'First Day of Autumn'

Many would agree that there’s something magical when the summer is slowly fading away, and the autumn is setting in.

The air is getting crisper, and the leaves are starting to paint the landscape in vibrant hues of red, yellow, and orange. This change, perhaps, is the most prominent on the First Day of Autumn, a moment celebrated by many as a time of balance and harvest.

On September 22, 2024, the Northern Hemisphere will greet autumn with open arms. This marks the equal split between daylight and nighttime.

This day, known as the autumnal equinox, is when the Earth’s tilt and orbit align to produce nearly equal lengths of day and night across the globe​​​​.

The First Day of Autumn isn’t just a date on the calendar. It’s a transition that touches every aspect of the natural world and human culture. As the warmth of summer gives way to the coolness of autumn, we’re reminded of the Earth’s incredible journey around the sun.

This period heralds a time of preparation for the colder months ahead, with traditions dating back centuries that celebrate the harvest and community coming together.

From the ancient observance at Stonehenge to modern-day festivals, autumn has always held a special place in human hearts​​​​.

But why do we celebrate this day with such affection? Beyond the pumpkin-spiced lattes and the excitement of fall fashion, autumn represents a time of thankfulness and reflection. It’s when we gather the fruits of our labor and prepare for the end of the year.

This season encourages us to appreciate the beauty of change and embrace life’s cycle. Whether it’s the cozy warmth of a sweater or the joy of jumping into a pile of leaves, the First Day of Autumn brings with it a unique blend of nostalgia and anticipation for what the future holds​​.

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September 22, 2024

*NEW COVID VACCINE IS AVAILABLE IN PHARMACIES. IT IS A GOOD MATCH FOR THE CURRENT COVID VIRUS IN ARIZONA AND USA!

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 THE END OF SEPTEMBER, 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.

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 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

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

September 19, 2024

'Infectious Diseases Roulette'

In this episode, Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall cover the latest infectious disease news on topics including H5N1, mpox, measles, and polio. Dr. Osterholm also answers an ID query on updated COVID-19 vaccines and gives his thoughts on a controversial study on Paxlovid.

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.

Jennifer White, a New York state epidemiologist, has a reminder as summer’s end approaches: “It may be pumpkin spice season, but it’s not the end of mosquito season.”

August and September are the peak months for mosquito-borne illnesses in the U.S. That’s because populations of the insects — which prefer warm temperatures and high humidity — have had time to grow and transmit more virus by the end of the summer.

Indeed, new cases of the three most common diseases spread locally by mosquitoes within the U.S. — dengue fever, eastern equine encephalitis and West Nile virus — are still being reported in many states. This week, California health officials issued a warning about three locally acquired dengue cases in Los Angeles County, two of which were announced Wednesday.

“This is an unprecedented cluster of locally acquired dengue for a region where dengue has not previously been transmitted by mosquitoes,” Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said at a news conference.

 COVID-19 variant trackers are now closely watching the rise of a new virus variant called XEC, which has been spotted around the world and in half of states across the United States.

Health officials are so far not raising concern about this variant, unlike some previous, more highly mutated strains that worried experts.

XEC's emergence comes as COVID-19 trends remain "high" but are now largely slowing after a summer wave of infections that peaked last month. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention modelers estimate that the virus will likely climb again over the winter, peaking in mid-January.

Here's the latest we know about the new XEC variant.

Which states have reported XEC cases?

At least 25 states have already reported at least one case with the strain's characteristic mutations, according to preliminary data obtained from the global virus database GISAID from more than 100 cases in the U.S.

At the end of September, American households will be able to order free COVID-19 tests that will detect current variants and be usable until the end of the year, according to officials.

In August, public health officials announced that the COVIDtest.gov program will once again be made available ahead of the COVID-19 surge that happens during winter. The respiratory virus peaks twice a year, once in summer and once in winter, according to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Since the pandemic, COVID-19 joined the flu and RSV and became a common respiratory virus that peaks in the colder months of the year.

To order the tests, visit COVIDtest.gov. Once ordered, the at-home tests will be shipped to homes for free.

Each household can receive up to four free tests.

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

What's In Store For

2024/2025 Flu Season. . . .

Seasonal influenza (flu) vaccines are designed to protect against the four main groups of flu Type A and B viruses that research indicates are most likely to spread and cause illness among people during the upcoming flu season. All current U.S. flu vaccines protect against a flu A(H1) virus, a flu A(H3) virus, a flu B/Yamagata lineage virus and a flu B/Victoria lineage virus. Each of these four vaccine virus components are selected based on the following:

• which flu viruses are making people sick prior to the upcoming flu season,
• the extent to which those viruses are spreading prior to the upcoming flu season,
• how well the previous season’s vaccines may protect against those flu viruses, and
• the ability of vaccine viruses to provide cross-protection against a range of related flu viruses of the same type or subtype/lineage.

There are currently 144 national influenza centers in over 114 countries that conduct year-round surveillance for flu viruses as part of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS). This involves receiving and testing thousands of flu virus samples from patients. For human seasonal flu surveillance, the laboratories send representative viruses to five* of the seven WHO Collaborating Centers for Influenza, which are located in the following places:

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

'Autumn in Small Town America'

Happy Autumn... Stay Safe!