Let Your Doctor Be Your Guide

by Bob Kieserman

On Friday, an advisory panel created by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. voted to change a recommendation that has been serving the American public for over 30 years. As I am sure you know by now since it has been all over the news, the panel deemed that babies should no longer receive the first dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth. Instead, the panel voted to recommend that the first dose be given when the child is 2 months old and only if the mother tests negative for the virus. It was a 8-2 decision. The American Academy of Pediatrics and a group of prominent past members of the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration publicly issued statements that this new decision was dangerous to newborn children and their families because it will leave young children at risk of a major infection and lifelong illness. The one redeeming factor of this event was the language used in the recommendation urged parents to make the decision about administering the vaccine to their babies with the advice of their pediatrician.

I am sure you have heard the arguments that Kennedy and his panels are not focusing on the proof of science and medicine when they issue these recommendations. Every decision they make seems to demonstrate that. Along with this decision is the recent recommendation that not all Americans will be eligible to receive a Covid shot.

According to Forbes Magazine, “The Food and Drug Administration approved the next round of COVID-19 vaccines last week, but the agency imposed new age and health status restrictions on who’s eligible to receive them. For those who are ineligible but still wish to get vaccinated, there are considerable hurdles, including questions around insurance coverage. Even for some who are eligible, access will be limited in the short-term due to state regulations and the need for pharmacies to wait for guidance from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices before moving ahead with vaccinations. Until now, COVID-19 vaccines have been available in the United States to anyone 6 months and older regardless of their health status. But the agency is now restricting the updated shots to those aged 65 and above or people between the ages of 6 months and 64 who are at risk for serious complications from COVID-19 because they have at least one other health problem. Qualifying risk factors include, among other diseases and conditions, asthma, depression, obesity and diabetes. Estimates suggest that between 100 and 200 million Americans will have access to vaccines owing to having at least one comorbidity.”

But how about the rest of the American public?  I really hope I am wrong, but I fear that this winter season may turn out to be a health crisis in terms of hospitalizations, people walking around with low immunity and spreading illness, and many people developing long-term chronic illnesses.

Allow me to share my true thoughts. Our public health system is one of the best in the world. The scientists, researchers, and healthcare providers who have staffed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Food and Drug Administration over the past decades have been some of the most prominent and expert medical minds in the world. Those folks are now working outside of the government because Kennedy wanted to have his own staff who would agree with his dangerous and unfounded policies.

I am concerned. Very concerned. I am also concerned about the fact that President Trump’s decision to make the cost of a H1-B visa $100,000, which is not allowing hospitals throughout the country to hire foreign healthcare providers because of the prohibitive cost to the providers. The result is that these hospitals are very much understaffed which is compromising quality of care to tens of thousands of patients. In many hospitals which have plenty of eager candidates from countries like the Philippines and India, the salaries that the hospitals can afford to pay these professionals is less than the cost of the visa.

It is getting to a point quite honesty where I cannot listen to the radio news reports anymore. It seems that every day another ridiculous and yes, dangerous, decision is made by Kennedy and the President about our healthcare system. Hospitals are struggling, doctors are being consulted by their patients much more than ever before, and the pharmaceutical companies are uncertain how much vaccine to produce to maintain the supply needed to keep the American public protected from illness and disease. It really frightens me. My only suggestion is to let your doctor be your guide. Your doctor is paying close attention along with their professional associations on what is best for the patients, so let your doctor, who I hope you trust, be your guide.