HomeMy WebLinkAbout022825 email - KPTZ Listener Questions for Monday_ March 3_ 2025 BOCC Health UpdateALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
County Commissioners, Dr Allison Berry, and Willie Bence,
February’s KPTZ listener questions brought many multi-faceted submissions. I have numbered the submissions 1 through 6 but listeners have many questions for Dr Berry to sort through
and answer. (Good luck!)
Thank you,
Lynn Sorensen
KPTZ Virus Watch Team
Questions for Dr Allison Berry:
1. Doesn't HIPAA contain an exception for the requests of law enforcement?
If someone who was undocumented was receiving care at OMC, what's to prevent ICE from using the Law Enforcement exception (stated in their privacy policy here:
https://www.olympicmedical.org/notice-of-privacy-practices/) to locate a suspect and conduct a targeted immigration raid at the hospital?
I was surprised to hear your claim that HIPAA protected criminal suspects, which includes all of our undocumented neighbors, from being arrested at hospitals. Your claim on the radio
last month doesn't align with the privacy practices we are all supposed to read and acknowledge when receiving medical care in the U.S., does it?
2. I recently read that starting April 1st, Medicare will not cover telehealth from home, and that those of us in rural areas must be in an office or medical facility.
Can you please discuss the reason for this, and how our county which has the highest number of seniors in the state could possible handle the scheduling for so many people who rely on
telehealth with their specialists in Seattle.
3. It seems all these viruses have airborne potential. We were told with Covid we did not have to wash all of our groceries or food because the stomach acid would kill covid. Was it
proven that was true and if true work for all of these viruses?
A friend got Norovirus from a local restaurant. He thought that it was Norovirus because you vomit for two days and then feel bad for two weeks.
Are you encouraging better hygiene for our restaurants? What precautions can we take when eating out since masking is not enough now?
Can we eat eggs or can they contain the virus?? Are eggs being kept away from stores because birds are infected or because of the season when they don't produce many eggs? This is all
very confusing.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends standard, contact, and airborne precautions for patients who have illness consistent with influenza who have had recent exposure
to birds or other animals potentially infected with bird flu.
4. Q: I have had trouble getting info from local health department re protocol (for reentering normal activities) once I have tested positive for COVID.
They and the Washington State Dept of Health refer me to the CDC for this info, but I have come to distrust that what is recommended by CDC is the same as recommendations at local level.
Should I follow CDC guidelines?
Q: CDC guidelines do not designate a particular number of days to isolate after a positive test for COVID. They only say:
"You can return to normal activity when you no longer have a fever and your symptoms are better, for at least 24 hours."
They also suggest you "take precautions for next 5 days, once you return to normal activity, including masking."
Q; My temp runs about 96-97 most of time. When I feel I have a fever, the thermometer never even registers as 98. Should I consider this "having a fever," by my body's standards?
Q My friends often tell me that COVID is now "no worse than the flu," (in terms of how seriously it can affect one's health.) Is this true? They say I worry too much, and I seem to be
the "odd person out" when I say I still believe that getting COVID could have much worse affects than getting the flu. Please advise.
Q: Please explain the protocol for case of "having been exposed," but no positive test for COVID.
Q: Is it unnecessary to test again, if one has had a positive COVID test?
Don't we need to wait til a negative test to reenter normal activity?
5. I’ve been hearing that if you had measles vaccine before 1968 perhaps you should consider a booster. I don’t remember about vaccine but pretty sure I had measles: all the girls in
the neighborhood were brought by to get exposed.
I’m 78. Should I get a booster? Where/how? Will Medicare pay for it?
(Thanks for all you’re doing. We need you (all of public health) more and more.)
6. Given the recent turnover of Federal workers, do you remain confident that you can provide us with accurate information about bird flu, measles, HKU5-CoV-2, and similar viral threats?
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