‘…the Austrian government became the first Western democracy to federally mandate the entire adult population (except those with medication contraindication) to be vaccinated to protect them and others from the killer COVID-19 viruses.’
‘Long’ COVID
FOLLOWING a COVID-19 infection (Post COVID Syndrome), ‘Long’ COVID is a recognized entity of long-haul COVID-19, which could be unrecognized or undiagnosed, with any combination of these symptoms: “brain fog” or cognitive dysfunction, troubled breathing or shortness of breath, fatigue, malaise, and sense of “not feeling well.” Vaccines have been helpful to these chronic patients, making them feel better. A complete medical evaluation is warranted to rule out any specific organ malady. A patient-specific rehabilitation, including a physical exercise regimen, plays a vital role in the management of these patients.
Omicron on plastic
While Omicron, especially the stealth variant, has been found to be the most rapidly transmissible SARS-CoV2 strain, recent studies have shown it to survive longer than previous strains on plastic surfaces and skin. Omicron “lasts on plastic for nearly 200 hours (8-1/2 days) and on the skin for about 21 hours.” The original variant survived on plastic for 56 hours, the Delta for 114 hours. This obviously means Omicron could be spread through touch also, besides through inhalation, the reason for the recent rapid massive vertical surges. Frequent handwashing, besides masking and social distancing, could be lifesaving.
Omicron kills
Compared to the original Wuhan strain of COVID-19 and the Delta variant, Omicron has been described as a milder virus. While it is milder, it is not mild. So far, Omicron has been killing about 2,200 in the United States each day, higher than the peak 2,078 deaths from Delta in September 2021. Omicron deaths have surpassed the highest 7-day average of the “more severe” Delta strain, which is less rapidly transmissible than Omicron.
Getting vaccinated, using facemasks, social distancing, and personal hygiene are measures that will prevent replication and mutation of the virus in the bodies of the unvaccinated, and its rapid spread of more severe future strains to others.
Omicron stats
“During the Omicron waves, unvaccinated adults were 23 times more likely to be hospitalized, and nearly four times as likely to be infected compared to vaccinated adults who had also received a booster,” according to data from Los Angeles County.
Compared to fully vaccinated but non-boosted adults, unvaccinated individuals were more than five times more likely to be hospitalized, and about twice as likely to be infected during this time, reported Sharon Balter, MD, of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and colleagues.
Moreover, unvaccinated adults were significantly more likely to require ICU admission, intubation for mechanical ventilation, or die compared to vaccinated adults with or without a booster, according to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Austria’s vaccine mandate
As people in the United States (at least 20 percent of them) prefer to exercise their freedom of choice and civil liberties to dodge the vaccines and as politicians take advantage of political correctness in order not to lose votes, existing proven science (that includes vaccination of the population) to quickly end the COVID-19 pandemic in this country has been negligently disregarded by the government to the detriment of almost a million Americans who were killed by COVID-19.
Obviously believing and heeding science more than politics and political correctness, the Austrian government became the first Western democracy to federally mandate the entire adult population (except those with medication contraindication) to be vaccinated to protect them and others from the killer COVID-19 viruses. Polls show that the mandate, a pioneering move, is supported by majority of the people. This only shows how wise, intelligent, and compassionate the Austrian leaders and the people are. They apparently understand that national welfare, well-being, and safety take precedence and prevail over freedom of choice and individual civil rights, when it comes to defeating this global killer.
This bold “science-based” decision by the country’s leaders is Solomonic and inspiring.
Austria and the other European countries to follow suit are teaching all other countries around the world on how to properly, effectively, and more rapidly contain COVID-19 and future pandemics by rigidly following our currently available internationally-accepted and proven epidemiology protocol in managing infectious diseases, with mandatory vaccination and/or vaccine passes to access public places.
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Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, a Health Public Advocate, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian and anti-graft foundation in the United States. Visit our websites: philipSchua.com and FUN8888.com Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com