Health Begets Health

Canada takes lead on first dose vaccinations

Vaccine access will be a discussion topics for months and even years to come. “Rich” countries, beginning with the United States, have ensured their population has first access to the vaccines, namely Pfizer and Moderna. Other countries follow suit, and although there’s been gaps of months for these countries, supply is now picking up steam and more and more people are getting jabs in arms. Canada is now the leading country in terms of percentage of population with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Now it’s a matter of distribution and increasing access for the entire world, not just those who can hoard vaccine volume/shots.

Hospice Care: Pioneering Palliative Care and What’s Next

In medieval times the term hospice meant a refuge for ill or tired travellers. In other countries hospices are specific buildings where care is provided only for patients of life limiting illnesses. However in the US hospice care is a term that denotes care to the terminally ill patient at the location of his or her choosing. That location can be the patient’s home, a family member’s home or an institution. The concept of hospice is the recognition of the end of life as part of a natural process. The desire is to help a patient at that stage cope with that progression as positively and with as much dignity and respect as possible. Hospice care also recognizes the importance of the involvement of the patient’s family in the decisions involved in the patient’s care.

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AstraZeneca Vaccine More Effective In new Study

There were initial reports of the AstraZeneca vaccine with a slightly lower effective rate compared to the primary North American vaccines made by Moderna and Phizer. Couple that with recent dubious concerns that the AZ vaccine was causing health problems (blood clots), and many governments paused distribution. That also meant general populations refused to take it, thereby stigmatizing the vaccine in a time when ANY vaccine is the right one. These are valid concerns by the public, but with additional information becoming available, those concerns must be put to rest. It also behooves governments that have approved the vaccine (or will), to do a better job with public health communication to dispel any rumours AstraZeneca isn’t a “good” vaccine. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In the study of 30,000 people, the vaccine was 79% effective at preventing symptomatic cases of COVID-19 — including in older adults. There were no severe illnesses or hospitalizations among vaccinated volunteers, compared with five such cases in participants who received dummy shots — a small number, but consistent with findings from Britain and other countries that the vaccine protects against the worst of the disease.

https://apnews.com/article/us-data-shows-astrazeneca-vaccine-safe-all-ages-a73e711c7309be4444c65d5f9ae90c43

COVID Vaccination Rates by Country

Ahead or behind?

There is a clear association between countries that have money, and those that produce vaccines within its borders. Poorer nations will likely wait a year before enough vaccines arrive. That means the top countries fighting for supply right now, America leading the way, are very lucky to fighting over anything at all. To put things into comparison. Check out the graph below to see where you country lines up.

Will Vaccination Cover America’s Ineptitude?

THe ineptitude in America surrounding anti-masks protesting and individualism (culturally important to Americans), the proliferation of COVID is the result. The largest tally of deaths to COVID-19 is America. The largest impact for the after affects, it will be America. The population, particularly if you’re poor, is monumental.

But, America also has among the fastest rollouts of vaccination. At this point it’s our only hope to combat the ineptitude of federal and certain state level governments who have refused to treat the pandemic seriously.

As for now, the vaccine may prove to be the needed saving grace. Assuming enough people have access and can get it (or will get it). Time will tell. Here is a chart about current country vaccination rates:
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COVID Vaccines Slowly Rolling Out. Is it Enough?

Frontline healthcare workers are slowly getting back sedated with the new Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. At the end of December 1 round of the Pfizer vaccine began and the Moderna vaccine has recently been approved as well. Both of them require two doses and the most vulnerable, the rich, and frontline healthcare workers are the first to receive it. Will it be enough?

At the rate that America is going at least, it won’t be. Slowing the spread of the virus is the main goal of the vaccine that’s over 95+% effective. The trouble is you need to get a critical mass of your population inoculated for it to take affect. As a healthcare system crumbles under the continued stress of Covid patients, America still has to deal with their anti-vaccine minority.

The predominantly white population confused with conspiracy theories are refusing to not only get the vaccine, they are also staging anti-mask protest there by increasing the spread of infection at an exponential rate. This is been going on since Covid first came to North America, and likely will never end. That’s a difficult reality to consider when a significant portion of the population will refuse the solution. That will continue to impact businesses but more importantly decimate the most vulnerable populations.

In the process of killing themselves, anti-maskers and anti-vaccine Proponents are slated to take down as many people with them due to a otter lack of intelligence.

Get your vaccine, compel your government to distribute effectively, quickly, and free. Let’s get this thing over with and let’s imagine a better world and healthcare system of tomorrow.

Libertarian States Killing Themselves Off

North and South Dakota have a dubious distinction as the worst places to contract Coronoa. They have the highest per capita COVID-19 death rate anywhere on the face of the planet. Does this come as a surprise? Absolutely not.

This is one of the last places on earth that has employed any coherent COVID-19 strategy. The majority of the citizens simply don’t want it. Most think the virus is a grand hoax. Apart from lower education levels, implementation of simple measures do go a long way. But try convincing anti-mask states.

One of the simplest tools that prevents the transmission of the virus is mask wearing but libertarian states refuse to adhere to a mask rule because of its supposed infringement on personal liberties. This has led to a direct correlation to the astronomical increase in cases and deaths. To make matters worse America is the only advanced economy in the world that does not have a single payer healthcare system. Americans prefer no access to healthcare and death, over health and community safety. What’s exchanged is the notion of maintaining individual liberties, but that comes at the cost of dying.

To some it’s worth it.

Data from http://91-divoc.com/pages/covid-visualization/

U.S. crosses 10 million COVID-19 cases as wave of infections surges

https://www.reuters.com/article/BigStory12/idUSKBN27P00U

But don’t stop now. Americans love to be #1 at everything, and for the past week they’ve eclipsed even themselves. On Nov. 12th, the U.S. reported 150,000 new coronavirus cases, setting world record for 3rd day in a row.

You’re no. 1 America!

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Numbing to 100,000 Daily COVID Cases in USA

Reuters is reporting that for the 7th straight day the United States has had 100,000 new positive cases of the COVID-19 virus. That unprecedented increase in daily cases is far and above any other country in the world and it doesn’t look to be slowing. America is at the behest of a federal government that denies the impact and danger of COVID, and has no national plan to slow its spread. Cases and deaths will continue to spiral out of control in this larger second wave.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-cases/u-s-reports-more-than-100000-covid-19-cases-for-seventh-day-in-a-row-idUSKBN27R09T

Quarter Million Preventable COVID Deaths in USA

the United States is quickly approaching a dubious distinction of hitting a quarter million deaths as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lack of federal response, coupled with conspiracies and the overall conservative and libertarian culture in America has proved to be its undoing.

With the looming election coming, the expectation is the terrible federal response will be one of the following issues and the proverbial straw that will break the Republican party’s back.

America is one of the only developed nations on the face of the planet that does not provide universal healthcare. This despite spending more per capita on healthcare. The unwillingness to move to a single payer system in favour of individual rights and military spending, means for the average American Covid is killer. For the most vulnerable it’s deadly. The poor and the elderly are unequally represented in COVID deaths.

Things could be changing just around the corner. Despite America’s rapidly increasing divide between ultra wealthy and the growing yet stagnant middle-class, a change in government may offer the federal response required to turn the tide of an unmitigated growing a second wave of the virus. A vaccine will also help, but that can’t be relied upon to stop the bleeding that’s occurring now.