'Happy Halloween!

Black Cat Awareness Month'

A whole host of superstitions surrounding the feline with sable fur have been developed over time, and the one stating that your luck is going to have a downward turn if you have one walk in front of you is the most prevalent.

This should serve as a reminder, however, that it’s probably more likely that Groucho Marx knows what he is talking about. In truth, all it really means when a black cat walks in front of you is that the animal is clearly going somewhere. In this case, perhaps it should either be pet, be given treats, or left well enough alone. None of these choices is going to have an effect on your luck, one way or another.

Read more here. . . .



October 29, 2023

THE NEW COVID VACCINE IS AVAILABLE!!!!!!

  IT IS A VERY GOOD MATCH FOR THE CURRENT VARIANTS IN CIRCULATION.

CONSIDER BOOSTING WITH THE NEW COVID VACCINE.

FLU SEASON HAS BEGUN.  WE HAVE SEEN A FEW CASES…BUT NO INCREASE YET. GET YOUR FLU SHOT NOW AS IT TAKES 3 WEEKS TO BE FULLY EFFECTIVE.

THERE IS A STEADY DRUMBEAT OF COVID IN THE VALLEY. WE HEAR OF 10+ CASES EACH WEEK. WE CONTINUE TO SEE COVID PRIMARILY IN TRAVELERS, IN PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT HAVE COVID YET, AND IN PEOPLE WHO ARE SPENDING TIME IN CLOSE QUARTERS WITH LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE.   

XBB1 IS THE COMMON SUBTYPE AND EG.5, IS THE MAJOR VARIANT.    NUMBERS REMAIN UNCLEAR DUE TO LACK OF STANDARDIZED REPORTING, BUT BASED ON GENERAL OBSERVATIONS AND OUR PATIENTS’ REPORTS, WE ARE AT A HIGH LEVEL. WORRY FACTOR IS LOW FOR TWO REASONS…. THE VIRUS IS ATTENUATED (MILDER) & THERE IS BROAD IMMUNITY IN THE COMMUNITY.

TIMING OF VACCINATIONS THIS FALL AND WINTER: 

•      FLU SHOT
•      COVID SHOT
•      RSV SHOT

DO NOT GET ALL SHOTS AT THE SAME TIME.  RSV SHOULD BE TAKEN ALONE.

TOP PODCAST DONE WEEKLY

BY DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM

(UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA)  

He is a world-renowned epidemiologist who was credited with first elucidating TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME in the 1980’s.

He provides comprehensive and understandable/actionable ideas related to COVID.

Dr. Osterholm Update: COVID-19

October 19, 2023



https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/episode-142-long-covid-intranasal-vaccines-booster-dose-timing

(Same as last week's. . . . New podcast next week.)

'Long COVID, Intranasal Vaccines, & Booster Dose Timing'

In this episode, Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss the latest national and international COVID trends, an intranasal COVID vaccine candidate, and some recent findings on long COVID. Dr. Osterholm also answers an ID Query about the timing of COVID booster doses and shares two historic public health moments in our new "This Week in Public Health History" segment.

According to Dr. Osterholm……

• GET YOUR 5th BOOSTER (7th SHOT) IF YOU HAVE NOT HAD COVID OR IT’S BEEN LONGER THAN 4 MONTHS SINCE YOU HAD COVID YOURSELF
• A GOOD MASK, N95 OF KN95, DOES HELP REDUCE TRANSMISSION…. USE IT AT HIGH-RISK LOCATIONS
• GOOD VENTILATION IN ROOMS/HOME/BUSINESSES IS A GREAT WAY TO PREVENT TRANSMISSION
• VACCINE, VACCINE, VACCINE…THIS IS OUR PROTECTION.  ALL VACCINES ARE EFFECTIVE AND WITH TIME WE ARE SEEING THAT THE J&J VACCINE IS PICKING UP STEAM AND GIVES SOLID LONG-TERM PROTECTION.
• BOOST, BOOST, BOOST…THIS WILL BE NECESSARY TO PREVENT RECURRING SURGE AND TO RAISE ANTIBODY LEVELS IN THOSE ALREADY SET WITH THE PRIMARY COVID VACCINE SERIES.
• ANTIGEN TESTING IS USEFUL, BUT OF LIMITED VALUE. DON’T DEPEND ON IT…BUT USE IT.

Know that unvaccinated remain a source of potential infection.  Avoiding unvaccinated persons will reduce your risk of COVID.

After you received your COVID vaccinations, please let us know!

We would like to document this information into your chart.



BUT FIRST.......

PLEASE COMPLETE THE INFORMATION ON THE CARD BEFORE YOU SEND IT TO US!

What we need:

1. Your name
2. Date vaccination received
3. Brand name
4. Lot number if available
5. Which dose you have received

**Email your COVID vaccine completed info HERE

Vaccines for Covid-19 and influenza may slightly increase the risk of strokes caused by blood clots in the brains of seniors, particularly when the two vaccines are given at the same time and when they are given to adults who are age 85 and older, according to a new study.

The safety signal was detected by experts at the US Food and Drug Administration who analyzed data from Medicare claims.

It is the second study to find an elevated risk of stroke for seniors after Covid-19 and flu vaccinations given together. The US Centers for Disease Control and FDA issued a public communication in January explaining that one of their near real-time vaccine safety monitoring studies — called the Vaccine Safety Datalink — had picked up a small and uncertain risk of stroke for older adults who received a dose of Pfizer’s bivalent Covid-19 vaccine and a high-dose or adjuvanted flu shot on the same day. That study triggered the FDA’s broader look at strokes after vaccination noted in the medical records of seniors on Medicare.

That said, the risk identified in the FDA’s study appears to be very small — roughly 3 strokes or transient ischemic attacks for every 100,000 doses given — and the study found it may be primarily driven by the high-dose or adjuvanted flu vaccines, which are specially designed to rev up the immune system so it mounts a stronger response to the shot.

Read more here. . . .

At our office, we are continuing to follow CDC guidelines and will strive for ways to keep our patients and staff safe.



We recommend that all unvaccinated and vaccinated patients and visitors entering our office cover their nose and mouth at all times.

To prevent further spread of the Delta & Omicron variants, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its mask guidance on March 21, 2022, to recommend that fully vaccinated people wear masks when in areas with “substantial” and “high” transmission of Covid-19.

We have a limited supply of paper masks and will make these available to patients while they last, however, we encourage you to bring your own facial covering.

We Are Here to Take Care of Your Healthcare Needs.

We Are Here to Serve!

Our office is using all techniques to reduce exposure to a minimum during your visit. These include: 

·       Temperature checks of all patients and staff.

·       Masks for all people in the office.

·       Cleansing of hands and surfaces repeatedly.

·       Multiple Super-HEPA filters to filter out potential virus and particles in the office.

·       High Level UV light air cleansing in the office to eliminate bacteria and viruses in the air.

OUR OFFICE SCHEDULE

DOORS OPEN     

7AM - 4PM Monday through Thursday

7AM - 11AM Friday

IN OFFICE

APPOINTMENTS: MONDAY – THURSDAY

7AM – 11:15AM & 1PM – 3:30PM

APPOINTMENTS: FRIDAY

7AM – 10:30 AM

DR. LAKIN WILL CONTINUE ‘TELEHEALTH’ VISITS WITH FaceTime, WhatsApp or ZOOM WHEN NEEDED.

SUMMARY OF A COVID KIT & CHECK LIST:

This is what you should have at home to prepare for possible COVID, to monitor yourself if you were to get infected:

DIGITAL ORAL THERMOMETER: MANY BRANDS ARE FINE…HERE IS ONE EXAMPLE:

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Thermometer-Reading-Waterproof-Indicator/dp/B087T3S4TR/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=THERMOMETER&qid=1597159324&sr=8-6

PULSE OXIMETER:  TO CHECK OXYGEN LEVELS. MANY BRANDS ARE FINE...HERE IS ONE EXAMPLE:

https://www.amazon.com/Innovo-Fingertip-Oximeter-Plethysmograph-Perfusion/dp/B07YVGZPRZ/ref=sr_1_20?dchild=1&keywords=PULSE+OXI&qid=1597159388&sr=8-20

OTHER ITEMS FROM THE HOME MEDICAL KIT:

·       TYLENOL, ADVIL, OR ALEVE

·       Sudafed 30mg tablets

·       Chlorpheniramine 4mg tablets

·       Robitussin DM syrup

·       Imodium AD

'Halloween H20: 20 Years Later'

Two decades after surviving a massacre on October 31, 1978, former baby sitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) finds herself hunted by persistent knife-wielder Michael Myers. Laurie now lives in Northern California under an assumed name, where she works as the headmistress of a private school. But it's not far enough to escape Myers, who soon discovers her whereabouts. As Halloween descends upon Laurie's peaceful community, a feeling of dread weighs upon her -- with good reason.