Will This Novel Virus Revive Older Ones?

Jeffrey A. SingerAs I recently wrotehere, and spoke abouthere, bans on elective surgery invoked by governors across the country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have caused many people to suffer and even possibly face fatal consequences due to delays in necessary medical care. But there are other reasons why the public health emergency has the potential to generate secondary public health crises.In some cases people are avoiding doctors ’ offices and emergency rooms because they worry about handling theexpense at a time they have seen their income, and perhaps their savings, vanish during the current economic shutdown. In other cases, people –particularly those with vulnerabilities–avoid medical care out of fear they might getexposed to the virus in the process.Fear among vulnerable patients that they may contract and succumb to a COVID-19 infection is completely understandable. It is less understandable, however, when this fear makes parents forgo taking their children to the doctor ’s office for routine vaccinations against diseases which are far more deadly and contagious, as theWall Street Journalreported May 8. The timing of certain immunizations in children can becrucial. Forgoing or even just postponing them can have serious consequences.Despite the fact that family practice and pediatrics offices have employed social distancing strategies to minimize the risk of COVID exposure to parents and their children if they come in for their scheduled...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs