photo: Dr. Bill Honigman’s HC Forum Presentation 2017

By Dr. Bill Honigman, Healthcare Human Rights, Coordinator – Progressive Democrats of America

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COVID & MFA REALITY CHECK

1,046,288 Total COVID19 deaths in US to date*

418,515 US COVID19 deaths prevented with MFA**

*Harvard University Daily Tracker

**Lancet Comm, Feb 2021

This is now our 135th consecutive weekly PDA Online Town Hall that began when #COVID19 first hit the U.S. in the spring of 2020.  And today on this 21st anniversary of the infamous attacks of 9/11 of 2001, we must report once again that the United States continues as the world leader in domestic deaths due to the pandemic proving it values Homeland Security over Household Security.

The Harvard University daily tracking center is reporting the U.S. COVID19 total death toll today at 1,046,288, which means that an estimated 418,515 total number of Americans have now died from COVID19 that would still be alive today if we had a Universal Healthcare system of #SinglePayer expanded and improved #MedicareForAll (MFA).  

That’s once again over a thousand more, specifically 1,098 more Americans, who died unnecessarily from COVID just this week, which is coincidentally about as many as who died in each of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City on 9-11 of 2001.

This week, world new cases and death rate generally declined, while OurWorldInData.org is reporting only an estimated 67.8% of world population have received at least one dose of the COVID19 vaccine, and still only 21% of those who happen to live in low-income countries have received their first dose.  The U.S. still has only 67.6% with a complete initial series, which means no significant change since last week’s reporting.  

And, the Johns Hopkins Resource Center ranks COVID19 vaccinations this week with the U.S. once again at No. 67, still just behind India and Sri Lanka, and just ahead of El Salvador and Mongolia.  Hardly what we’d expect of the wealthiest country on earth.

And worst state status in the U.S. for COVID vaccination rates continues to be Wyoming, at only 51.9% of its population fully vaxxed, otherwise in company with other red states making up the bottom third of all states in this most basic of public health measures.

This week, the new bivalent COVID19 vaccines were rolled out and are now available at least in most areas of the U.S. to those who qualify, with those newly re-vaccinated generally reporting no new side effects from the new intervention, which is expected to provide even broader coverage to prevent more serious illness and contagiousness.  As we have noted throughout, if widely accepted and acted upon, this intervention alone could profoundly bring the incidence of infections down from pandemic to endemic levels, much like the annual flu numbers, and finally allow for fewer restrictions in social discourse and lower risk for those most vulnerable, most notably the elderly, immunocompromised, and our communities of color, which have been so inequitably victimized by this public health domestic and international attack.

Of course, availing oneself of this new vaccine or any other recommended treatment, depends on belief systems based on science and supported by trusted primary and preventive care-givers, at least to overcome the plague of medical misinformation that continues to drive so many away from doing what’s right for their own health and the health of others around them.  

And for that we need what every other advanced country in the world already has, Universal Healthcare, not just universal vaccines or universal testing, which does not include contact tracing and care for medical comorbidities.

Clearly, and especially now that we are seeing declining numbers of COVID19 infections and deaths, we still need Single Payer expanded and improved Medicare for All, to significantly further relieve the threat not only from this pandemic, but to mitigate the impact of those public health challenges yet to come.

Thanks as always for listening and for doing all that you can to be the change that we need, and onward!

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Watch the previous PDA Healthcare Emergency Town Halls here.

Watch the previous PDA Sunday Progressive Town Halls here.