Why does the CDC or the FDA not require the pharmaceutical companies behind these boosters to do any randomized control studies on the effecacies of their drug? I am a healthy 70 year old who has had Covid a year ago and don’t plan on getting any boosters. What research has been done on Paxlovid? Why is the CDC recommending boosters for 6 month olds? How do we trust the medical community?
These are great questions, all. I wish I knew the answers, especially bc trust in public health institutions are at an all-time low. What I do know is that risk is not uniform. The risk for serious COVID outcomes depends on age, underlying health, vaccination and immune status, and many other variables. The lack of nuanced messaging about risk, risk variability, risk tolerance, and the absence of a risk-free existence by public health messengers was pretty abysmal.
I had Covid before the vaccines came out. I was hospitalized before weeks. It’s almost 4 years later and I am still suffering, depression, anxiety, stress, sense of taste and other things. Nobody can give me any answers. I’m hitting three years old always in relatively good health. I don’t know what to do with at point. I’ve been to psychiatrist neurologist internest Nobody can help me So many different meds so many different procedures,TMS ETC.
Any suggestions or help would be so greatly appreciated My email address jbsqb@aol.com. Thank you
I am so sorry to hear that. I can't make specific medical recommendations but suggest getting another internal medicine evaluation, perhaps at a local academic medical center. Again, so sorry you are suffering.
In this article you suggest using ibuprofen or Tylenol for aches and fever. Dr. Paul Offit says that fever should not be treated because the purpose of fever is to kill the virus and reduce the time that you are sick. What is your opinion of that?
Dr. Offit isn't wrong. It's also not wrong to treat symptoms that are bothersome or interfering with sleeping, eating, hydrating, etc. Like most things in medicine, it's a balance.
Also which mucinex are you talking about for cough? We use plain mucinex (expectorant) in lieu of decongestants. But are you talking about a version that includes a cough suppressant?
It depends on the symptom you are trying to treat. I usuallly recommend plain old mucinex and not the cough suppressant unless someone is having a hard time sleeping due to cough. Cough is a natural/productive way to expel mucous, so it doesn't always need suppressing.
So what are your thoughts on Covid shots for young healthy people at this point (our high school and college kids and twenty-somethings who have had at least three shots plus Covid)?
Personally I am not going to recommend the shots for my sons (ages 20 and 22) bc they have had multiple shots and a few bouts of COVID and I am not sure what added benefit another shot would offer then. But flu shots this fall - yes.
Hi Lucy - What do you think about compounding pharmacies? Specifically, my sister is getting Semaglutide from a compounding pharmacy in Florida. Does this sound safe to you? Ginna
Thank you for this topic and the helpful information. My understanding is that wearing a *well-fitted* mask is the best way to prevent catching airborne diseases such as Covid and the flu.
I also have read that bc there are so many varieties if Covid these days, we only have immunity to the strain we are recovering from, not the other variants.
There are 100s of peer reviewed articles in medical journals yet their findings don’t seem to be shared.
The best way to prevent getting sick is to not be around sick people :) Wearing a mask can offer some added protection, but it really depends on how much virus is in the room and how much you inhale bc masks are not magic force fields! Immunity isn't black or white. Getting variant A will offer transient protection against getting infected by the same variant for a few months - but even that is not perfect - and also will offer some transient protection against variant B if variant B is a close descendant of variant A.
Why does the CDC or the FDA not require the pharmaceutical companies behind these boosters to do any randomized control studies on the effecacies of their drug? I am a healthy 70 year old who has had Covid a year ago and don’t plan on getting any boosters. What research has been done on Paxlovid? Why is the CDC recommending boosters for 6 month olds? How do we trust the medical community?
These are great questions, all. I wish I knew the answers, especially bc trust in public health institutions are at an all-time low. What I do know is that risk is not uniform. The risk for serious COVID outcomes depends on age, underlying health, vaccination and immune status, and many other variables. The lack of nuanced messaging about risk, risk variability, risk tolerance, and the absence of a risk-free existence by public health messengers was pretty abysmal.
I had Covid before the vaccines came out. I was hospitalized before weeks. It’s almost 4 years later and I am still suffering, depression, anxiety, stress, sense of taste and other things. Nobody can give me any answers. I’m hitting three years old always in relatively good health. I don’t know what to do with at point. I’ve been to psychiatrist neurologist internest Nobody can help me So many different meds so many different procedures,TMS ETC.
Any suggestions or help would be so greatly appreciated My email address jbsqb@aol.com. Thank you
I am so sorry to hear that. I can't make specific medical recommendations but suggest getting another internal medicine evaluation, perhaps at a local academic medical center. Again, so sorry you are suffering.
PS I’m 83 years old
In this article you suggest using ibuprofen or Tylenol for aches and fever. Dr. Paul Offit says that fever should not be treated because the purpose of fever is to kill the virus and reduce the time that you are sick. What is your opinion of that?
Dr. Offit isn't wrong. It's also not wrong to treat symptoms that are bothersome or interfering with sleeping, eating, hydrating, etc. Like most things in medicine, it's a balance.
Also which mucinex are you talking about for cough? We use plain mucinex (expectorant) in lieu of decongestants. But are you talking about a version that includes a cough suppressant?
It depends on the symptom you are trying to treat. I usuallly recommend plain old mucinex and not the cough suppressant unless someone is having a hard time sleeping due to cough. Cough is a natural/productive way to expel mucous, so it doesn't always need suppressing.
So what are your thoughts on Covid shots for young healthy people at this point (our high school and college kids and twenty-somethings who have had at least three shots plus Covid)?
Personally I am not going to recommend the shots for my sons (ages 20 and 22) bc they have had multiple shots and a few bouts of COVID and I am not sure what added benefit another shot would offer then. But flu shots this fall - yes.
Hi Lucy - What do you think about compounding pharmacies? Specifically, my sister is getting Semaglutide from a compounding pharmacy in Florida. Does this sound safe to you? Ginna
The issue is that we do not know what's in these meds. Compounded substances are not regulated like FDA approved meds are.
Thank you for this topic and the helpful information. My understanding is that wearing a *well-fitted* mask is the best way to prevent catching airborne diseases such as Covid and the flu.
I also have read that bc there are so many varieties if Covid these days, we only have immunity to the strain we are recovering from, not the other variants.
There are 100s of peer reviewed articles in medical journals yet their findings don’t seem to be shared.
The best way to prevent getting sick is to not be around sick people :) Wearing a mask can offer some added protection, but it really depends on how much virus is in the room and how much you inhale bc masks are not magic force fields! Immunity isn't black or white. Getting variant A will offer transient protection against getting infected by the same variant for a few months - but even that is not perfect - and also will offer some transient protection against variant B if variant B is a close descendant of variant A.
http://covidresearch.net
https://libguides.mskcc.org/CovidImpacts/Immune
Great info thanks! I just had Covid (3rd time) about a month ago, so I'll wait on that booster.