RFK Jr. DNR’d the US Healthcare System

[NB: check the byline, thanks. /~Rayne]

I’ve been sick with COVID this previous week, lacking the primary courses of the autumn semester.

I used to be uncovered by a most cancers affected person who completed a second spherical of chemotherapy earlier this month. They weren’t vaccinated inside the final 12 months as a result of they had been present process chemo.

They had been uncovered after Saturday night mass at their Catholic church in Florida, the place others round them had been seemingly not vaccinated, and undoubtedly unmasked, not like the most cancers affected person. A dementia affected person who refused to masks was the vector between the congregation and the most cancers affected person.

The most cancers affected person continues to be recovering and now at about 90% of their capability. They’re shifting very slowly, pondering simply as slowly. They’ll’t be left alone as a result of they don’t have the response time they used to have.

I’m about 95% recovered, nonetheless have some sinus congestion and lingering crud in my chest. My ribs and my throat really feel nonetheless really feel bruised from hacking up my lungs so laborious earlier this week.

What I’m not sure I’ll recuperate from is the trauma of getting to verify my father the most cancers affected person for a pulse final week when he collapsed on the kitchen flooring, reviving him, getting him up and shifting and into my automobile so I may rush him from their distant dwelling to an pressing care facility greater than half-hour away.

I didn’t assume to place a masks on him or a masks on myself on the time as a result of I used to be anxious one thing had gone very incorrect after my dad’s two-year struggle with most cancers. I used to be anxious concerning the monsoon-like storm I needed to drive by means of to get to pressing care. I believed erroneously he had recovered from COVID and wasn’t contagious as a result of he hadn’t had a fever and he hadn’t been coughing.

So I unintentionally scorching boxed my dad’s COVID-laden exhalations in my automobile for half-hour making an attempt to avoid wasting my father. I’d do it once more if it got here all the way down to it however I ought to by no means have needed to.

This nation has been deeply broken sufficient by the anti-vaccine motion for the reason that COVID pandemic started; it shouldn’t need to face worse.

~ ~ ~

By now you’ve learn Peterr’s Thursday publish concerning the authorities’s internecine warfare on the Facilities for Illness Management and the excision of director Susan Monarez, adopted by the protest resignations of senior CDC workers in assist of Monarez. The senior workers who resigned are:

• Demetre Daskalakis, former director of the Nationwide Heart for Immunization and Respiratory Illnesses
• Debra Houry, former chief medical officer and deputy director for program and science
• Daniel Jernigan, former director of the Nationwide Heart for Rising and Zoonotic Infectious Illnesses
• Jennifer Layden, former director of workplace of public well being knowledge, science, know-how

Every of those people has a deep background and training in medication, healthcare, or public well being. None of then ought to have been anticipated compromise themselves to assist our nation’s public well being.

None of them ought to have been handled so shabbily by RFK Jr.’s shit-tastic administration of HHS. It’s under no circumstances hyperbole to name it shit-tastic; I strongly suggest listening to The New York Occasions’ podcast interview with Demetre Daskalakis as a result of it can rid you of any doubt the label is deserved.

Right here’s an excerpt I discovered notably telling:

DASKALAKIS: Yeah. So this was not associated to ACIP, the announcement by the Secretary to vary the childhood schedule. I realized concerning the change of the childhood schedule on X.

ABRAMS: You realized about it on social media —

DASKALAKIS: Sure, ma’am.

ABRAMS: — like the remainder of us.

DASKALAKIS: That’s right.

ABRAMS: Wow.

DASKALAKIS: So I used to be sitting in a gathering with senior leaders at CDC. And as I used to be sitting there speaking concerning the outbreaks that I used to be managing, my telephone blew up with, “I didn’t know you guys had been altering the youngsters’s schedule.”

ABRAMS: Individuals texting you?

DASKALAKIS: Yeah.

ABRAMS: Wow.

DASKALAKIS: Not from HHS, individuals on the earth. As a result of they noticed —

ABRAMS: Individuals on the earth, your family and friends or whoever seeing this and being like, this doesn’t sound such as you.

DASKALAKIS: Appropriate. So we then requested the query, what’s occurring? Can we see some sort of documentation? As a result of they had been like, implement the change. However we’ve by no means seen something in writing, so we requested if we may see the supporting knowledge that led to the choice. And we had been instructed no.

ABRAMS: Simply flat out no?

DASKALAKIS: Flat out no.

ABRAMS: However can I ask you, did you ever even have a dialog with Kennedy about any of this or any of his senior staffers?

DASKALAKIS: No.

ABRAMS: Or is it simply that —

DASKALAKIS: No.

ABRAMS: No communication.

DASKALAKIS: No.

ABRAMS: Did you ever attempt?

DASKALAKIS: Sure.

ABRAMS: And what would occur?

DASKALAKIS: So we supplied to do briefings when he first began. I feel some individuals had been in a position to transient some decrease stage workers, however not workers that had been Secretary Kennedy’s workers. So nobody from my middle has ever briefed the Secretary.

ABRAMS: On something.

DASKALAKIS: Appropriate, on something.

ABRAMS: So principally, don’t have a line into RFK, and he’s not searching for out your recommendation or the recommendation of people who find themselves theoretically imagined to advise him on issues like this. How did you’re feeling about that on the time?

DASKALAKIS: I felt that this was extremely atypical, that we weren’t in a position to share our experience up the chain to have the ability to present data that could possibly be significant and thought course of. And so what I saved pondering was, we’re not doing this, however there positive is a viewpoint up there. I’m wondering who’s doing it.

My job is to be sure that we’re giving good science so individuals could make good choices. And if I can’t be sure that science is untouched by non-scientific affect, I can’t say that I’m doing my job.

I consider that CDC science goes to be compromised by HHS. And if that science turns into biased, if it will get unduly influenced, then I can’t have my title on that science as one thing that I feel must be used to make necessary choices for individuals’s lives.

Once more, I strongly suggest listening to this podcast. The opposite disturbing aspect is the way in which through which Abrams simply plows on; it could possibly be an artifact of modifying, but it surely could possibly be one other of the various methods through which media has not paused and shouted on the public how disturbing and inappropriate are RFK Jr.’s and Trump’s administration of public well being, in a misguided effort to stay impartial a couple of topic which isn’t and might’t be impartial in any respect.

How can a US media outlet be impartial within the face of what seems to be more and more like an occupation of presidency companies by hostile forces? Within the case of the CDC underneath RFK Jr.’s HHS, it’s damaging the administration of vaccinations to the complete nation whereas undermining the nation’s potential to answer pandemic and bioterrorism, to not point out its potential to soundly present primary healthcare. Nobody shall be unaffected; nobody might be impartial.

~ ~ ~

I’m not kidding after I say our healthcare is now totally compromised. Our first responders and healthcare suppliers can’t be assured of vital vaccinations. From an ER physician on Mastodon:

That is absolute bullshit.

One of many largest purveyors of anti-vaccine propaganda, one with none healthcare training and coaching, has determined the individuals most definitely to be uncovered to ailments every day are not eligible for COVID vaccinations if they don’t have a restricted variety of pre-existing power well being issues. From Jen Bendery on Bluesky:

(For the report, my autoimmune dysfunction which has value me lung capability, will not be on this checklist. I’m not eligible for an additional COVID shot till I flip 65.)

It is a recipe for catastrophe. Not solely are rural hospitals in danger due to cuts to Medicare underneath Trump’s Huge Fugly Invoice, all hospitals are in danger if their workers can’t be vaccinated readily within the face of a brand new COVID wave.

If my father had been to turn out to be sick once more and collapse like he did, may he be assured there could be healthcare personnel able to obtain and deal with him? Or would possibly the healthcare system be overwhelmed and triage him to the very finish of the road?

The identical goes for any of the remainder of us, actually. How can anybody within the US be assured the healthcare system will be capable of reply if RFK Jr. is allowed to proceed to hack away at it with out supporting knowledge, with out assist by seasoned, certified professionals, with out enough oversight by Congress?

~ ~ ~

Of the various issues that raced by means of my thoughts as I attempted to revive my dad was the thought we had not talked about DNR standing.

I’m fairly positive my dad and mother have each indicated on healthcare POAs they’re DNR underneath sure circumstances.

What occurs, although, when one in all them collapses at dwelling? Ought to I’ve left him on the ground whereas making certain his consolation?

Clearly I didn’t try this.

However a bit of over every week later I can’t assist surprise if RFK Jr. has now compelled DNR on swaths of Individuals, and we’re already DNR the place we’re in our personal houses whether or not we notice it or not.

If our healthcare system collapses due to his anti-vaccine and anti-healthcare regime, is he not assuring our healthcare system can’t resuscitate many people?

How would this be totally different underneath a hostile international occupation?