Texas governor to residents: "The safest place for you is at your home" due Covid-19 spike

allnurses Guide · Jun 28, 2020

52 minutes ago, A Hit With The Ladies said:
I'm sure that mom sounds like her track record would be better than Fauci's and the other so-called "experts"... we heard enough from them!

Your repeated callbacks to political issues in regards to a public health crisis highlights the the exact problem that is driving our covid resurgence, which to be frank, is embarrassing for lay public let alone an educated health professional.

allnurses Guide · Jun 28, 2020

HIV activists hail Fauci amid coronavirus crisis — but it wasn’t always that way

At the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the early 1990s, Fauci was at the frontlines as director of the National Institutes of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, a role he began in 1984 and continues to this day. During that time, Fauci’s research contributed to the understanding of HIV’s destruction of the immune system and therapy that has significantly contained the disease in more recent years...

... As the coronavirus epidemic began to unfold, Fauci himself compared the situation to the early days of the HIV epidemic — as well as other diseases — because “there’s still a lot that’s unknown.“

“It’s not that different than the very early years of the HIV epidemic, of the anthrax attacks, of the concern about the pre-pandemic bird flu,” Fauci said, “Everything has a little bit of a different twist to it. It’s not exactly the same, but there’s always that uncertainty that gets people very anxious.”

Under Fauci’s leadership, NIH in 1987 developed AZT, or zidovudine, the first antiretroviral approved for the treatment of HIV, although the epidemic continued. After more research, when combinations of drugs were seen to be effective against HIV, NIH cleared the way for more effective therapy in 1996.

Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV & Hepatitis Policy Institute, was among the advocates fighting HIV/AIDS who hailed Fauci’s work both then and now.

“No one does a better job at explaining and conquering infectious diseases, whether it is HIV/AIDS or coronavirus, than Tony Fauci,” Schmid said. “Not only is he one of the world’s top infectious disease doctors but he knows how to articulate complicated issues and on top of it, understands how to address them utilizing an all parts of society approach. He has been there since the earliest days of the AIDS crisis and can take all of what he has learned and done over the years, including working with presidents of both parties, to now deal with the coronavirus.”

But it wasn’t always a happy relationship with HIV/AIDS activists. As the HIV/AIDS epidemic raged and continued to the claim the lives of thousands of gay men, Fauci was the target of activists who accused him of not moving quickly with new medicines to fight the disease...

ACT UP, the grassroots network that held “die-in” protests to draw attention to mass fatalities from HIV/AIDS amid silence from the U.S. government, held a massive demonstration at the National Institutes of Health on April 21, 1990...

According to the article, written by veteran Blade reporter Lou Chibbaro, Jr., more than 1,000 demonstrators marched through the sprawling grounds of the NIH “using placards, costumes, bull horns and red-colored tape to draw attention to their demand for faster government action on AIDS research programs.” One photo taken at the event by the Blade — but never published until now — shows three protesters dressed in black robes and skull masks in the style of the Grim Reaper... Following the demonstration, Fauci reportedly said he was sympathetic to ACT UP’s cause, but believes its allegations were untrue...

https://www.washingtonblade.com/2020/03/18/hiv-activists-hail-fauci-amid-coronavirus-crisis-but-it-wasnt-always-that-way/

PS: I so admire the work done by "ACT UP" to keep awareness of the need for a way to save so many lives. (Open the link to see the protest photo)

Littleblackdog, ADN, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2020

Here's the thing: wearing a mask provides more protection for others and still some for yourself. So, is it OK to refuse to wear one because: you love the president and are a republican and so you're not going to believe any of the doctors or you think it violates your constitutional rights or your face feels hot and uncomfortable while wearing one or....whatever? If you are taking a chance only with your own life, OK, so be it. But you are causing greater risk of illness and even death to others by refusing to wear one, so what about that old adage, "Your rights end where mine begin"? Like, my right to decrease my exposure to this disease. Someone here said that another poster's mom, who had 50 years of experience as an RN probably knows more than the women and men who are experts in infectious disease. No disrespect meant to someone with 50 years of nursing, (or anyone, for that matter) but I tend to think that a physician who has studied every phase of infectious diseases: history, patterns/trends, medications, outcomes of studies, etc etc knows a heck of a lot more than someone who has been a nurse for 50 years. Period.

Littleblackdog, ADN, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2020

1 hour ago, BostonFNP said:
Your repeated callbacks to political issues in regards to a public health crisis highlights the the exact problem that is driving our covid resurgence, which to be frank, is embarrassing for lay public let alone an educated health professional.

Absolutely! Well said! I just commented upon this, as well. I cannot believe that even people who are health care professionals are disregarding the increasingly stringent pleas by infectious disease experts for mask wearing and social distancing. And this is obviously yet another person who is determined to make this into a political (I.e. Democrats vs. Republicans) issue rather than a medical one. The president's statements and actions are harmful and stupid and reflect the need for leadership that isn't afraid to take advice from others, in this case, epidemiologists. Anyone, who in the face of the facts that we are given about Covid-19 insists that "one day soon, it'll all just go away, like a miracle, it will be gone" and (early on) "there are about 11 cases here and they're all getting better" and who refuses to ever wear a mask is doing great harm to his public by setting a dangerous and poor example. Tonight I watched a video, taken by a journalist, of people working for a Trump rally removing the "Please do not sit here" signs placed on seats in an arena where he is scheduled to hold another rally, signs that were placed by the arena's staff in a vain attempt to get attendees to distance from one another,

Guest219794 · Jun 28, 2020

2 hours ago, NRSKarenRN said:
Do you also not follow the Infectious Disease experts at your hospital???

WOW!. I was gone for a while, just popped bak in to have a look- same nonsense.
He refers to the measures successfully used by other countries to control Covid and return to normal as "tyranny". And you want to have a rational conversation?

A Hit With The Ladies, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2020

2 hours ago, NRSKarenRN said:
Do you also not follow the Infectious Disease experts at your hospital???

Are the I.D. doctors and nurses giving policies that pertain to the job itself? Or are they trying to run my day-to-day lives outside of the workplace?

Quote
Your repeated callbacks to political issues in regards to a public health crisis highlights the the exact problem that is driving our covid resurgence, which to be frank, is embarrassing for lay public let alone an educated health professional.

If you're embarrassed by ceding our civil liberties to some unelected public health "expert" that's your problem and yours alone. Don't pretend that this isn't political - they are trying to use the political area to impose their public health "recommendations" by coercion on us. I would have no problem if they just made their recommendations and left it to us alone to choose our next course of action on our own.

JadedCPN, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2020

7 hours ago, chrisjk said:
My parents live in Texas, are 90+y/o and have yet to don a mask unless they're at a doctor's appt(mandatory). I dare anyone on this site to call my mother stupid/ignorant/whatever;

If she’s out in public, at the grocery store, etc without a mask on...then yes, she’s ignorant. Especially for a healthcare provider. Now if she doesn’t go anywhere outside of her house except for the doctors appointments, then there’s nothing ignorant about her not donning a mask.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jun 28, 2020

Texas Tribune 6/27/10

Quote
More than 5,500 patients in Texas are hospitalized with coronavirus, another record-breaking number. ...The number of patients hospitalized with the coronavirus tripled in June compared to May 31....
On June 27, the state reported 12,893 available staffed hospital beds, including 1,333 available staffed ICU beds statewide.
https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2020/texas-coronavirus-cases-map/?_ga=2.192551532.773930934.1593327223-615403761.1593327223

See the maps: Hospital beds in use and New cases of coronavirus each day

https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2020/texas-coronavirus-cases-map/

Littleblackdog, ADN, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2020

11 hours ago, JadedCPN said:
If she’s out in public, at the grocery store, etc without a mask on...then yes, she’s ignorant. Especially for a healthcare provider. Now if she doesn’t go anywhere outside of her house except for the doctors appointments, then there’s nothing ignorant about her not donning a mask.

Why don't folks understand that the mask also protects other people from your own respiratory secretions? We have a responsibility to protect ourselves and others in a case like this (a pandemic that spreads easily by respiratory secretions). So yes, your mother, whether she is 93 or 33, needs to wear a mask in public. But of course she doesn't need to wear one in her own home, unless she has to have someone like a repair person come in or something like that.

Subee2, BSN, MSN, CRNA · Jun 28, 2020

On 6/25/2020 at 11:18 AM, A Hit With The Ladies said:
This entire thread is about hospitals in Texas filling up with Coronapositive people...
But anyway, I think the governor made a big mistake by halting elective surgeries in my county and the other big metro areas here. Hospitals need revenue to keep functioning. This is why firm boundaries are so so important. The hospitals really ought to keep those beds held for the elective surgeries. And they need to block off certain beds, such as in surgical ICUs, for emergent conditions that may arise from post-operative patients. Under no circumstance should that bed be filled, nor should it be staffed, for a COVID-positive person. This is exactly like the airplanes telling you to put the bag mask on yourself first before you try to help someone else out. The hospitals cannot spend on caring for Coronapositive people if they are hemorrhaging cash elsewhere. The world doesn't revolve around Corona and it should not. Be firm!

When the ICU's are filled , the PACU's are converted to ICU's and the OR cases are recovered in ASU.

forgivenfaith119 · Jun 29, 2020

A Hit with the Ladies...

After reading your comments, I have great concern that you are a nurse. You are turning your head to science, facts and reality.

Your comments, if said to a layperson could encourage them to not wear a mask and social distance. This could spread Covid-19.

This is one of the reasons your comments is disturbing. Especially since you are a healthcare professional.

chare · Jun 29, 2020

Quote
Texas Medical Center hospitals have stopped reporting key metrics showing the stress rising numbers of COVID-19 patients are placing on their facilities, undermining data that policy makers and the public have relied upon during the pandemic to gauge the spread of the coronavirus.
The change came one day after the hospitals reported their base intensive care capacity had hit 100 percent for the first time during the pandemic, with projections showing the institutions — which together comprise the world’s largest medical complex — were on pace to exceed their “unsustainable surge capacity” by July 6.
[...]

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/amp/Houston-hospitals-hit-100-base-ICU-capacity-15372256.php