problems Archives - Mediarabe

Infection Control Problems Persist in Nursing Homes During COVID

October 14, 2020

The new analysis draws on self-reported data from nursing homes collected by the federal government over four weeks from late August to late September. While some states fared much worse than others, all 50 states and the District of Columbia had one or more nursing homes that reported inadequate PPE supply, staff shortages, staff infections and resident cases. Forty-seven states reported at least one COVID-19 death among residents.

The analysis found that more than 28,000 residents tested positive for COVID-19 during the four-week reporting period, and more than 5,200 residents died, showing that the virus is still raging in nursing homes. More than 84,000 long-term care residents and staff have died since January, and more than 500,000 residents and staff have contracted the disease, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s tally, accounting for roughly 40 percent of the national death toll. Long-term care providers include assisted living, adult day care

Ottawa was told about potential problems at Public Health Agency, top doctors say

October 13, 2020

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People are shown at a COVID-19 testing clinic Montreal, Oct. 11, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada and around the world.

Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press

The federal government was warned years ago that the Public Health Agency of Canada was destined for serious problems unless changes were made to its oversight, but those concerns were ignored, two of Canada’s top doctors say.

A steady erosion of scientific capacity and a chronic shortage of resources over the past decade have left the agency unable to do its job properly, public-health experts Perry Kendall and Paul Gully told The Globe and Mail.

Recent problems, including the mishandling of the country’s pandemic early warning system, emergency stockpile shortages and allegations that scientists were forced to “dumb down” reports for senior government officials, are all symptoms of a larger ailment afflicting the agency, the doctors said.

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Older adults in the US using cannabis to treat common health problems

October 11, 2020

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WITH growing interest in its potential health benefits and new legislation favouring legalisation in more states in the US, cannabis use is becoming more common among older adults.

University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers report that older adults use cannabis primarily for medical purposes to treat a variety of common health conditions, including pain, sleep disturbances, and psychiatric conditions like anxiety and depression.

The study, published online last Wednesday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, found that of 568 patients surveyed, 15 per cent had used cannabis within the past three years, with half of users reporting using it regularly and mostly for medical purposes.

“Pain, insomnia and anxiety were the most common reasons for cannabis use and, for the most part, patients reported that cannabis was helping to address these issues, especially with insomnia and pain,” said Christopher Kaufmann, PhD, co-first author

PPE Problems, Shortages Persist As Health Care Workers Struggle

October 8, 2020

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The FDA rebuked an Ohio company that makes mask decontamination devices, saying it skirted safety rules. In California, more than 3,000 nurses and health care workers in the Bay Area are on strike to protest unsafe working conditions. And a 28-year-old physician in Texas dies of COVID; her family says she had to wear the same N95 mask “for weeks and weeks, if not months and months.”

Stat:
FDA Formally Warns Mask Decontamination Device Maker Touted By Trump

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday formally chastised a mask decontamination device company once touted by President Trump for skirting rules about safety monitoring. It said the Ohio-based Battelle Memorial Institute, which makes a system to decontaminate the protective masks worn by health care workers, did not have adequate procedures in place for identifying adverse events, like allergic reactions. (Florko, 10/7)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Months Into Pandemic, PPE Shortage Persists

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Sleep Apnea Aid Eases Heart Problems in People With Prediabetes | Health News

October 7, 2020

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By Robert Preidt, HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay)

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 7, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Continuous positive airway pressure treatment, commonly known as CPAP, can lower heart disease risk in people with prediabetes, according to a new study.

In prediabetes, blood sugar levels are above normal but not high enough to be considered diabetes. CPAP is used to treat obstructive sleep apnea, a disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. A CPAP machine uses a mask to deliver steady air pressure into a person’s airway.

This new study found that, among people with prediabetes and sleep apnea, those who used CPAP for two weeks saw their resting heart rate fall by four to five beats per minute, compared to those who didn’t use CPAP.

With optimal CPAP treatment, heart rates were not only lower at night but also during the day, according to the report published Oct. 1 in

Chronic health problems found in recovered COVID-19 patients – report

October 7, 2020

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A new report by Israel’s Coronavirus Knowledge and Information Center released on Tuesday reveals how pervasive the so-called “COVID Long” phenomenon has become, and said that according to research, many of those who have recovered from the coronavirus face long-term complications. The report looked at medical research from all over the world and gave some recommendations for Israel’s medical establishment on how to cope with persistent medical problems of those who have recovered from the virus.

Symptoms of COVID Long can affect even those who had mild cases and who were young and in good health when they first became ill, the report said. These persistent symptoms can have a widespread effect on the patients’ nervous, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, as well as their mental health.

The researchers found that the COVID Long phenomenon was similar to lasting complications of other coronaviruses such as SARS and MERS. Some of those

UK’s COVID-19 Testing System Hit by Roche Supply Problems | World News

October 7, 2020

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LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s COVID-19 testing system, already struggling with a surge in new cases, was facing fresh disruption on Wednesday after Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche

said problems at a new warehouse had delayed the dispatch of some products.

Roche is one of the main suppliers of diagnostic tests to Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) Test and Trace programme, which only days ago was hit by a technical glitch that delayed the reporting of 15,000 positive results.

Roche said the delay in dispatching some of its diagnostic products to the NHS was caused by unforeseen problems that arose during a switch from an old warehouse to a new UK distribution centre in September.

“We deeply regret that there has been a delay in the dispatch of some products and apologise to any of our customers who have been impacted,” Roche said in a statement.

“We are prioritising the dispatch of

UK’s COVID-19 testing system hit by Roche supply problems

October 7, 2020

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LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s COVID-19 testing system, already struggling with a surge in new cases, was facing fresh disruption on Wednesday after Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche ROG.S said problems at a new warehouse had delayed the dispatch of some products.

FILE PHOTO: A test tube labelled with the Vaccine is seen in front of Covid-19 and stock graph logo in this illustration taken, September 9, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Roche is one of the main suppliers of diagnostic tests to Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) Test and Trace programme, which only days ago was hit by a technical glitch that delayed the reporting of 15,000 positive results.

Roche said the delay in dispatching some of its diagnostic products to the NHS was caused by unforeseen problems that arose during a switch from an old warehouse to a new UK distribution centre in September.

“We deeply regret that there has been

big health problems lead to big health spending

October 7, 2020

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The pandemic – and developments in health care – have forced the Commonwealth government to commit to a massive increase in spending on health care this year.

In the 2019-20 budget, the Commonwealth promised an increase of A$540 million in health spending in 2020-21. In this year’s version, delivered by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg last night, the promise is an order of magnitude greater: an uplift of $5.347 billion since the last economic statement.

During 2020-21 and 2021-22, likely to be the biggest years for the COVID-19 response, the Commonwealth is promising almost $10 billion of extra spending. Never before has the federal government opened the health purse strings to this extent.

Although there are 35 items in the health budget measures table – all detailed in a 163-page “Stakeholder Pack” – just five of them account for 94% of the increase in spending.

1. Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)

The government

State effort seeks to counter mental health problems worsened by pandemic | Local news

October 4, 2020

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Ilustration by Chiara Bautista / Arizona Daily Star

Yazmín García,manager of peer-to-peer programs for the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Southern Arizona.

Anxiety and depression have been a part of Paola’s life since she was 10 years old.

Her anxiety would cause her to overthink worst case scenarios, but antidepressants helped. But when the coronavirus pandemic started, those thoughts got worse.

Paola began to fight more with her boyfriend. She was convinced that he did not love her, and that he was only staying with her because of the kids.

“So I thought, ‘hey, if I’m not alive I don’t have to worry about any of this. I can just ‘sleep’ forever,” said Paola, who asked that her last name not be used in this news story. “When I started thinking about what