More than 400 people joined a COVID-19 Town Hall Monday night hosted by healthcare providers from St. Anthony Regional Hospital and Clinics, the McFarland Clinic and Carroll County Public Health (CCPH). Moderator, St. Anthony Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Kyle Ulveling, says the public is their most important partner in battling this virus.
Public Health Director, Nicole Schwering, says there are currently three clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines underway in the United States.
As of now, vaccines should be free to everyone with local distribution points including local clinics. There has been an ever-changing learning curve for healthcare professionals throughout the pandemic, and Dr. Greg Perkins with the McFarland Clinic explains the current treatments for hospitalized patients.
Some physicians are recommending these on an out-patient basis as there are no short-term complications. Dr. Mark Collison with St. Anthony says other treatments have been eliminated, hydroxychloroquine is one of those.
Collison adds this is just the way science works. They start with the best evidence they have and when things change, they change with it. Dr. John Evans with the McFarland Clinic says the science of mask wearing is an “impure” one, but studies covering a multitude of infectious diseases highlight the effectiveness.
CCPH nurse, Sara Schulte, points to cotton masks with two layers or more as the best option and they have now determined gators with two layers are acceptable. When it comes to the question of developing herd immunity, Dr. Perkins says this is not a viable way out of the pandemic as it would cause more serious cases and more deaths. The practitioners agree that vaccine is the way to attain herd immunity. The group also discussed how important it is to maintain routine healthcare and to get the flu vaccine to help reduce the chances of having influenza and COVID at the same time. They also addressed rumors of profit-driven diagnoses and the initial indications that type O negative blood types have the best chance of testing negative, while A positive types have the highest chances of positive test results. To hear the town hall in its entirety, follow the link included below.
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COVID-19 Town Hall 11-02-20: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq4SFPPi1Vo
