COVID Mutations, Slow Vaccine Rollout & “Jumping the Line”

In her first video of 2021, Dr. Baxter covers the realities of a massive vaccine rollout. Is the COVID Vaccine roll-out as slow as we think it is? Are people jumping the line? What role might children’s hospitals play in vaccinating large numbers of adults? What about those new strains? These questions and many more, answered.

Side note: remember back in May of 2020 when we talked about summer plans, then back to school, thinking everything would be “back to normal” by the fall? Dr. Baxter will continue her live talks for as long as it takes to get “back to normal.” Watch krijg meer informatie to the end for a hopeful message about how we get on the other side of this pandemic. Thank you for watching!

Is the vaccine rollout moving very slowly? Not really. This is an extremely sophisticated logistical exercise and efficiencies will improve over a short time. Building the infrastructure/assembly line is the hard part; maintaining the system is much easier.

Are people jumping the line? Trick question. There are multiple lines and the “rules” about who goes first are just guidelines. It’s important not to waste a single dose.

What role might children’s hospitals play in administering vaccines to adults? Pediatric hospitals are already well-equipped to deliver mass vaccination. Children’s hospitals are excellent at mass vaccinations for flu for their staff each year. One idea could be to boost their supply and have them support community vaccination at their locations with their logistical expertise. Those at high-risk of getting very ill from COVID-19 should be getting vaccinated at these locations (not waiting in long lines at the local health department). These hospitals are not over-crowded now since flu is low, injizierbare steroide children are not in school, so many viruses normally circulating now are not.

Do I need to worry about new strains and mutations of the coronavirus? Different strains and variants of COVID are going around. The UK strain is easier to catch but does not appear to be more severe. The South African strain might have mutated enough that the current vaccines will not protect against it. This is why the sooner we achieve herd immunity, the better. Time is of the essence. Most recent science says it would take about 4-6 weeks to create a new vaccine capable of addressing new mutations and strains.

Dr. Baxter covers the death rate (R0) of SARS-CoV-2. Measles, for example, is super-contagious. One person with measles can infect 17 people. With SARS-CoV-2virus, there’s variability in the transmission rate that changes the R0. If a mutation is easier to transmit, we have to have more people vaccinated to “keep the herd safe.”

What can I do to reduce the lung effects of COVID-19? Improving your own breathing can help. Dr. Baxter recommends . . . you guessed it – nasal irrigation! If you use a C-PAP machine, keep using it.

Let’s get ahead of this virus with an EASY, proven solution for needle pain AND fear. Use it to decrease next-day soreness. #BuzzyHelps

Dedicated COVID-19 webpage here