{"id":27689,"date":"2021-08-04T12:15:31","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T17:15:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/?p=27689"},"modified":"2022-11-14T13:48:36","modified_gmt":"2022-11-14T19:48:36","slug":"covid-could-vanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2021\/08\/04\/covid-could-vanish","title":{"rendered":"Covid Could Vanish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

First, I was really pleased that the kerfluffle I expected in the wake of last week\u2019s Health Tip<\/a> asking (no, begging) Dr. Joseph Mercola to stifle his anti-vax stance never materialized. He, of course, does have his disciples. Otherwise he wouldn\u2019t be coining $110 million a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a good number of our readers are done with his unscientific drivel and said so in comments. It\u2019s worth noting that Mercola is a licensed osteopath and should know better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My mentioning this is not meant to impugn the osteopathic profession. Just the opposite. The education a doctor of osteopathy (DO) receives and her scope of medical practice is essentially the same as an MD\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, osteopaths often feel they need to explain this to the general public. And thus after the Mercola piece I received a couple of emails from osteopaths who felt embarrassed by Mercola\u2019s existence and wished he would just go away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enough about that. Anyone who succumbs to Covid because they followed the antivax advice from Mercola\u2019s website (and many others) may be a simple example of Darwinian natural selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, I take that back. That\u2019s unkind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children hit by Covid Delta variant and still adults don\u2019t vax<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The current delta surge, with 99% of cases occurring in the unvaccinated, is hitting children especially hard<\/a>. Totally innocent, the kids are unaware of the parental complicity in their illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and Florida, among other states, pediatric ICUs are filling up. At the same time, Florida\u2019s governor on Friday announced he plans to issue an executive order to stop schools from requiring face masks<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neighboring states are loaning hospitals both extra staff and extra ventilators.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems that across the US almost half the country is not being vaccinated against an illness that can kill or leave you with a lifetime a symptoms, including chronic heart, lung, brain, and nerve problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunday\u2019s New York Times has a lengthy article about just who chooses to remain unvaccinated and why they are doing so<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authors divide the unvaccinated into two main groups, the Undecided and the Never. Most of the undecided are \u201cwaiting to see how COVID pans out\u201d or \u201cwaiting for full FDA approval\u201d or \u201cwatching for the long-term effects of vaccines on others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Never group are a different breed altogether. Statistically less educated than the first group, there\u2019s a literal disbelief in the virus itself (\u201ca hoax\u201d), bizarre theories about the vaccines (\u201cmicrochips,\u201d \u201cDNA shifts\u201d), a bit of magical thinking (\u201cI won\u2019t get Covid\u201d), or simply a lifetime of being uninvolved with anyone other than their family, church, and a few neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In case you missed this story<\/a>, the lede says (almost) everything:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Tennessee lawmaker who battled Covid-19 for nearly eight months is encouraging the public to \u201cconsider getting vaccinated.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 55 days on a ventilator Republican Rep. David Byrd\u2019s liver began to fail. He was lucky enough to receive a transplant in June. This after downplaying the seriousness of Covid in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unvaxxed patients talk to me<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

About a quarter of the patients I see every day have chosen to remain unvaccinated. Of course when an unvaccinated patient comes in, both of us wear a mask. The person sitting across from me might be a carrier soon to develop symptoms. Unfortunately, according to recent data from the CDC, the same could apply to me, but the odds are 1\/100th<\/sup> of hers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After we review the reasons for making the appointment, I say, \u201cDo you mind my asking why you\u2019ve chosen not to get vaccinated?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for me, here\u2019s the best part. There\u2019s never been a single moment where what I wanted to do was slap my forehead and shout \u201cThat is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.\u201d Not once. No, quite the opposite\u2014these are legitimate concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read this list of the type of responses I hear:<\/p>\n\n\n\n