General Wellness

How’s that for click bait!

No, I am not saying that vaccines are not important. They are crucial. But vaccines cannot be looked at as the “quick fix” for this pandemic. Vaccination, along with continued control measures proven to be effective, must be continued. Masking, distancing, personal hygiene…

What we also need to do is stop focusing on getting back to “normal”. Whatever “normal” was got us into this mess in the first place. Unhealthy people. Factory farming breeding these bugs (remember that almost every single infectious disease out there came from animals). Climate change. All of these issues, and more, must be changed if we are to not only get past Covid-19, but the next pandemic which is is probably even brewing. We already know about H7N9, the very deadly avian flu out there in the world. If you want nightmares, look it up. IN addition, we now know that those who survive Ebola can still spread it to others even 5 years after they were “cured”.

Rushing to open things up, and that unfortunately includes opening up schools, has and will continue to lead to spread of the various forms of this virus. Some schools have already closed, only days after reopening due to outbreaks. The numbers had been decreasing, but the trend, not only in other parts of the world, but in the US are rising again. Albeit slowly, but we have not yet seen the ramifications of spring break and all the accelerated “normalization” in the social world.

I am very happy to see that the AstraZeneca vaccine has been put back on the vaccine menu in many of the countries which put it on hold. 

Remember that most of the world has not been vaccinated. Although we are improving in the numbers, most Americans have not been vaccinated, but the way we are opening up, you’d think this is all over! It’s not and not by a long shot. 

Please continue to be careful.

Socialize, but do so carefully and as performers say, you have to know your audience, or in this case, the behaviors of those you socialize with.

Have a great weekend and please continue to do all the things we know help.

GET VACCINATED. Whichever one you can. In Canada, they are adopting the “get the most people at least one shot as fast as possible” approach. My father got his Pfizer shot 2 days ago and is not scheduled for the second shot for almost 4 months! This practice has actually been going on in Britain now for a while and it seems to be working. Although after the second shots of Pfizer and Moderna, there is about 95% protection, there is about 70% after only one shot. In addition, there may actually be a benefit and longer lasting protection by spreading it out more. We just don’t know, because we are still learning.

This whole thing has been a medical, social, economic… experiment and we won’t have the final answers for years.

MASK UP.

DISTANCE.

WASH and sanitize as needed. Don;t overdo it.

VENTILATE.

GET HEALTHY!!!!! 

Stay Safe and Be well.

AC

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