COVID BLOG OC URGENT CARE

To all of our very special patients and blog readers:

Since our last communication, there have been three developments that I wanted to let everyone know about.

First,
I wanted to alert everyone to a observation we’ve had here at Caduceus the past few weeks.

Yes, we are still doing PCR testing. We still are getting back positive results. We still have a ways to go before herd immunity.

However, the past few weeks we have discovered 50% of our new cases have been in the pediatric population. This is a major shift from previous analyses. It breaks down to exactly 50% teenagers and 50% under the age of 10.

I cannot find evidence that this is a trend nationally, or even in California, but history tells us that we tend to see trends early on, and this may be a trend we see here before it becomes apparent elsewhere.

I recently had a patient in her 30’s decline my suggestion that she have the vaccination. Her logic is that she is young and healthy so would not be very sick if she did contact Covid. My attempts at pointing out the errors in that position were unsuccessful.

But a bigger concern is that she is a single mother of a little girl. I told her she should be vaccinated to assure her daughter does not become Covid positive. Her comment was the kids aren’t really getting Covid and if they do they have very few symptoms.

I am here to tell everyone that this is blatantly not true-not now in any case.

If the mother were to contract Covid, our current data suggests it is very likely she will pass it on to her daughter who can become very ill. Children have been known to progress to a severe inflammatory disease which could be life-threatening.

As CMO, I am strongly recommending to all of our patients to keep a closer eye than normal on your children. Cough, fever, sore throat, fatigue, diarrhea, or even body aches should be investigated immediately. We would start with a telehealth visit, and then proceed to testing. If an exam is required we will do it curbside. If your child has had exposure to either another child or adult, please report that to us at once.

If you need immediate attention, PDQ Urgent Care and More in Orange handles all age groups. And PDQ Urgent Care and More for Kids in Yorba Linda is a pediatric urgent care that can serve your pediatric needs immediately. In Laguna Beach, Caduceus on Thalia also handles all ages.

Secondly,
After a lot of of thought, we are reinstituting our Dinner with the Docs series. We obviously suspended it last spring with Covid necessitating public gatherings be avoided. We were asked to consider reinstituting it as a Zoom conference, but we just did not have a good feel for that.

Although we are not yet there, as we approach herd immunity, we feel it would be safe to reinstitute the series, with obvious concessions made to the pandemic.

For starters, all attendees will need to show either proof of vaccination, proof of recent antibodies, a negative PCR test within 72 hours of the event, or a negative rapid antigen test the day of the event.

Antibody testing and rapid antigen testing will be available for those not having any of the necessary admission criteria.

Once inside the lecture hall, attendees can sit next to their immediate family or guests, but we will obviously space out the seating accordingly.

Instead of a buffet, your dinner will be a bento box handed to you, but with sandwiches and not sushi. Bottled water will be offered and wine will be available, but not self-serve.

The Dinner with the Docs event will resume with a three part series.

Part One will discuss Covid 101; its diagnosis, characteristics, as well as addressing several controversies about the virus.

Part Two will discuss the treatment of Covid. This will NOT be discussed in part one.

Part Three will discuss the prevention and future course of Covid. This will NOT be addressed in parts one or two.

We will video the lectures so that you can check them out on our You Tube Channel if you were unable to be present.

This will be a ticketed event only so please RSVP seriously.

Thirdly,
I received many comments after the last blog that I was not emphatic enough to encourage all of our patients to receive the vaccine. Let me fix that right now.

As Caduceus and PDQ Chief Medical Officer, we strongly advise all patients to take the vaccine, either the single or double dose variety, as soon as possible.

Any dangers of the vaccine far outweigh the serious consequences of Covid. I’m sure all of you know I’m speaking from personal experience.

The only exception that I can fathom is if you had Covid recently and your blood test show high levels of antibodies, it is likely you are as safe as if you were vaccinated. The studies are not definitive but that’s what they appear to be showing. But as we recommended earlier this year, everyone should check for antibodies monthly and once the antibodies disappear, the vaccine should definitely be given.

You can ask for a monthly order in your chart and there is no visit necessary.

Unfortunately, Caduceus has not been able to procure vaccines to give it our office. There are a variety of centers throughout Orange County where you can take the vaccine, in many cases on a walk-in basis.

To achieve the immunity we need, at least 3/4 of the population need to have antibodies or be vaccinated.

Although the vaccine has caused significant side effects such as aches and pains and fevers, we have not seen any serious reactions from the vaccine within the Caduceus population. However we continue to see new cases of Covid every day.

In summary:
1. Consider getting vaccinated and coming to our Dinner with the Docs series. It’s always been very popular and a lot of fun and we will even feed you and wine and dine you.
2. Keep a very close eye out for your children and have them seen and tested immediately for any fevers or symptoms.
3. Don’t vacillate–VACCINATE!!

Gregg DeNicola MD
Chief Medical Officer
Caduceus Medical Group, PDQ Urgent Care & More, PDQ Telehealth