S3, Ep 17- “We Grieve Who We Once Were”

04/28/22 • 15 min

1 Listener

The majority of Americans are now believed to have had COVID. So as communities lower their guard, the strategy to fight the virus is as much rooted in vaccines and masking as it is with new drugs that are being approved. But for our immunocompromised community, the fear of contracting COVID keeps them isolated while they long for that time when they were once free from chronic illness.

“We're all just one chronic disease away from being chronically ill,” says Zoe Rothblatt, Patient Advocate and Community Outreach Manager at the Global Heathy Living Foundation. “I was once young and healthy before I got the diagnosis. We grieve who we once were and what we used to be able to do.”

Among the highlights in this episode:

1:17: Listener comment

1:43: Plans to expand availability of the COVID drug Paxlovid, which reduces COVID hospitalizations by 90 percent

4:05: The FDA approves the COVID treatment Remdesivir for young kids

5:06: More people are testing positive for COVID

6:04: The CDC believes that 60 percent of Americans and 75 percent of children have been infected with COVID

7:00: Hospitalization rates are stable to declining

7:32: Whatever happened to herd immunity to fight COVID?

9:08: Correlation to methods to contain measles outbreaks

9:49: World Health Organization: measles could become endemic again as a result of vaccine hesitancy

10:18: How the measles vaccine and the COVID vaccine differs

12:51: Steven offers a list of hopeful signs ahead

14:42: What our hosts Steven and Zoe learned from this episode

Contact Our Hosts

Steven Newmark, Director of Policy at GHLF: [email protected]

Zoe Rothblatt, Patient Advocate and Community Outreach Manager at GHLF: [email protected]

We want to hear what you think. Send your comments, or a video or audio clip of yourself, to [email protected]

Catch up on all our episodes on our website or on your favorite podcast channel.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Among the highlights in this episode:

1:17: Listener comment

1:43: Plans to expand availability of the COVID drug Paxlovid, which reduces COVID hospitalizations by 90 percent

4:05: The FDA approves the COVID treatment Remdesivir for young kids

5:06: More people are testing positive for COVID

6:04: The CDC believes that 60 percent of Americans and 75 percent of children have been infected with COVID

7:00: Hospitalization rates are stable to declining

7:32: Whatever happened to herd immunity to fight COVID?

9:08: Correlation to methods to contain measles outbreaks

9:49: World Health Organization: measles could become endemic again as a result of vaccine hesitancy

10:18: How the measles vaccine and the COVID vaccine differs

12:51: Steven offers a list of hopeful signs ahead

14:42: What our hosts Steven and Zoe learned from this episode

Contact Our Hosts

Steven Newmark, Director of Policy at GHLF: [email protected]

Zoe Rothblatt, Patient Advocate and Community Outreach Manager at GHLF: [email protected]

We want to hear what you think. Send your comments, or a video or audio clip of yourself, to [email protected]

Catch up on all our episodes on our website or on your favorite podcast channel.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Previous Episode

S3, Ep 16- "Wear the Damn Mask"

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Not everyone is cheering the news that the mask mandate on planes and trains has ended. While the Justice Department is appealing that ruling, those most susceptible to contracting COVID fear for their health and safety. In this episode, our hosts can’t contain their frustration and anger at those adults unwilling to wear masks for the common good.

“I don't understand all these adults that act like children. For the good of people who are suffering; from immunocompromised, elderly, or whatever the case may be, just like wear the damn mask for a little bit longer,” says Steven Newmark, Director of Policy at the Global Heathy Living Foundation.

Among the highlights in this episode:

1:08: Listener comment

1:35: Federal mask mandate on planes and trains ends

1:56: “The CDC doesn't have the authority over disease prevention,” laments Zoe

2:06: Repealing the mask mandate frustrates Steven

2:29: The hosts walk us through the last two years, from the virus to masks to vaccines to variants

3:42: “All the lessons feel like they've been unlearned by everybody,” says Zoe

3:59: Amid cheers from passengers, a Delta flight attendant announces the mask mandate is over

4:40: “It makes my heart break that that's where society is,” says Zoe

4:44: “I don't understand how all these adults act like children,” says a frustrated Steven

5:52: Lifting the mask mandate hurts immunocompromised people

6:34: Airlines still recommend passengers wear masks

7:49: COVID-19 Patient Support Program Quick Poll results: 20% of respondents had COVID

9:33: FDA authorizes the first COVID breath test

10:56: Finding tailored solutions for the immunocompromised, starting with safety in the workplace

12:44: What our hosts Steven and Zoe learned from this episode

Read more on this topic: "Immunocompromised? What to Do If You Get Pushback for Wearing a Mask in Public": https://creakyjoints.org/living-with-arthritis/coronavirus/daily-living/handle-pushback-for-wearing-mask-immunocompromised/

Contact Our Hosts

Steven Newmark, Director of Policy at GHLF: [email protected]

Zoe Rothblatt, Patient Advocate and Community Outreach Manager at GHLF: [email protected]

We want to hear what you think. Send your comments, or a video or audio clip of yourself, to [email protected]

Catch up on all our episodes on our website or on your favorite podcast channel.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Next Episode

S3, Ep 18- This Nerve-Wracking Time of COVID

Who doesn’t want to leave winter behind and enjoy life beyond COVID? But the truth is we’re living in a place in-between, eager to drop our guards and live life out in the open again but with the invisible threat of variants always looming nearby.

“I saw New York City has moved into the medium yellow risk category as (COVID) cases rise,” says Zoe Rothblatt, Patient Advocate and Community Outreach Manager at the Global Heathy Living Foundation. “That sent off the little alarm bells in my head...it's a little nerve wracking to be moving into this category.”

Among the highlights in this episode

1:30: Listener’s feedback

2:04: Living in this weird period between seasons of COVID

2:36: “We've become more invisible during COVID,” says Zoe

2:50: Advocating helps make you feel you’re doing something positive

3:34: Requests made of the FDA to authorize vaccines for more children

5:00: Parents of young, unvaccinated children feeling anxious

7:24: Fear of future variants, not just sub-variants

9:15: Study: efficacy of fourth dose waning

9:58: Chronically ill know far too well how to plan to be protected

10:27: Changing the phrase “I’m fully vaccinated“ to “my vaccines are up to date”

11:21: Reminder to have all your medical records up to date and in one place

12:21: The CDC is still recommending wearing a mask on public transportation and airlines. Despite a judge striking down mask mandates in those places

12:32: Uncertain what to do with the elevated risk declared in New York City

14:31: What our hosts Steven and Zoe learned from this episode

Contact Our Hosts

Steven Newmark, Director of Policy at GHLF: [email protected]

Zoe Rothblatt, Patient Advocate and Community Outreach Manager at GHLF: [email protected]

We want to hear what you think. Send your comments, or a video or audio clip of yourself, to [email protected]

Catch up on all our episodes on our website or on your favorite podcast channel.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.