Trustworthy and accurate health info for moms like me! Monday updates
Last month, the CDC recommended double masking as one of several options to improve how your mask fits your face. If you’re one of many people who are now double masking, a new research letter recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine includes helpful insights into how to double mask more effectively.
Here we go again! The sun is shining, the days are getting longer, and it’s time to… keep wearing our face masks!
It’s been a very, very long year, and I’d love to have a “normal” spring and summer as much as anyone, but the COVID-19 pandemic still is not over. According to the CDC, new COVID-19 cases have been consistently increasing over the last few days, for the first time since January. Although we’ve been making remarkable progress with COVID-19 vaccination, as of this writing less than 1 in 6 of the U.S. population (16%) is fully vaccinated. Experts predict that at least 70% of the population will need to be immune to COVID-19 to achieve “herd immunity”, but we are still nowhere near that threshold.
I still feel confident that we will get there, but please don’t jump the gun before we do. Don’t forget that despite predictions that the virus would go away in warm weather, the second U.S. wave of COVID-19 peaked last summer. Please, don’t contribute to a fourth wave. Keep wearing your masks, keep social distancing, and get your COVID-19 vaccine when you’re eligible. It’s up to every one of us to fight this pandemic together. Don’t be the weak link that breaks our chain of protection.
COVID-19 vaccines are out, but how soon will you get able to get yours? According to the CDC, 13 million doses have shipped and 4.2 million Americans have been vaccinated so far. However, 24 million healthcare workers and long-term care residents are eligible in Phase 1a, 49 million frontline essential workers persons age 75 and older in Phase 1b, and 129 people with high-risk medical conditions, age 65 million or older or other essential workers are eligible in Phase 1c before healthy young and middle-aged non-essential workers will be eligible. Don’t like those numbers? Here’s my advice if you want to get yourself to the front of the COVID-19 vaccine line.
Today is Election Day, one of the most important days of the year in the United States. If you are a registered U.S. voter and you haven’t voted yet by early voting, absentee ballot or vote by mail, then please VOTE today! Voting is not only our right but our civic duty. Here are a few quick tips to vote safely during the pandemic; so quick, in fact, that I’m not even going to use a “read more” break.
What are you waiting for? Find your polling place and go vote!
🗳️ Dr. B
Halloween is nearly here! Are you ready? The COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t mean you and your kids can’t still have a spooky fun time; read on for expert tips to keep your kids and yourself safe and healthy while still enjoying Halloween this weekend.
Welcome back to another week! If your kids’ school year has begun, whether remotely, on-site or on a hybrid schedule, I hope it’s going well and they’re staying safe and healthy!
If you live in a northern climate, then the weather’s probably getting chillier and after six months of social distancing, the call of your favorite restaurant or café may be getting more and more attractive. Unfortunately, a recent study published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) suggests that spending time in restaurants, bars and coffee shops during the COVID-19 pandemic may be one of the riskiest choices we could make.
I’m back at it again with the early updates, but this news was too good not to share: the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published a case summary today of two hair stylists with COVID-19 who served 139 clients while both the stylists and clients wore face masks, and not one client got infected. This is tremendous news that once again reinforces that face masks work to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
I hope you all had a safe and healthy 4th of July, and that you keep making safe choices to keep yourself, your loved ones and your community healthy. COVID-19 cases keep rising in the U.S., particularly in states that either don’t have face mask requirements or aren’t enforcing them. A vaccine is months away at best, so until then it’s up to us to control this pandemic as best we can using the few tools we have available. Face masks have been proven to reduce the spread of COVID-19; everyone over 2 years old should be wearing one anytime they are out in public or around people who don’t live in their household.
Now that face masks are finally catching on, there are so many to choose from. It can be hard to choose which kind is right for you. Fortunately, the AIP Physics of Fluids published a fascinating study visually comparing the effectiveness of various kinds of commonly worn face coverings.
I had a blog post on another topic half written, but the rise in new COVID-19 cases in the United States over the last 2 weeks is too shocking and dangerous to ignore. Texas, Florida and California are all stepping back reopening plans and returning to previous restrictions. In my opinion, that was the right call to make. But I wish it hadn’t taken hundreds of thousands of cases and 20,000 U.S. deaths in the month of June alone for them to act.
COVID-19 isn’t taking a summer vacation. It hasn’t gone south of the equator to colder temperatures, and despite what some might like you to believe summer UV rays are not killing it. Believe me, I wish this were an ordinary summer, and that my family and I could go about our usual summer vacation activity without worrying about a pandemic. But that’s just not the world we live in anymore. It isn’t. We need to get back to the steps that helped control COVID-19 earlier this year and that will do so again if we stick to them.
The first step I’m going to address is face mask wear.
