Keeping the coronavirus from infecting healthcare workers
1–10 of 169 posts
Re: Keeping the coronavirus from infecting healthcare workers
#2“Health-care facilities don’t remotely have the supplies that would allow staff members to see every patient with all that gear on.“
As the article states, China had that ability.
If that statement is true, It’s amazing to me that this is something China can do and not the U.S.A. The country that put man on the moon not even a century ago! Incredible.
I feel like there are a lot of acquisitions lately that go on about how “draconian” China’s behaviour is etc, but they protected their medical staff by making sure they were adequately equipped. It read a bit like jealousy.
Re: Keeping the coronavirus from infecting healthcare workers
#3There is a lot of conflicting data. China went full hazmat with the influx of new healthcare workers they sent into Hubei, but Singapore and Honk Kong took significantly more measured approaches which ultimately have also been successful in limiting exposure.
The US policy of 14 day quarantine for healthcare workers who had even limited exposure to a COVID patient was never sustainable and threatened to shut entire ERs before the restrictions were loosened.
A broad array of moderate measures (stringent hand washing, surgical masks all the time, 6 foot rule except during exams, etc.) combined with isolation of only identified “close” contacts has worked in a few different places now.
The question of asymptomatic spread is still confounding experts. It seems they can’t fully explain the spread in some places without it, but they can’t explain lack of spread in some places with it.
When left in a situation where data is conflicting and unreliable, I think the path forward has to always balance the conflicting interests. Just like you can’t send the entire ER department home in the middle of an epidemic, you also can’t exhaust your entire years supply of hazmat gear in a week, and you similarly can’t crater your entire economy to put on a show of strong action.
Measured responses ultimately are what will save the most lives, because they can be sustained for the reasonable expected duration of the outbreak rather than shock and cripple the whole system in a matter of weeks.
Re: Keeping the coronavirus from infecting healthcare workers
#4Can we all agree that outsourcing the production of critical medical supplies to China over recent decades was a bad idea?
I understand the “golden arches” theory, and the intent if globalism, but I feel that COVID19 has revealed what a short sighted, deeply flawed view the globalists have.
Re: Keeping the coronavirus from infecting healthcare workers
#5“Health-care facilities don’t remotely have the supplies that would allow staff members to see every patient with all that gear on.“ As the article states, China had that ability. If that statement is true, It’s amazing to me that this is something China can do and not the U.S.A. The country that put man on the moon not even a century ago! Incredible. I feel like there are a lot of acquisitions lately that go on abou…
> The country that put man on the moon not even a century ago!
Aren't those two massively different tasks/skills? And both in massively different situations?
Re: Keeping the coronavirus from infecting healthcare workers
#6Atul Gawande is a voice i’m happy to listen to here, and this is a small ray of hope.
He’s a practicing surgeon, public health researcher, educator, and he was one of the early champions of wide use of checklists in hospitals to reduce infection rates and complications.
He is not prone to blowing sunshine and rainbows, either.
Re: Keeping the coronavirus from infecting healthcare workers
#7The shameful lies about masks not working for civilians will kill thousands. Evidence based medicine (over the modern Bayesian Science-based medicine) has paralyzed our health officials from making common sense calls off priors. Homemade masks appear to be reasonably effective. The official response should be to make some form of improvised mask required when out of home, and ration regular mask for health care workers.
Even a scarf made of a t-shirt over the nose and mouth will likely reduce RO when used at scale on the population. The best way to protect healthcare workers is to reduce the R0 below 1. Nothing else will help. Widespread use of homemade masks, though not tested in a double blind trial, is low risk enough and seemingly effective enough to encourage.
Countries enforcing widespread mask use have lower ROs.
Re: Keeping the coronavirus from infecting healthcare workers
#8“Health-care facilities don’t remotely have the supplies that would allow staff members to see every patient with all that gear on.“ As the article states, China had that ability. If that statement is true, It’s amazing to me that this is something China can do and not the U.S.A. The country that put man on the moon not even a century ago! Incredible. I feel like there are a lot of acquisitions lately that go on abou…
U.S. leaders of industry along with our political establishment have undermined American security by outsourcing the production of critical resources to an authoritarian, communist nation (China). It’s high time we wake up and hold these people accountable.
Re: Keeping the coronavirus from infecting healthcare workers
#9There is a lot of conflicting data. China went full hazmat with the influx of new healthcare workers they sent into Hubei, but Singapore and Honk Kong took significantly more measured approaches which ultimately have also been successful in limiting exposure. The US policy of 14 day quarantine for healthcare workers who had even limited exposure to a COVID patient was never sustainable and threatened to shut entire E…
> It seems they can’t fully explain the spread in some places without it, but they can’t explain lack of spread in some places with it.
They surely can. They just have to assume there are way more asymptomatic cases than they have been assuming, and a relatively small susceptible population.
Re: Keeping the coronavirus from infecting healthcare workers
#10The shameful lies about masks not working for civilians will kill thousands. Evidence based medicine (over the modern Bayesian Science-based medicine) has paralyzed our health officials from making common sense calls off priors. Homemade masks appear to be reasonably effective. The official response should be to make some form of improvised mask required when out of home, and ration regular mask for health care worke…
How widespread is widespread? Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan… these are countries in which people wear masks in large numbers on a normal day.
They all still have an R0 above 1.