Continuing coronavirus happenings (Part 4)

Wow. Right on cue, UVA has issued N95’s for our use. 1 per week, but still, far better than previous.

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Hello UTI! Not to mention catheterization is painful

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Although I kinda despise him as a politician, I do give him credit for being pretty effective in fighting covid and his own party to try to protect WV from the worst of it. Hopes for him to recover.

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Wow. Monoclonals for pre-exposure prophylaxis is a whole new level of weirdness.

And no shit, Sherlock:

May I ask who will be able to pay for this in the US? I mean, from what you and everyone else lets on, health care insurance is broken beyond repair in the US, so who the hell can afford getting monoclonal antibodies, and even as prophylaxis?

O_o

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The patients for whom pre-exposure prophylaxis is appropriate are a very small group. The antibodies are for folks that are not expected to have an adequate response to vaccination. For example, solid organ transplant recipients or people with severe immunodeficiencies.

It’s actually a great idea. I already know of at least two patients that would have benefited (and might still) from these drugs. Both were fully vaccinated but had severe courses of illness from COVID.

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i am reminded of an old russian joke which involves a man who somehow gets one or more wishes and one of his wishes is to piss the highest quality vodka. the punchline, spoken to his wife, is “tonight, lyubimaya, you drink from the bottle”.

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To clarify, of course it is an intelligent form of prophylaxis for this group. It’s just weird that this is actually happening. As far as I remember, a single dose would probably cost about 2000 € (so ~2.3 k$). Also, as indicated, monoclonal antibodies usually aren’t off-shelf and easily supplied, so giving them as pre-exposition prophylaxis is a bit unheard of, at least for me.

Post-exposition, sure. If I know they had a high-risk encounter, sure. As a treatment, monoclonal antibodies work best before the shit hits the fan. That’s a general problem with COVID treatment, that is.

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That is consistent with the Ontario :canada: guidelines as well, which also note the short supply but recommend monoclonal antibody treatment for the most at-risk two tiers of patients. Evushield is not mentioned; we’re usually a bit behind the FDA approvals, though.

Drug costs are for most people a matter of supplementary insurance here (CAD ~320/m for a family of 4) but if you can’t afford it there are supports (and costs are tax deductible otherwise, assuming you earn enough, and still have a job).

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Today on 3 separate occasions I had appointments where I walked into the room, noticed that the parent(s) looked like death, and asked what was up. “Oh we have covid, we just wanted to get our kids tested.” With cloth masks, worn improperly, and looking startled when I aske why they had chosen to come into the office with it. Damn, they are trying to kill us. I have no idea how much longer we can last like this…

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@ChuckV @RigelT Cannabis compounds stop COVID virus from infecting human cells in lab study

/me Looks at the :canada: rules… 4 plants… starts to doubt the decision to plant lettuce and Swiss chard in the new household indoor grow-op… :thinking: Especially since we shelled out for AutoPot kit at a local cannabis grow supplier… but I digress…

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Can I buy you a hazmat suit, @anon29537550 ?

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Damn. I’m sorry to hear that.

I had to get my Rx renewed several weeks ago and I was forced to make an appearance. My doctor’s office won’t let anyone in the door until fully screened and they don’t allow cloth masks.

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6125mh

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@gatto too

I tested negative for both COVID-19 and influenza at a larger hospital, where another doctor looked at me and confirmed that it is a classic case of strep throat.

Thank you again for your concern!

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The collective request from a concerned and tired workforce to the public is: get vaccinated, get your booster and keep up sensible precautions. No one wants to be in the invidious position of deciding whether to save you or the next patient.

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Looks like more help is coming to my state and five others.

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We have passed through a fiscal event horizon in the U.S. and now there is both infinite and zero money available for anything, depending on whether the right people want to spend it

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sad but true. at this point, anything the g.o.p. death cult wants to spend money on is fine, just fine. anything the democratic party wants to spend money on is budget-busting frivolity.

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