May 2022 Philips Recall Summary

From Disability Visibility: For Complete Post, Click Here…

In the summer of 2021, Philips Respironics issued a recall notification of a number of their CPAP, BiPap, and ventilators in the United States. A group of disabled people impacted by the recall organized and sent an open letter to the Head of Quality and Regulator at Philips Respironics USA on August 25, 2021.

Below is a summary of events related to the recall, including a summary of a report by the Food and Drug Administration prepared by the Civil Rights and Disability Justice Clinic at New York Law School Legal Services, Inc. DISCLAIMER: This summary is intended for informational purposes only. It is a collection of information from various cited publicly available sources. Nothing in this update should be construed as legal advice. B

Pharmacist-Administered Vaccinations Should Be Here to Stay

By Robert Popovian: For Complete Post, Click Here…

Pharmacists and pharmacist technicians have administered hundreds of millions of vaccinations during the pandemic, but federal emergency authorization for their wider role could end soon. States should make it permanent.

In August 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) amended the national Public Health Emergency (PHE) declaration related to COVID-19 to allow pharmacists and pharmacist technicians to administer recommended vaccines to a wider swath of the population. Delays in routine medical care due to lockdowns during the early months of the pandemic had resulted in a sudden and alarming decline in vaccination rates. With many physicians’ offices closed at the time and nearly 90 percent of Americans living within five miles of a pharmacy, expanding the ability of pharmacists to administer more vaccinations had swiftly become a public health imperative.

This change, which remains in effect today, was a wise move. In the past 18 months, hundreds of millions of COVID-19 and other vaccine doses have been administered in pharmacies. In a new study, my co-authors and I document that seniors and people living in poverty who may otherwise lack access to health-care services and facilities may benefit the most. While the Public Health Emergency may be temporary, the ability of pharmacists and pharmacist technicians to administer vaccines should be permanent. State policymakers can play a vital role in making that happen.

Early in the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had documented the notable decline among routine vaccinations for children. Low rates of adult vaccination have persisted for years, but COVID-19 clearly worsened the problem. As HHS noted in its declaration, “The United States must turn to available medical professionals to limit the harm and public health threats that may result from decreased immunization rates.”

Pharmacists have delivered. More than 245 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered via a partnership between the federal government and retail pharmacy partners. This accounts for more than 40 percent of the COVID-19 vaccines administered in the U.S., though the proportion is growing: As of December 2021, pharmacies were administering more than two-thirds of COVID-19 vaccines. And the impact extends beyond COVID-19. For example, CDC data show that 40.4 million people have received a flu vaccine at a pharmacy during the 2021-22 flu season, compared with 30.8 million at a physician’s office.

What We’ve Learned — and Failed to Learn — from a Million COVID Deaths

By Alan Greenblatt: For Complete Post, Click Here…

As the nation approaches a grim milestone, public and political will to do much about the disease has faded. But absent health measures, the devastation could have been far worse.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been the biggest mass casualty event in American history, killing hundreds of thousands more people than either the Spanish flu epidemic, World War II or the Civil War. The nation will reach a grim milestone within the next few days, a death toll of one million.

“I can remember the New York Times headline, that it was ‘an incalculable loss’ at 100,000. Now we’re at 10 times that,” says Dimitri Drekonja, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota. “If this had been the prediction at the outset, people would have been horrified, but it’s been a bit of the frog getting boiled. You get adjusted to these slow, incremental changes.”

It happens in every war. The first few deaths are shocking, but the last few thousand sometimes barely register. That seems to be happening with COVID-19, which has now killed more than 300 times as many people as the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

One in Four Medicare Patients Harmed in Hospitals, Nearly Half Preventable

by Cheryl Clark: For Complete Post, Click Here…

CMS needs to do more to penalize facilities with avoidable adverse events, report says.

Medicare patients continue to experience harm during hospital stays, even after a decade of intensive efforts to decrease provider-caused adverse events, according to a report from the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG).

Among the roughly 1 million Medicare patients who were discharged from hospitals in October 2018, a total of 258,323 experienced an adverse or temporary harm event during their stay.

And 12% experienced events that led to longer stays, lifesaving interventions, permanent harm, or death. “This projects to 121,089 Medicare patients having experienced at least one adverse event during the 1-month study period,” the report stated.

COVID-19 Toolbox

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CDC’s COVID-19 tools are regularly updated with the latest information, data, and guidance. Many of these tools connect to resources in several languages.

Vaccine Finder: Find COVID-19 vaccine or booster locations near you, then call or visit their website to make an appointment.

Find Free Masks (N95 Respirators): Find a list of pharmacies that provide free masks (N95 respirators) by using this tool, then check with the location for availability.

Interactive Ventilation Tool: Decrease the level of COVID-19 virus particles during and after a guest visits your home. See how particle levels change as you adjust ventilation settings in your home.

COVID-19 County Check: Find COVID Community Levels in your county and find out which prevention steps to take based on the levels in your area and your own risk of severe illness.

COVID Data Tracker: Get the most recent data on COVID-19 vaccinations, cases, and deaths. Explore COVID-19 data focused on health equity and specific populations. Maps, charts, data, and trends provided by CDC, updates daily by 8 pm ET.

Get Free Self-Tests: Self-tests for COVID-19 give fast results and can be taken anywhere, regardless of your vaccination status or whether or not you have symptoms. Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order two sets of four free at-⁠home tests. If you already ordered your first set, order a second today.

Quarantine and Isolation Calculator: Determine how long you need to isolate, quarantine, or take other steps to prevent spreading COVID-19 if you have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19 or have COVID-19. The calculator is intended for a general audience, and does not apply to healthcare or high-risk settings like prisons.

Test to Treat Locator: You must take COVID-19 medication within days of your first COVID-19 symptoms days. COVID-19 medications are now available through your doctor, local pharmacies, and health clinics. Use this tool to find where you can get tested and treated in the same location.

Doctors with Disability: Why True Inclusion Requires a Seat at the Table

By Meaghan Roy-OReilly: For Complete Post, Click Here…

“Pretty girl, ugly feet,” the surgeon proclaimed. I was 29, in my last year of medical school, and had been working up the courage to see a doctor for over a year. A year in which I stopped running due to unrelenting ankle sprains, quit rock climbing due to too many near falls — a year in which I no longer danced, because these ugly feet of mine just wouldn’t stop hurting. I sat silently in the empty exam room, lost in a fog of shame.

I asked for help, but didn’t believe I deserved it.

Three months into my first year of residency, I was still reeling from my new diagnosis of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a disorder of the muscles and nerves in my hands and feet. I had walked 20,000 steps on my night shift and was too tired to drive home, but there is no elevator access to the general resident call rooms and lounge on the fourth floor. I had informed the Internal Medicine Program of my new disability and requested information on how to get accommodations, but never heard back; I found out later the message got lost in translation, a bottle adrift at sea.

I asked for help, but I should have been louder.

New Type of Ultraviolet Light Makes Indoor Air as Safe as Outdoors

From Columbia U: For Complete Post, Click Here…

A new type of ultraviolet light that may be safe for people took less than five minutes to reduce the level of indoor airborne microbes by more than 98%, a joint study by scientists at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and in the U.K. has found. Even as microbes continued to be sprayed into the room, the level remained very low as long as the lights were on.

The study suggests that far-UVC light from lamps installed in the ceiling could be a highly effective passive technology for reducing person-to-person transmission of airborne-mediated diseases such as COVID and influenza indoors, and lowering the risk of the next pandemic. 

“Far-UVC rapidly reduces the amount of active microbes in the indoor air to almost zero, making indoor air essentially as safe as outdoor air,” says David Brenner, PhD, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and co-author of the study. “Using this technology in locations where people gather together indoors could prevent the next potential pandemic.”

The study was published March 23 in the journal Scientific Reports, a Nature journal.

Atonic Seizures: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

By Imee Williams: For Complete Post, Click Here…

Atonic seizures commonly begin in childhood and can carry on into adulthood. These seizures are rare — about 1 percent to 3 percent of children living with epilepsy have atonic seizures.

Atonic seizures are also called astatic seizures, drop seizures, or drop attacks. They happen without warning and cause the muscles to suddenly relax and become limp. Infants and children will often have their heads drop, and adults may collapse or fall. However, atonic seizures are quite short, and people often recover quickly.

What Are Atonic Seizures?

There are different types of seizures. Atonic seizures are generalized seizures — the seizure activity affects both sides of the brain. Unlike other types of generalized seizures that may lead to muscle contractions and stiffening, people with atonic seizures experience a sudden loss of muscle tone. Someone having an atonic seizure will be unresponsive and limp.

Atonic seizures are short and happen quickly. In some cases, a face or head injury may result from a seizure-related fall. If a person has hurt themselves during the seizure, it is important to provide first aid or seek medical attention.

Symptoms of Atonic Seizures

Symptoms can vary from person to person, but most people having an atonic seizure will experience the seizure for a few seconds. In severe cases, the seizure can last several minutes. During this time, there is a sudden loss of muscle tone affecting the head, torso, or entire body. Infants who are unable to stand or sit on their own will only have their heads drop, whereas other people may experience falls. Other symptoms include:

• Loss of awareness or consciousness
• Staying conscious
• Eyelid drooping
• Falling if sitting, standing, or walking
• Dropping items
• Head nodding
• Confusion