How Is Covid-19 Impacting Life in Your City?

[xzmattzx]

Where is Canada in terms of reopening? The US has 3 states now set to go to 100% capacity with day-to-day businesses, but I haven't heard of anything about plans in Canada.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Where is Canada in terms of reopening? The US has 3 states now set to go to 100% capacity with day-to-day businesses, but I haven't heard of anything about plans in Canada.

I'm not sure about reopening but they're about 3 months behind the US in terms of vaccine rollout. We've already begun vaccinating educators and essential workers in the food industry. Canada isn't expected to reach that category until end of June/early July.

Also, last I checked the US is averaging more vaccinations per day than Canada has vaccinated in total thus far.

Edit: Yes, in fact, the US just vaccinated 2.9 million today. Canada is currently at 2.4 million doses total. On a per population basis, they are at 6 doses per 100 people. The US is at 27.

[SlidellWx]

Canada has had a horribly slow vaccine rollout. None of my in-laws over the age of 60 in the greater Toronto area have been vaccinated yet. It's really disheartening, and we hope they are vaccinated soon.

On the flip side, metro New Orleans is now at 11.2% fully vaccinated (ldh.la.gov/coronavirus). The mass vaccination sites set up have been working very well. It's all done by appointment, so there are no long lines.

[Pedestrian]

^^That’s pretty much the way it’s being done everywhere in the US. I got mine at a drive-through site in Tucson (again, I first made an appointment online).

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Where is Canada in terms of reopening? The US has 3 states now set to go to 100% capacity with day-to-day businesses, but I haven't heard of anything about plans in Canada.

Originally Posted by SlidellWx

Canada has had a horribly slow vaccine rollout. None of my in-laws over the age of 60 in the greater Toronto area have been vaccinated yet. It's really disheartening, and we hope they are vaccinated soon.

Did this story get much press at home (in Canada):

Canada Pension Fund CEO Mark Machin Resigns After U.A.E. Vaccine Trip
By Jenny Strasburg and Jacquie McNish
Updated Feb. 26, 2021 10:34 am ET

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board accepted the resignation of Chief Executive Mark Machin, a day after The Wall Street Journal reported he had traveled to the United Arab Emirates and received a Covid-19 vaccination there.

The CPPIB, Canada’s largest pension fund and one of the world’s largest institutional investors, said John Graham would replace Mr. Machin as CEO, effective immediately. Mr. Graham, a senior managing director, has been with the fund for a decade and was previously global head of credit investments . . . .

https://www.wsj.com/articles/canada-...4347392?page=1

Rich, powerful guy flew on a private plane to the UAE to get his shot because he couldn’t get one at home. What’s wierd about this is that Canada famously contracted for something like enough vaccine to vaccinate every Canadian 3 times over, the most per capita of any country in the world.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Where is Canada in terms of reopening? The US has 3 states now set to go to 100% capacity with day-to-day businesses, but I haven't heard of anything about plans in Canada.

As homebucket said, vaccinations have been slow in ramping up in Canada, due in large part to not having any domestic vaccine production capacity.

Our vaccines are coming from Europe as the US has an Americans-first policy and hasn't been exporting them to us.

It varies from province to province but we're in the range of about 5% of the total population having had a first shot only. The fully vaccinated (two shots) proportion is way lower even.

In terms of reopenings it varies a lot from province to province and even from region to region within provinces.

But nowhere in Canada is as wide open as Texas or Florida are, for example.

Masking in stores, etc. is mandatory everywhere, and school is still disrupted to some degree often with a mix of online vs. onsite. But no schools are closed in Canada AFAIK.

Office workers are still very predominantly working from home if they can so CBD office districts are still extremely quiet and in some cases deserted.

Restaurants are open for sit-down with some restrictions in most places, but not quite everywhere.

Gyms are reopened in most places with restrictions again, as are movie theatres with reduced capacity.

I think in some areas bars have reopened but I don't think you can mill around too much and need to wear a mask if you get up to go the bathroom.

Nowhere has nightclubs, festivals, raves or large-scale concerts or sporting events with large crowds.

[nito]

Originally Posted by 10023

Clearly I’ve hit a nerve. That’s what happens when you question national myths.

Coming from the person that relocated across the Atlantic because they lacked the mental strength to abide by a simple lockdown; that is rather funny.

Originally Posted by 10023

I don’t know a single person who has experienced both the US and UK healthcare systems and doesn’t prefer the US. All of these people had insurance in the US, of course. Brits just don’t know what they’re missing, and think having to show up at the local GP nearest their home address in the middle of the workday to sit in a dilapidated waiting room in order to ask for a referral to see the specialist they already know they need to see is normal (for example).

Discarding your unquantifiable anecdotal evidence, they’d be losing on average nearly three years of their life and paying in the order of 2.3x more for the privilege.

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

What an American finds fascinating about the British system (and are we getting too close to "politics here"?) is some of the ancient buildings, albeit modernized inside to some extent I'm sure, still in use.

Approximately 18% of the NHS Estate dates from before 1948, although building age doesn’t relate to interior and amenity age which have probably been refreshed several times over. It would be impractical to provide modern medical healthcare if the interiors and amenities didn’t align.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by nito

Approximately 18% of the NHS Estate dates from before 1948, although building age doesn’t relate to interior and amenity age which have probably been refreshed several times over. It would be impractical to provide modern medical healthcare if the interiors and amenities didn’t align.

I think you'd have trouble finding a hospital building in active use in the US that dates from before the 1950s. And as I said, due to the legal requirement to make them seismically safe, California will soon be chock-a-block with brand new hospitals.

As it happens, I trained in a hospital building that dated from the 1930s but if it's still in use today it must have been gutted and totally redone inside. It had large open wards holding 30 patients or so, the only privacy being curtains between beds. That would be totally unacceptable in American medicine today and so would the nurse's station that couldn't directly visualize and electronically monitor every bed.

Newness isn't just about having modern equipment although that's important. Modern hospital design also makes certain things much easier or even possible like isolation of large numbers of infectious patients (i.e. COVID) and monitoring of more patients with fewer staff. In a competitive environment, it also allows hospitals to make being a patient in them a bit more pleasant with gourmet food and the ability to allow family members to stay in the room with the sick person in some cases (this is especially common in childrens' hospitals).

As I've said, the lower US average lifespan numbers are complicated to interpret, involving things like remoteness from medical facilities, payment issues for chronic care (not acute serious illness--the kind that gets you hospitalized--where there is a right to care regardless of ability to pay) and a lack of medical sophistication, especially among generally uneducated, immigrant and minority groups. Recently high rates of opiate addiction in some US communities are also thought to play a role.

But none of this really effects a direct comparison of middle class urban dwellers. It's hard to find direct comparisons of the health and mortality figures for urban-dwelling members of the middle class only, country to country, but I think they'd be fairly comparable on either shore of the Atlantic, with the British having, perhaps, the edge on chronic care and the US having the edge when it comes to acute hospital care.

[SlidellWx]

Originally Posted by Acajack

As homebucket said, vaccinations have been slow in ramping up in Canada, due in large part to not having any domestic vaccine production capacity.

Our vaccines are coming from Europe as the US has an Americans-first policy and hasn't been exporting them to us.

It varies from province to province but we're in the range of about 5% of the total population having had a first shot only. The fully vaccinated (two shots) proportion is way lower even.

In terms of reopenings it varies a lot from province to province and even from region to region within provinces.

But nowhere in Canada is as wide open as Texas or Florida are, for example.

Masking in stores, etc. is mandatory everywhere, and school is still disrupted to some degree often with a mix of online vs. onsite. But no schools are closed in Canada AFAIK.

Office workers are still very predominantly working from home if they can so CBD office districts are still extremely quiet and in some cases deserted.

Restaurants are open for sit-down with some restrictions in most places, but not quite everywhere.

Gyms are reopened in most places with restrictions again, as are movie theatres with reduced capacity.

I think in some areas bars have reopened but I don't think you can mill around too much and need to wear a mask if you get up to go the bathroom.

Nowhere has nightclubs, festivals, raves or large-scale concerts or sporting events with large crowds.

We haven't asked my in-laws specifically how the rollout is being handled in Canada, but is the actual vaccine distribution being done at the regional level or the provincial level. Most of our family is in the Durham Region (Whitby and Oshawa), but we have one brother-in-law that lives in the Halton Region (Oakville). They are all in their 60s except for an aunt who is in her 80s.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

I think you'd have trouble finding a hospital building in active use in the US that dates from before the 1950s. And as I said, due to the legal requirement to make them seismically safe, California will soon be chock-a-block with brand new hospitals.

Weill-Cornell's original building dates from the early 1930's, and I think Columbia-Presbyterian's original building is a couple years older, even. Mass General's original building is prewar too. I suspect a lot of big, urban medical centers are similar. But your point is likely correct; U.S. hospitals tend to be much newer/better resourced than in Europe. And the older buildings have been so extensively gutted they basically function the same as their newer buildings. Cornell and Columbia have recently built hospital towers too, and they're pretty seamless with the older structures.

And, yeah, I don't understand the lifespan argument. The U.S. has better healthcare and a lower lifespan. The availability of the best healthcare doesn't mean some people won't engage in risky, harmful activities.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by SlidellWx

We haven't asked my in-laws specifically how the rollout is being handled in Canada, but is the actual vaccine distribution being done at the regional level or the provincial level. Most of our family is in the Durham Region (Whitby and Oshawa), but we have one brother-in-law that lives in the Halton Region (Oakville). They are all in their 60s except for an aunt who is in her 80s.

The responsibility cascades down from the feds who receive and distribute the vaccine (all from abroad) to the provinces, who then distribute to local health authorities who do the shots.

[mhays]

Older hospital buildings do exist, but I doubt many are acute care facilities, and any that remain must be on the way out.

"Acute" is a technical term regarding both hospital services and facility requirements. I'm sure you can technically convert an old building, but it would be extremely expensive. And the final product probably wouldn't be lean.

Examples of what lean means: Departments are located to optimize healthcare and staff workflows, like imaging is convenient to orthopedic exam rooms. HVAC systems can be maintained without closing the spaces below or any key services. Rooms are sized optimally. Stuff like this can be much harder if not entirely unworkable in a renovation.

[dave8721]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

As I've said, the lower US average lifespan numbers are complicated to interpret, involving things like remoteness from medical facilities, payment issues for chronic care (not acute serious illness--the kind that gets you hospitalized--where there is a right to care regardless of ability to pay) and a lack of medical sophistication, especially among generally uneducated, immigrant and minority groups. Recently high rates of opiate addiction in some US communities are also thought to play a role.

But none of this really effects a direct comparison of middle class urban dwellers. It's hard to find direct comparisons of the health and mortality figures for urban-dwelling members of the middle class only, country to country, but I think they'd be fairly comparable on either shore of the Atlantic, with the British having, perhaps, the edge on chronic care and the US having the edge when it comes to acute hospital care.

You left out the most important factor that effects US lifespan (and also contributes heavily to covid deaths): Obesity, though obesity generally goes hand in hand with "a lack of medical sophistication, especially among generally uneducated, immigrant and minority groups"

[iheartthed]

I had to get a medicated skin cream while I was in London a couple years ago for a skin issue I had at the time. I was actually just looking for an OTC substitute to use until I could get back to the U.S. But in the U.K. you apparently speak directly to the pharmacist when you go to buy any sort of medication. I described the issue and the guy hands me the prescription strength medication... and charged me £2 for it. It took about 5 minutes and blew my fucking mind.

Getting the same thing in the U.S. would've required waiting a week to go to a dermatologist, a $40 co-pay for the doctor visit, a $40 co-pay for the prescription, and then a trip to Rite-Aid/Walgreens/CVS etc., to wait several hours for them to "fill it". It really put into perspective how many hoops we have to jump through over here to get even the most basic medical care.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by dave8721

You left out the most important factor that effects US lifespan (and also contributes heavily to covid deaths): Obesity, though obesity generally goes hand in hand with "a lack of medical sophistication, especially among generally uneducated, immigrant and minority groups"

I think the UK and Europe are rapidly catching up on the issue of obesity. And in any case, it's a chronic disease and I gave the Brits the edge on management of chronic diseases. The fact is that the US doesn't have enough primary care doctors and the cost of seeing one combined with the time restrictions on appointments mean a lot of people don't get much primary care, at least from a physician. If they get it, it's often from a nurse practitioner these days.

MANAGEMENT of obesity, however, is another matter. I haven't got numbers but I'd bet the US medical system is much more aggressive in management of morbid obesity with such things as bariatric surgery.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Getting the same thing in the U.S. would've required waiting a week to go to a dermatologist, a $40 co-pay for the doctor visit, a $40 co-pay for the prescription, and then a trip to Rite-Aid/Walgreens/CVS etc., to wait several hours for them to "fill it". It really put into perspective how many hoops we have to jump through over here to get even the most basic medical care.

Unless you went to the in-store "minute clinic" which you will increasingly find in US pharmacies (or sometimes down the row in a strip center), usually staffed by a nurse practitioner.

But the experience you described is more a matter of what drugs are approved for dispensing without a prescription by which category of provider than anything else. Where I am presently in Arizona, I can go to Mexico 40 miles away and buy all sorts of drugs, some of which are considered "mind altering" and strictly controlled as well as antibiotics and others over the counter in a pharmacia. Is this a better system? That's a matter of opinion.

As we all noticed when the UK was the first to approve COVID vaccines, they are a little more relaxed about who can prescribe and dispense what types of meds than we are.

Also, the co-pays you described depend completely on the type of insurance you have. In my case, if I got it from Walgreen's or a supermarket pharmacy it might have cost me nothing. If I got it from CVS I would have paid full price because my insurance doesn't have a contract with CVS. The doctor visit would likely have been free in any case, whether I saw a dermatologist or an NP at the "minute clinic".

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

So how do we feel about this? Comments (in keeping with the ban on politics in this thread, please address the policy not in terms of political parties or specific politicians)?


https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/ar...a-16004460.php

I saw the graphic and thought it was interesting... And since it didn't give the breakdown of which LA County ZIP codes were being prioritized for COVID vaccinations, I looked it up, and found this, in case anyone is interested: https://www.kcra.com/article/califor...list/35770433#

I'm happy to know that my parents will be getting their COVID vaccines soon, through their HMO (Kaiser Permanente); they are in their late 70s. My sister got vaccinated some weeks ago because she is a middle school teacher. My partner and I can't wait to get vaccinated, we plan on doing it as soon as we are allowed to---we're both 50 years old.

[sopas ej]

I haven't really been going through this thread, so this question might've been asked before, but who here knows anyone, or knows OF anyone, who's had COVID?

Two of my co-workers had it; one of them went through very severe symptoms, with the headache, nausea/vomiting/diarrhea; the other one said he just felt really fatigued for 3 or 4 days, and headache-ey for a day or two; his wife had it too and went through worse symptoms. A few other co-workers were exposed to it but tested negative, and quarantined for 14 days.

Another co-worker of mine, her brother died of complications due to COVID. He died about a month ago, and the funeral was only last week, or something. Very sad. A friend of my parents, her brother also died due to COVID complications.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I haven't really been going through this thread, so this question might've been asked before, but who here knows anyone, or knows OF anyone, who's had COVID?

Two of my co-workers had it; one of them went through very severe symptoms, with the headache, nausea/vomiting/diarrhea; the other one said he just felt really fatigued for 3 or 4 days, and headache-ey for a day or two; his wife had it too and went through worse symptoms. A few other co-workers were exposed to it but tested negative, and quarantined for 14 days.

Another co-worker of mine, her brother died of complications due to COVID. He died about a month ago, and the funeral was only last week, or something. Very sad. A friend of my parents, her brother also died due to COVID complications.

At this point, are there still people who don't at least know someone who has had it? I've lost count of how many people I know, or know of, who've had it. I also know of a few people who died too. A friend just recently buried two grandparents within a month that died from it.

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I saw the graphic and thought it was interesting... And since it didn't give the breakdown of which LA County ZIP codes were being prioritized for COVID vaccinations, I looked it up, and found this, in case anyone is interested: https://www.kcra.com/article/califor...list/35770433#

I'm happy to know that my parents will be getting their COVID vaccines soon, through their HMO (Kaiser Permanente); they are in their late 70s. My sister got vaccinated some weeks ago because she is a middle school teacher. My partner and I can't wait to get vaccinated, we plan on doing it as soon as we are allowed to---we're both 50 years old.

That annoys me beyond anything. People in their 70s are 55x more likely to be hospitalized from getting Covid than a 5-17-year-old. Yet these governors are succumbing to teacher unions.