months now. You get used to it. We had a hug-less, kiss-less Christmas and New Years this year, but still had a lot of laughs and togetherness.
I see my DD, SIL, other family and friends regularly ... we social distance. Pretend to blow kisses to each other.
.

You should keep a distance of 6 feet, minimum, and be sure to wear masks.

 

[SouthAussie]

You should keep a distance of 6 feet, minimum, and be sure to wear masks.

That does not apply in Australia. Our rules are a bit different. And none of us wear masks, except intermittently when required during a sporadic outbreak.

Presumably everyone knows the rules for their own areas.

We are at the point at the moment where QR code location scanning (for potential contact tracing), washing hands, and social distancing (less than 6 feet ... about 3-4 feet and at least an arm's length away) are our main forms of dealing with the virus.
Mostly because there is very little of it here, and what is here has much tighter restrictions in place until they get it under control.

 

[IceIce9]

That does not apply in Australia. Our rules are a bit different. And none of us wear masks, except intermittently when required during a sporadic outbreak.

Presumably everyone knows the rules for their own areas.

I wasn’t really thinking about rules, but safety. According to the experts 3 feet isn’t enough to prevent transmission.

MOO I think it is better to follow safety guidelines than local rules. In the US many states and counties either have no rules or have very minimal rules, yet many people wear masks and observe social distancing to keep themselves and those around them safe.

YMMV

 

[SouthAussie]

I wasn’t really thinking about rules, but safety. According to the experts 3 feet isn’t enough to prevent transmission.

MOO I think it is better to follow safety guidelines than local rules. In the US many states and counties either have no rules or have very minimal rules, yet many people wear masks and observe social distancing to keep themselves and those around them safe.

YMMV

I guess you would have to live in my country to understand what I mean. We follow the dots on the floor everywhere, and do what is required of us. Our requirements are different. We listen to our own safety experts, not the US ones.
The US is not setting a good example.

We have no community transmission of the virus. And when we very occassionally do, the guidance changes immediately and is strictly enforced.

We are very big on contact tracing here, and many, many people have contact tracing apps on their phones so that we can be easily located.

Our ways our foreign to other people, that is evident. But, so far, it has been working very well for us.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

I wasn’t really thinking about rules, but safety. According to the experts 3 feet isn’t enough to prevent transmission.

MOO I think it is better to follow safety guidelines than local rules. In the US many states and counties either have no rules or have very minimal rules, yet many people wear masks and observe social distancing to keep themselves and those around them safe.

YMMV

I guess you would have to live in my country to understand what I mean. We follow the dots on the floor everywhere, and do what is required of us. Our requirements are different. We listen to our own safety experts, not the US ones.
The US is not setting a good example.

We have no community transmission of the virus. And when we very occassionally do, the guidance changes immediately and is strictly enforced.

We are very big on contact tracing here, and many, many people have contact tracing apps on their phones so that we can be easily located.

Our ways our foreign to other people, that is evident. But, so far, it has been working very well for us.

Some folks are better with visuals than words.

Here is the difference though. UK/US vs Australia. I would love to be where Oz is these day and have their options as SouthAussie has described here to us all again and again... and again.

Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) - Statistics and Research

UK/US (Note the left hand axis top is 800 per million)

Australia (Note the left hand y axis is even MUCH lower than US/UK as the top of the y axis is 20 per million vs. 800 per million for the US/UK).


As @SouthAussie has stated... community spread is the difference. Kudos to OZ.

 

[IceIce9]

Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine update | khou.com


Single dose vaccine next up for approval. Experts say Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine could be a game-changer since it only requires one shot and does not require ultra-cold storage.

. Johnson & Johnson’s adenovirus-based vaccine works differently than Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines, which use messenger RNA. Doctors say it produces an antigen, or protein, which causes an immune response to protect against the novel coronavirus. The same technology was used to develop the Ebola vaccine.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Tuesday, January 5 th update

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[ilovewings]

George Whitmore, legendary climber of El Capitan, dies at 89

One more added to the growing list. How many more of our "Greatest Generation" are going to be stolen from us because of this virus? People may say that at 89...he had a long life. But, this virus, that has killed so many, is still claiming more lives every single day.

A year ago all those 340,000 people that are now deceased as a result of this virus, were alive---- I think about that a lot- it is a very depressing thought-it didn't have to be this way.

 

[GRT]

I guess you would have to live in my country to understand what I mean. We follow the dots on the floor everywhere, and do what is required of us. Our requirements are different. We listen to our own safety experts, not the US ones.
The US is not setting a good example.

We have no community transmission of the virus. And when we very occassionally do, the guidance changes immediately and is strictly enforced.

We are very big on contact tracing here, and many, many people have contact tracing apps on their phones so that we can be easily located.

Our ways our foreign to other people, that is evident. But, so far, it has been working very well for us.

It sounds like a pretty good plan. Here in the States, we saw a drop in the summer, and I believe I heard that was (partially) due to the warmer weather that reduced virus transfer. I wonder if your warm weather now is helping, as well?

I sure hope we have this thing licked--for the most part--by the time summer gets here and winter reaches you again. If we can't convince enough to get vaccines, however, who knows how long covid might haunt us.

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

Jessie Cave: Harry Potter star reveals newborn baby has COVID-19

Harry Potter star Jessie Cave has revealed her newborn baby has contracted COVID-19.

The actress, who played Lavender Brown in the film adaptations of JK Rowling's hit books, gave birth to her son Tenn in October. His "traumatic" delivery left him in the neonatal unit, she said.

"I watched the news about lockdown from an isolated room in hospital," Cave wrote. "Poor baby is covid positive.

"He's okay and doing well but they are being vigilant and cautious, thankfully.

 

[SouthAussie]

It sounds like a pretty good plan. Here in the States, we saw a drop in the summer, and I believe I heard that was (partially) due to the warmer weather that reduced virus transfer. I wonder if your warm weather now is helping, as well?

I sure hope we have this thing licked--for the most part--by the time summer gets here and winter reaches you again. If we can't convince enough to get vaccines, however, who knows how long covid might haunt us.

If there is no community transmission, there is nowhere for the virus to come from. So it is not weather related here at the moment.

Greater Sydney area is having a little community transmission right now (well, they had zero cases today, so they may be getting a grip on their outbreak already ... hopefully).

This is why we are so big on quarantining incoming returned travellers because we don't want any virus in the community. They are not allowed out of quarantine until 14 days has passed, and they have tested negative ... or until they are well and test negative, if they enter the country with the virus (which we see more of now that the world is in such a mess).

Any outbreaks we have had have all stemmed from some stupid slip up with the quarantining. Which is why my state is opening a dedicated facility for covid positive people, when they come in from overseas. Keeping them apart from the covid negative 14-day quarantined returned travellers.

 

[drama_farmer]

I have used the phrase "It is what it is" throughout my adult life to help in processing situations that are so far beyond my control that fighting against reality would only serve to worsen my mental health.

The key phrase, IMO is "beyond my/our control."

We've seen the phrase It is what it is used by our elected officials as a rhetorical white flag against Covid-19.

Imo, none of what has happened to this country (USA) can be blamed on a situation that was beyond our ability to deal with it.

So, "It is what it is" has become the mantra of the uneducated, unmotivated, and uncaring of not just our government, but a startling percentage of our neighbors and family as well.

I can no longer think or say "It is what it is" without feeling like I have been gut-punched. IMO

 

[ilovewings]

The Latest: U.S. health officials say they plan to stick with two-dose vaccine regimen

HHS secretary shoots down idea of changing vaccine protocol.

Well thank goodness. what a stupid idea it was in the first place to change protocol- a new protocol that wasn't involved in the trials.

 

[LadyL]

Here’s Why You’ll Still Need to Wear a Mask After Getting Vaccinated for COVID-19

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