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Because a growing number of Medicare-eligible patients — currently 48% of 58 million beneficiaries — are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, the problem of “no prior authorization” happens increasingly frequently these days. Some medical professionals believe that before their gullible patients switch their coverage, they should make a special effort to inform them of the drawbacks of these plans.

Should COVID continue to be treated differently than other respiratory viruses? CDC and ID physicians note that COVID is more highly transmissible than other URIs we have more history with, and the outcomes of severe illness and long COVID are important differences as well. And the US is still seeing some 300 deaths per day from COVID.

In a study of 844,000 children and adolescents without prior COVID infection, vaccine effectiveness was approximately 61% in children and 67% in adolescents versus the delta variant, but only approximately 16% and 26%, respectively, versus omicron.

Some experts responded to the recently published study, stating that “These authors have been pushing back against treating COVID as airborne for 3 years,” and that the study “will be used to justify policies of supplying healthcare workers … with inadequate protection.”

The pandemic has caused doctors stress, financial loss, and other issues, (approximately 8% of doctors (representing about 16,000 practices) closed their doors in 2020), but physician dissatisfaction with the profession has been an issue for years. According to a 2018 survey, 54% of those polled were thinking about retiring in the next five years (including 30% of those under 50). Why? What are the primary reasons that so many doctors want to retire?

The excess mortality amounts to 150,000 to 470,000 deaths. Mortality rates were lower, and in keeping with peer country comparisons, in the 10 states with highest vaccination levels.