'One Health Day'!

Addressing global health issues requires collaboration, innovative solutions, and sustainable practices to improve well-being worldwide.

When people work together for the good of every plant, animal and human on the planet, there’s a lot of good that can be accomplished for the benefit of all!

One Health Day is part of a larger collaborative effort to build networks of people and organizations that will join together in making the world a healthier place for everyone.

Telehealth Visits

Dr. Lakin is using ZOOM,

FACETIME and WHATSAPP to connect with you

for a 'Telehealth' visit if needed.

You can connect using your iPad, iPhone, Android phone, a laptop, or a PC with a camera.

November 3, 2024

*NEW COVID VACCINE IS IN PHARMACIES. IT IS STILL A SOLID MATCH FOR THE CURRENT COVID VIRUS.

SEASONAL FLU SHOT IS AVAILABLE IN PHARMACIES AND IN OUR OFFICE.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FALL/WINTER 2024 IMMUNIZATIONS:

DATA CONTINUES TO SUPPORT BENEFIT FROM COVID VACCINATION. BENEFITS OF THE SHOT INCREASE WITH AGE AND WITH CONDITIONS THAT PREDISPOSE TO COMPLICATIONS (EMPHYSEMA/COPD, HEART FAILURE, DIABETES, IMMUNE SUPPRESSION)

IF YOU ARE GETTING COVID VACCINE, YOU SHOULD GET IT AS SOON AS FEASIBLE.  YOU CAN GET IT ALONE OR WITH YOUR FLU SHOT (IT IS SAFE AND PROVEN TO HAVE NO EXTRA SIDE EFFECTS WHEN TAKEN TOGETHER)

IF YOU ARE GETTING THE FLU VACCINE FOR THIS SEASON….GET THAT IN OCTOBER, OR EARLY NOVEMBER IDEALLY.

CURRENT COVID STATUS:

THE CURRENT COVID STRAINS ARE VERY CONTAGIOUS AND PRESENT THROUGHOUT ARIZONA… WE ARE SEEING SEVERAL EACH WEEK, MOST DUE TO TRAVEL OR LARGE EVENT ATTENDANCE.

IF YOU GET SICK AFTER TRAVEL OR ATTENDING A BIG GATHERING… DO A COVID TEST. ALL STANDARD COVID TESTS WORK TO IDENTIFY THE CURRENT STRAINS.

ALL DOING WELL.  BE PROACTIVE TO PREVENT NEED FOR HOSPITALIZATION. PROTECTION IS UP TO YOU AND NOW IS A PERSONAL DECISION. DO WHAT MAKES YOU COMFORTABLE.

DATA 100% SHOWS THAT GOOD MASKS MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THEY ARE NOT PERFECT, BUT THEY DO REDUCE RISK OF EXPOSURE AND INFECTION.

• I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH… IF YOU DON’T WANT COVID FROM TRAVEL… WEAR A MASK IN THE AIRPORT CROWDS AND ON THE AIRPLANE (UNTIL 10,000 FEET) … THIS IS NOT AS ESSENTIAL AS IT WAS WHEN COVID WAS MORE SEVERE… BUT IF YOU WANT TO AVOID INFECTIONS IN GENERAL DURING TRAVEL... IT’S A RECOMMENDATION.

• EVEN SELECTIVE MASK USE WORKS WELL… SUCH AS ONLY IN CROWDED SPACES IN THE AIRPORT, AND DURING TRAVEL ‘TO’ YOUR DESTINATION, SO THAT YOU ARE NOT ILL DURING YOU VACATION/TRAVEL TIME.  LESS IMPORTANT WHEN YOU RETURN FROM VACATION.

• GET BOOSTED IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO…PARTICULARLY OVER AGE 65 WITH HEALTH ISSUES OR OVER 75 WITHOUT HEALTH ISSUES.  EVERY 6 MONTHS IS THE RECOMMENDATION FOR THIS GROUP. 

• IF YOU WERE BOOSTED IN MARCH/APRIL… MAXIMUM PROTECTION IS TO GET ANOTHER SHOT IN SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER WHEN THE NEWEST/UPDATED VERSION IS AVAILABLE.

• FLU SEASON IS BEGINNING… FLU SHOTS IN SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER FOR OUR NEXT, UPCOMING FLU SEASON

• VERY LITTLE RSV IN THE VALLEY. IF YOU HAVE HAD AN RSV VACCINE, CURRENT RECOMMENDATION IS THAT YOU DON’T NEED ANOTHER FOR TWO YEARS.

IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE A COLD OR RESPIRATORY INFECTION RIGHT NOW…. YOU MAY WELL HAVE COVID. PLEASE DO A COVID TEST TO CHECK AT HOME.  

ALMOST ALL DOING WELL, BUT WE ARE SEEING A FEW PEOPLE NEED THE HOSPITAL TO RECOVER. 

THE CURRENT COVID VACCINE IS AVAILABLE.

  IT IS KEEPING PEOPLE FROM HAVING A MORE DIFFICULT TIME WITH INFECTION AND KEEPING PEOPLE OUT OF THE HOSPITAL.

I RECOMMEND THE COVID BOOSTER GENERALLY FOR THOSE OVER 65. BUT……

• I HIGHLY RECOMMEND A BOOSTER FOR THOSE 80 & OLDER.

• I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE BOOSTER FOR THOSE OVER 65 WITH HEART FAILURE, SIGNIFICANT LUNG CONDITIONS, AND DIABETES.

CONSIDER BOOSTING WITH THE NEW COVID VACCINE TO REDUCE RISK OF COVID AND TO REDUCE COVID SYMPTOM SEVERITY. NEW COVID VACCINE AVAILABLE IN SEPTEMBER.

VACCINATIONS THIS FALL: 

• COVID SHOT…GET UPDATED VERSION
• FLU SHOT (SEPTEMBER THROUGH DECEMBER MOST IDEAL)
• RSV SHOT (..CAN CONSIDER TAKING IN THE FALL IF YOU HAVE NOT TAKEN YET)

DO NOT GET ALL SHOTS AT THE SAME TIME.  RSV SHOULD BE TAKEN ALONE.

COVID SHOT:

 WHO SHOULD GET IT: 

IF YOU HAVE NOT HAD COVID YET AND ARE OVER 65, I RECOMMEND YOU STAY CURRENT WITH THE LATEST VERSION OF THE VACCINE. GET THE LATEST VACCINE WHEN AVAILABLE.

IF YOU HAVE HAD COVID, YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL PROTECTION AGAINST FUTURE INFECTION, BUT IS NOT A GUARANTEE. 

I WOULD MAKE SURE YOU HAVE HAD A COVID SHOT DURING SPRING 2024 FOR THOSE OVER 65 WHO HAVE ADDITIONAL RISK DUE TO HEALTH ISSUES SUCH AS:  ACTIVELY TREATED HEART FAILURE, LUNG DISEASE, OR DIABETES.

WHEN TO GET THE COVID VACCINE:

 GET IT RIGHT NOW  

RSV VACCINE: 

THIS IS A NEWISH VACCINE. HAS BEEN GENERALLY AVAILABLE FOR1+ YEAR.

WHO SHOULD GET IT:

 THE MOST IMPORTANT GROUP IS NOW CLEAR….THOSE WHO LIVE IN GROUP SETTINGS, INDEPENDENT LIVING WITH PEOPLE CONGREGATE FOR MEALS AND THOSE IN ASSISTED LIVING SITUATIONS.

ALSO…. PEOPLE AT HIGHER RISK SHOULD CONSIDER GETTING THE RSV VACCINE THIS YEAR IF THEY ARE INCLINED…BUT DON’T FEEL OBLIGATED.   

FOR THOSE OVER 65 WHO HAVE ADDITIONAL RISK FOR SERIOUS ILLNESS AS A RESULT OF HEALTH ISSUES SUCH AS:  ACTIVELY TREATED HEART FAILURE, CANCER, LUNG DISEASE, OR DIABETES.

THERE ARE TWO VERSIONS, BOTH SIMILAR, AND THERE IS NO SPECIFIC REASON TO CHOOSE ONE OVER THE OTHER (ONE IS GSK..MAKERS OF SHINGRIX, THE OTHER IF PFIZER…MAKERS OF THE COVID VACCINE)

WHEN TO GET RSV VACCINE:  

 CAN GET AT ANY TIME. ANY SEASON IS FINE. 

TOP PODCAST DONE WEEKLY

BY DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM

(UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA)  

He is a world-renowned epidemiologist who was credited with first elucidating TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME in the 1980’s.

He provides comprehensive and understandable/actionable ideas related to COVID.

Dr. Osterholm Update: COVID-19 Podcast

October 31, 2024

'The Most Important Episode I'll Ever Record'

In "The Most Important Episode I'll Ever Record," Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss the latest respiratory virus trends, two human cases of H5N1 in Missouri, and an E. coli outbreak linked to a fast food product. For the first time in his career, Dr. Osterholm also shares comments about the upcoming elections in the United States.

According to Dr. Osterholm……

•  GET YOUR LATEST AVAILABLE BOOSTER IF YOU HAVE NOT HAD COVID OR IT’S BEEN LONGER THAN 4 MONTHS SINCE YOU HAD COVID YOURSELF

•  A GOOD MASK, N95 OF KN95, DOES HELP REDUCE TRANSMISSION…. USE IT AT HIGH-RISK LOCATIONS

• GOOD VENTILATION IN ROOMS/HOME/BUSINESSES IS A GREAT WAY TO PREVENT TRANSMISSION

• VACCINE, VACCINE, VACCINE…THIS IS OUR PROTECTION. ALL VACCINES ARE EFFECTIVE AND WITH TIME WE ARE SEEING THAT

• BOOST, BOOST, BOOST…THIS WILL BE NECESSARY TO PREVENT RECURRING SURGE AND TO RAISE ANTIBODY LEVELS IN THOSE ALREADY SET WITH THE PRIMARY COVID VACCINE SERIES.

• ANTIGEN TESTING IS USEFUL, BUT OF LIMITED VALUE. DON’T DEPEND ON IT…BUT USE IT.

Know that unvaccinated remain a source of potential infection. Avoiding unvaccinated persons will reduce your risk of COVID.

Breaking out the tissues? It's that time of year! But what kind of sickness do your symptoms point to?

As the weather changes, we can start feeling under the weather too — but while each illness has a typical set of symptoms, it's important to understand you can't diagnose on your own, Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, said on "CBS Mornings" Wednesday.

"If you come in with some symptoms of cough or sore throat or runny nose, whatever it is, I can't tell you if that's a cold, if it's walking pneumonia, if it's COVID or the flu. You do need to test," she said.

The good news? Tests are available.

"Since the pandemic, we now have tests that cover all the most common viral and bacterial respiratory infections, making it easy to test for all with one swab," Gounder said.

Determining your exact illness through testing also helps decide on the best course of treatment.

"We have specific treatments for influenza (Tamiflu, Xofluza), COVID (Paxlovid), 'walking pneumonia' (azithromycin), and other infections, and testing helps guide that treatment," she added.

 COVID-19 testing can help you know if you have COVID-19 so you can decide what to do next, like getting treatment to reduce your risk of severe illness and taking steps to lower your chances of spreading the virus to others.

Your order of COVID tests is completely free – you won’t even pay for shipping.



Want to know when your tests are coming? Sign up to receive email alerts when you order!

The tests available for order:

• Are rapid antigen at-home tests, not PCR
• Can be taken at home or other locations. Give results within 30 minutes (no lab drop-off required)
• Can be used for testing even if you do not have COVID-19 symptoms
• Can be used for testing whether you are up to date on your COVID-19 vaccines or not
• Are also referred to as self-tests or over the counter (OTC) tests

Some COVID tests arriving with past-due expiration date

A pig in Oregon has tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus, the Agriculture Department said Wednesday. It's the first time the virus has been detected in swine in the United States.

Test results are pending for two other pigs found on the farm in Crook County, Oregon, the USDA said, while two others tested negative.

The pig that tested positive didn't show signs of illness.

The five pigs were tested for H5N1 out of an abundance of caution, officials said, and "because of the presence of H5N1 in other animals on the premises."

The case is concerning as pigs can become infected with both bird and human viruses at the same time, which can give rise to mutated strains that can more easily infect humans.

Officials said there are no concerns about the safety of the nation's pork supply.

The farm is noncommercial, the USDA said, and the animals weren’t intended for the commercial food supply. Additionally, the farm has been quarantined to prevent the spread of the virus. Sheep, goats and other animals on the farm are under surveillance, officials said.

After you received your COVID or any other vaccination outside our office, please let us know!

We would like to document this information into your chart.



What we need:

1. Your name
2. Name & date of vaccination received
3. Brand name
4. Lot number if available
5. Which dose you have received

In October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that high-risk adults get a second updated Covid vaccine to bolster their protection against the virus.

The agency now recommends that people ages 65 and up and those with weakened immune systems get a second dose of the 2024-25 vaccine six months after their first dose.

It’s not the first time the agency has advised or allowed for an additional dose for at-risk groups several months after the first. In the spring of 2022, officials authorized a second booster dose after the initial fall rollout. The same pattern followed in the spring of 2023 and the spring of 2024.

No other vaccines are given at such a high frequency, but experts say there’s no reason to believe that the vaccines — and in particular, the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna — aren’t effective.



Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines were the first to use mRNA technology to induce immunity to a virus, an approach that proved critical in the early days of the pandemic because mRNA vaccines can be developed much faster than traditional vaccines.

We Are Here to Take Care of Your Healthcare Needs.

We Are Here to Serve!

Our office is using techniques to reduce exposure to a minimum during your visit. These include: 

• Multiple Super-HEPA filters to filter out potential virus and

particles in the office.

• High Level UV light air cleansing in the office to eliminate

bacteria and viruses in the air.

OUR OFFICE SCHEDULE  

DOORS OPEN     

7AM - 4PM Monday through Thursday

7AM - 11AM Friday

IN OFFICE

APPOINTMENTS: MONDAY – THURSDAY

7AM – 11:15AM & 1PM – 3:30PM

APPOINTMENTS: FRIDAY

7AM – 10:30 AM

DR. LAKIN WILL CONTINUE ‘TELEHEALTH’ VISITS WITH FaceTime, WhatsApp or ZOOM WHEN NEEDED.

Dr. Lakin's Info For COVID-19 Kit &

Recommended Treatments

SUMMARY OF A COVID KIT & CHECK LIST:

This is what you should have at home to prepare for possible COVID, to monitor yourself if you were to get infected:

DIGITAL ORAL THERMOMETER: MANY BRANDS ARE FINE…HERE IS ONE EXAMPLE:

PULSE OXIMETER:  TO CHECK OXYGEN LEVELS. MANY BRANDS ARE FINE...HERE IS ONE EXAMPLE:

OTHER ITEMS FROM THE HOME MEDICAL KIT:

• TYLENOL, ADVIL, OR ALEVE
• Sudafed 30mg tablets
• Chlorpheniramine 4mg tablets
• Robitussin DM syrup
• Imodium AD

Staying Healthy: Ways to Stay Healthy

. . . & Safe!