October 30, 2022, Happy Halloween!

Halloween is a holiday celebrated each year on October 31, and Halloween 2022 will occur on Monday, October 31. The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts.

In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints. Soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating treats.

Read more here. . . .

Your Weekly COVID-19 Updates

Paradise Valley Medical Clinic,

Douglas M. Lakin, M.D.

Kaitlin A. Kraemer, M.S., PA-C

9977 N 90th Street, Suite 180, Scottsdale, AZ 85258

480.614.5800 (phone), 480.614.6322 (Fax)

Visit our Website

ATTN PATIENTS:

Dr. Lakin is using FaceTime ,

WhatsApp and Zoom to connect with you

for a 'Telehealth' visit. You can connect using your iPad, iPhone, Android phone, a laptop, or a PC with a camera.

Please watch these videos so you can be prepared and know how to connect with Dr. Lakin for a 'Telehealth' visit.

CLICK ON THE PICTURES

FROM THE DOC

October 30, 2022

NO CHANGES IN COVID STATUS

COVID IS NOT ‘OVER’…BUT WE ARE IN CONTROL OF SERIOUS DISEASE ON A BROAD BASIS.

COVID REMAINS WIDESPREAD AT THIS TIME AND IS INCREASING IN EUROPE AND NEW YORK CITY. WILL WE SEE HIGHER LEVELS IN THE U.S? IT IS UNCERTAIN, BUT INCREASES ARE LIKELY TO HAPPEN DUE TO THE WAXING AND WANING OF ACTIVITY LEVELS AS HISTORY HAS SHOWN.

THERE IS NO SEASONALITY TO COVID. THIS IS PROVEN, AND WE STILL MAY SEE ADDITIONAL SURGES. RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE SOME CHANGES IN THE VARIANTS. 25% OF CURRENT COVID ARE SUBVARIANTS OF BA5 AND WILL LIKELY BE THE CAUSE OF INCREASING INFECTION ….BUT NOT ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN ANY VARIATIONS IN COVID LEVELS AT THIS TIME.

BOOSTER COVID VACCINATIONS:

THE NEW COVID VACCINE WILL BE BIVALENT…. THIS MEANS IT WILL CONTAIN THE ORIGINAL VACCINE COVERAGE…. PLUS, COVERAGE MORE SPECIFICALLY FOR BA5 FORMS OF COVID.

GIVEN THE SAFETY OF THE VACCINE, IT IS REASONABLE FOR EVERY ADULT TO CONSIDER THIS BOOSTER…BUT….

I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THE BOOSTER VACCINE IF:

YOU HAVE NOT HAD COVID AND ARE OVER 70 YEARS OLD

YOU HAVE NOT HAD COVID AND HAVE HEALTH ISSUES THAT MAKE YOU MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO COVID COMPLICATIONS SUCH AS…. EMPHYSEMA, SIGNIFICANT DIABETES, HEART FAILURE, OR ARE ON IMMUNE SUPPRESSING MEDICATION.

IF YOU HAVE HAD A COVID INFECTION FROM 2020 UNTIL NOVEMBER 2021, THEN YOU HAVE A 30+% PROTECTION FROM THE CURRENT BA-5 STRAIN.

IF YOU HAD COVID AT XMAS OR LATER, THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE AN 80% PROTECTION FROM THE CURRENT BA-5 STRAIN.

IF YOU HAD COVID YOU CAN STILL BENEFIT FROM ANOTHER BOOSTER, BUT IT IS NOT AS ESSENTIAL, AS YOUR PREVIOUS COVID INFECTION DOES HELP BOOST YOUR IMMUNITY THROUGH NATURAL MEANS.

IF YOU HAVE HAD 4 COVID VACCINES, THE 5^TH VACCINE IS NOT AS ESSENTIAL, BUT IT WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL PROTECTION AND IS WORTH STRONGLY CONSIDERING

REMEMBER, IF YOU GET COVID WE CAN ALWAYS TREAT YOU WITH PAXLOVID PILLS, THEY ARE VERY EFFECTIVE.

IT IS PROVEN SAFE TO GET THE FLU SHOT AND THE COVID SHOT AT THE SAME TIME…… …BUT I RECOMMEND YOU SEPARATE THEM IF POSSIBLE SO YOU DON’T HAVE A STRONGER REACTION TO THE COMBINATION.

GET YOUR COVID BOOSTER IN SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER AND THE FLU SHOT AT THE END SEPTEMBER OR DURING OCTOBER.

**Read Dr. Lakin's Full October 30th,

Comments. . . CLICK HERE

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 27, 2022

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/podcasts-webinars/episode-116

'Subvariants, Long COVID, and Influenza'

In this episode, Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss the impact of the many subvariants that are currently circulating in the U.S. and around the world, the latest data on long COVID, and how the U.S. should prepare for the next pandemic. Dr. Osterholm also answers a query about influenza and shares a beautiful place from one of our listeners.

According to Dr. Osterholm……

BA5 is 100+% OF CASES….SUBVARIANTS OF BA5 ARE 25% OF CASES
INCREASING COVID IN EUROPE AND SINGAPORE SUGGESTS WE WILL BE SEEING AN INCREASE IN CASES DUE TO:
WANING IMMUNITY
MORE INTERACTION
SUBVARIANTS THE ESCAPE THE VACCINE
USE MASKS IN SETTINGS OF CONCERN. YOUR MASK MUST BE KN95 OR N95
GOOD VENTILATION IN ROOMS/HOME/BUSINESSES IS A GREAT WAY TO PREVENT TRANSMISSION
CHINA WILL BE EXPERIENCING MAJOR COVID OUTBREAKS AS TIME GOES ON. OMICRON IS LIKE THE WIND…YOU CAN’T STOP IT, BUT YOU CAN TRY TO CONTROL IT. THE ZERO COVID POLICY OF CHINA IS UNSUSTAINABLE.
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 THIS TEST IF YOU HAVE CLASSIC COVID SYMPTOMS.
MASKS OF THE KN95 AND N95 VARIETY CAN BE HELPFUL. CLOTH MASKS AND SURGICAL MASKS ARE CURRENTLY NOT AS EFFECTIVE WITH DELTA VARIANT
THE THREE/FOUR VACCINE REGIMEN IS PARTICULARLY EFFECTIVE AGAINST SERIOUS ILLNESS AND HOSPITALIZATION. DEATHS AMONG THE VACCINATED ARE MASSIVELY REDUCED.
GET YOUR BOOSTERS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

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

'Scrabble Varient' Now Cause the Majority of New COVID-19 Infections in the US

The Omicron BA.5 subvariant is no longer the dominant cause of Covid-19 infections in the United States, according to estimates released Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Instead, a host of new sublineages – offshoots of BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5 – are now responsible for the majority of new infections in this country. Dr. Peter Hotez, director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital, calls these many new lineages “Scrabble variants” because they contain letters like X and Q that get high scores in the game.

The new variants descend from slightly different branches of the Omicron family tree, but they have evolved to share some of the same changes in their genomes that help them slip past our immunity against the virus.

Covid-19 Vaccine Study Links Side Effects With Greater Antibody Response

People who reported experiencing side effects to the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines such as fever, chills or muscle pain tended to have a greater antibody response following vaccination, according to new research.

Having such symptoms after vaccination is associated with greater antibody responses compared with having only pain or rash at the injection site or no symptoms at all, suggests the paper published Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open.

“In conclusion, these findings support reframing postvaccination symptoms as signals of vaccine effectiveness and reinforce guidelines for vaccine boosters in older adults,” the researchers – from Columbia University in New York, University of Vermont and Boston University – wrote in their paper.

The places where COVID-19 cases have increased the most, least in the last two weeks

Case numbers for the previous two weeks are compared to the two weeks before.

For More information.....CLICK HERE

Omicron subvariants pose a new threat to people with immune deficiencies

People with compromised immune systems face a new winter of discontent as the ever-mutating omicron virus threatens to outrun the preventive monoclonal antibody cocktail that hundreds of thousands of them have relied upon for extra protection against Covid.

Troubling recent reports reveal the emergence of new omicron subvariants that not only evade AstraZeneca’s Evusheld, the antibody drug authorized to prevent Covid infection, but also the sole antibody drug that has retained effectiveness as treatment for Covid, Eli Lilly’s bebtelovimab.

Read more here....

Mask Policy in Our Office

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.

Dr. Lakin's Info For COVID-19 Kit &

Recommended Treatments

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

**CLICK HERE TO READ COMPLETE INFORMATION

'Hocus Pocus'

A teenage boy named Max and his little sister move to Salem, where he struggles to fit in before awakening a trio of diabolical witches that were executed in the 17th century.

Stay Safe!