Modern medicine’s rule of “do no harm” has been cast aside because of COVID-19.
Accordingly, Elvis Presley’s line in the song “Heartbreak Hotel” — “I am so lonely, I could die” — has become all too relevant as it pertains to hospitals and nursing homes.
Tragically, we all know people who have had to suffer and die alone because their family members, along with their pastors and priests, were denied entry to their care facility. This was nothing less than a form of abuse for COVID patients and their families. It is a fact that the physical presence, along with emotional and spiritual support of loved ones, is not only comforting, it has also been proven to heal! Hence, the deprivation of visitation rights violated the premise of do no harm.
Of course, some of the worst abuse arose before there were vaccines. However unfortunate, the abuse continues now relative to those who are not vaccinated, meaning, the forced separation of loved ones in their time of need is not something that is altogether behind us.
Recently, a local hospital informed the parent of a toddler that if she could not provide proof of her own vaccination, she would have to give up “medical custody” of her child to the hospital without visitation rights. This outrageous dictate came without regard as to whether the parent had already had COVID, thus ignoring the fact that natural immunity is superior to anything provided by a vaccine. Separating a toddler from its mother is nothing less than every mother and child’s worst nightmare, thereby cruelly exacerbating the underlying health issue.
How long will the California medical establishment continue its obstinate disregard of the devastating effects that have arisen because of their myopic approach to managing the COVID crisis? Consider a recent report from Johns Hopkins, which was a meta-analysis (a survey or study of previous studies) and noted that various aspects of the lockdowns created unfruitful, devastating, ill-founded and unnecessary impacts due to unintended consequences. These consequences included reduced economic activity, raising unemployment, reduced schooling, political unrest, increased domestic violence and the undermining of liberal democracy.
Moreover, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as far back as June 2020, noted approximately 41% of U.S. adults delayed or avoided medical care, including 12% who avoided urgent or emergency care, and 32% neglected routine care. The finding noted a higher prevalence among people with multiple medical problems, including those with disabilities — the very target-rich audience for COVID!
As one analyst characterized the “unintended consequences,” our government and the medical establishment are guilty of what he called “single objective function bias.” They focused on COVID and COVID alone, to the detriment of all other medical conditions and concerns.
There are several studies out there that indicate that the missed appointments, diagnostics and care will cause illnesses and deaths that could exceed the impact of COVID.
Another ridiculously cruel insult to injury affected the staff of care facilities.
At the beginning of the COVID crisis, local facilities were not testing their staff for asymptomatic infection because they could not risk losing them in the heat of the emergency, thereby employing a “don’t ask, don’t test” strategy.
When COVID waned, and as vaccines became widely available, hospitals began informing staff to either get the jab or lose their job, with very few religious and medical exemptions being granted, and without regard to natural immunity from previous infection. Then when omicron came roaring back, hospitals changed their tune again!
They told staff to come back to work, vaccinated or not, even if they were positive for COVID if their symptoms were mild! Meanwhile, many fed-up staff quit, moved to a free state or retired, thereby exacerbating already existing staffing shortages. More heartache indeed.
Andy Caldwell is the COLAB executive director and host of “The Andy Caldwell Show,” airing 3 to 5 p.m. weekdays on KZSB AM 1290, the News-Press radio station.
