COVID 19

Healthcare Lessons From The COVID-19 Pandemic


Hi there my beautiful lovelies! Hope you guys are doing well and staying safe. Today, I will talk to you about the lessons I have learned from the pandemic.

Mask is Good

COVID-19 Mask

Before the pandemic, I think we looked at masks as something that only the healthcare professional and sick people wore. However, what the pandemic taught us is that masks can also be a sign of being caring. Wearing a mask not only protects us but those surrounding up.

Masks are a case in point. They are a key COVID-19 prevention strategy because they provide a barrier that can keep respiratory droplets from spreading. Mask-wearing became more common across East Asia after the 2003 SARS outbreak in that part of the world. “There are many East Asian cultures where the practice is still that if you have a cold or a runny nose, you put on a mask,” according to Manisha Juthani, MD, a Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist.

Telehealth Works

COVID-19 Telehealth

While there are still problems for which you need to see a doctor in person, the pandemic introduced a new urgency to what had been a gradual switchover to platforms like Zoom for remote patient visits. Telehealth has been particularly helpful for my mom. She is severely immunocompromised with many conditions. She has been hospitalized a few times over the past year due to worsening of simple infections. Hence, a virtual appointment is a form of protection for her, removing exposure to other patients.

Vaccine is Powerful

Vaccine

One thing that we have learned from the pandemic is how important vaccine is. After the initial surge in vaccination, the number of new cases and death due to COVID decreased dramatically, showing the effectiveness of the vaccine. However, after the decline of vaccination, and the surge of the delta variant, cases of hospitalization, and death from COVID spike dramatically. The current spike is adversely affected the unvaccinated. Unvaccinated are 11 times more likely to become sick from COVID.

Collaboration is Key

Collaboration

Before touting the success of the COVID vaccine let us talk about why the vaccine worked. It is because this time we saw unprecedented collaboration in the scientific community. Instead of working in silos, the scientific community around the world came together and use the weight of the talent pool to come up with a vaccine that is over 90% effective.

My dear lovelies, usually, I would like to describe research as 6 blind scientists touching various parts of an elephant and coming up with different conclusions. The success of any translational research program lies in the elimination of silos segregating scientists, doctors, and industry professionals from each other. Imagine there where no red tape hindering collaboration and was instead incentivized much life can be saved for breakthrough research.

Racial Inequalities Are Real

Racial Equality

What this pandemic has shown us is that everyone is not treated equally, especially in a pandemic. Racial and ethnic minority groups especially have had disproportionately higher rates of hospitalization for COVID-19 than non-Hispanic white people in every age group, and many other groups faced higher levels of risk or stress. These groups ranged from working mothers who also have primary responsibility for children, to people who have essential jobs, to those who live in rural areas where there is less access to health care. If we want to be the most successful and powerful nation in the world, we have to address this issue of inequalities.

We Need To Take Mental Health Seriously

A behavioral neurologist and neuropsychiatrist believe the number of mental health disorders that were on the rise before the pandemic is surging as people grapple with such matters as juggling work and childcare, job loss, isolation, and losing a loved one to COVID-19.

According to the CDC, the percentage of adults who reported symptoms of anxiety or depression in the past 7 days increased from 36.4 to 41.5 % from August 2020 to February 2021. Other reports show that having COVID-19 may contribute, too, with its lingering or long COVID symptoms, which can include “foggy mind,” anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

My dear lovelies! I would love to know what you have learned from the pandemic. I look forward to your feedback.

Please subscribe to this blog or follow me if you have a WordPress account.  Don’t forget to check out my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram @forevernijAre you on BloglovinAlso please subscribe to my YouTube channel. Let’s support each other. Please follow me and comment below with your information so that I can follow you back.

——————————–   Happy Reading ———————————-

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is thank-you.png
Thank you2

Email Address

SUBSCRIBE

Follow my Instagram page on @forevernij

Follow my Facebook Page on @forevernij

Subscribe to my YouTube channels (two)

Follow my Twitter account @allaboutme3181

Buy From My Closet

Shop from my closet at Poshmark

Shop from my closet at Ebay

CAUSES CLOSE TO MY HEART

PLEASE DONATE DIRECTLY TO THE ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH MY FUNDRAISING LINKS:

I consider myself fortunate to have good health, a full-time job, and a roof over my head. However, there are still so many people who are struggling to put food on their tables. Please join me to help those who are struggling. If you have good health, full-time jobs, and a roof over your head, please join me to help those who are struggling. Whether you donate $5 or $500, you will make a huge difference in someone’s life.

No Kid Hungry:

America’s kids need us. The coronavirus is closing schools nationwide, and millions of vulnerable children are losing the school meals they depend on. For some, it’s the only food they’ll receive on a given day. We have a plan to feed kids, but we need your help today to continue our work to ensure every kid gets three meals a day. You can click above to donate to my gofundme page donation going directly to the organization, or you can click on the direct link to the site.

Food Bank of Maryland:

PLEASE DONATE ANY AMOUNT YOU CAN AND SHARE THE POST WITH EVERYONE YOU KNOW.

Manna Food Center, a nonprofit organization, strives to eliminate hunger in Montgomery County through food distribution, education, and advocacy. Millions of children go to bed hungry in America every year, sadly it’s worse now! Today, 14 million children regularly miss meals — three times more than during the Great Recession and five times more than before the pandemic.

Many parents have lost their job during the pandemic. Sadly, that shows no sign of stopping. Your donation can bring relief to the millions worried about where their next meal will come from. It’s even worse for Latino and Black families, whose rates of nutrition insecurity have spiked to 25% and 30%. In the world’s wealthiest country, this is unconscionable.

Even before the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated 37 million people in America struggled with hunger and nutrition. The Centers for Disease Control reports 76% of people killed by COVID-19 had at least one underlying condition, most of which were diet-related. Diet-related diseases also fuel skyrocketing health care costs, which rose from 5% to 28% of the federal budget in the past 50 years.

Let’s make the world better, kinder, brighter. Every dollar you give will create real change. $1 will feed 5 hungry children here in the US, but $1,000 will feed 50,000 starving children overseas. Be the good in the lives of many by giving right now.

SUPPORT ME

Your generous support will help me continue to bring content to you.

AFFILIATION LINKS & COUPON

Toms: Get $20 off your first order at TOMS!

Door Dash: Get $30 off ($10 off each of your first 3 orders)

Uber: Sign Up to Ride. Use promo code
ic0b9 and get a free ride.

Lyft: Get your free ride.

Grubhub: Sign Up and Enjoy. Get $10 off your first order

Ipsy: Sign Up to Get Curated Products to Your Door Step

Boxy Charm: Use referral code Munziba-VDPRPCII

Cause Box: Get $10 Off Your First Subscription Box

Singles Swag: Receive $15 Off Your First Subscription Box

Amazon Store: Check Out My Amazon Store Front with My Favorite Products

Prime Video: Sign Up for Prime Video

Medium Post


[display_medium_posts handle=”@allaboutme3181″ display=1 offset=1 total=1 list=false title_tag=”h2″]

COVID-19 and Children


COVID-19-Card-3.jpg

Hi there my beautiful lovelies! I hope you all are doing well and staying safe. As a public health person, I constantly try my best to keep me updated about the latest research and findings in public health. That’s why when I saw the latest article by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital on COVID-19 and children, I was really concerned.

download (3)

The article, “Pediatric SARS-CoV-2: Clinical Presentation, Infectivity, and Immune Responses” has been published in the Journal of Pediatrics. The study looked at 192 children between the age of 0 to 22, with an average age of 10.2 years. This is the most comprehensive study of COVID-19 pediatric patients to date.  In this study, 49 children tested positive for COVID-19, and an additional 18 children had late-onset, COVID-19-related illness. The infected children were shown to have a significantly higher level of virus in their airways than hospitalized adults in ICUs for COVID-19 treatment, according to Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Mass General Hospital for Children (MGHfC).

Transmissibility or risk of contagion is greater with a high viral load. And even when children exhibit symptoms typical of COVID-19, like fever, runny nose and cough, they often overlap with common childhood illnesses, including influenza and the common cold. One of the interesting finding from the study is that half of the children with COVID did not have fever. Hence, contact less temperature check as a mean of screening children in school may not be effective.

According to the lead author of the study:

“… the viral loads of these hospitalized patients are significantly lower than a ‘healthy child’ who is walking around with a high SARS-CoV-2 viral load.”

My dear lovelies, the reason I am mentioning this study is due the current debate about the reopening of schools, daycare centers and other locations with a high density of children and close interaction with teachers and staff members. According to Alessio Fasano, director of the Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center at MGH and senior author of the manuscript. “During this COVID-19 pandemic, we have mainly screened symptomatic subjects, so we have reached the erroneous conclusion that the vast majority of people infected are adults. However, our results show that kids are not protected against this virus. We should not discount children as potential spreaders for this virus.”

Many-children-with-COVID-19-do-not-have-a-cough-or

Children has higher level of viral load, meaning they are more contagious, regardless of their susceptibility to developing COVID-19 infection. According to Harvard Medical School, As MGHfC pediatricians, both Yonker and Fasano are constantly getting questions from parents about the safe return of their children to school and daycare. They agree that the most critical question is what steps the schools will implement “to keep the kids, teachers, and personnel safe.” Recommendations from their study, which includes 30 co-authors from MGHfC, MGH, HMS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, include not relying on body temperature or symptom monitoring to identify SARS-CoV-2 infection in the school setting.

pexels-photo-4261251

Additionally, the researchers emphasized the relevance of infection control measures, including social distancing, universal mask use (when implementable), effective hand-washing protocols and a combination of remote and in-person learning. They consider routine and continued screening of all students for COVID infection with timely reporting of the results an imperative part of a safe return-to-school policy.

pexels-photo-4145249

As we debate about school reopening, our leaders should take this study into consideration. This is the most comprehensive study to date. We should all question our state representatives and leaders. Our children are not immune from coronavirus. Just today a six year old child has become the youngest victim of COVID in Florida. Let’s not put any more children and educators’ lives at risk. I urge you to demand your lawmakers to do the right thing. Let do this for the children who don’t have a voice of their own.

pexels-photo-4144097

In the meantime don’t forget to checkout my Facebook PageYouTube channel, and bloglovin page, My Amazon recommendations. Please follow me.

————————Happy Reading ———————————–

Migraine and the ED Alternative


20170127_110248_001

Hi There my lovelies! Happy Friday everyone! Hope you are having a wonderful Friday. I actually had one of the most painful ones. However, through my experience, I learned about a much less expensive alternative to Emergency Department (ED) for you for one of those painful days.

le-manque-de-vitamine-d-augmente-le-risque-de-migraine_exact441x300

My wonderful readers, I suffer from severe migraine. I am on several prescription  medications and get Botox injection every three months. My migraine symptoms have been under control on most part. However, due to recent onset of severe stressorso, my migraine symptoms have been out of control.

migraine-image

My migraine causes severe pain sensation accompanied by nausea and extreme sensitive to light and sound. I also have warning signs or auras before or with the headache. Such signs include, blurry vision, tingling of the face and arm.

Due to my severe recent migraine symptoms, I called my Neurology clinic to see if I should go to the ED. As a public health person with over decade of experience in health care industry, I understand how much burden the ED is in. Additionally, I want to do my part to keep the health care costs down. During my call to Neurology office I was told they’ve a Rescue Room, where they offer migraine rescue treatment but with ano one-to-one approach.

I was all to happy to accept the Rescue Room treatment. I went in this morning. One thing I lovedid right away is the elimination of waiting time. Unlike the ED, I was called right away by the friendly Nurse Practitioner, who tool vitals and placedo the IV.

My beautiful readers, I stayed there the entire day with constant one-to-one check in from my provider. I received the care I would have never received at the ED. If you suffer from severe migraine, ask your Neurologist if they offer similar Rescue Room treatment. This will not only provide you the one-to-one care you need, but also keep the health care cost down.

Hope you enjoy this post and as much as I love writing it. Don’t forget to check out my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram @allaboutme3181. Are you on Bloglovin? Let’s add each other. Please follow me and comment below with your information so that I can follow you back.

———————————–   Happy Reading ———————————-

Instagram: @allaboutme3181

Follow my blog on Bloglovin