The Big Covid Post for Central Washington

 

We have been following the Centers for Disease Control since last year at the Enrollment Center. We had some serious conversations about Covid because we did not hear the conversations occurring. At the end of July they passed a major change that folks might have missed. We do live under a media bubble when it comes to healthcare. 

We have talked about a year for safe behavior. 

To maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission. Deltas spread is twice as great as the original strain. By the reactions in my office this week most people did not get the memo. Delta has been a Snoop Dogg levels for some time.

COVID-19 variants were expected. All RNA viruses mutate over time. Every time they infect a new host, they have a chance to change, and these changes are called variants. 

So let’s break down some of the myths.

Canadian Medical Association

It's not the flu. Covid is much worse. You have a 3.5 times greater chance of dying from original Covid than you do from traditional flu. You have a 1.5 times greater chance of using the ICU. This was the finding published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. When the University of Washington looked at the excess deaths statistics, it appears that there are more Covid Deaths than reported. The numbers are looking closer to a million dead. 

Kids do catch Covid-19 and they are filling hospitals. Currently kids make up 15% of Covid-19 cases and with the school year starting in a couple of weeks and political groups seeking to unmask and spread covid the numbers will only climb.  

NJ Governor speaks out.

Social distancing and masking may have slowed down the flu last year to the lowest number of flu-related  of deaths in recent years. On average, 36,000 people die each year because of the flu. 

 You might ask about what happened to the incentives? In Washington state, we had a lottery and it increased vaccination rate by 24% temporarily. Some companies may still offer a bonus like:  Amazon workers $100 bonus, Amtrak offering 2 hours paid leave, American Airlines offering a vacation day and bonus, Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden) offering 4 hours paid. Kroger offering $100 bonus, McDonalds, 4 hours off, Starbucks-  4 hours,  Target- 4 hours, Small businesses get a tax break. 

More than 50 health care professional organizations called for COVID-19 vaccine mandates for all healthcare and long term care workers back in July. Groups include American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, Association of American Medical Colleges, National Association for Home Care and Hospice, and American College of Surgeons. We are talking 17 million healthcare workers. 

Yes, your employer can require a Covid Vaccine.  Under the ADA, Title VII, and other federal employment nondiscrimination laws, an employer can require all employees physically entering the workplace to be vaccinated for COVID-19. Your employer can also ask you if you have symptoms, if you have COVID, can measure your body temperature, require a doctor's note to return, and ask if you have tested positive for COVID. Here is a list of employers that require the vaccine.

The Military. , Washington State Employees, healthcare and long term care workers. , Kaiser Permanente , Walmart & Disney , Google , Netflix Cicso, DoorDash, Facebook, Frontier Airlines, Tyson Foods, United Airlines, Walgreens, The Washington Post, 

Past protesters shot.

The Supreme Court has upheld compulsory vaccination laws. In Jacobson v Massachusetts, the Court declared states were authorized to require and enforce mandatory vaccinations. In Zuch v King, it was found that a Texas school district had a Constitutional right to bar the unvaccinated from it's campus. 

It is not a real surprise because our nation has its roots in vaccination. George Washington inoculated the troops against smallpox during the winter of 1776 in Valley Forge.

If you want to travel then you may be required to show proof of Vaccination. Canada opened its's borders Monday and no real surprise, documentation of a Covid Vaccination is required.

If you want to go out to eat then, you may be required to show a proof of Vaccination. Seattle Night Out program has over 130 restaurants and bars that are checking. This is a small expansion of when indoor facilities were offered access to more customers by having a vaccine only section. Do not be surprised if more places go down this path.

There are countries and regions of the United states (New York is a good example for gyms, restaurants and indoor concerts) that do require proof of vaccination aka a Vaccine Passport. 

It’s HIPAA not HIPPA. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1996. It is legislation that provides security provisions and data privacy in order to keep PATIENTS' medical information safe. While it prevents your medical doctors from spreading your information around town, it does not apply if your waiter asks you if you are vaccinated. We recently had a Representative get confused about HIPAA rights so yes even lawmakers can get this wrong. Asking for extra guacamole is not a HIPAA violation nor is asking if you have been vaccinated.

What about the magic of vaccines?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have approved the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid -19 Vaccine for Emergency use for ages 12 and up. It means that it has gone through trials involving thousands and the data is being monitored for safety. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen  are approved in the United States but 192 million Americans have received at least one dose and do not be surprised if full approval is granted in September. 

Vaccines have been a target of misinformation for years. Scientists have studied the foreign influence in promoting a negative attitude with that misinformation and as an enrollment center, we have seen healthcare disinformation for nearly a decade. There are a dozen people that have produced 65% of the disinformation and Vaccine disinformation has become a multi million dollar industry. The FDA has sent 194 warning letters to companies making fraudulent claims that their products prevent, treat, diagnose or cure COVID-19.  

Rob Swanda breaks down how the vaccines work.

No, vaccines do not contain fetal cells, eggs, preservatives, latex, metal, microchips and are on the road to full approval in probably September.  They provide a good workout for our body's immune system so that it is ready when it does encounter an Covid-19 virus. 

Moderna contains: 9 ingredients,  some you may recognize like Sucrose or cholesterol  and some you might not recognize like sodium acetate trihydrate.

Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen contains 7 ingredients. 

Pfizer-BioNTech Covid -19 vaccine contains  9 ingredients.

Vaccines do not create variants. The vaccines are incapable of creating a covid virus. 

Covid-19 vaccine does not make women infertile. The myth was generated by Wolfgang Wodarg a vaccine skeptic and one of the concerns of a proteins called syncytin-1 and woven into a fictional miniseries on Amazon Prime Video called Utopia.  

There is zero chance of a vaccinated person 'shedding' proteins. The only way that can happen is from a live-attenuated vaccine which none of the three approved vaccinations are. 

Systematic review of 50 long term effects

If you survive, then you might experience long term effects of Covid. Long Covid can impact 10 organ systems so even if you don't die, you could be looking at long term medical issues. Phd on RNA, Morgan Freney is from Brisbane Australia

Covid-19 can cause Erectile dysfunction while the vaccination does not. Check out Nini Munoz Phd for a great Instagram on communicating Science data. 

Natural Immunity is not enough. Doctor Kat breaks down why you get a shot if you have had it before. Check out Dr Kat, Epidemiologist for her great Tiktok videos. 

Why Joe Rogan has no business talking about Covid from Doctor Eric Burnett 

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No, vaccinated people are not equally likely to transmit Delta.  Check out German Scientist Sylvia KG  if you think the local information has a bias. 

Teens have had to band together and get vaccinations for without parental consent. Vaxteen is a great site that has all of the minor consent laws, myths and how to talk to your parents. Unity has a goal to have 90% of the kids vaccinated with the recommended vaccines. Our state laws are being challenged by a group called Children's Health Defense lead by Robert F Kennedy Jr which doesn't have a chapter located in our state. 

I really look forward to being able to talk about other things, however that requires folks to spread good information, get vaccinated and care about each other. 

You can catch more of our shows on Suzilla. Where we get into more about helping small businesses and our community.