All Things Coronavirus (Part 2)

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,368]

4 hours ago, Steeleballz said:

 

    You live in America TBone. Do you even need to ask that question?  Trump and his rich asymptomatic buddies got a monoclonal antibody treatment for Covid that isn't even available to anyone else. 

 

   For the rest of us regular people, yeah, I think there actually are plans in place for (as you put it) who gets to be more equal when resources or capacity run out.  

Thats what my doc said. He said the treatment Trump got is not available and if it was it's like super duper $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[laylalex 7,282]

The reality is it's people like me who get the best treatment. I have great health insurance, and what isn't covered by that I can pay for. This was highlighted to me earlier this week, just Wednesday, when we were running around getting COVID tests because of possible exposure. I was able to be seen immediately at a clinic within walking distance, where I was welcomed with kindness and concern into a private room. I was seen by a doctor and a nurse, who listened to the story about the possible exposure, and also to the symptoms I was experiencing. I had a mini-exam, which showed that I had some throat irritation that could indicate strep, and a test for that was ordered as well. The doctor asked about my mental health, and what I was doing to stay well. When I got my results and the all clear back, my doctor and nurse both came by to wish me well and a happy Thanksgiving. These people cared, and had the time to show it.

 

Alex? HMO. 45 minutes on hold getting an approval for the test. The only testing site was on the other side of LA. Once there, we stayed in the car in a gloomy garage for 20 minutes until they gave him a vial to spit in. Handed it back over, that's it. No one asked him anything about his health. Nothing wrong with it, but it was like being a product rolling along a factory line. I knew the workers cared about his health, but they didn't have the time to express it.

 

I got treated like a princess. He got treated like a widget. The difference? Money, frankly. 

[Ban Hammer 13,110]

4 minutes ago, laylalex said:

I got treated like a princess. He got treated like a widget.

sounds like marriage.........

Edited November 28, 2020 by Ban Hammer

[Prizm123 1,086]

3 hours ago, Nature Boy 2.0 said:

Thats what my doc said. He said the treatment Trump got is not available and if it was it's like super duper $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

i think i saw it was about $200000 range for the monoclonal antibodies and remdesivir treatments alone. factor the free helicoptor rides, 9 physicians, a private suite with an office, and a partridge in a pear tree... yeah a lot of money that us mere mortals would never get. i get it though, he is the president and thats kind of the level of treatment i would expect him to get.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

59 minutes ago, Prizm123 said:

i think i saw it was about $200000 range for the monoclonal antibodies and remdesivir treatments alone. factor the free helicoptor rides, 9 physicians, a private suite with an office, and a partridge in a pear tree... yeah a lot of money that us mere mortals would never get. i get it though, he is the president and thats kind of the level of treatment i would expect him to get.

 

   Many of his associates have also claimed to have received monoclonal antibody treatment. AFAIK, anyone who gets it still requires an individual FDA waiver for compassionate use. The bigger issue is they tell regular people to go home and wait unless they can't breath, but these guys get to check themselves into medical facilities as soon as they test positive, and start getting treatment that no one else can get, even though they only have minor symptoms.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

4 hours ago, Nature Boy 2.0 said:

Thats what my doc said. He said the treatment Trump got is not available and if it was it's like super duper $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

  I don't have a big issue with Trump getting it just for being president, but I'm not sure about some of the other people (like Chris Christie) who have got it. 

[Steeleballz 7,550]

1 hour ago, laylalex said:

The reality is it's people like me who get the best treatment. I have great health insurance, and what isn't covered by that I can pay for. This was highlighted to me earlier this week, just Wednesday, when we were running around getting COVID tests because of possible exposure. I was able to be seen immediately at a clinic within walking distance, where I was welcomed with kindness and concern into a private room. I was seen by a doctor and a nurse, who listened to the story about the possible exposure, and also to the symptoms I was experiencing. I had a mini-exam, which showed that I had some throat irritation that could indicate strep, and a test for that was ordered as well. The doctor asked about my mental health, and what I was doing to stay well. When I got my results and the all clear back, my doctor and nurse both came by to wish me well and a happy Thanksgiving. These people cared, and had the time to show it.

 

Alex? HMO. 45 minutes on hold getting an approval for the test. The only testing site was on the other side of LA. Once there, we stayed in the car in a gloomy garage for 20 minutes until they gave him a vial to spit in. Handed it back over, that's it. No one asked him anything about his health. Nothing wrong with it, but it was like being a product rolling along a factory line. I knew the workers cared about his health, but they didn't have the time to express it.

 

I got treated like a princess. He got treated like a widget. The difference? Money, frankly. 

 

   Yours certainly sounds better than Alex, but remember there are people that get tested for Covid everyday even though they have no symptoms. There are also people walking around coughing out a lung that don't have access to any testing. I really hope Covid is the impetus for reform. There are great health care systems around the world, and there are some God awful ones, and we really can learn from all of them. We just need to acknowledge that there is no system anywhere as absurd as what we have here, and we really do need to figure out a way to make it better. 

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

1 hour ago, laylalex said:

The reality is it's people like me who get the best treatment. I have great health insurance, and what isn't covered by that I can pay for. This was highlighted to me earlier this week, just Wednesday, when we were running around getting COVID tests because of possible exposure. I was able to be seen immediately at a clinic within walking distance, where I was welcomed with kindness and concern into a private room. I was seen by a doctor and a nurse, who listened to the story about the possible exposure, and also to the symptoms I was experiencing. I had a mini-exam, which showed that I had some throat irritation that could indicate strep, and a test for that was ordered as well. The doctor asked about my mental health, and what I was doing to stay well. When I got my results and the all clear back, my doctor and nurse both came by to wish me well and a happy Thanksgiving. These people cared, and had the time to show it.

 

Alex? HMO. 45 minutes on hold getting an approval for the test. The only testing site was on the other side of LA. Once there, we stayed in the car in a gloomy garage for 20 minutes until they gave him a vial to spit in. Handed it back over, that's it. No one asked him anything about his health. Nothing wrong with it, but it was like being a product rolling along a factory line. I knew the workers cared about his health, but they didn't have the time to express it.

 

I got treated like a princess. He got treated like a widget. The difference? Money, frankly. 

Healthcare system is a mess.

 

But just so you know, going to universal doesn't mean you're treated the way you supposedly were*. It's far more likely you encounter being treated like "Alex". The treatment described are seen in the Canadian healthcare system, and it often comes down to the usual service industry factors -- mood and stress/time.

 

I put an asterisk because you'll make Canadians jealous if you were to go to a hospital while having (private) travelers insurance. They treat those people like gold. Money talks anywhere.

[yuna628 9,646]

3 hours ago, laylalex said:

The reality is it's people like me who get the best treatment. I have great health insurance, and what isn't covered by that I can pay for. This was highlighted to me earlier this week, just Wednesday, when we were running around getting COVID tests because of possible exposure. I was able to be seen immediately at a clinic within walking distance, where I was welcomed with kindness and concern into a private room. I was seen by a doctor and a nurse, who listened to the story about the possible exposure, and also to the symptoms I was experiencing. I had a mini-exam, which showed that I had some throat irritation that could indicate strep, and a test for that was ordered as well. The doctor asked about my mental health, and what I was doing to stay well. When I got my results and the all clear back, my doctor and nurse both came by to wish me well and a happy Thanksgiving. These people cared, and had the time to show it.

 

Alex? HMO. 45 minutes on hold getting an approval for the test. The only testing site was on the other side of LA. Once there, we stayed in the car in a gloomy garage for 20 minutes until they gave him a vial to spit in. Handed it back over, that's it. No one asked him anything about his health. Nothing wrong with it, but it was like being a product rolling along a factory line. I knew the workers cared about his health, but they didn't have the time to express it.

 

I got treated like a princess. He got treated like a widget. The difference? Money, frankly. 

Alex got treated like that because he has KP. Which.... I have some *thoughts* about KP which I won't go into here, but he'd be better off ditching it and getting something else that will still screw him over like we all are, but at least doesn't carry such a poor reputation. Ultimately though, I don't care how a person gets a test, so long as they have an accurate one.

[laylalex 7,282]

Just now, yuna628 said:

Alex got treated like that because he has KP. Which.... I have some *thoughts* about KP which I won't go into here, but he'd be better off ditching it and getting something else that will still screw him over like we all are, but at least doesn't carry such a poor reputation. Ultimately though, I don't care how a person gets a test, so long as they have an accurate one.

He is getting onto my plan -- we are still within the amount of time since our wedding for him to do this and it's also open enrollment still. I hadn't really thought much of it until now because he liked it well enough, and it was a no-brainer for him in terms of "I go here and they do everything here" which appealed to him. He got adequate care this time, but it seems absurd that I basically had the red carpet rolled out for me and he got the bare bones.

 

I agree -- ultimately, it's the accuracy that counts, and I don't doubt his (still waiting...) will be accurate. He has had some treatment at Kaiser that I don't think was great. He had a sports injury last year that wasn't treated well, in my opinion, and when we moved down here the PT available through Kaiser just wasn't great. So we paid out of pocket for him to see an orthopedist and a different physical therapist. I was furious because he was in pain for months when he didn't need to have been, and he was just being brave and saying it wasn't bothering him, until he couldn't hide it anymore. He just thought, well, I guess this is what life is now. 

 

So yes, I think we have similar *thoughts* about Kaiser! 

[Neonred 3,517]

1 hour ago, yuna628 said:

Alex got treated like that because he has KP. Which.... I have some *thoughts* about KP which I won't go into here, but he'd be better off ditching it and getting something else that will still screw him over like we all are, but at least doesn't carry such a poor reputation. Ultimately though, I don't care how a person gets a test, so long as they have an accurate one.

I was talking to a colleague this week that had a brief interaction last weekend with someone that, the next day, tested positive for COVID.  My friend was feeling fine and contemplated getting tested but ultimately decided not to.  He was feeling fine and was very concerned about a false positive result and the consequences of such.

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

1 hour ago, Neonred said:

I was talking to a colleague this week that had a brief interaction last weekend with someone that, the next day, tested positive for COVID.  My friend was feeling fine and contemplated getting tested but ultimately decided not to.  He was feeling fine and was very concerned about a false positive result and the consequences of such.

Right? "Gotta stay locked up, got a cough/runny nose and was dumb enough to report it.."

Edited November 28, 2020 by Burnt Reynolds

[Dashinka 24,110]

35 minutes ago, Burnt Reynolds said:

Right? "Gotta stay locked up, got a cough/runny nose and was dumb enough to report it.."

More Vitamin D and Zinc.  Btw, it is getting hard to find these in the local drug stores.

[yuna628 9,646]

2 hours ago, Neonred said:

I was talking to a colleague this week that had a brief interaction last weekend with someone that, the next day, tested positive for COVID.  My friend was feeling fine and contemplated getting tested but ultimately decided not to.  He was feeling fine and was very concerned about a false positive result and the consequences of such.

I think it is good to get a test if one is exposed. But a negative, even after a brief interaction isn't going to prove much because it could take anywhere in the 14 day window to receive a positive hit. And there have been examples of persons critically ill and for whatever reason, coming up negative (it seems to be rare but can happen). I think there is less concern about false positives (you should get a repeat to be sure and especially if inconclusive), and more about false negatives.. but like I said, depending on the circumstances, a negative can only get you so far.

[Prizm123 1,086]

2 hours ago, Dashinka said:

More Vitamin D and Zinc.  Btw, it is getting hard to find these in the local drug stores.

dont know about zinc, but you can get a bottle with a years worth of d3 at costco

its what i use