President Biden’s recent COVID diagnosis is a “teaching moment*” for all Americans, especially those 70+ years of age. While grateful that he hasn’t suffered the more severe effects that COVID initially presented before vaccines and boosters, his case is a reminder we need to remain vigilant against this persistent infectious virus.
*Leana S. Wen, Washington Post columnist
The COVID B.A. 5 Variant and the Elderly
Ezekiel Emanuel, the University of Pennsylvania bioethicist, reminds us that COVID, and especially its current variant, needs to be respected for what it is: “B.A. 5 is really contagious,” he says and reminds us that the 79-year-old leader of the free world is “probably the person in America with the best protections. No one can rest assured that they won’t get infected.” In fact, many senior administration officials have recently tested positive, including the 81-year-old Dr. Anthony Fauci.
See Dan Diamond’s column in the Washington Post column for more:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/07/21/biden-covid-return-to-normal-strategy/
The same Washington Post article cites an urgent assertion by Julia Raifman, a public health professor at Boston University, who calls this “an opportunity to acknowledge that (COVID) is a serious illness for people who are over 70″ and “not minimize or exaggerate the president’s infection.” Leana S. Wen, another Washington Post columnist, goes even further: “Biden’s COVID positive diagnosis is a teaching moment for the country.”
Current COVID Data
While the grim death totals from the early days of COVID have diminished, the current statistics are still sobering:
- The virus is killing more than 400 people a day, according to The Washington Post’s seven-day average.
- There are more than 125,000 new reported coronavirus infections every day.
- That number is believed to be a drastic understatement since most people now test at home, and those who test positive tend not to report their status.
- Julia Raifman reports, “we’ve already lost more than 500,000 people to COVID during this administration.”
- More than 1,024,000 people have died from COVID in the U.S. alone, with more than 90,271,000 cases reported.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/coronavirus-us-cases-deaths/?itid=lk_inline_manual_9
See Paul Waldman’s column in the Washington Post column for more:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/21/biden-covid-positive-pandemic-cost/
What Can Be Done?
Activists like Ezekiel Emanuel and Julia Raifman have articulated many ways to mitigate the spread of the virus:
- Federal support for mask mandates
- Holding more gatherings outdoors
- Improve indoor air quality standards
- Targeted help for those with long COVID
- A broadened focus on other respiratory diseases
- Continued support for mask-wearing and social distancing
With all that said, it’s encouraging to note that President Biden, like the rest of us, has been relying on the same medical breakthroughs that are broadly available to the general public. Tom Frieden, a former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, says the current vaccines remain “astonishingly effective” at preventing severe illness. He also praised the decision to prescribe paxlovid, an antiviral pill, to the First Patient to reduce the chances that he might develop complications.
At the same time, The White House medical team’s decision to have Biden remain in isolation until receiving a negative COVID test results goes beyond even CDC guidelines – a more conservative protocol that seems appropriate for a 79-year-old.
Westchester Family Care COVID Protocols
Indeed, Westchester Family Care can report that we too have been vigilant with our COVID practices from the beginning and have instituted mandates beyond New York State guidance. Specifically, early in the pandemic, we moved from readily available standard masks to KN95 surgical masks with significantly better filtration. And our protocols for screening, mask-wearing, and other precautions have remained in place since the very early days of COVID.
WFC will continue conservatively on ways to protect our community, especially now that the highly infectious B.A. 5 variant is out there. Our client population is among the most vulnerable to coronavirus. And we value our caregivers and the rest of our workforce as much as our clients.
Westchester Family Care is an independent in-home care provider specializing in making the home a safe and accommodating place for your aging family members, no matter the condition.
We have an extensive network of professionals and issue-specific specialists ready to help you maintain a healthy quality of life.
Contact WFC for an immediate family need or when planning for future needs: