Self-advocacy is certainly important, but the nuances of SARS-CoV-2 are many and difficult to parse. There was a good reason we referred to this as a Novel Coronavirus before we felt it sufficiently close to SARS-CoV(-1) to change the name. And it has still failed to behave as we'd expected... or hoped. CDC and FDA lost a tremendous amou…
Self-advocacy is certainly important, but the nuances of SARS-CoV-2 are many and difficult to parse. There was a good reason we referred to this as a Novel Coronavirus before we felt it sufficiently close to SARS-CoV(-1) to change the name. And it has still failed to behave as we'd expected... or hoped. CDC and FDA lost a tremendous amount of senior talent in 2017. Hahn at FDA got a clue much faster than Redfield; Azar may have seen a clue but didn't do nearly as well, at least on the public stage as Birx claimed in her book. Losing all that talent, skill, experience and ability to communicate hampered a lot of progress,
Without a pretty significant background in clinical medicine, virology and epidemiology, questioning your doc's guidance can be problematic. You can hope he's keeping up with the latest literature, listening to and participating in continuing education, and talking to colleagues. Unless you're prepared to spend several hours a day reading the journal articles and preprints, and have the background to discard or question studies that don't make complete sense, and have sufficient background to understand the language going back and forth, which looks and sounds like English but is really a nearly different language, you'll end up with assumptions that are inconsistent with current best practices and thinking. AND, it's possible even with the right background and basis you'll reach a different opinion than someone else. I know I've asked several big names for a better explanation, or worse, have frankly challenged their conclusions. That said, I'm old and have been around the block a few times.
Your plan, to continue wearing a good quality mask (please learn to fit test it correctly, and change it regularly if you're depending on it), and follow guidance on boosters all sounds reasonable and prudent. I've become a little more lax but I've always got an N95 in the truck with me and I evaluate the venue I'm heading into. I'm traveling tomorrow; I'll certainly wear a mask in the airport, but based on new recommendations from a medical expert on airplane travel, I'll rethink wearing it on the plane, save during boarding and deplaning. I'll be testing frequently, and will be responsible for evaluating a number of personnel during this training evolution.
<Soapbox> I'm not happy with recent WH and CDC guidance on testing, quarantine, isolation, etc. I think they're bowing to public pressure to declare endemicity but have not consulted the virus. I'd love to be wrong on this, but I'm waiting for the next variant of concern to drop on us.
Make room on your soapbox for me. As to PCPs, good luck with their "expert knowledge". Almost all of them are to busy with their scheduled 15 minute visits with patients (and usually running behind, so they really spend less 10) to possible read much of any detail about Covid. That's another reason why the lousy and shifting advice from the FDA and CDC is so damaging. For many, many doctors it's all they have to work with.
Self-advocacy is certainly important, but the nuances of SARS-CoV-2 are many and difficult to parse. There was a good reason we referred to this as a Novel Coronavirus before we felt it sufficiently close to SARS-CoV(-1) to change the name. And it has still failed to behave as we'd expected... or hoped. CDC and FDA lost a tremendous amount of senior talent in 2017. Hahn at FDA got a clue much faster than Redfield; Azar may have seen a clue but didn't do nearly as well, at least on the public stage as Birx claimed in her book. Losing all that talent, skill, experience and ability to communicate hampered a lot of progress,
Without a pretty significant background in clinical medicine, virology and epidemiology, questioning your doc's guidance can be problematic. You can hope he's keeping up with the latest literature, listening to and participating in continuing education, and talking to colleagues. Unless you're prepared to spend several hours a day reading the journal articles and preprints, and have the background to discard or question studies that don't make complete sense, and have sufficient background to understand the language going back and forth, which looks and sounds like English but is really a nearly different language, you'll end up with assumptions that are inconsistent with current best practices and thinking. AND, it's possible even with the right background and basis you'll reach a different opinion than someone else. I know I've asked several big names for a better explanation, or worse, have frankly challenged their conclusions. That said, I'm old and have been around the block a few times.
Your plan, to continue wearing a good quality mask (please learn to fit test it correctly, and change it regularly if you're depending on it), and follow guidance on boosters all sounds reasonable and prudent. I've become a little more lax but I've always got an N95 in the truck with me and I evaluate the venue I'm heading into. I'm traveling tomorrow; I'll certainly wear a mask in the airport, but based on new recommendations from a medical expert on airplane travel, I'll rethink wearing it on the plane, save during boarding and deplaning. I'll be testing frequently, and will be responsible for evaluating a number of personnel during this training evolution.
<Soapbox> I'm not happy with recent WH and CDC guidance on testing, quarantine, isolation, etc. I think they're bowing to public pressure to declare endemicity but have not consulted the virus. I'd love to be wrong on this, but I'm waiting for the next variant of concern to drop on us.
This is a moving target.
Make room on your soapbox for me. As to PCPs, good luck with their "expert knowledge". Almost all of them are to busy with their scheduled 15 minute visits with patients (and usually running behind, so they really spend less 10) to possible read much of any detail about Covid. That's another reason why the lousy and shifting advice from the FDA and CDC is so damaging. For many, many doctors it's all they have to work with.