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Page 4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023
Welcome to COVID season, again
emember in spring
2020 when we started
hearing the phrase “a
novel coronavirus?” We don’t
hear that phrase much now.
This particular coronavirus
has lost all its novelty.
COVID-l9 infection
rates, and hospitalizations
and deaths, have been ris»
ing around the country for
the past couple of months.
Some of the symptoms have
evolved, but the disease re-
mains. The Food and Drug
Administration on Monday
approved the latest dose to
treat the current strain that’s
going around, and those doses
could be available by this
week.
That vaccine news is good
news, despite what Florida
man Some more good
news: Mason County has low—
er infection rates than most
of the nation.
“We have not seen an in-
crease in critically ill COVID
patients at all,” said Melissa
Strong, chiefnursing officer
at Mason Health.
I talked with some folks
at Mason Health on Mon—
day about the current state
of COVID, and if you take
anything away from this col—
umn, remember just one noun
and one verb: “Paxlovid” and
“test.” Paxlovid is a drug that
can blunt the infection ~— if
it’s caught early —~ and tak—
ing a COVID test is the only
way to know whether you’ll
need I’axlovid.
Paxlovid, l’axlovid, Paxlov~
id. ll7s pronounced “PACKS—
luh—vid.” The emphasis is on
the first syllable. Ask for it by
name.
li‘rei: tests are at the Ma~
son County Health Depart-
ment at 415 {ilh Street.
THESE
TIMES
One final note on mat—
ters ofhealth - physical and
mental: Make a habit of ask-
ing people you love this ques-
tion: “How are you doing?”
Take a quiet moment to hold
the person in a loving gaze
and give them the silence to
respond. Put down the news—
paper and do it now. After
you do that, please finish
reading the column and the
rest of the newspaper.
Welcome back.
Here’s a Q&A with Dean
Gushee, chief medical officer
at Mason Health. Questions
and answers have been edited
for clarity and brevity.
Question: What can you
tell us about the current state
of COVID transmission in
Mason County?
Gushee: Transmission
is still considered to be low.
The CDC website that ljust
reviewed today does a county—
by—county analysis of that
and they consider us in the
“green” which is low trans—
mission at present. There are
certainly areas around us ~ l
didn’t look at those in detail
-~ not just. us but around the
country, where transmission
rates are up. lint so far, Ma—
son County is an island unto
oursell’.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
How trust works
Editor, the Journal,
Trust. Trust is everywhere in our
lives. Look at the trust we have of the
sin if we put in our mouths. Toothpaste,
mouthwash, licking the glue on the en—
velope, the food we eat, the drugs (legal
and illegal) we take and so on. Even our
money says, “In God We Trust.”
Trust is also like a rubber band;
sometimes it stretches. Take a relation—
ship where one person beats the hell
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SHELTON-MASON COUNTY
out ofllie other partner and they say, “I
am soriy and I won’t do it again.” Well,
“again” happens again and again. That
is real elastic trust. The cheating spouse.
that gets caught; “I am sorry and I won’t
do it again.” They already stretched the
trust when they started the affair. A few
political leaders who stretch the trust on
vaccines and cure—alls for diseases. Like
the COVID stories: It will be over by Eas—
ter. Put Clorox in your veins. Take horse
worm remedy medicine. Don’t get vacci—
nated. “Covid Trust” statements made by
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Q: What’s the trend?
Gushee: Numbers overall
are up, and that certainly is
the trend across the country.
So the numbers are up with
what probably is a new vari—
ant circulating. Numbers
are generally higher, but
again not for Mason County.
Around the country, there’s
an increased rate of hospi—
talixation and there’s an in—
crease in the rate of deaths.
Q: What sort of symptoms
are people showing up with
when they come to the hospi~
tal with COVID?
Gushee: COVID symp—
toms tend to be relatively
mild and I can speak from
personal experience because I
had it last week. I would have
described it a cold pre-
pandemic. I would not have
seen it anything different
than that. And that’s largely
what people are presenting
with, so it’s the usual sort of
stuff, there’s cough, low-grade
fevers, muscle aches. A lot of
people describe a tremendous
sort of fatigue that goes with
it. It’s variable. The weird
symptoms that we were see—
ing earlier like less of taste
and smell are not as promi-
nent now. It occurs more
in the unvaccinated folks.
They’re likely going to have
significantly increased symp—
toms and that is the group
that’s at risk of hospitaliza—
tion and death for sure across
the country.
Q: Can you talk about the
effectiveness of Poxlovid?
Gushee: I can speak from
personal experience there.
When I got it last week, I
started myself on l’axlovid
less than 24» hours after the
onset. I started having symp
toms in the middle of the
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some politicians killed tens and tens of
thousands oftrusting Americans.
At times I am a true “truster” of our
legal system. You know the Jan. 6 scum—
ball insurrectionists at the Capitol. Some
of those dirtbags got sentenced to 18
years of jail time for their actions. Yeah!
The really true trust test is with our
kids. It is that handoff moment where
the child is dropped off at school, or gets
on the school bus, or dropped off at Sinn—
mcr camp or at a friend’s house or at day
care or at a church function or events
Theresa Murray, Ad Representative
Gordon Weeks, Reporter
Kirk Ericson, Columnist/ Proofreader
night. The following morning,
I tested myself. I was positive
and I started it that day. I
had typical respiratory symp-
toms. I had a cough, I had a
low—grade fever, I had a lot of
sinus congestion, a little bit of
fatigue maybe, but I thought
I had a cold and I tested my—
self and sure enough, it was
positive. So I started the Pax—
lovid. The key with Paxlovid
is you have to take it early.
It’s a mixture of two different
drugs that act together and
the key, like any antiviral, is
you have to get it really early.
The recommendation is to get
it within 24 to 48 hours, but
the earlier the better. What
people describe is a fairly
rapid resolution of their ma—
jor symptoms. What we know
about Paxlovid is that it defi~
nitely reduces the likelihood
of hospitalization and death.
No question about it. It is
a bit of a game-changer for
the high—risk population.
Q: How do you get
Paxlovid?
Gushee: Get a doctor to
prescribe it. (Note: Go to an
emergency room or an ar-
gent care if you don’t have a
doctor.)
Q: Where can people get
the new COVID dose? Will
they be free?
Gu_shee: What we’re ex—
pecting is that the free part
of that is going away, so it
will probably be available at
places wherever you get a
vaccine, whether it’s Walinart
or you name it. My guess is it:
will be covered by insurance
for the most part I don’t
know what’s going to happen
with the commercial pharma-
cies on whether they’ll charge
for it. (Note: The Associated
Press reported Tuesday that
me!
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the Centers for Disease Con—
trol and Prevention is “work-
ing with health departments,
clinics and certain pharma— ‘
cies to temporarily provide
free shots” for the uninsured
or underinsured.)
Q: What’s your response
to what Florida’s surgeon
general said last week urg-
ing people not to gel the up—
dated vaccine? Specifically,
his statement that we need to
“Listen inside to what makes
sense, what feels right, you
know, what feels like truth."
Gushee: We have different
feelings, but we don’t have
different facts and different
science, and that’s what you
have to lean on. The FDA,
when they look at vaccines
or drugs generally, looks at
efficacy and data based on
randomized—controlled trials
or population—controlled trials
so it’s not like a random thing
about feelings. Feelings don’t
enter into it. It has to do with
efficacy and safety. So that’s
a fairly ludicrous comment by
somebody who should know
better.
Q: Are you running into
people in your hospital who
would believe that man?
Gushee: We do. Every
day. We try to take a dispas—
sionate kind of approach. We
present the information as
we know it. I think health
care providers have been seen
as purveyors of science and
truth unfortunately, there
is a segment ofthe population
that goes a different route in
where they get their informa—
tion and it”s not something
we’re going to get into an ar-
gument about.
I Coulee] Klr/r Erlcson (ll
lair/n“masonromilyrom
with family members, and soon. All of
you have heard or read the stories about
child tragedies that went south rather
than north.
With regard to the “trust factor,”
please be veiy vigilant out there concern—
in g who or what you trust. Remember
trust is given. Mistrust is earned. Trust
Earl W. Burt
Bremerton
see LETTERS, page
M
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