Vaccinations - Expected and Unexpected Results
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Childhood Vaccinations
Routine childhood vaccinations will have prevented hundreds of millions of illnesses, tens of millions of hospitalizations and more than 1 million deaths among people born between 1994 and 2023, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A new report, published Thursday by the CDC, analyzed the benefits of routine childhood immunizations in the United States through the CDC’s Vaccines for Children Program, which launched in 1994. The research also found that the vaccinations saved the country billions of dollars.
Nine vaccines were included in the analysis: diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis or DTaP; Haemophilus influenzae type b or Hib; poliovirus; measles, mumps and rubella; hepatitis B; varicella; hepatitis A; pneumococcal conjugate and rotavirus.
ACTION
School will be starting soon. If there is a child in your sphere make sure their vaccinations are up to date.
Shingles Vaccine and Dementia - Good News
A recent study published in the journal Nature Medicine observed that the recombinant shingles vaccine is associated with reduced dementia risk. It does not necessarily vaccinate you from developing dementia but it can slow the onset.
Varicella-zoster virus is a herpes virus causing shingles and chickenpox. Vaccination is recommended for older people in many countries, given the adverse consequences of shingles.
The present study examined the associations between recombinant shingle vaccination and subsequent dementia incidence. They leveraged a natural opportunity created by the live shingles vaccine's disuse and the recombinant vaccine's rapid uptake after October 2017.
Electronic health record data were used from a network covering 62 healthcare organizations comprising over 100 million patients. Demographic, diagnostic, and medication data were available. The primary cohort included all patients receiving their first shingles vaccine at ≥ 65 years between November 2017 and October 2020. The comparator cohort included those vaccinated between October 2014 and September 2017.
Compared with the live vaccine, receiving the recombinant shingles vaccine is associated with a lower risk of developing dementia within the next 6 years. An increase by 17% in time lived without a dementia diagnosis (or 164 additional days among those later affected) is clinically meaningful. (Nature Medicine)
Insurance Company Delay Tactics
Let’s recall that insurance companies make money in two ways. They pay out less in claims than they charge in premiums and they make money when the premiums that are not immediately needed are invested. So holding on to money as long as possible is a way to make more money.
Insurance claim denials continue to be a vexing problem for healthcare providers, forcing them to expend more resources to reverse payers' decisions in an already-inflated cost environment. One common approach among insurers is denying payment until the provider submits additional information. Payers say it's a way to ensure their dollars are being spent appropriately, but many providers argue it's a stalling tactic. I vote for stalling to keep money invested as long s possible. (Modern Healthcare)
US Mortality News
Executive Summary:
The National Center for Health Statistics collects US Mortality data. It is useful to know how many people die from what causes. Data can be examined through a wide variety of filters. The good news is that deaths from COVID-19 are now number 10. They had been the number 3 cause of death for several years. Woo Hoo.
Report:
There is a recent paper in the JAMA Network that reviews the government’s mortality data.
The Figure below presents leading causes of death in the US for the years 2019 to 2023. Heart disease and cancer remained the 2 leading causes of death over the period. Deaths due to unintentional injuries ranked next highest until 2020-2021 when COVID-19 became the 3rd leading cause of death. In 2022, COVID-19 moved to 4th rank and, in 2023, COVID-19 is projected to be the 10th leading cause of death.
Influenza and pneumonia, among the top 10 causes of death prepandemic in 2019, will likely rank 12th in 2023. Although diabetes shifted down to the 8th leading cause during 2020-2022, diabetes deaths have increased in number and rate since 2019. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis will likely be the 9th leading cause in 2023, having first entered the top 10 ranking in 2021. Conversely, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in 2019 and prior years, but has not ranked in the top 10 causes since 2020.
Here is the US government data that is the source for the graphic above.
Of the 3,090,582 people that died in 2023 about 480,000 or 15.5% were due to smoking.
While overall deaths in 2023 are about 200,000 more than in 2019, this is still good news about COVID. I’ll take good news.
Resources
Find My Elected Officials
Contact State and Federal Representatives - phone and email
Healthcare Advocacy (Us) Website
Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare - Healthcare Advocacy Reading List
Important Healthcare Resources
League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit
Organizations to Contact
National Nurses United Medicare4All
Physicians for a National Health Program
One Payer States
Healthcare Now
Reproductive Health
NARAL - Pro Choice America
Charley. chatbot abortion resource - make sure to use a secure incognito browser if you live in a state that has banned abortion
Planned Parenthood
Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.
United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.
Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.
If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org
Claims Denials and Appeals & What to Do
Appeal a Healthcare Decision
Appeal/Negotiate a Hospital Bill
Disinformation Management
Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency
Save Democracy
Chop Wood, Carry Water by Jessica Cravens
RESISTBOT
Link to the RESISTBOT site to learn more
Link to Chop Wood, Carry Water RESISTBOT write up
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