I recently spoke with a good friend and well-respected doctor in Las Vegas about the current COVID situation. He informed me about the current state of the crisis. After hearing it, I thought others should know so that everyone can be the most informed.
Here is what he told me –
He estimated there are approximately 40%(?) of the population who still are not vaccinated.
The vaccine is just as safe, if not safer due to the many experts and scrutiny than such vaccines as mumps, measles, and smallpox vaccines. We must get to herd immunity in order to end the pandemic and the only way to do that is through a vaccinated public at large.
The problem – 25 to 40% of the population in the US is still a lot of people. When they catch the virus, they many times end up in the ER. The care for an unvaccinated adult, especially one that has other issues is enormous compared to the care needed for a vaccinated adult.
The care for an unvaccinated adult that has waited too long to come into an ER is even more enormous and time sensitive, and if they have other issues, is an all-hands effort.
ERs are being overrun and the staff in the ERs have been fighting this fight for 18months, many of them overtime plus.The staff is tired, burned out, and exhausted.People show up panic driven because they cannot breathe, demanding treatments, even ones that are not approved.Many people simply come down with a severe flu, but they still jam the ER until it is determined they will be able to fight off the virus at home.
What the general public does not realize, nor do they
consider -
ERs are also caring for all the other things that ERs were caring for before COVID, so it’s not like they sat around twiddling their thumbs out of boredom, its double the work now, double or triple the beds, and its harder to control an airborne virus. Meaning, we don’t want a patient in an ER to get the flu, even if they are vaccinated. They are already in the ER for another reason, adding a flu does not help at all.
At the end of the day, the Doctor said, people who have been vaccinated are far less likely to end up in the ER in the fist place, and they are less likely to assist in the spread of the disease when they are A symptomatic and vaccinated.
The Next Problem –
The virus is interacting with vaccinated people and non-vaccinated people.
Note – I am not an MD, nor am I qualified to speak about how this is happening. I am simply authoring this article as I understood his dialog to be.
Because the virus is interacting with both unvaccinated and vaccinated, and now the seasonal cold, it is mutating, which is where the Delta, and now Omicron variant has manifested. According to the Doctor, there are theories and forecasts being done that indicate we may be in the same boat next year, and worse yet, if the virus mutates to such a degree, the current vaccines may not be able to help, which means another round of vaccines and boosters for all.
I asked him what should we do then or what was the best solutions for the average person to do? He said:
GET VACCINATED ASAP if you are not.
Eat outside at restaurants and at home if feasible. Get takeout and eat outside at home if you have visitors.
Wear masks (N95) in public places, note – anywhere he has seen masks being worn, he has personally seen a down trend in infection, hence masks, while they suck, work to help stop the spread of the virus.
Stores and restaurants need to sanitize doors, menus, POS, and common places frequently.
Don’t let up, it is still very necessary.
Wash and sanitize frequently. Avoid crowds, or crowded situations. If hosting a dinner
have people eat outside if possible, and use utensils precautions so touching is limited.
He added that he knows these things are a pain in in the butt, but the fight is not over by a long shot. We need to come together, work together, and prevent the virus from mutation if we want to put this behind us. If we do not, we may be dealing with it again next year.
There you have it, from the Doctor himself as best that I could draft this article. I hope it was informative to you.
About the Author – John Peterson - Safety Expert is a Commercial Safety Expert who specializes in Service, restaurant and retail, and commercial property safety. John evaluates safety plans, prevention plans, and strategies for slip, trip, and fall prevention. John also evaluates incidents involving striking, collisions, colliding with, or materials handling events where someone was hit or struck by equipment. For more information, please visit our website at www.rlcsafety.com.
Comments