racial bias in medicine continues to kill people of color New research has found that pulse oximetry readings — a tool used to measure blood oxygen saturation levels and guide treatment options for COVID-19 — have been less accurate in Black, Asian and Hispanic patients. The study, recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine, also found that Black and Hispanic patients were more likely to experience delayed or unrecognized eligibility for COVID-19 treatments. The findings add to previous research suggesting that inaccurate pulse oximeter readings are more common among Black and Hispanic people, which can lead to life-threatening delays in treatment. Evidence consistently shows that Black and Hispanic people are more likely to be hospitalized and die from COVID-19. Last year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning that pulse oximeters may be less accurate in people with dark skin pigmentation. “This and other studies show that pulse oximeter readings in persons with more pigmented skin can be lower than the readings of those with lighter skin. So, both providers and persons using pulse oximeter at home and for treatment interventions need to be aware of this difference when using this data,” says Dr. Laura Vaughan, an internal medicine physician and clinical assistant professor of primary care medicine and population health at Stanford Medicine. Past research has identified racial biases in pulse oximeter readings. A report published last year in JAMA Network Open found that inaccuracies in pulse oximeter readings increase the risk of death in Black patients. Another study, published in Anesthesia & Analgesia, similarly found that pulse oximetry overestimates oxygen levels in people with darker skin pigmentation compared to those with lighter skin pigmentation. Healthy people’s oxygen saturation typically falls between 95 to 100 percent. With COVID, oxygen levels are often the first sign of a downturn, according to Vaughan. Many patients with COVID-19 experience low oxygen levels, which is a life-threatening condition that can cause difficulty breathing, chest pain, confusion, and a fast pulse. Some patients with low oxygen levels, or hypoxemia, may remain asymptomatic, which can lead to rapid deterioration, according to Finlay. COVID-19 patients with low oxygen levels should start oxygen therapy to boost their oxygen saturation to at least 90 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pulse oximetry has also been used to inform whether patients should begin more aggressive therapies, like the antiviral remdesivir or the corticosteroid dexamethasone, which were routinely given to patients with low oxygen levels during the pandemic. “Some of the current hospital treatments guidelines use oxygen saturation to determine offering these treatments. Also, a delay in recognizing this decline can lead to delays in these treatments,” says Vaughan.
It doesn't meaningfully reduce the risk. And it's just one of many diseases, which is becoming about as deadly as the flu. You never lost your job because you didn't take a flu shot. There is just no compelling enough reason for mandates. You will eventually understand it.
Massie is a tool, but rolling up emergency powers should deflate "dictatorship" memes among the sane crowd.
You are speaking in present tense. I understand that the situation is different now and that there’s a stronger reason to oppose mandates today than in 2021.
Well I agree that using covid to justify emergency protocols should be over. And it seems to be, in my life. Mail-in voting existed before covid and for completely different reasons. I have no problem with it.
Agreed, but he just used Covid, through the HEROES Act, to justify forgiving a portion of college student debt. I suppose one could call that creative, maybe even a standard move, in this era of gridlock.
That's a pretty high standard. Technically, there is no vaccine in the world that prevent transmission (except the one that kills you pretty quickly). Covid vaccines do prevent some level of transmission (prevent some infection, if infected, likely at a lower viral load and for a shorter duration) and thus do protect others to some level. The newer bivalent booster which is specifically designed for the current predominate strain (fun fact - it was released within 2M of the current predominate strain - which will scare the sh*t out of some people but that's another story) should prevent a higher level of transmission. Until the next variant.
Workers have been fired for not taking the flu shot. Flu Shots: Should Healthcare Employees Be Fired For Not Getting T (healthline.com)
The pandemic is technically not over, though it's practically over for many people even though hundreds still die daily from covid, we may get a nasty spike this winter, and we may get a new variant that reset us back again. There are many levels of health emergency that are NOT dependent on a raging pandemic. With the current # of daily death and good potential for a winter spike, certain health emergencies should continue. Free distribution of vaccines to all is still needed (we have a very low uptake on the new bivariant vaccine), free testing is still needed, and many of the covid treatments (definitely needed) are still under EUA.
Yeah, that was a thin justification. You can say there was economic fallout from the pandemic to address, but I don't believe that either. It was just political expediency. Sure. I don't think our public health folks should stop or anything. But we took many extraordinary measures like vaccine mandates (to that other debate, I'm still cool with firing nurses who won't comply) and masking and free stuff that no longer seem justified. Politically, it's over -- at least until it mutates to something that needs to be recognized again.
The vaccine does not stop transmission but by virtue of shortening periods of sickness and the amount of viral load, it lowers it. I think vaccine mandates should only be for those in critical areas - such as hospitals, nursing homes, or other areas that are involved with interacting with vulnerable populations.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/fauci...llateral-negative-consequences-schoolchildren Fauci admits he knew his ‘draconian’ lockdowns would have ‘collateral negative consequences’ on schoolchildren 'Sometimes when you do draconian things, it has collateral negative consequences,' Fauci said about his COVID pandemic policies National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci admitted Wednesday that he knew the "draconian" COVID-19 policies he pushed for would lead to "collateral negative consequences" for the "economy" and "schoolchildren." Fauci’s comments came during day one of The Atlantic Festival, a three-day convention put on by the media outlet The Atlantic featuring speeches and interviews from prominent members of the media, the government and political activists. During the event, Fauci spoke with The Atlantic editor Ross Andersen in front of a live audience about his experiences as the leading medical professional working in the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic. In one segment of his talk, the doctor spoke about his guidance in instituting "draconian" pandemic guidance knowing full well there would be "collateral" damage stemming from it. Before making his central point, Fauci first blamed the "divisiveness" of "social media" for turning every piece of his guidance during the pandemic into a confusing and controversial statement. "When you have a divisiveness in society where every time you say something, you have X number of people with social media looking to attack it, that adds to the understandable confusion when you’re dealing with an evolving outbreak," Fauci stated. He then justified his harsh COVID guidance, including pushing the federal government to mandate lockdowns, masking, and later, vaccination, because hospitals were being "overrun." "Of course, when you make recommendations, if the primary goal when you’re dealing with a situation where the hospitals were being overrun in New York, intensive care units were being put in hallways, you have to do something that’s rather draconian," the doctor admitted. He continued, "And sometimes when you do draconian things, it has collateral negative consequences, just like when you shut things down, even temporarily, it does have deleterious consequences on the economy, on the schoolchildren. You know that." Fauci confirmed he risked these harms, adding, "But you have to make a balance when you’re dealing with — we know the only way to stop something cold in its track is to try and shut things down." "If you shut things down just for the sake of it, that’s bad," he said, adding, "But if you do it with the purpose of being able to regroup so that you can then open up in a more safe way, that’s the best way to do it." Fauci’s comments followed a bombshell education report from earlier this month revealing that COVID-19 lockdowns, which led to school closures and virtual learning polices, resulted in what the Department of Education said was "the largest average score decline in reading since 1990, and the first ever score decline in mathematics" among the nation’s schoolchildren.
Idk y folks freak out about vaccines. It's your choice to get it or not. It's also the business to decide the policies, if u don't agree with it then quit or get fired. Not that complicated or discriminating
A company has a policy u follow it or u don't. They force u have drug tests, u gonna btch about that 2?
