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30. Immune Debt Versus SARS-CoV-2 Immune Dysfunction
Dr. Kevin Kavanagh from Health Watch USA^sm explains why Immune Dysfunction is thought by many to be the main driver of the surges in bacterial and viral infections the world is experiencing. Immune debt caused by lockdowns is an unlikely cause of the RSV surges. For example, Sweden had two large surges of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections but did not have lockdowns and had little use of masking by the public. Dr. Kavanagh presents both epidemiological, clinical and laboratory evidence to support this etiology. The overriding message is that public health interventions, such as masking and social distancing protect individuals and communities and do not cause harm. Health Watch USA^sm meeting. Feb. 21, 2023. https://youtu.be/Oxhm4NTJgbo   
  
29. Public Health is Based on the Concern for Others - Infection Control Today Interview 
Dr. Kevin Kavanagh from Health Watch USA^sm discusses the problem created by focusing on individual health instead of community health. Too many are only concerned about their risks and choose not to follow public health measures, such as masking, even if this places others at risk. However, one of the greatest protections is to not be exposed to the virus in the first place. Businesses are also too concerned about short-term profits and have not invested in the provision of fitted N95 masks for their employees and improvements in ventilation and UV-C germicidal lighting. We all need to be provided the same protections which were available to the CEOs at the DAVOS World Economic Forum. Infection Control Today Interview. Feb. 6, 2023. https://youtu.be/BQMxA03sG-U  
 
28.  Monkeypox: Birx Says We Are Not Ready for a New Pandemic
Ambassador Deborah Birx, MD, told Infection Control Today® exclusively, “Every mistake that we made with COVID-19 in January and February of 2020, repeated in real time with monkeypox.” Infection Control Today. Aug. 18, 2022. https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/monkeypox-birx-says-we-are-not-ready-new-pandemic   
   
27.  Birx: Every New Infection, Loss Should be Considered a Failure of US Medical Infrastructure  
Ambassador Deborah Birx said in an exclusive interview with ICT® that there are “extraordinary structural barriers in the US to access” medical care. Individuals may have insurance, but they cannot access care. Ambassador Deborah Birx, MD, will be presenting about this topic, titled, “COVID-19 USA - Lessons and new tools to improve workplace safety “at the Frontline Worker Safety in the Age of COVID-19: A Global Perspective” a Health Watch USAs Webinar on September 14, 2022. Birx is a world-renowned medical expert and leader whose long career has focused on clinical and basic immunology, infectious disease, pandemic preparedness, vaccine research, and global health. Birx also served as a US Army Colonel and later, running some of the most high-profile and influential programs at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and US Department of State.  Infection Control Today.  Aug. 17, 2022.   https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/birx-every-new-infection-loss-should-be-considered-failure-us-medical-infrastructure  
 
26.  Who Gets the Lung? Vaccinated or Unvaccinated?
Kevin Kavanagh, MD: “One person with COVID-19 can spend months in the ICU, which would prevent 10 or 20, non-COVID-19 cases from going to the ICU, whether it’s for a coronary bypass, or just angioplasty, or getting a cancer procedure. You have 10 or 20 times the number of patients that can’t get care for other serious illnesses.” think that there are some people who really don’t think that this is serious enough to act. And, again, that’s some of the disinformation and the idea of compound interest that “well, you know, we’re not seeing a whole lot of change this year so it’s not something we have to worry about.” I think that there will definitely be a lot of carrots out there and examples to try to encourage people to get vaccinated. On the other hand, I’m seeing some sticks starting to emerge. Singapore is starting to implement that with no longer paying for COVID-19 related illnesses that occur in people who voluntarily are unvaccinated. Infection Control Today. Nov. 26, 2021.
https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/who-gets-the-lung-vaccinated-or-unvaccinated-   
  
25.  Animal Kingdom: COVID-19 Has So Many Hosts to Choose From.
Kevin Kavanagh, MD: “The deer apparently live with COVID-19 quite well, but, yet rapidly spread it amongst the herds. And that’s actually very problematic, because if it finds a host that it doesn’t make sick, but yet it can mutate and change and then reinfect other animals and plus mankind, that is one of the worrisome scenarios that could take place.” Infection Control Today.  Nov. 22, 2021.  https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/animal-kingdom-covid-19-has-so-many-hosts-to-choose-from  YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/RMjHcFxii1U  
  
24.  Deep Dive interview - The History of Health Watch USA and Its Infection Disease Policy Initiatives.  Infection Control Today.  Infection Control Today.  Sept. 29, 2021.   https://www.medicalworldnews.com/view/deep-dive-into-infection-prevention  
     
23.  The Doctor Is On: Fields Tough Questions About COVID-19
“COVID-19 is not just respiratory, it affects every organ of the body. This is a serious type of infection. And we need to be focusing on trying to keep this virus from spreading, plus protecting our young.” The pediatric hospitals are filling. But you also need to remember that approximately 200,000 or more children have lost a caregiver to COVID-19. I mean, they can spread the disease. And it’s having a profound impact on them. And people who are not getting elective surgery, they’re not getting it because the hospitals are filling with [patients who have COVID-19]. It’s a numbers game. Vaccination is a shield, cuts it down a bit. Masks are a shield, cuts it down a bit. Put those two together, and you’re now starting to get some significant protection. You fix indoor building ventilation, you do social distancing, and now you start to formulate a workable plan of getting out of this pandemic.   Infection Control Today.  Aug. 11, 2021.  https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/the-doctor-is-on-fields-tough-questions-about-covid-19    
     
22.  Everybody Needs to be Vaccinated and Wear a Mask
Kevin Kavanagh, MD: "The initial SARS virus is extremely deadly, and also spreads like wildfire. Luckily, it was snuffed out with public health strategies. But that virus also attached to the H2 receptor. And that’s what caused this virus to be so lethal. That’s the SARS virus. Well, the COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) and SARS are similar. They’re both coronaviruses. (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that we’re currently dealing with has a lot of room to continue to mutate, and to become more infectious and more lethal." “I am convinced this virus is about one or two iterations away from completely avoiding the vaccine. And remember, we have the lambda variant and the kappa variant which are sitting out there in the wings, waiting for immunity to drop and possibly cause another wave.”  Infection Control Today.  July 27, 2021.
https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/everybody-needs-to-be-vaccinated-and-wear-a-mask   YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/ILSdqxDBz8M  
  
21.  U.S. Should View India as Cautionary Tale
“India has the double mutation  [COVID-19] variant. That’s the variant that has two escape mutations. And that is a variant we do not need to get into the United States and have it spread. Infection preventionists need to be out there beating the drum. First in their facility: They need to get everybody vaccinated." If you sound the alarm, people may say in the United States everybody’s fine. You’re just a reactionist. But with the news coming from India, in seeing what’s going on over there, they realize that we still need to exercise caution. And if we didn’t take the steps we did last year, we certainly could have wound up just like India. India is an example of what happens if you depend upon the theory of herd immunity. And it is a disaster.  Infection Control Today.  May 5, 2021. https://youtu.be/_Qhjj4dSn_U
Transcript:  https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/u-s-should-view-india-as-cautionary-tale  
 
20.  COVID-19: Texas Opening To Soon With Invading Variants
Dr. Kevin Kavanagh from Health Watch USA^sm discuss the dangers of the recent decision of the Texas Governor removing mask mandates. The importance of vaccination and the dangers of the variants are discussed. It was stressed to safely open the economy, we need to provider workers with N95 masks and to upgrade building ventilation systems for air sanitization and more complete air exchanges. Infection Control Today. Mar. 5, 2021. (22:41) https://youtu.be/QwTwWkO1McE  
 
19.  Q&A: COVID-19 Variant Tests? ‘We’re Kind of Flying Blind’
Kevin Kavanagh, MD:   “Throughout the history of evolution, and even through the history of mankind, you’ve seen species get wiped out. You’ve seen civilizations of man fall because of infections. And the thing that differentiates us from a tadpole is our science and our knowledge. And if we don’t take advantage of that….” But even more worrisome is a set of mutations which have occurred in Brazil, in South Africa. It also has been noticed in the United Kingdom, and also in a patient up in Boston, Massachusetts. All having similar mutations and escape mechanisms, which may make these vaccines less effective. So, if the virus mutates in such a way that that spike protein is changed, then that can affect the vaccine’s ability to kill that virus, along with affecting our ability to detect it. You may have false negatives now coming about from some of these variants. And we will not know that the patient actually has COVID-19 by a laboratory test.  Infection Control Today.  Feb. 12, 2021.   Transcript of Interview: https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/q-a-covid-variant-tests-we-re-kind-of-flying-blind-   
YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/lPjKTDZnP7U
  
18.  Q&A: COVID Variants Pose a Deadly Threat
Willpower. That’s what’s missing, says Kevin Kavanagh, MD, a member of Infection Control Today®’s Editorial Advisory Board. “We have the technology to do it,” Kavanagh tells ICT®. “We just don’t have the willpower. I mean, we know how it spreads, we know how to kill it, we should be able to stop it cold in its tracks.” And because of that lack of willpower among the public, there’s a real danger that the variants of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that have cropped up will stop being variants and become commonplace, But what’s very distressing about the South African and the Brazilian variants is that they’ve mutated enough that it appears that they can evade our monoclonal antibody therapeutics. And they may be moderately resistant to the vaccines.  Infection Control Today.  Jan. 29, 2021. https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/q-a-covid-variants-pose-a-deadly-threat  
YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/V-B9jhkQvDk
  
17.  Q&A: COVID-19 Is Here to Stay
"...just the fact that animals can catch COVID-19 is just one of the reasons that makes the disease endemic, says Kavanagh. “We really do need to learn to live with the virus,” Kavanagh tells ICT®. “Things will get much better, but I don’t think we’re going to be able to eliminate this virus off the face of the earth, similar to what we did with smallpox.” On the other hand, Kavanagh believes that the new COVID-19 vaccines will be effective against the variants of the disease that have recently cropped up. “Because as you know, a vaccine causes a myriad of antibodies to be formed to that spike protein. And a virus would have to evade every single one of them to be successful. And that’s a tall order.”  Infection Control Today.  Jan. 6, 2021. 
https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/q-a-covid-19-is-here-to-stay    YouTube Video:
YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/hT2sbQo79hQ  
    
16.  COVID-19: Infection Control Today - Reviews Past Interviews With Dr. Kevin Kavanagh
Frank Diamond of Infection Control Today reviews segments of interviews from 2020 from Dr. Kevin Kavanagh from Health Watch USA(sm). Topics of who we will transform to a new normal and not go back to the old along with the dangers of letting the virus surge and outstripping our resources are discussed. Infection Control Today. Dec. 21, 2020.  https://youtu.be/91YvC2ureGM 
     
15.  Q&A: ‘Arguing’ Before the Supreme Court
When I read the thought process behind the Supreme Court decision, I did not feel it was a church-versus-state decision, more than saying, “Hey, we need to do everything equally.” And that’s extremely important in infection control. You cannot have some high-risk facilities open and others closed. That’s not only not fair, but it also won’t control the pandemic. As you know, we’ve written extensively and talked extensively about control of MRSA [Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus], and how the recommendations between hospitals and nursing homes do not coincide with each other.   Infection Control Today.  Dec. 1, 2020.  https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/q-a-arguing-before-the-supreme-court     https://youtu.be/63gJjTFdnis 
 
14.  Healthcare Workers Hit by COVID Need Workers Comp
"Kevin Kavanagh, MD. In a wide-ranging discussion, Kavanagh—a member of Infection Control Today®’s Editorial Advisory Board—says that the nation isn’t doing nearly enough to help those on the frontlines battling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Kavanagh says that “these frontline healthcare workers are putting their lives at risk, and also the lives of their families and loved ones. And they need to be given support; at least proper protective equipment. In my opinion, they should get presumptive workers comp, if they start to develop problems. This is a significant problem.” The public isn’t taking the disease seriously enough and leaders are not leading."  Infection Control Today.  Nov. 17, 2020. 
https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/healthcare-workers-stricken-by-covid-need-workers-comp  
  
13.  COVID Vaccine: What Infection Preventionists Need to Know
Kevin Kavanagh, MD: "Infection preventionists will need to make sure that they still have access to adequate PPE, even if the vaccine comes out [and they] really need to look at the experimental group that was used for the EUA."  And believe me, if I was a frontline healthcare worker at my age, a vaccine would really have to have a lot of complications and concerns before I would not get it. Now that's just a personal view. Because if it adds any armor to protect me from a highly infectious disease that's very prevalent in our community, that has a high rate of fatality, and even a higher rate of chronic disability, I would opt for that vaccine. Infection Control Today.  Oct. 30, 2020.  https://youtu.be/ZGhsGRkiNos     
 
12.  Q&A: Are Infection Preventionists Being Misinformed?
Kevin Kavanagh, MD: "Many of the infection preventionists over the last six months now have more experience than many of the policymakers up in DC, because they’ve lived it firsthand. And they’ve seen how COVID-19 can spread. And they’re starting to develop a good idea of how to stop it." "There have been a number of statements from the CDC or at least with the CDC label on it, which have been disturbing," Kavanagh tells ICT®. Some of those disturbing statements can be attributed to the fact that the CDC and the rest of the world didn’t quite know what it was dealing with, but not all of them. Kavanagh worries that political pressure may be at work. One of the ways infection preventionists (IPs) can educate themselves is to look at what’s being done in other countries, and read the comments under pre-print studies. Also, experience counts, and IPs have now had months of dealing with the coronavirus. Infection Control Today.  Oct. 9, 2020.  https://youtu.be/TbXait9SRN4
     
11.  Infection Preventionists Needed at Schools
Kevin Kavanagh, MD, from Health Watch USA^sm sits down with Infection Control Today® to discuss the myriad of challenges involved in making our schools safe for children to protect them not only from COVID-19, but many other dangerous pathogens, as well. Discussed is the need for better air filtration and sensitization, along with 6 to 8 complete air exchanges per hour. In addition, podding & testing of students, wearing masks, hand hygiene and social distancing are imperatives to open schools safely. Infection Control Today. Sept. 10, 2020. Transcript: https://youtu.be/vhMAM5zjlgE   YouTube Video:  https://youtu.be/qq_zZlaxCT4 
 
10.  COVID-19: Seasonal Flu and COVID-19 a Dud or Devastation It is Up To You
Kevin T. Kavanagh, MD, MS, Infection Control Today Editorial Board Member discusses the dangers of simultaneous occurrence of COVID-19 and the flu epidemics. The seasonal flu has all but disappeared in much of the Southern Hemisphere underscoring the importance of wearing masks, social distancing and hand hygiene. Although, still very important, the lack of samples may make the flu vaccine more problematic than in previous years. Also, discussed are topics of lasting immunity to COVID-19, the false narrative of Herd Immunity and organized social media misinformation. Frank Diamond, Editor - Infection Control Today. Aug. 18, 2020.   https://youtu.be/NUKCcPEoHzA  

• Link to related ICT article: https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/the-2020-flu-dud-or-devastation-it-is-up-to-you

• Download Slides and References: http://www.healthwatchusa.org/HWUSA-Presentations-Community/PDF-Downloads/20200818-Flu-Southeast-Asia-Handout.pdf