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COVID-19 June 2021 Update

Jun 15, 2021 – Dr. Paul

The pandemic is showing unmistakable signs of fading! I hope you are sensing the same. Getting back to normalcy offers a lighter mood, and more hope. Let us get back to a better life! But let’s also do it with caution. Nationwide there have been approximately 14,000 cases per day over the past week according to Johns Hopkins data; these are record lows. Per the CDC, as of last week, 64% of all Americans have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine. Amazing. The safety profile remains good. Most new cases are genetic variants of the virus some of which are more dangerous. The current vaccines are generally protective against these strains, but it likely there will be upgraded vaccines ahead.

My hope is the vaccine numbers will continue to rise, and 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. This threshold heralds the crushing of the pandemic.

Here is a link that addresses some misconceptions of the vaccine: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html. Every family has to consider this vaccine for themselves. I would ask any of you who have eligible children to at least consider one of the vaccines available:

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 summer or the end of the year. Not to be an alarmist, but remember, this virus is NOT the flu! There are cases, admittedly rare, of 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.

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, let us know that, and also whether you are comfortable being without a mask.

  • We continue to aggressively do surface sanitation between each visit, and air sanitation (we have antimicrobial filters for each exam room)

  • 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 door.

    • 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 nasal 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.

    Warm regards,

    Doctor Paul

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