Health Info, In the News

COVID-19 UPDATE FROM DR. JONES – 12/03/2020

Dear Patient:

I hope this finds you well. Currently, there are 63 persons hospitalized at NCH with COVID and we have treated 1422 people in the hospital successfully since the beginning of the pandemic. NCH has completed over 43 thousand tests. Recent estimates from the CDC are that anywhere from 53 to 100 million Americans may have been infected by the coronavirus.


 

Vaccines: The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met this week and has recommended the following vaccination schedule: December/ January to vaccinate health care workers and nursing home residents. February/March: People over age 65, essential workers in the food industry and law enforcement as well as anyone with a chronic medical condition that puts them at risk. April through June: the rest of the population. Two shots will be required most likely one month apart and, the vaccines appear to be effective and safe. The recommendation will be forwarded to CDC Director Robert Redfield and then to HHS Secretary Alex Azar who has said that governors will ultimately decide how to prioritize vaccines for their states.

Actual number of U.S. COVID-19 infections maybe eight times the reported number, CDC model suggests

NPR (11/26, Hamilton) reported “the actual number of coronavirus infections in the U.S. reached nearly 53 million at the end of September and could be approaching 100 million now, according to a model developed by” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers. The model “calculated that the true number of infections is about 8 times the reported number, which includes only the cases confirmed by a laboratory test.” NPR added, “Preliminary estimates using the model found that by the end of September, 52.9 million people had been infected, while the number of laboratory-confirmed infections was just 6.9 million, the team reported in…Clinical Infectious Diseases.”

Testing sites in Collier County include: Advanced Medical Center (566-7676), Vava Clinic (331-8520), the health department (252-8200), EPN urgent care (775-2300), CVS (261-6444 and 775-5450) and the VA Clinic (659-9188).

Below is the link to the updated NCH COVID information page:

https://nchmd.org/news-and-events/newsroom/coronavirus-covid19

Wishing each and every one of you a Happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Paul Jones MD