'National Chicken Soup Day!'

There are some books that are written to see you through the darkest days, to help shine light through the ponderous pitch-black clouds of the sky that hangs overhead.

The Chicken Soup For The Soul series of books was produced explicitly for that purpose. Many are the readers who have had this book by their side as they do their best to live through the worst days of their life, and it’s all thanks to Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen that these books came to light.

Chicken Soup For The Soul Day celebrates the light these two men have shed into the lives of others through this much-needed series of books.

Read more here. . . .



November 12, 2023

THE NEW COVID VACCINE IS AVAILABLE.

  IT IS A VERY GOOD MATCH FOR THE CURRENT VARIANTS IN CIRCULATION. THIS IS KEEPING PEOPLE FROM HAVING A MORE DIFFICULT TIME WITH INFECTION AND KEEPING PEOPLE

OUT OF THE HOSPITAL. 

CONSIDER BOOSTING WITH THE NEW COVID VACCINE TO REDUCE RISK OF COVID AND TO REDUCE COVID SYMPTOM SEVERITY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON.

FLU SEASON HAS BEGUN.  WE HAVE SEEN A FEW CASES…BUT NO INCREASE YET. GET YOUR FLU SHOT NOW AS IT TAKES 3 WEEKS TO BE FULLY EFFECTIVE.

THERE IS A STEADY DRUMBEAT OF COVID IN THE VALLEY. WE HEAR OF 10+ CASES EACH WEEK. WE CONTINUE TO SEE COVID PRIMARILY IN TRAVELERS, IN PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT HAVE COVID YET, AND IN PEOPLE WHO ARE SPENDING TIME IN CLOSE QUARTERS WITH LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE.   

XBB1 IS THE COMMON SUB-TYPE AND EG.5, IS THE MAJOR VARIANT.    NUMBERS REMAIN UNCLEAR DUE TO LACK OF STANDARDIZED REPORTING, BUT BASED ON GENERAL OBSERVATIONS AND OUR PATIENTS’ REPORTS, WE ARE AT A HIGH LEVEL. WORRY FACTOR IS LOW FOR TWO REASONS…. THE VIRUS IS ATTENUATED (MILDER) & THERE IS BROAD IMMUNITY IN THE COMMUNITY.

TIMING OF VACCINATIONS THIS FALL AND WINTER:  

•       FLU SHOT
•       COVID SHOT
•       RSV SHOT

DO NOT GET ALL SHOTS AT THE SAME TIME.  RSV SHOULD BE TAKEN ALONE.

IF YOU WISH, YOU CAN GET FLU AND COVID AT THE SAME TIME. THAT IS PROVEN SAFE AND EFFECTIVE.

IF YOU ARE GETTING MULTIPLE SHOTS, PLEASE GIVE 2 WEEKS BETWEEN SHOTS

TOP PODCAST DONE WEEKLY

BY DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM

(UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA)  

He is a world-renowned epidemiologist who was credited with first elucidating TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME in the 1980’s.

He provides comprehensive and understandable/actionable ideas related to COVID.

Dr. Osterholm Update: COVID-19

November 2, 2023

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/episode-143-immunological-chess-match

(Same as last week's.... New podcast next week!)



'Immunological Chess Match'

In this episode, Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss national and international COVID trends, the low uptake in the latest COVID vaccine, and share thoughts about which infectious agents have pandemic potential. Dr. Osterholm also answers an ID query about influenza vaccination and shares a moment of joy from one of our listeners.

According to Dr. Osterholm……

• GET YOUR 5th BOOSTER (7th SHOT) IF YOU HAVE NOT HAD COVID OR IT’S BEEN LONGER THAN 4 MONTHS SINCE YOU HAD COVID YOURSELF
• A GOOD MASK, N95 OF KN95, DOES HELP REDUCE TRANSMISSION…. USE IT AT HIGH-RISK LOCATIONS
• GOOD VENTILATION IN ROOMS/HOME/BUSINESSES IS A GREAT WAY TO PREVENT TRANSMISSION
• VACCINE, VACCINE, VACCINE…THIS IS OUR PROTECTION.  ALL VACCINES ARE EFFECTIVE AND WITH TIME WE ARE SEEING THAT THE J&J VACCINE IS PICKING UP STEAM AND GIVES SOLID LONG-TERM PROTECTION.
• BOOST, BOOST, BOOST…THIS WILL BE NECESSARY TO PREVENT RECURRING SURGE AND TO RAISE ANTIBODY LEVELS IN THOSE ALREADY SET WITH THE PRIMARY COVID VACCINE SERIES.
• ANTIGEN TESTING IS USEFUL, BUT OF LIMITED VALUE. DON’T DEPEND ON IT…BUT USE IT.

Know that unvaccinated remain a source of potential infection.  Avoiding unvaccinated persons will reduce your risk of COVID.

After you received your COVID vaccinations, please let us know!

We would like to document this information into your chart.



BUT FIRST.......

PLEASE COMPLETE THE INFORMATION ON THE CARD BEFORE YOU SEND IT TO US!

What we need:

1. Your name
2. Date vaccination received
3. Brand name
4. Lot number if available
5. Which dose you have received

**Email your COVID vaccine completed info HERE

At our office, we are continuing to follow CDC guidelines and will strive for ways to keep our patients and staff safe.



We recommend that all unvaccinated and vaccinated patients and visitors entering our office cover their nose and mouth at all times.

To prevent further spread of the Delta & Omicron variants, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its mask guidance on March 21, 2022, to recommend that fully vaccinated people wear masks when in areas with “substantial” and “high” transmission of Covid-19.

We have a limited supply of paper masks and will make these available to patients while they last, however, we encourage you to bring your own facial covering.

HV.1 was documented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in low numbers over the summer. But now the strain has the highest prevalence of any, claiming responsibility for about a quarter of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. as of late October.

The strain is still a subvariant of omicron – as is every strain that’s in circulation. It’s a descendent of EG.5, which is the second most common variant in the U.S. at nearly 22% of new cases, according to estimates from the CDC.

To be sure, health officials aren’t sounding the alarm on the latest variant. That’s because it appears to be very similar to EG.5, also known as “eris.” So similar, in fact, that the World Health Organization doesn’t separate the two in its estimates. Eris is the most prominent strain globally, accounting for about 46% of global cases as of late October, according to WHO. That estimate also includes cases from HV.1 and another similar strain, HK.5.



HV.1 doesn’t appear to cause more severe disease, but it is expected to bring the same high transmissibility that eris has. And with more cases comes more variants with more mutations.

Read more here. . . .

We Are Here to Take Care of Your Healthcare Needs.

We Are Here to Serve!

Our office is using all techniques to reduce exposure to a minimum during your visit. These include: 

·       Temperature checks of all patients and staff.

·       Masks for all people in the office.

·       Cleansing of hands and surfaces repeatedly.

·       Multiple Super-HEPA filters to filter out potential virus and particles in the office.

·       High Level UV light air cleansing in the office to eliminate bacteria and viruses in the air.

OUR OFFICE SCHEDULE

DOORS OPEN     

7AM - 4PM Monday through Thursday

7AM - 11AM Friday

IN OFFICE

APPOINTMENTS: MONDAY – THURSDAY

7AM – 11:15AM & 1PM – 3:30PM

APPOINTMENTS: FRIDAY

7AM – 10:30 AM

DR. LAKIN WILL CONTINUE ‘TELEHEALTH’ VISITS WITH FaceTime, WhatsApp or ZOOM WHEN NEEDED.

SUMMARY OF A COVID KIT & CHECK LIST:

This is what you should have at home to prepare for possible COVID, to monitor yourself if you were to get infected:

DIGITAL ORAL THERMOMETER: MANY BRANDS ARE FINE…HERE IS ONE EXAMPLE:

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Thermometer-Reading-Waterproof-Indicator/dp/B087T3S4TR/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=THERMOMETER&qid=1597159324&sr=8-6

PULSE OXIMETER:  TO CHECK OXYGEN LEVELS. MANY BRANDS ARE FINE...HERE IS ONE EXAMPLE:

https://www.amazon.com/Innovo-Fingertip-Oximeter-Plethysmograph-Perfusion/dp/B07YVGZPRZ/ref=sr_1_20?dchild=1&keywords=PULSE+OXI&qid=1597159388&sr=8-20

OTHER ITEMS FROM THE HOME MEDICAL KIT:

·       TYLENOL, ADVIL, OR ALEVE

·       Sudafed 30mg tablets

·       Chlorpheniramine 4mg tablets

·       Robitussin DM syrup

·       Imodium AD

'My New Favorite Way To Make Chicken Soup'

Today we're making lemon chicken orzo soup.

This is a great way to enjoy a hearty bowl of chicken soup.

I hope you enjoy it!