Protection During the Resurgence

[tnbutterfly - Mary]

It is pretty much certain that there will be a resurgence/second wave of COVID-19. Will the government invest as much on healthcare workers fighting the COVID war as they do on the police?

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

2 hours ago, herring_RN said:

Study: 100% face mask use could crush second, third COVID-19 wave

To ward off resurgences, the reproduction number for the virus (the average number of people who will contract it from one infected person) needs to drop below 1.0. Researchers don’t believe that’s achievable with lockdowns alone. However, a combination of lockdowns and widespread mask compliance might do the trick...

... “We show that, when face masks are used by the public all the time (not just from when symptoms first appear), the effective reproduction number, Re, can be decreased below 1, leading to the mitigation of epidemic spread,”...

https://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Study-100-face-mask-use-could-crush-second-15333170.php

THE STUDY: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspa.2020.0376

We aren't going back into lockdown mode again. Mnuchin has stated that. In California, Governor Newsome has said the same thing.

While most people support precautions such as face masks, hygiene, and reasonable social distancing, no one is going to tolerate more prolonged lockdowns.

Financially, we can't afford it. Massive unemployment, bankruptcies, businesses closing down, schools closing or suffering severe budget cuts, and hospitals in dire straits, with some small and rural hospitals possibly closing forever.

Socially, it is very bad for children not to go to school. Some of the children are now facing serious emotional and mental challenges that will have long-term impacts.

From a medical perspective, the lockdown may end up killing more people than died from COVID.

- Mental issues leading to deaths of despair - some experts have estimated this could be over 150,000 excess suicides

- Deaths from drug and alcohol abuse and ODs

- Delayed surgeries that resulted in deaths, such as for heart valve replacements

- Cancer treatments that have been delayed

- Cancer screenings that have been delayed

- People have been delaying seeking care even for emergencies such as heart attacks and strokes, resulting in needless deaths

- It is likely that delays in seeking primary care and other specialty care will cost lives or premature deaths

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

On 6/10/2020 at 12:15 PM, Leader25 said:

Break down the numbers and how long each item is used or reused.

I had the same thought. Even though the police equipment is more expensive, it’s reusable, and the police don’t require a lot of it.

I’d be curious to know the annual spending in the US on new riot gear for police vs. the annual spending on PPE for all healthcare professionals in every hospital/LTC/outpatient setting, but guessing the PPE would be way more expensive (due to the substantially larger volumes and the fact that it all has to be disposed of or decontaminated).

[OUxPhys, BSN, RN]

On 6/11/2020 at 11:52 AM, Neo Soldier said:

So... what you're saying is that our military should not spend adequately on defending the country because there are people living in oppression and poverty? This is not a third world country so I doubt these people living in oppression/poverty have no help whatsoever.

Great point. The PPEs are for staff/patients. I'm sure the overall cost is more than the shields/helmets used by law enforcement/military to protect citizens.

Im a Navy vet but I even know the military wastes a ton of money. Look at the F-35 and the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship and heck even the Zummwalt class destroyer or the new Ford class Carriers. They could afford to trim some of the budget and still maintain a powerful military.

On 6/10/2020 at 12:15 PM, Leader25 said:

Hmmmmm......This is a misleading portrayal of the costs,come on now.....

Break down the numbers and how long each item is used or reused.

times what you are protecting against ,a brick ,a gun, a deadly virus,death in all its shapes and forms,who even knows anymore.

I agree. A lot of this gear is reusable whereas most PPE is not. I know my covid floor at my hospital went to launderable gowns.

[Robmoo, ADN, BSN, RN]

You are ignoring the fact that the police gear is a capital investment while the gear that the nurse is wearing is supposed to all be disposable. Before COVID the gear that we would go through in a shift probably cost as much as the police gear.