Category: Health Care
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A Measured Consequence: More Heavy Drinking
by Carol J.Bova Yesterday, Jim Bacon wrote about “the unmeasured consequences of society’s reaction to the COVID-19 epidemic.” The RAND Corporation COVID-19 Update on October 8, 2020 provided a reference to a longitudinal survey that examined one of those consequences — alcohol usage. JAMA Network Open published a Research Letter, “Changes in Adult Alcohol Use…
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Virginia: 4,500 “Excess” Deaths This Year, Only Half from COVID-19
by James A. Bacon It’s good to see that the left-leaning Virginia Mercury making the same observation as Bacon’s Rebellion about the unmeasured consequences of society’s reaction to the COVID-19 epidemic. Research from Virginia Commonwealth University shows than an additional 4,500 Virginians died between March and August over the number that would have been predicted…
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A Broad Healthcare Agenda for the 2021 General Assembly
Towards a Better, Freer, Less Expensive and More Accessible Healthcare System in Virginia by James C. Sherlock COVID-19 exposed weaknesses in Virginia’s healthcare delivery system in both readiness and equity of access. Even before COVID, we have been dealing for decades with the costs of all kinds imposed by Virginia’s unregulated regional healthcare monopolies. The…
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778 Virginia Hospital Patients Discharged to Nursing Homes
by James A. Bacon A large majority of the patients treated for COIVD-19 and released from a Virginia hospital between April and June this year went directly home. But a significant number — 778 — were transferred to a “skilled nursing facility,” according to data contained in a Virginia Hospital and Health Care Association webinar…
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Older Virginians Account for Three Quarters of COVID Deaths. What Is VDH Doing?
by Carol J. Bova We’ve seen reports that close to half of the COVID-19 deaths are from outbreaks in long term-care facilities (i.e., nursing homes, assisted living or multi-care facilities, group homes). There’s another story though, when you compare COVID-19 facts by the age ranges the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) uses in its reports. The…
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VA COVID Deaths Drop Again. Distrust the Data.
By Steve Haner The Google satellite photo shows Rhine River cruise boats parked recently at Basel, Switzerland, probably including the one that my wife and I would have been boarding tomorrow morning. Losing a scheduled cruise is of no concern against all the other human and economic costs of this pandemic, but it provides a…
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Time to Be Honest about COVID-19
By Peter Galuszka Two remarkable stories dominate headlines this morning – Donald Trump has COVID-19 and some 5,000 Virginia college students also have the virus. The infection of Trump throws an already chaotic presidential race into further confusion. State colleges are scrambling to find what to do about viral infections since the numbers have exploded…
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How Well is VDH Managing COVID-19 Outbreaks?
by Carol J. Bova The Virginia Department of Health data is now equipped with extensive testing capacity and a small army of contact tracers to squelch outbreaks of COVID-19 in Virginia. Recent data regarding the number of outbreaks raises questions about how well VDH is doing its job. One concern is the validity of the…
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COVID Shutdown Shocker: People Losing their Jobs More Likely to Experience Depression
by James A. Bacon People who are out of work and/or facing financial difficulties are significantly more likely to suffer depression than others, according to data from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey for August 19-31. That’s hardly a breath-taking conclusion. But thanks to the survey, we have extensive data on the extent to which…
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Boomerang: Opioid Overdoses Surge
by James A. Bacon When governments shut down economic and social activity to quell the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Bacon’s Rebellion has frequently warned, they run the risk of engendering unintended consequences. We have predicted negative impacts from job loss and social isolation on mental health, substance abuse, domestic abuse, and suicide. Just because…
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Two of Five Virginians Say Nix to COVID-19 Vaccine
by James A. Bacon Don’t count on a vaccine to end the COVID-19 epidemic — not in Virginia anyway. Four out of 10 Virginians say they are likely to not get a vaccine, even if approved by the Food and Drug Administration and made available for free. Only 58% say they are “somewhat” or “very”…
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VCU Health to Launch Voter-Registration Drive on Hospital Premises
by James A. Bacon The Virginia Commonwealth University Health System has informed employees that it will participate in the VotER Initiative to encourage patients to register to vote and vote by mail. “A large body of research tells us that sick Americans are less likely to vote,” commences the communication from Sheryl L. Garland, chief…
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Is a COVID Surge Coming in October?
by Carol J. Bova Statewide, the R0 (R-naught) value for COVID-19 moved up to 1.004 because of surges in the Near Southwest and Northwest for the week ending August 22, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s latest COVID-19 Model Weekly Update. If the RO is above 1, it indicates the potential for exponential increases…
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Vitamin D and COVID-19
by Carol J. Bova Researchers at the University of Chicago have found that Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a higher likelihood of contracting the coronavirus. In combination with other Vitamin D research, the results may point the way to a quick and inexpensive way to reduce COVID-19 deaths among African-Americans and Hispanics. David Meltzer,…
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It Matters Where You Seek COVID Data
By Steve Haner Even when there is no intent to twist the data, it still matters where you look if you want to see Virginia’s status in dealing with Our Permanent Pandemic. The chart on the daily death count, for example, looks dramatically different on the Virginia Department of Health’s website when compared to the…