Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 (nCoV-2019)

[W. K. Lis]

500,000 masks coming to Ontario after shipment halted at American facility

Published Monday, April 6, 2020 12:14PM EDT

Half a million N95 masks will arrive in Ontario later this week, despite a battle with the United States government over the much-needed personal protective equipment for front-line healthcare workers.

The news comes after a recent Ontario-bound shipment was halted at an American production facility this weekend – days after U.S President Donald Trump issued an order stopping N95 mask maker 3M from shipping their supplies to Canada and South America.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford revealed Monday morning that the “recent restrictions” at the U.S.-Canada border left the province with “roughly a one-week supply” of facial masks for those on the front-lines of the COVID-19 fight.

Ford said he felt a “glimmer of hope” after speaking with officials in the U.S. and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland Monday morning and confirmed that he’s been told that 500,000 of those masks are on their way to Ontario.

“What I understand is that we had three million masks that were stopped by U.S. officials coming out of 3M in South Dakota,” he told reporters at a news conference Monday.

“I was just briefed not long ago that we were able to get 500,000 N95 masks moving forward that should be released today and coming into Ontario.”

Ontario premier thanks U.S. officials for deal that will allow shipments of N95 masks

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has thanked United States officials after a deal was made between manufacturing giant 3M and the White House that will allow Canadians to continue receiving shipments of N95 masks.

toronto.ctvnews.ca

Trade for toilet paper?

 

[Fresco]

Trade for toilet paper?

I'll make you a 3-way trade for some deodorant

 

[MetroMan]

He isn't on a ventilator (yet)

Not yet, but there seems to be a pattern of patients spending up to 10 days since symptoms appear before heading to the hospital when they have difficulty breathing. They're put on oxygen after which things turn worse and they need to be put on a ventilator. Day 18 seems to be the most common day of death. Johnson's fever never let up for 10 days, he went to the hospital "for testing" and took a turn for the worse and is on oxygen. I would not at all be surprised if he's put on a vent in the coming few days. If that's the case, at 55 and in poor health, I wouldn't give the PM much chance of pulling through.

Boris' video of him boasting that he went to the hospital where COVID19 patients were being treated and insisting on shaking hands, may end up being a haunting reminder of historical underestimations and mistakes.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1247257541635162112

 

[Videodrome]

My in-laws are current without electricity, They live in Etiobicoke and it is taking longer than expected to get the underground lines working again.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Had a "virtual appointment" with my doctor via the internet. It was to get my prescription renewed for the year. (Will have my annual physical later in the year, once COVID-19 has settled down.)

Normally, the prescriptions would be for 90 doses, every 3 months. This time its for 30 doses, every month. WTF? This mean I have to go to the pharmacy to pick them up EVERY MONTH, instead of every 3 months. How will this help combat COVID-19, if we have to stand in line to pick up prescriptions?

The pharmacy I use does not deliver, because they have a lower dispensary fee. Now there will be a dispensary fee added on each time the prescription is filled.

(Insert inappropriate graphic meme here.)

 

[PinkLucy]

New rules. There are medication shortages, so it's only month by month for now.

 

[W. K. Lis]

From link.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Some Canadians to pay additional pharmacy dispensing fees due to coronavirus restrictions

From link.

A new policy that has pharmacists restricting patients to a 30-day supply of their medications means some people are having to pay dispensing fees two or three times over.

The policy was put in place to prevent drug shortages while manufacturers struggle to produce enough product during COVID-19.

But that means patients who would normally receive 90-days’ worth of prescription medications are now paying the dispensing fee three times instead of one in some provinces.

“All of a sudden they’re going to see their cost for prescriptions go up 200 per cent,” said Kathleen Finlay, the founder of the Center for Patient Protection.

In most places, those dispensing fees are between $5 and $15. But some people have multiple prescriptions, multiplying the cost, she said.

“It gets up there really quickly,” she said.

She’s particularly concerned about fixed income seniors, who are being hit with these costs out of the blue. She said some people may be faced with tough decisions about whether they can afford to renew their prescriptions when they need them.

Some provinces, like Alberta, have adjusted their co-pay structure for seniors and those without private insurance to offset those costs, but not all.

In British Columbia, the province covers dispensing fees for many people with low incomes or high medication costs under a complex pharmacare plan.

But even there, some people are going to feel the impact of the new 30-day supply rules when they go to renew their prescriptions next month, according to the seniors’ advocate for the province.

“It’s going to potentially make things quite tight for them,” said Isobel Mackenzie.

She and her counterparts in other provinces have raised the issue with the provincial and federal governments and urged them to cover the additional costs.

The Canadian Pharmacists Association, which recommended the restrictions, has been hearing from patients concerned they will have to pay more.

“We knew that was a risk,” said spokesperson Barry Power, adding people may not be able to get their medications at all if nothing is done.

“We felt that avoiding drug shortages was the better way to go.”

The association has been working with governments and insurers to address the added burden on patients, he said.

“This is the cost of safeguarding Canada’s drug supply and it should be borne by Canada as a whole, not small businesses,” Power said.

Canada is already starting to see medications fall into short supply as a result of COVID-19, he said.

According to Health Canada, there are supply constraints for certain drugs like sedatives, pain relievers, and muscle relaxants.

While individual pharmacies have the discretion to waive dispensing fees if they want to, the money goes a long way to covering the pharmacy’s costs, Power said

With every prescription, the pharmacist must verify the medication and proper dose, make sure there are no adverse drug interactions, and make sure there is enough inventory, he said.

The fees also help pay for the added expenses pharmacies have borne to stay open during the pandemic. Many have installed barriers between patients and customers and hand-sanitizing stations, for example.

He said it’s important that pharmacists doing essential work are not made to cover those costs themselves, just as the government wouldn’t ask nurses or doctors to pay for their own protective equipment in a hospital.

But if provinces don’t act, he said the costs will trickle down to patients instead.

 

[Regigate]

Having to go to the pharmacist once monthly, and pay slightly higher dispensing fees, really seems like one of the least of our concerns right now. Go to a pharmacy in your grocery store, if you don't want to make additional trips - hardly requires any additional standing in line.

This isn't going to be the issue that stops us from beating this virus.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Having to go to the pharmacist once monthly, and pay slightly higher dispensing fees, really seems like one of the least of our concerns right now. Go to a pharmacy in your grocery store, if you don't want to make additional trips - hardly requires any additional standing in line.

This isn't going to be the issue that stops us from beating this virus.

The pharmacy should give a "we-owe-you slip" or slips so that people can return to the pharmacy and pick up the rest of the 90d supply without incurring additional costs.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Cancel prescription co-payments for seniors in Ontario: Horwath

From link.

NDP Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath is calling on the Ford government to cancel and cover the drug co-payments seniors in Ontario are required to pay every time they fill a prescription, as COVID-19 measures force seniors to fill their prescriptions more often.

The provincial government has asked pharmacists to dispense no more than one month’s worth of medication at a time in order to prevent drug shortages. Seniors pay up to $6.11 every time they fill a prescription, regardless of how many months’ supply they take home.

“No senior in Ontario should have to skip their pills or skimp on food as a result of the pandemic,” said Horwath. “But if seniors have to pay for each prescription each month, some of them will be forced to make difficult choices.

“This could make our elderly loved ones unwell, and put more pressure on our overloaded health care system.”

At $6.11, a senior couple with three prescriptions each would be charged $109.98 for a three-month supply under the new one-month dispensing policy, rather than $36.66.

Lower co-payments of $2 per prescription are only available to seniors earning less than $19,300, or $32,300 per couple.

“Cancelling drug co-payments for seniors is one thing the provincial government can and should do right now so we can ensure our elderly loved ones can afford to keep filling their prescriptions while preventing shortages in medication during the pandemic,” said Horwath.

The NDP has long called for pharmacare in Ontario, meaning prescription drug coverage for everyone.

 

[Northern Light]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1247548479813099523

That last sentence doesn't explain the delay in shifting our testing.

 

[Videodrome]

So, who has applied for EI or the CERB so far?

 

[AlbertC]

I have some family members who applied today for CERB, and a friend who chose to go for EI instead because the payout would be more than it.

I saw on Reddit that some people who applied for it yesterday, have already received the money today via direct deposit.

 

[AlbertC]

Plasma from coronavirus survivors found to help severely ill patients

Ian Sample Science editor
Tue 7 Apr 2020 14.22 BST

Doctors have found tentative evidence that seriously ill coronavirus patients can benefit from infusions of blood plasma collected from people who have recovered from the disease.

Two teams of medics working at separate hospitals in China gave antibody-rich plasma to 15 severely ill patients and recorded striking improvements in many of them.

In one pilot study, doctors in Wuhan gave “convalescent plasma” to 10 severely ill patients and found that virus levels in their bodies dropped rapidly. Within three days, the doctors saw improvements in the patients’ symptoms, ranging from shortness of breath and chest pains to fever and coughs.

Xiaoming Yang, from the National Engineering Technology Research Center for Combined Vaccines in Wuhan, described the treatment as a “promising rescue option” for severely ill patients, but cautioned that a larger randomised trial was needed to confirm the findings. Details of the pilot study are reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Another team of doctors led by Lei Liu, from Shenzhen Third People’s hospital, gave convalescent plasma to five critically ill patients. All showed improved symptoms after the infusions and within 10 days, three patients were able to come off the ventilators that had been keeping them alive, according to a preliminary report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Hints that the therapy may help have prompted US doctors to trial infusions in the outbreak in New York and similar studies are expected to start in the UK in the coming weeks. Britain’s national blood service has begun screening blood from patients to find plasma rich in antibodies to use in those trials.

Plasma from coronavirus survivors found to help severely ill patients

Blood transfusion studies by teams in China report striking improvements

www.theguardian.com