General Wellness

In many places all over the world, the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine has been questioned or put on hold because of safety concerns. Specifically, issues of blood clotting after vaccination.

Blood normally clots when there is an injury to tissues. Externally, this is protective so that we do not lose too much blood from wounds. If there is internal organ damage, clotting can be life saving. In certain conditions like atrial fibrillation where the heart does not pump blood efficiently, medications intentionally preventing blood clotting can be life-saving, however, issues of excessive bruising and bleeding can be problematic. I hate these meds as I end up dealing with a lot more serious nosebleeds as a complication.

If blood coagulates (clots) prematurely or unnecessarily, it prevents blood from flowing and can result in tissue dying, as is the case with strokes, heart attacks and death of lung tissue, called a pulmonary embolism.

Blood clots in arteries occur when there is inflammation in arteries, caused by elevated blood pressure, cholesterol problems as well as a crappy diet. As plaque builds up, and inflammation increases, the plaques can rupture leading to a clot forming and blood flow being cut off. Tissues which normally receive blood flow from those vessels, are cut off and die.

As far as the vaccine is concerned, the numbers of cases of blood clots after vaccination have been very small, and NOT more than what already occurs in the general population. Keep in mind that most of the people getting vaccines at this stage of the game are older people and people with chronic conditions. Most of these people are probably not taking great care of themselves which makes them at even greater risks for health problems, including blood clots.

As was the case with the concerns about the Moderna vaccine causing deaths after vaccination, this issue will likely be attributed to background and random chance and NOT the vaccine itself. It’s important to investigate possible problems with any medication or treatment, and that always starts with stopping its use until we have the appropriate information.

So, the bottom line is:

1. Let’s not jump to conclusions. We love to overreact. We love controversy. Don’t look for problems where there is none.
2. GET VACCINATED and get which whichever one you can. They all have advantages and disadvantages and If my wife, kids or parents could get any of the vaccines, I would have them get whichever one they can, including the AstraZeneca vaccine. 
3. GET HEALTHY. You’ll feel better. You’ll live longer. You’ll weather the storm of infection better (if you happen to contract Covid-19).

In the meantime, please continue to do all the things we know are helpful:

1. Wear a MASK. Wear a good one and wear it properly covering your nose.
2. DISTANCE when appropriate. We can loosen a little depending on vaccine status. We are starting to find that vaccination may also reduce not only re-infection, but transmissibility. Still, caution is necessary.
3. WASH your hand and sanitize when necessary.
4. DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE.
5. VENTILATE.
6. VACCINATE.
7. COVER YOUR EYES WHEN APPROPRIATE.
8. Get HEALTHY! Your life depends on it!.

I’m taking a little break from writing for a while. I’m a bit overloaded.

Enjoy the start of Spring coming up this weekend.

Stay Safe and Be Well.

AC

I know I’ve had a few “doom and gloom” posts recently, but there are some things which need to be pointed out.

It’s been 1 year since the WHO declared Covid-19 a worldwide pandemic. The basic present-day numbers are as follows:

• 2.6 million deaths and 118 million cases worldwide associated with Covid.
• 530,000 deaths and 29 million cases in the US. These represent 20% of the total deaths and 24% of the cases worldwide, despite the US population only representing 4% of the World population. We’re #1!!! By far. Pretty sad.

Although the numbers have plateaued here in the US (remember that our present day numbers are as bad as they were during the first wave last spring when we locked down), there are massive outbreaks in other parts of the world like Brazil, where hospitals are once again overwhelmed. If you look at the worldwide graphs by region (a great resource is Oxford’s “Our World In Data”), the trend over the last few weeks, all over the world, is a slight, but consistent rise in case numbers. US trends have followed global trends almost to a T since this all started, just delayed by 4-6 weeks, so the forecast is not great.

I point this out because last spring, we followed in shock on TV and the web, what was going on in Italy, where their hospitals were so overrun, that patients were being turned away, only to die at home.  Within a month or so, we had mobile morgues on the streets of NYC and our patterns of disease and death were almost exactly parallel to theirs.

We are a global community and, despite much less international travel, some is still occurring. We are not an isolated island like New Zealand. We are not good rule-followers. We are selfish. We may have better numbers now, but they will change, especially as we relax our behavior, which is happening at a feverish pace.

Make no mistake that the variant viruses are here in significant numbers. They are much more infectious. They cause much more significant disease and they cause much more death. Our vaccines provide some protection so it remains critical to continue aggressive vaccination but we will likely need boosters eventually. The numbers of vaccinated people is outpacing the number of new daily cases, but that can change quickly. 

Get vaccinated!

Have a great, safe weekend. Please be careful and continue to follow all the basic recommendations we know work to protect ourselves and all those around us.

Stay safe and be well.

AC