Some simply do not regain energy or strength for months. COVID recovery, even for those with minimal or no symptoms, seems to have elevated their risk of getting a new preexisting condition. Indeed, as the impeachment process focused on whether former President Trump should be prevented from seeking public office again, despite his recovery and specialized treatment with Regeneron (very expensive and not yet approved or generally available to other COVID victims), he just might not be healthy enough to face a future election, assuming he survives. His bout with COVID seems to have been much more serious than the public believes.
“President Donald J. Trump was sicker with Covid-19 in October than publicly acknowledged at the time, with extremely depressed blood oxygen levels at one point and a lung problem associated with pneumonia caused by the coronavirus, according to four people familiar with his condition… His prognosis became so worrisome before he was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center that officials believed he would need to be put on a ventilator, two of the people familiar with his condition said… The people familiar with Mr. Trump’s health said he was found to have lung infiltrates, which occur when the lungs are inflamed and contain substances such as fluid or bacteria. Their presence, especially when a patient is exhibiting other symptoms, can be a sign of an acute case of the disease. They can be easily spotted on an X-ray or scan, when parts of the lungs appear opaque, or white.
“Mr. Trump’s blood oxygen level alone was cause for extreme concern, dipping into the 80s, according to the people familiar with his evaluation. The disease is considered severe when the blood oxygen level falls to the low 90s.” New York Times, February 11th.
As state and federal vaccine distribution initiatives open up inoculations to those with preexisting conditions, regardless of age, exactly how do individuals with such conditions prove that they are in that impaired cohort? How severe does that condition have to be? How do people with mobility impairing preexisting conditions find their way to vaccination sites? Or how do vaccinations reach those unable to travel to vaccination sites?
Indeed, late last year, a federal program prioritized reaching into nursing homes to administer the virus. How did that go? “The federally run program contracted with major pharmacy chains around the U.S. Launched in December, it was meant to speed vaccines to the most vulnerable people in the U.S. But disruptions over the winter holidays and the challenge of going from facility to facility vaccinating older people have added at least a month to the timeline.
“Perceptions of the program’s slower-than-expected rollout have also been shaped by complaints from state governors that doses allocated to the nursing homes have gone unused, even as they run short of vaccine for the general public. But unlike a mass-vaccination clinic that can handle thousands of people a day, the nursing homes are a far-less efficient setting, requiring trips to the homes and then going door-to-door.
“‘This is not mass vaccination, and there were some misconceptions going into it by the public that we would sweep through thousands of homes in a week,’ said Ruth Link-Gelles, who leads the effort for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ‘It’s plodding along from room to room; it just takes time.’
“Because of their age and frailty, nursing home residents have been the most likely to die from Covid-19. Infections have run rampant among staff as well, leaving them among the harder-hit health-care workers. Many nursing homes have put up strict isolation rules, leaving residents lonely and isolated for months. Protecting them with a vaccine would change the face of the pandemic and provide much-needed relief.
“An analysis of state and federal data by Bloomberg shows that in 20 states, there are 2.1 million doses that have been allocated to the nursing home program but have still not been counted as used. The unused doses represent 44% of about 4.92 million doses allocated or shipped to them through the U.S. program. It’s a greater share than the 30% of doses that haven’t been counted as used across the entire U.S., according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.” Bloomberg.com, February 12th. Even New York Governor Cuomo has admitted not being completely forthright in report his state’s own failures in covering nursing homes.
For those with significant disabilities, just coping with COVID issues on a daily basis gets complicated. Add freezing temperatures and heavy storms to the mix, and complexity rises. And as vaccination sites run out of product, even for those with appointments, insecurity rises. Take a simple situation – like someone who is blind – trying to engage in the simplest effort to shop for food. Social distancing? Six feet? Remaining in line to enter the supermarket? Finding products within the store while staying six feet from any other shopper? Los Angeles is a typical example.
“Like so many challenges wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, grocery store lines are just one of the new impediments thrown, literally, into the way of the visually impaired… More than 188,000 people in Los Angeles County have ‘vision difficulty,’ including those who are ‘blind or having serious difficulty seeing, even when wearing glasses,’ according to U.S. census data from 2019.
“The Braille Institute, a nonprofit organization based in L.A., serves nearly 12,900 adults and children across the county… Those in the blind and low-vision community have long faced challenges now synonymous with the pandemic: social isolation, mobility limitations, classroom dynamics that are less than ideal. But the crisis has exacerbated those problems.
“Friends aren’t volunteering as many favors. Sighted strangers who may have previously lent a hand are more skittish to approach. Visually impaired children who learned daily tasks with a hand to guide their own are now relying on exhaustive verbal descriptions over video chats. And public transportation and ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft — lifelines for those who can’t drive — now pose potential health risks.
“‘Everybody’s feeling kind of shut in right now and out of touch with people, but we already have that isolation. So for us, it just has deepened even more,’ said Diane Wilkinson, 56, who has retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative retinal disease… Visual cues during the pandemic are difficult to navigate for those who can’t see. It is impossible to tell whether someone is six feet away or wearing a mask.” Lila Seidman, writing for the February 13th Los Angeles Times.
There are technologies available and home delivery shopping services that might help, but many visually impaired individuals are either unaware or technologically unsophisticated to use tech solutions. And not all pharmacies or supermarkets have provided some of the needed integrating interface. For example, “An app called Be My Eyes, for which Butler works, allows volunteers to assist visually impaired people by describing what the user points at with their phone camera. It has partnered with Accessible Pharmacy, a home-delivery pharmacy based in Philadelphia that specializes in services for the blind and low- vision community. Users can order medications with Braille labels or have COVID-19 test instructions read to them.” LA Times.
There is a lot of fear of virus exposure among those who might otherwise be willing to help. People are looking to cover their immediate family first and let “social services” deal with the rest. We have failed at so many levels in maximizing immunization and necessary prevention against this pandemic. There are still tens of millions of Americans, including too many caretakers at nursing homes, who continue to marginalize the risks of COVID or who believe that the available vaccines are simply too risky. That issue is exacerbated by people who erroneously believe that there is some sort of constitutional right not to wear masks, practice safe distancing and avoid crowded activities. We can and must do better. Just as human beings.
I’m Peter Dekom, and even as vaccines roll out in a mutating COVID environment, I wonder how many of us must die unnecessarily because of clearly preventable exposure and risks of infection.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment