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The Pandemic is Not Over

by RDavis | Health

The pandemic is not over. Sorry to burst your bubble, but if you think that COVID is not still in the air and infecting and killing people you are not accepting reality. According to the CDC there 49,808 new cases a day, 353 deaths every day and 3737 hospitalizations every day.

Nearly 96 million Americans (an underestimate) have been infected with COVID, 1,051,389 Americans have died and there are currently 20,033 people now being treated in U.S. hospitals for severe cases of COVID. Those numbers have slowed over recent months but the disease is still very much with us and will most likely become something we have to deal with for a long time.

My wife and I have been extremely careful about respecting the power of COVID and up until two weeks ago we thought we would be able to avoid becoming infected. We have had two boosters and also the Omicron protective (third) booster. We wear masks in all indoor public places and try to avoid crowds.

Where Are The Dental Therapists?

by RDavis | Health

It was about 10 years ago when a group of Vermont health care activists started working on the creation of a new level of dental practitioner to fill in gaps in the provision of dental care. Bills passed the Vermont Senate in 2015 and the House in 2016 and S.20 was signed into law by Governor Peter Shumlin in June 2016.

An April 2016 story in VTDigger provides a description of what the bill does. “The profession would require more education than a dental hygienist but less education than a dentist.
A dental therapist would have a bachelor’s degree and be allowed to perform eight procedures more than a dental hygienist. The person would need to work under a contract with a supervising dentist, who has a doctorate. However, the dentist would not need to practice in the same building as the dental therapist.’

“The Vermont Technical College in Randolph has outlined sample curriculum for a four-year program to train dental therapists should S.20 become law. The person would learn the same three years’ worth of curriculum as a dental hygienist but spend an additional year in training.”

Brattleboro and VT COVID-19 Regional Dashboard Summary – September 2022

by cgrotke | Health

It is time for the September 2022 dashboard summary. We continue semi-regular COVID-19 dashboard numbers from the Vermont Department of Health, and MA and NH counties that surround Brattleboro, as long as they continue providing them.  Scroll down the new comments for the latest.

Vermont and MA have very limited looks at what are going on these days, with weekly snapshots. NH attempt daily updates but doesn’t always give new totals. We try…. : )

Monkeypox Education and Vigilance Can Protect Us

by RDavis | Health

Should Americans, and the rest of the world, worry about the current outbreak of Monkeypox? It doesn’t look like it will cause the same level of morbidity and mortality that COVID has caused, but it does have the potential to infect a lot of people.

It’s worth knowing the history of this disease. As reported in the Smithsonian magazine, “Since it was first identified in a colony of monkeys in Copenhagen in 1958, monkeypox has been largely overlooked by the Western world. An infectious poxvirus that causes fever, chills and rashes, the disease is endemic, or consistently regionally present, in ten African countries. Until recently, however, it was rarely found in Europe and the Americas—a trend that has, historically, led Western public health officials to disregard its spread elsewhere.”

Brattleboro and VT COVID-19 Regional Dashboard Summary – July 2022

by cgrotke | Health

It is time for the July 2022 dashboard summary. We continue, despite almost no one paying attention or wearing masks despite new variants that vaccines don’t protect against,  regular COVID-19 dashboard numbers from the Vermont Department of Health, and MA and NH counties that surround Brattleboro, as long as they continue providing them.  Scroll down the new comments for the latest.

We All Need A Plan to Deal with COVID

by RDavis | Health

It’s more than two years since we were first confronted with a new pandemic. There have been very difficult times and less difficult times, but most of us have reached the point where we want this whole COVID thing to be over. But COVID will most likely be with us forever and we need to learn how to deal with it.

People have started to act more “normally” in the past few months because the number of COVID cases and deaths has been decreasing and the number of vaccinated people is high. Unmasked is the more common attire these days and it scares me.

Local Pharmacies Are Losing The Battle

by RDavis | Health

The town of Brattleboro recently lost one of its only two remaining local pharmacies not owned by national chains. Small independent pharmacies will soon become dinosaurs in an industry whose operations are convoluted and opaque.

I would like to explain why this problem exists but it is so complicated that it would take volumes to scratch the surface. A simple explanation might be helpful. The problem for small pharmacies is that their profit margins have been reduced to three or four percent in many cases. That is an unsustainable business model and something that keeps independent pharmacy owners awake at night.

Is Insurance Company Long Term Stability More Important Than The Financial Stability of Seniors?

by RDavis | Health

The February 19 edition of the Vermont Business Magazine carried a piece written by Dawn Schneiderman, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, claiming that if Vermonters are allowed to enroll in Medicare supplemental plans after their initial six month eligibility period costs will rise for everyone else. She does a poor job of defending her position.

To make this issue real look at the current cost of a Vermont Medigap Blue Plan G policy for someone initially enrolling during the initial six month window. It will cost that person $152.33 a month. If that person wants to enroll in that same plan after the six month window it will cost them $268.91 for the same coverage under Vermont Blue 65 Plan G.

Brattleboro Walk-In Clinic Providing Primary Medical Treatment at No Charge to Persons Ages 18-64

by asegar | Health

A reminder that the Brattleboro Walk-In Clinic is open Tuesday evenings with sign-in from 5:00 – 6:30 PM. We’re a non-profit that provides primary medical treatment to persons ages 18-64 in our community, thanks to a pool of volunteer physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, and receptionists.

Even if you have health insurance, you may hesitate to get medical care because your policy has high deductibles or co-pays. Remember that the Brattleboro Walk-In Clinic does not charge our patients for the medical care we provide.

The Continuing Threat To Medicare

by RDavis | Health

A few months ago I talked about a threat to the traditional Medicare program beyond the threat that Medicare Advantage poses to the public nature of the program. That threat is called Direct Contracting Entities (DCEs).

The Trump administration initiated the DCE change to push Medicare in the direction of privatization. That kind of move is going to chip away at the equality and near-universal access that Medicare offers because private insurance companies will be more in control of how health care is delivered and paid for.

Politics Before Science

by RDavis | Health

There was a time when scientists would err on the side of caution and make decisions based on the best outcome for the most people. In the case of how long to isolate or quarantine after a positive test for COVD-19, the CDC has caved-in to politics and shortened the isolation period to five days.

If you look at the science and try to examine all of the available information it is clear that five days is not enough to provide safety to people you come in contact with. The CDC does suggest that after five days of isolation an infected person get re-tested and then wear a mask for another five days. That is almost a concession to the fact that there is a high likelihood they can transmit the virus beyond five days.

Which Test When

by RDavis | Health

People are flocking to testing sites to find out if they have COVID. That is a good thing and it means that a good number of people are taking responsibility for their safety and the safety of others. But when it comes to testing, there are options and it can be difficult to decide when to get tested and which test is best under certain circumstances.

The state of Vermont made over 300,000 rapid diagnostic testing (RDT’s) kits available a few days ago and they were grabbed up within a short period of time. Before people use them it would be a good idea to do some research and find out how to use the kits and when to use them. I will be getting some and I hope the instructions in the kits are useful.

The Nursing Shortage Needs New Solutions

by RDavis | Health

News reports during our times with COVID point to a worsening of a nursing shortage. Clearly, the epidemic has made the shortage worse because of a host of problems, not the least of which is burnout. But the nursing shortage has been with us, and the rest of the world, for a very long time and there are no signs of it letting up anytime soon.

When I was in nursing school in the late 1970’s we were told there would always be a job for us and that the demand for nurses was greater than it had ever been. Things have not changed much in all these years and politicians, nursing leaders and policymakers have been pointing to the problem for just as long. The situation never seems to get any better.