'Happy Groundhog's Day!'

In Punxsutawney, 1886 marked the first time that Groundhog Day appeared in the local newspaper. The following year brought the first official trek to Gobbler’s Knob.

Each year since then has seen a steady increase in participation of the celebration from people all over the world.

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.

February 2, 2025

FLU SEASON REMAINS HIGH…BUT IS IN DECLINE. 

IT WILL BE A HEAVY PRESENCE FOR 4 MORE WEEKS AND THEN WILL BE VERY LITTLE IN THE VALLEY.  IF YOU HAVE HIGH FEVER, SEVERE ACHES AND PAINS, AND COUGH… IT IS MOST LIKELY FLU… BUT TEST FOR COVID.  WE HAVE FLU MEDICATION SO BE IN TOUCH. 

COVID IS LESS THEN ½ OF WHAT IT WAS LAST YEAR. THIS IS GOOD NEWS. BUT IT IS STILL AROUND.

RSV REMAINS… LOW…LESS THEN ½ OF LAST YEARS NUMBERS.

  THE CURRENT FLU SHOT IS IN THE PHARMACIES AND IN OUR OFFICE. THERE IS STILL VALUE IN GETTING IT IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.

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

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 2024/2025 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 NOW, IN 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 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER FOR THIS 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 IS AVAILABLE NOW.

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

January 23, 2025

(Same as last week's... new podcast next week!)

'Drinking From a Fire Hose: Are We Drowning?'

In "Drinking From a Fire Hose: Are We Drowning?" Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss recent actions taken by the Trump administration, most notably the decision to leave the World Health Organization. Dr. Osterholm also shares his thoughts on the developing H5N1 crisis and provides an update on respiratory virus transmission in the U.S. and around the world.

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.

Tuberculosis Outbreak That Has Killed 2 in Kansas Continues to Grow

More than 60 people were being treated in the Kansas City area as of Friday, according to the state health department.

The number of tuberculosis cases linked to an outbreak in the Kansas City area continues to swell, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

The outbreak, which began a year ago, killed two people in 2024, Jill Bronaugh, the health department's communications director, said in an update Tuesday. As of Friday, at least 67 patients were being treated for active tuberculosis in Kansas.

All but seven of those cases were in Wyandotte County, where Kansas City is, while the others were in neighboring Johnson County. Across the two counties, the health department has also confirmed 79 inactive tuberculosis infections, meaning the host isn’t contagious and doesn’t have symptoms. If left untreated, around 5% to 10% of inactive cases develop into active disease.



Last year, the health department reported over 70 active and more than 200 inactive tuberculosis cases, though Bronaugh said the “case counts are still provisional, as they will be reviewed and confirmed officially by the CDC near the end of March.”

Despite concerns about the future of research at the National Institutes of Health, current clinical trials can continue as scheduled, the agency’s acting director told staff scientists in an email Monday.

The clarification followed what staffers called “chaos” Wednesday when the Trump administration “paused” all communications from federal health agencies and suspended all government travel. The directive left NIH staff members with unanswered questions about their work and even whether they’d be able to continue caring for their patients.

The acting director, Dr. Matthew Memoli, a longtime infectious disease expert and flu vaccine researcher at the NIH, wrote in the email, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News, that he sought to clear up “confusion on the scope of the pause.”

“Clinical trials at NIH or NIH-funded institutions are ongoing,” he wrote. “Research participants can continue to participate in clinical trials at the NIH Clinical Center and at NIH-funded facilities.”

 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

People still see COVID-19 as an ongoing public health threat, even though the pandemic officially ended in 2023, according to a new HealthDay/Harris Poll.

Nearly 3 in 4 people (72%) agree COVID is still a serious public health issue, including more than a third (35%) who strongly agree, the poll found.

COVID has settled into the sort of ongoing health threat already posed by the seasonal flu, which had its turn as a pandemic back in 1918, Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said.

“You'll get hundreds of thousands of people hospitalized with influenza every year,” Offit told HealthDay TV. “You'll get tens of thousands of people who die every year from influenza. I think that's what COVID is now. I think this virus will be with us for decades, if not longer.”

People also are apt to respond to any symptoms they might develop, with nearly 3 in 4 (73%) saying they would take an at-home test or go to a doctor or pharmacy to get tested for COVID, the poll says.

“That 73% number is higher than I would have guessed,” Offit said.

People with symptoms of COVID -- fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose, body aches -- would do better to stay home and take a rapid test, for everyone else’s sake, Offit said.

High-risk groups in particular should get tested, Offit added, so that they can receive antiviral Paxlovid to limit the severity of their infection.

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

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

'Groundhog's Day!'

History repeats itself in this inventive, side-splitting comedy. Murray, a Pittsburgh weatherman on assignment in Punxsutawney, PA., gets stuck in a comic time-warp and must experience the same groundhog day over and over again...until he learns to appreciate the little things in life! Along the way he falls in love with his beautiful and brainy producer.

Stay Healthy!