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Covid-19 August 2021 Update

Aug 1, 2021 – Dr. Paul

Just as the pandemic was fading in the early summer, it is now surging again. This is due to both vaccine refusal and to several new strains, particularly the Delta variant. The mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) are about 80% effective in preventing Delta variant infection. Johnson & Johnson may prevent only 60% of Delta variant infections. In Florida the number of confirmed new cases has gone from several thousand new cases per day in late June to 10,000+ per day as of this update. Yesterday was a record day with 21,000 cases reported.

The vaccine safety profile remains good.The extraordinarily rare cases of heart inflammation noticed several months ago in boys and young men have turned out to be very rare and in general mild, some not requiring treatment. It is likely there will be upgraded vaccines ahead.

My hope is that the number of vaccinated patients will continue to rise, and that we will reach “herd immunity.” Herd immunity means that enough people within a population have been vaccinated or been sick, so that there are too few available hosts (people) in the community for the COVID-19 virus to find and infect. The more people are vaccinated and the sooner this happens, the less chance the virus has to mutate and cause new strains to arise. Of course, every family has to decide on this vaccine for themselves and their children. I would ask any of you who have eligible children to at least consider it. Here is a link that addresses some misconceptions of the vaccine:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html

Here is our local county information on how to access the vaccine:

https://www.hcdpbc.org/resources/covid-19/covid-19

The vaccine studies in infants and children are ongoing and we will have more information as the months pass. Some experts expect the vaccine to be available to infants and children by the end of the year.

Although it is true that many children fare COVID-19 infections well, the virus can also cause fever, headache, chest, muscle and abdominal pain, diarrhea, poor feeding in infants, weight loss, respiratory distress and other serious symptoms in children. It can also cause, (although rare) multisystem organ failure in children (MIS-C) and I have spoken with local colleagues in the pediatric ICU care who have cared for these very sick kids. I have in my own practice had 3 patients hospitalized (one in the ICU) with COVID-19 infection.

We continue to proceed cautiously with our office procedures and scheduling:

  • Booking several well visits from 9-11 am and several from 2-4 pm.This leaves us time to see sick children later in the mornings and afternoons, entering from the back door. We will continue working in full protective gear for children with fever and/or respiratory symptoms.

  • We try our best to have only one or two families inside the office at a time, which is at times difficult if patients are running late or if a visit takes longer than expected. With this in mind, we ask you to please be on time; we also will do our best to run on time.

  • We ask that you try to keep space between yourselves and other families that you may encounter in our office, and always wear your masks until cleared within the exam room. If you have been vaccinated, we still ask you to wear your masks, which we can provide if needed.

  • We continue to aggressively do surface sanitation between each visit and air sanitation through the day.

  • When you drive up to the back of the building for a sick visit, find a parking space in the back, and call us. You will be asked to wait until we call you to come in. Once we call you in, we will open the back door for you to come inside the back entrance.

    • As a reminder, we answer our emails as time permits during the day. Please remember that email is not for urgent matters. Virtual visits at doxy.me/bocachild are scheduled throughout the day as needed. These virtual appointments must be scheduled ahead of time by phone with our staff.

    We are able to offer COVID-19 PCR swabs; turnaround times have been 1-2 days. Any testing or vaccinations that are done outside our office, we ask that you share the results/dates with us by email or phone. Testing is also available for Flu and RSV. I would encourage a renewed enthusiasm for mask use in indoor settings.

    Warm regards,

    Doctor Paul

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