INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) A doctor in Indianapolis is sharing some powerful pictures hoping to boost confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine after recently receiving both doses.
The photos are side by side lung scans comparing a healthy lung versus one infected with COVID, showing the damage the virus can cause.
The one to the right is a scan of a healthy lung and is black which shows the lung is full of good and healthy air. Thats according to Dr. Lauren Ladd a radiologist at IU Health Methodist Hospital who says the left scan is filled with areas of grey, which show the virus.
As a radiologist, Dr. Ladd admits shes outside her area of expertise in the realm of infectious disease, but she has also read and studied hundreds of pages of information on vaccine technology and the Pfizer research data.
Now that Dr. Ladd has had both doses of the vaccine, she wants others to know she believes science heals.
I think this is the best way for us to get back to a normal life. I want my 4-year-old and 2-year-old to be able to hug their grandparents without worrying my parents are going to end up sick in the hospital, said Dr. Ladd, also mentioned she looks forward to not having to look at the lung scans of COVID patients.
But in the meantime, if you have had COVID-19 with or without symptoms its a good idea to visit your doctor to determine if a lung scan is right for you.
Anecdotally, at least, some long-haulers are experiencing the type of viral reactivation Klimas describes. In late October, seven months after contracting the coronavirus, Lauren Nichols developed shingles a reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox. The episode, which featured burning, out of this world nerve pain, sent her to the emergency room. A lesion developed on the cornea of her left eye, threatening her vision. Antiviral medication helped bring the shingles under control. Nichols, an administrator of a long-Covid support group, told me that reactivation of Epstein-Barr, cytomegalovirus and other herpesviruses occurs in a small but significant percentage of long-haulers on the site.
A similar argument over what drives chronic symptoms persistent infection versus lingering inflammation from a past infection appears prominently in the study of Lyme disease. Some people infected with Borrelia burgdorferi, the tick-borne bacterium that causes Lyme, fail to recover even after antibiotic treatment. Patients may refer to this illness as chronic Lyme disease, but doctors prefer to call it post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, because theyre not sure an infection is still really there. As in ME/CFS research, the debate over the root cause of this post-Lyme illness has for years polarized the field.
There are other similarities as well. The Lyme problem is underrecognized but immense. Every year, an estimated 329,000 people are infected by B. burgdorferi. About 10 percent of those treated with antibiotics develop lasting symptoms, including fatigue, pain and occasionally nervous-system conditions like dysautonomia heart rate, blood pressure and other basic bodily functions in disarray. It appears to strike women more than men, it has long been dismissed as psychological and the long-term illness is often judged worse than the acute infection.
Like ME/CFS, post-Lyme syndrome has no biological marker that allows for concrete diagnosis. The three nonmutually exclusive ideas about what causes long-term symptoms roughly correspond with those for ME/CFS: a persistent infection (or perhaps merely debris from the Lyme spirochetes); an autoimmune or inflammatory dysfunction triggered by the infection that continues after the bacteria are gone; or changes in the nervous system that mirror Jarred Youngers angry microglia idea, but that are described by Lyme researchers as central nervous system sensitization. Perhaps the infection changes how the brain works in such a way that once-easily bearable stimuli pain, light, sound become unbearable.
The parallels between ME/CFS and Lyme reinforce the notion that many different infections including the Lyme spirochete can trigger debilitating long-term syndromes. Its a lesson that we as a society have perhaps forgotten, Allen Steere, a Lyme expert and rheumatologist at Harvard Medical School, told me. Now we have millions infected, and it becomes apparent to people that this type of problem can follow.
Its a maddening prospect, but long Covid may not be a single syndrome at all. It could, as seems to be the case with ME/CFS, be an array of problems connected in various ways with an initial trigger in Covids case, the invasion of the human body by a virus thought to be originally native to bats. ME/CFS doctors and researchers have faced this sort of frustrating complexity for years. Its an unavoidable challenge in managing a condition, be it ME/CFS or long Covid, whose diagnosis is based almost entirely on the subjective reporting of symptoms. There are, after all, many ways to produce symptoms like fatigue, brain fog and even dysautonomia. As Peter Rowe puts it, treating ME/CFS is like peeling an artichoke. Youre trying to remove treatable layers of problems and see what the essence is, he told me.
In the case of ME/CFS, scientists have identified a few more leaves of the proverbial artichoke a grab bag of treatable, somewhat obscure conditions that seem to be associated with it. One is mast cell activation syndrome, which can produce fatigue, pain and problems with thinking and memory; infection can sometimes initiate it. Another is small-fiber neuropathy, a condition in which the bodys nerves begin to misfire and can die off, causing pain, fatigue and disruption to basic bodily functions like breathing. Infections can sometimes trigger it, and given the current description of long-Covid symptoms, Anne Louise Oaklander, a pioneer in understanding this neuropathy, suspects it will be found to occur among long-haulers as well. Small-fiber neuropathy is usually treatable, Oaklander told me, and in some cases curable.
Concerns about getting the vaccine to medically underserved communities have been present since before the first vaccine was proven to be effective. As the first doses were produced, they went first to frontline health care workers, then to residents 70 and older.
But with a use it or lose it warning from the state accompanying each batch, the earlyemphasis has been on getting the vaccine delivered fast, and not wasting a drop. Public health officials said that drove providers, particularly hospitals, to use it on the patients they knew and could contact quickly, who were disproportionately white.
Its important to get the vaccine administered as quickly as possible, said Liane Jollon of San Juan Basin Public Health.It's equally, if not more important to [ensure] that we get it in the right arms to achieve the [equity] goals of vaccinations.
As supplies increase, and public awareness campaigns begin, the hope is that a more diverse population will be reached and sign up for shots.
CPR News reporter Claire Cleveland contributed to this report.
Jeff Blashill interview,Jan. 22, 2021. Detroit Free Press
For the third time this season, the Detroit Red Wings are faced with salvaging a series.
They lost their first game at Chicago, falling 4-1 Friday at United Center. The teams play again Sunday afternoon. The Wings had to make do without several key players because of the pandemic, leaving them wondering if they will face a temporary shutdown.
Well were five guys down, coach Jeff Blashill said Friday night. The other team with five guys down is Carolina, and they postponed their games. So, that is where we are at. Certainly, it does not help chemistry, but again we are just trying to control what we can control.
Chicago Blackhawks' Connor Murphy and Detroit Red Wings' Vladislav Namestnikov battle for the puck along the boards at the United Center on Jan. 22, 2021 in Chicago.(Photo: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images)
The performance was a letdown after a four-game homes stand that left the Wings feeling good about themselves as they came back to win against the Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets. But the Blackhawks built a 3-0 lead before Dylan Larkin scored a goal set up by Marc Staal and Frans Nielsen, and now the Wings are left to hope they can split the series come Sundays matinee.
You never know when you wake up what the roster is going to be like, Larkin said. This is the reality of our situation right how.
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The Wings made do with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Among those who made their season debuts were Darren Helm, Alex Biega and Christian Djoos.
Goaltender Thomas Greiss made 24 saves on 27 shots.
Two of the Blackhawks goals came during power plays. The Wings had been doing well killing penalties until Friday and most damningly went zero for five on man advantages after finally scoring on a power play during their fourth game of the season.
More: How Detroit Red Wings will stay busy on lonely road trips during COVID-19 pandemic
More: How Bobby Ryan is quickly proving his value to the Detroit Red Wings
The Wings were without second-line center Robby Fabbri, who entered COVID protocol Jan. 11. Top-six winger Filip Zadina also missed the game because of being in pandemic protocol.
Two of the Blackhawks goals came during power plays. The Wings had been doing well killing penalties until Friday and most damningly went zero for five on man advances after finally scoring on a power play during their fourth game of the season.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: TheDetroit Red Wings is available fromAmazon,Barnes & Noble andTriumph Books.Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
A newly designated hub, one hospital gave out their very first COVID-19 vaccinations Friday morning, which many waited hours on the phone to get.
HOUSTON Friday, the City of Houston received 9,000 new doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, but those hundreds of new appointments filled up in just minutes.
But some people are going to great lengths -- and distances -- to get that first dose.
We couldnt wait to get here to do it," Jodie Mitchell said.
Jodie and Donna Mitchell crossed county lines Friday to get their COVID-19 vaccine in Liberty County.
Shes very sick, and I have to hide in my house, and I'm sick of it," they said. You have no idea how much stress is off.
They came in from New Caney, but some drove farther than that.
We had somebody that drove from Dallas today," said Cassie Kavanaugh, Chief Nursing Officer for Emergency Hospital Systems. Were instructed to give it to anybody across the state of Texas, and so thats what we did.
Friday was a good day for Texas Emergency Hospital.
It has been absolutely amazing," said Patti Foster, Chief Operations Officer for Texas Emergency Hospital. The genuine happiness that they have to get this vaccine has just been so touching to all of our staff.
A newly designated hub, the hospital gave out their very first COVID-19 vaccinations Friday morning, which many, like Jodie and Donna Mitchell, waited hours on the phone to get.
Just started hitting the dial button, and I finally got in. And wonderful people," Jodie Mitchell said.
But the high demand for that first dose will likely stick around.
That demand, I think, is going to last a while," said Dr. Daivd Lakey, Chief Medical Officer with the University of Texas System.
Dr. Lakey has crunched the numbers, the demand versus supply, and he expects those outside the 1B category wont get vaccinated until May or even June.
I think we have to be realistic with it, that if you arent over the age of 65, and you dont have health conditions, its probably going to be in the summer before its available," Dr. David Lakey said.
He hopes new vaccines will speed up that timeline, but for now, many say the waiting, the watching and the driving is worth it.
Just that freedom of OK, were safe, Jodie Mitchell said.
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Fridays case count continues a trend of declining infection numbers following a peak in November and early December that prompted concerns about hospital capacity.
As of Friday, there were 48 people with COVID-19 in hospitals throughout the state and another three patients suspected to have the virus. Seven of these patients were on ventilators. Hospitalizations are now less than a third of where they were during the peak in November and December.
Alaskas death rate per capita is still among the lowest in the country, though the states size and vulnerable health care system complicate national comparisons.
Vaccines first arrived in the state in December and by Friday at least 72,899 people nearly 10% of the states population had received the first dose, according to the states vaccine monitoring dashboard. At least 16,186 people had received the second dose. Alaska has currently vaccinated more residents per capita than any other state, according to a national tracker.
Health care workers and nursing home staff and residents were the first group to receive the vaccinations. Early this month, the state opened up the vaccines to adults older than 65, although appointment slots are limited and have filled quickly.
For more information about vaccination appointments, visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322 and leave a message. A recording says calls will be returned in the order theyre received within 48 hours, but some users have reported longer delays.
Of the 262 cases reported in Alaska residents Friday, there were 102 in Anchorage plus two in Chugiak and six in Eagle River; one in Anchor Point; three in Kenai; one in Sterling; six in Kodiak; one in Healy; 26 in Fairbanks plus six in North Pole; one in Big Lake; 11 in Palmer; one in Sutton-Alpine; 23 in Wasilla; three in Nome; two in Juneau; three in Ketchikan; five in Unalaska; and nine in Bethel.
Among communities with populations under 1,000 people not named to protect privacy, there was one in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area; three in the Fairbanks North Star Borough; three in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area; two in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area; one in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough; two in the Nome Census Area; one in the North Slope Borough; 18 in the Northwest Arctic Borough; two in Yakutat plus Hoonah-Angoon; two in the Aleutians East Borough; eight in the Bethel Census Area; one in Bristol Bay plus Lake and Peninsula; four in the Dillingham Census Area; and two in the Kusilvak Census Area.
Twenty-eight nonresidents in the state also tested positive for the virus, including two in Anchorage, one in Seward, two in Wasilla, one in Prudhoe Bay, 18 in the Aleutians East Borough, and four in Unalaska.
While people might get tested more than once, each case reported by the state health department represents only one person.
The states data doesnt specify whether people testing positive for COVID-19 have symptoms. More than half of the nations infections are transmitted from asymptomatic people, according to CDC estimates.
Over the past week, 3.45% of all tests completed statewide came back positive.
TAMPA (WFLA) Johnson & Johnsonhopes to have enough COVID-19 vaccines for 100 million Americans by April as the government ramp up nationwide inoculation efforts, a company official says.
The drug maker is Going all out with its production while it awaits results from a large-scale clinical trial that could allow the shot to be approved for emergency use in the coming weeks, according to Dr. Mark McClellan who spoke to CNBC this week.
During remarks at the White House on Thursday, the governments top infectious disease doctor Anthony Fauci said that Johnson & Johnson would have enough data on its vaccine to begin analysis within a week or two.
ABOUT THE 3RD VACCINE
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that in the U.S. 10.6 million people have received the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. More than 39 million doses have been distributed as of January 22.
J&J expects to release data late this month from the Phase 3 trial of its single-dose coronavirus vaccine, which was shown togenerate an immune response to COVID-19in an early-stage study.
The governor is eligible for the vaccine under Phase 1B of the state's vaccine rollout.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and his wife Trudi each received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Friday.
The governor is eligible under Phase 1B of the state's vaccine rollout, which lowered the age threshold from 70 to 65 on Monday. Inslee is 69.
The Inslees got their first doses at an assisted living facility in Olympia, administered by Sea Mar Community Health. They received the Moderna vaccine, according to the Associated Press.
"It's a scientific miracle that we have this safe, comfortable, efficacious vaccine so quickly," Inslee said after getting the vaccine. "It's just an incredible event and I feel very, very fortunate to live at a time with scientific geniuses, and people here at Sea Mar, who are doing such good work."
Inslee continued, "I couldn't be more thrilled, personally, but for the whole state."
Inslee's wife Trudi received the vaccine first. After both of them had been inoculated, the governor said, "I gotta tell you what, this is the most precious thing in life to me, is Trudi, and I would not have her getting this vaccine if it wasn't totally safe."
Trudi added, "And keep wearing masks and washing hands and keeping distance."
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) announced Thursday that all Washington nursing home residents who opted in have now received their first dose.
DOH tweeted, "AMAZING NEWS! We finished giving the first round of #CovidVaccine to all residents in nursing homes across WA today! Still working on the rest of long-term care, but this is a major milestone. Shout-out to the many pharmacies helping us protect the most vulnerable Washingtonians."
On Dec. 4, I received a text from a college roommate asking if I thought another round of stimulus would pass before Congress adjourned for the year. He owns six restaurants and bars that are honoring severe occupancy limits and are surviving thanks to takeout, PPP and EIDL loans. In the current political environment, I told him at the time, I would never bet on a deal getting done, unless it was part of a much bigger deal necessary to keep the federal government funded and open. And, sure enough, on Dec. 27 President Trump reluctantly signed the 5,593-page Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The largest, by dollar, and longest, by length, spending bill ever passed, includes $900 billion of coronavirus relief.
Unlike my restaurant-owning friend, who desperately needs a fresh round of stimulus, it is unlikely that you a retiree are sitting at home studying this bill, looking for a lifeline. That said, it is important to know whats in this bill that will affect you, to make sure youre getting as much as possible out of your tax dollars.
In a weeklong standoff between Congress and President Trump, where #MitchBetterHaveMyMoney was trending on Twitter, the stimulus package was passed with its $600 direct payments for certain taxpayers. Because the entire purpose of these stimulus packages was to provide relief to those suffering economic setbacks due to the virus, you might think that retirees, who arent in the workforce, would not be eligible. Wrong. The payments are based solely on adjusted gross income (AGI), not employment status or age. Any taxpayer who is married and files jointly, and has an AGI of $150,000 or less, will receive the full $600, as well as qualifying dependent children 17 or younger. For single filers, the AGI cap is $75,000. Reduced amounts are based on phaseouts beyond those limits.
Thanks to this new stimulus money, you can now pay your Comcast bill for two more months or afford one-third of a Peloton. Of course, as Joe Biden takes office, that could change again. He has proposed a third stimulus check of $1,400 in his $1.9 trillion economic stimulus plan. Well have to wait and see what happens with that.
I admire the intention here, as charities are helping many of the people hurt most by the pandemic. The CARES Act increased the percentage of gross income you could write off, for cash contributions, from 60% of gross income up to 100% of gross income. It also added up to a $300 above-the-line charitable deduction for those who take the standard deduction. The new appropriations act extended the former through 2021 and, in certain instances, expanded the latter. Those who file jointly, and take the standard deduction, in 2021 can take up to a $300 deduction per taxpayer, meaning $600 per couple. In 2020, the deduction was $300 per tax return, not per person, so married couples were limited to a $300 deduction.
Its important to note that the percentage-of-AGI limits typically come into play only with significant, one-time gifts. Those gifts often come in the form of appreciated stock or capital assets, donated directly to a charity, trust or donor advised fund. This adjustment specifically excludes those types of donations. It would surprise me if a savvy planner would advise driving your AGI down to zero with a cash gift.
The appropriations bill includes a subsection titled the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020. Apparently, continuing to call this annual activity extenders was just too simple. These are the bills that often, as they indicate, extend certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code by another year or two, or retroactively for the previous year.
The extension of the 7.5% AGI hurdle for medical expense deductions is a win for retirees, who see ever-increasing health care expenses. This has bounced between 7.5% and 10% for many years. Unlike many extenders, this was permanently (or at least until Congress changes its mind) pegged at 7.5%.
Heres an example: John was sick in 2020. He had gross income of $100,000 and medical expenses of $10,000. With a 7.5% hurdle, he can write off his medical expenses in excess of $7,500 on his Schedule A. He gets to write off $2,500. If the hurdle had been 10%, he could have only written off expenses in excess of $10,000, or, zero.
Our firm works with retirees in the Washington, D.C., area, where federal pensions are common, and RMDs are often more of a nuisance than a necessity. So, I was relieved when the CARES Act suspended 2020 RMDs. I was excited when I heard murmurs that this new bill would extend that through 2021. My emotional roller coaster headed south again when I found out that such a provision was left out of the final bill.
With RMDs back in play, we face a somewhat tricky situation due to a provision in the SECURE Act. That law, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2020, pushed the starting RMD age from 70 to 72, for those born on or after July 1, 1949. Therefore, those who had just started taking these distributions had a temporary reprieve. Those who were about to start got an extension. The IRS imposes an especially hefty penalty of 50% for missed distributions, so its important that you confirm when you must begin taking these and how much you have to take.
I hope this bill will provide significant help for all those hurt during a horrific year. I hope it means that I will be able to safely visit my favorite bars and restaurants, including those owned by my college roommate, before they go out of business. Lastly, I hope no retiree wasted their most valuable asset their time reading the 5,593 pages that Congress churned out. Everything you need to know is in the 800 words above.
Wealth Manager, Campbell Wealth Management
Evan Beach is a Certified Financial Planner professional and an Accredited Wealth Management Adviser. His knowledge is concentrated on the issues that arise in retirement and how to plan for them. Beach teaches retirement planning courses at several local universities and continuing education courses to CPAs. He has been quoted in and published by Yahoo Finance, CNBC, Credit.com, Fox Business, Bloomberg, and U.S. News and World Report, among others.
Biden says it will take months to turn pandemic around; new COVID-19 cases in Pa. trending downward, but dea The Philadelphia Inquirer
