|
Health Watch USA - COVID-19 Radio &
Publications
World O Meter
World COVID-19 Stats
Projected Deaths
Worker
Advocacy
Social Distancing
Major OpEds
(More Infection Control Today
Articles)
7. Healthcare system's basic infrastructure left it
unprepared for COVID-19
"Hospitals are receiving massive bailouts based upon their Medicare
billings. However, this will primarily shunt money to large
healthcare systems as opposed to frontline hospitals. Similar, to
everyday citizens’ stimulus checks, hospital bailouts should be
based upon need. Non-profits with high net assets should not receive
as much funds as frontline hospitals with negative assets. If
for-profit facilities or private equity firms receive a bailout, it
should be paid back with interest or the Government should acquire
an equity position in the company. And all of this should be
predicated on not furloughing workers." Lexington Herald
Leader. April 28, 2020.
Read more here:
https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article242268966.html
6. Viewpoint: Have You Heard About the Herd?
It’s a COVID-19 Fallacy
"Strategies of social distancing, not gathering in large crowds,
wearing masks and protecting those at increased risk are required to
manage this epidemic. Returning to life as usual with the dependence
on herd immunity in a non-vaccinated population to control spread is
almost certainly a false narrative." Infection Control Today.
April 29, 2020.
https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/covid-19/viewpoint-have-you-heard-about-herd-its-covid-19-fallacy
(More Infection Control Today)
5. There's No Excuse for Lean Healthcare Systems —
Especially during COVID-19
"There is no excuse for running a system which is lean
on hospital rooms, supplies and staff. Net-profits and assets are
desirable, but not at the expense of public safety. Hospital staff
are being asked to see patients under draconian conditions and at
the same time they do not have an adequate economic and healthcare
safety net. Healthcare workers do not need paid sick leave, they
need adequate PPE and worker’s compensation benefits, if they become
infected. IPs are placing both themselves and their families’ lives
at grave risk under the crisis management CDC infectious disease
recommendations. That is the very least we can do for them."
Med Page Today (non-redacted version). April 20, 2020:
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/
covid19/86061
4. The United States has squandered resources it needs to fight
coronavirus
"The United States is on the verge of being ravaged by an invader
which we have far too little resources to confront. New estimates
from the United Kingdom are predicting 2.2 million deaths in the
United States from an unmitigated coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic.
If our healthcare system is overrun, this care will not be available
to all. In Italy, there are reports of those over 80 not being
placed on ventilators. In addition, critical care survivors,
including the young, may well develop pulmonary fibrosis, a
disabling chronic lung disease." Lexington Herald Leader.
Mar. 24, 2020 (Online).
https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article241422756.html
3. COVID-19: IPs, We'll Know We've Won the War Against
COVID-19 When...
"Judging when we have won the war against the coronavirus is not
simple. The good news is that we have the technology and know-how to
confront and substantially mitigate these epidemics. What we have
lacked is the willpower to implement this knowledge. If we are
unable to rapidly transform our system and correct these flagrant
deficiencies, then the worse projections from the Imperial College
projections of 2.2 million United States citizen fatalities may come
to pass" Infection Control Today. Mar. 20, 2020 (Online).
https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/covid-19/well-know-weve-won-war-against-covid-19-when
(More Infection Control Today)
2. The Untimely Reporting of Drug-Resistant Outbreaks in the United
States.
Over the course of the last few decades, the United States
has fallen into the dark abyss of secrecy: if truth is inconvenient,
just cover it up and don't disclose it. The United States needs to
implement mandatory real-time public reporting of the CDC's
dangerous biological threats. The Center For Disease Dynamics,
Economics & Policy. Mar. 3, 2020 (Online).
https://cddep.org/blog/posts/the-untimely-reporting-of-drug-resistant-outbreaks/
1. Coronavirus is the biggest challenge our healthcare system has
faced.
Is Kentucky prepared? In January, I concluded an OpEd with an
alarmist statement: "The epidemic of antibiotic resistant organisms
may be the final solution to global warming." We are currently on
the precipice of a massive pandemic from the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Initial data from China has documented massive economic disruption
with a 25 percent drop in carbon emissions. A sobering observation,
but of even more concern when one considers the United States does
not have the authoritarian structure and a culture of population
control which exists in the Chinese government. According to the
CDC, the unknown is when, not if, the epidemic will hit the United
States and "severe disruption" of everyday life may occur. Lexington
Herald Leader. Feb. 27, 2020 (Online).
https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article240697331.html
Selected Radio Segments
View Additional COVID-19 Radio Segments
COVID-19. The Public Needs Testing Availability As The White
House & The False Narrative of Herd Immunity.
Kevin Kavanagh, MD, from Health Watch USAsm
discusses herd immunity and how the infectivity and immune response
to the virus makes this an unrealistic strategy. This is further
complicated by the emergence of a new strain 614G on the East Coast.
Jack Pattie Show with Scott Johnson. WVLK 590. (14:40) May 8, 2020.
https://youtu.be/AVpE6onrMTU
COVID-19: New Strain Faster & Meaner -- What We Need to Do
Dr. Kevin Kavanagh from Health Watch USAsm discusses the
reports of the new strain of the COVID-19 virus. This virus has been
found to be more infectious and produces an increased viral load in
the cell. The attachment spike has been mutated and this may cause
those who were immune to the previous version to be susceptible to
this one. Herd immunity does not appear to be an option. In
addition, vaccines need to be modified to increase their
effectiveness against this strain. WVLK 590 AM with Scott Johnson.
May 6, 2020. (5:31)
https://youtu.be/lp9mi09dYFg
Open or Not Open Our Economy - Is COVID-19 Herd Immunity
a False Narrative ?
Kevin Kavanagh, MD, from Health Watch USAsm,
discusses the COVID-19 experience in Sweden vs. Finland and if the
United States should open their economy, stressing the importance of
worker safety and patrons wearing masks. Problems with herd immunity
are also discussed along with the fast tracking of vaccines. Jack
Pattie Show. May 1, 2020. (15:31)
https://youtu.be/I__VsLXZ-XM
False COVID-19 Narratives from Elected Official's?
Kevin Kavanagh, MD from Health Watch USAsm responds to the false
narratives of elected officials. Issues of piecemeal opening in
states, infection rates and dangers of COVID-19 along with the use
of mask by both employees and employers in retail establishments.
The importance of officials wearing viral filtering masks in
hospitals was also emphasized. Jack Pattie Show. April 29,
2020. (9:43)
https://youtu.be/IFXjVkPfNwA
COVID-19 Governor's Coalition & Universal Healthcare.
Dr. Kevin Kavanagh from Health Watch USAsm discusses the
importance of a national strategy, the regional coalitions formed by
our nation's governors; and not running a lean healthcare system
with small stockpiles of PPE and lack of redundancy of healthcare
workers. In addition, comparisons of the performance of different
countries in controlling COVID-19 is discussed in its relationship
to universal healthcare. Jeff Santos Show. April 16, 2020.
(22:38)
https://youtu.be/c88fKXUDvPo
News Articles
10. As obesity's link to COVID-19 grows, one
family that lost 24-year-old daughter diets together
"Along with making mechanical ventilation harder,
being severely overweight can make it harder to breath, reducing the
patient's own ventilation, said Dr. Kevin Kavanagh, a Kentucky
physician and founder of the patient advocacy group Health Watch
USA." USA Today. May 23, 2020.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/
2020/05/23/obesity-makes-covid-19-risk-larger-hospitals-challenges-much-harder/5221600002/
9. Mask or no mask? Why Kentucky's new requirement
to battle COVID-19 is causing such a fuss
Getting people to wear them is "absolutely key," in
part because modeling suggests that getting most of the public to
wear masks is what makes them effective, said Dr. Kevin Kavanagh,
head of the patient safety group Health Watch USA.
It's also critical to making consumers, especially older
Kentuckians, feel safe to return to stores and help revive the
economy, he said. Courier Journal. May 15, 2020.
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2020/05/15/coronavirus-masks-how-kentuckys-first-week-went-requiring-masks/5192238002/
8. Rich hospitals, poor safety plans leading up to
coronavirus: Should rules change for them now?
"As many hospitals cut staff and more than 9,200
health care workers have been diagnosed with COVID-19, Dr. Kevin
Kavanagh, founder of the patient safety group Health Watch USA, said
the government shouldn't bail them out after they “put us all at
risk.” He calls it "a step in the right direction" that rural
hospitals and those with the most COVID-19 patients were getting
money Friday, but said "non-profit facilities with net assets in the
billions should have to first leverage these assets before receiving
public funds." " USA TOday. May 10, 2020.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health
/2020/05/10/coronavirus-should-rich-hospitals-bankroll-better-pandemic-plans/3048437001/
7. Nelson D. Blood-pressure drugs are in the crosshairs
of COVID-19 research. Reuters News Service. April 23,
2020.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-conoravirus-blood-pressure-ins-idUKKCN2251GQ
New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/04/23/us
/23reuters-health-conoravirus-blood-pressure-insight.html
"Dr Kevin Kavanagh, founder of Health Watch USA, a patient advocacy
organization, questioned whether scientists who are funded by the
drug industry should be advising clinicians, given the high stakes.
"You need to consider stepping back, and let others without a
conflict of interest try to make a call," Kavanagh said." His
organization recommends that doctors temporarily avoid putting new
patients on the drugs and warn those currently on them to take
extreme precautions to avoid virus exposure.
6. Morgan-Besecker T. Patient advocate: State needs more
aggressive action to confront COVID-19 deaths. The Citizens'
Voice. April 22, 2020.
https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/patient-advocate-state-needs-more-aggressive-action-to-confront-covid-19-deaths-1.2620809
"Kevin Kavanagh, director of Health Watch USA, a patient advocacy
group, said efforts to halt the virus from entering facilities fell
short with catastrophic outcomes. "You try to wall off
the home from the outside. Once COVID-19 gets into the nursing home
environment ... it tends to ravage residents and it does not stop,"
Kavanagh said. Many homes tried to halt the spread by
isolating residents to a specific floor. Kavanagh said the
government must consider taking it a step further and designate one
facility to house infected patients."
5. Sullivan T: Louisville area preacher defies ban on mass
gatherings, plans to hold Sunday service. Courier Journal.
April 4, 2020.
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2020/04/04/preaching-gospel-defying-government/2943503001/
"Dr. Kevin Kavanagh, the Somerset-based
founder of Health Watch USA, argues that church services pose
specific and inordinate dangers during a pandemic. "One of
the cruelest characteristics of the coronavirus epidemic is that it
strikes fear in the hearts and minds of many causing them to ask for
comfort and protection from the God they believe in," Kavanagh wrote
in an essay published Friday in
Infection Control Today.“And at the
same time this virus has made a church service one of the most
deadliest places to be in. The combination of singing in close
quarters and decreased ventilation is nothing short of a petri dish
(or cell plate) for viral growth.""
4. Jacobes A. Fink S. How Prepared Is the U.S. for a Coronavirus
Outbreak? New York Times. Feb. 29, 2020.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/29/health/coronavirus-preparation-united-states.html
"Dr. Kevin Kavanagh, who has studied infection control practices in
health care settings, said such facilities might eventually have to
limit visitors, or even keep residents under quarantine as a
preventive measure. "Nursing homes will be extremely vulnerable to
this epidemic, and it will be difficult to implement hygiene
practices to prevent the spread," he said."
3. Kenning C. Why the coronavirus couldn't have come at a
worse time for reeling Appalachian Kentucky. Courier Journal. March
21. 2020.
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2020/03/21/coronavirus-comes-terrible-time-reeling-appalachian-kentucky/2878214001/
2. Terrie Morgan-Besecker. NEPA grocery store begins taking
customers' temps. The Citizens' Voice. Mar. 24, 2020.
https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/nepa-grocery-store-begins-taking-customers-temps-1.2610547
1. Healy J, Richtel M, Baker M. Nursing Homes Becoming Islands of
Isolation Amid 'Shocking' Mortality Rate. New York Times. March 10,
2020.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/us/coronavirus-nursing-homes-washington-seattle.html
"Dr. Kevin Kavanagh, an expert in infection control who has
been critical of lax practices at nursing homes, lauded the new
guidance that restricts social visits. This extreme level of
quarantine is sometimes known as "reverse isolation” and was used to
effect during the Spanish Flu epidemic, Dr. Kavanagh said. 'As
evidenced by the Life Care Center in Kirkland, once the virus starts
to spread in the facility it ravages its residents,” he said. He
said that “the importance is in delay.""
Zoom & Video Meetings
1. Importance of Masks for the Public & PPE for Healthcare
Workers Infection Control Today. Kevin
Kavanagh, MD from Health Watch USAsm which discusses with
Infection Control Today's Editor Frank Diamond the need and
importance of the public having access to masks and the importance
of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers. Infection
Control Today. March 31,
2020. (16:00)
https://youtu.be/DTH9EGIVS4Q
2. Protecting Our Protectors: A conversation with RN
Chris Pontus and Dr. Kevin Kavanagh.
Wednesday, April 1, 2020 7:00 PM 8:30 PM
https://www.criticalconnections.org/covid-events/2020/4/1/protecting-our-protectors-a-conversation-with-rn-chris-pontus-and-dr-kevin-kavanagh
This webpage is for guidance only,
always consult your healthcare provider and the
CDC Website for information before making decisions relating to
the coronavirus.
Return To Health Watch USA Home Page
|
