![]() ![]() ![]() Other examples of how the virus has deterred patients from seeking needed care include reductions in hospitalizations for acute myocardial infarction and refusal to undergo life-saving organ transplantation. 3 The trade-off could be severe: exposing children to a series of vaccine-preventable infections that could hit with force once social distancing measures are relaxed. The fear of Covid-19 may become “irrational” for some patients (i.e., ultimately not in their best interest) if it inappropriately leads them to overlook other serious health risks that clearly outweigh the likelihood of contracting and suffering harm from Covid-19.įor instance, even though children have tended to be lower risk for poor outcomes from Covid-19, the rates of routine pediatric vaccinations have plummeted over the last several months due to infection concerns. Nonetheless, based on what is known, some aspects of this fear may be more founded (SARS-CoV-2 spreads more easily than other viruses such as seasonal influenza) while others less so (the majority of individuals will experience mild to minimal illness). To do so, health care systems must create sustainable processes for vetting and adjusting to new findings about Covid-19. ![]() Health care providers should certainly not dismiss patient fears however, infection risk depends on patient factors, and we need more time to understand details such as the probability of contracting the virus in health care settings or suffering severe virus-related complications. Much is still unknown about Covid-19, and it remains too early to judge whether patients’ fear of contact with the health system is appropriate or exaggerated. ![]() 1 Nearly 30% of individuals reported actively avoiding of delaying care due to concerns about contracting the virus. Many patients have been gripped by fear of contracting the virus, leading to sharp decreases in emergency room and hospital admissions and a nearly 60% drop in physical office visits. Strategies to re-open health care must also account for human psychology. While important, however, these measures may not be enough. So far, these efforts have focused on several elements of a staged re-expansion: ensuring adequate supply of personal protective equipment for employees building sufficient capacity to test patients and staff and implementing robust cleaning and physical distancing policies. However, with financial pressures mounting and infection rates beginning to flatten in certain regions, leaders are beginning to reopen their systems’ clinics and surgical suites. Many states eased mask requirements for those who are vaccinated after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised that fully vaccinated people could go without masks in most indoor and outdoor settings.Over the last few months, health care systems across the country have aligned behind a common strategy: curtail less urgent services, including elective surgeries and non-essential office visits, to create capacity and absorb surges in Covid-19 cases. Some states continue to require the use of masks for unvaccinated people, and some governors are still mandating that businesses observe social distancing rules, even as they lift capacity limits. In the few states that have yet to fully reopen, governors have set targets for doing so based on vaccination rates or other health measures.Ī full reopening still comes with rules in many places. States have moved closer to lifting all restrictions on businesses and gatherings as the vaccination campaign has progressed. A nationwide patchwork of rules for businesses and residents resulted over months of trial and error, as governors reopened some sectors only to later re-close and reopen them again as infection rates rose and fell. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, it has been largely up to state and local officials to determine what restrictions, if any, to impose to slow new infections. It appears nearly the entire country will be open with few restrictions by the Fourth of July. Once 70 percent of residents have been fully vaccinated.įurther reopening plans will be announced before the current executive order expires on July 4.Īll across the country, mask mandates have eased, restrictions have lifted and most states have gone back to business as usual. ![]()
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