Harris Fleming, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

The COVID-19 Vaccines All Seem to Be Working—in the Short Term, Anyway

It wasn’t that long ago that many Americans rejoiced at the news that several vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus had been developed and approved for use on an emergency basis. And while there are data showing that the vaccines do, in fact, do a good (if imperfect) job at protecting the inoculated, it now appears that at least one of them wanes 6 months after administration. A preprint report of a study published online by …

Dad Wants to Know if It’s ‘Safe’ for His Child to Start Soccer. Would You Know What to Say?

More than a year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic—and in the midst of a national surge in cases—we’re still trying to figure out the virus’s impact on children. While it seems they’re less directly affected in adults, it’s widely accepted that they can have (and spread) the disease while being largely asymptomatic, but also that they’re susceptible to multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). And what about “long haulers” among children? Parents are …

Here We Go Again: U.S. COVID-19 Cases Are Surging—and There’s Plenty of Blame to Go Around

The headlines have been populated with multiple stories of COVID-19 spikes in various corners of the U.S. Prominent among them was news of an outbreak among unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals in Provincetown, MA. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three-quarters of the 470 cases there occurred in those who were fully immunized against the virus, and the Delta variant was found in most of the samples assessed. In close proximity to that …

Patients Who Left You During the Pandemic May Not Return Without an Invitation

As JUCM News has reported, many urgent care operators started suffering downturns in patient visits in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. It could be hard to get those patients back without a concerted effort on your part, according to an article just published by JAMA Network. The authors sought to determine the effect of targeted messaging on getting patients who had delayed care back into the doctor’s office, comparing sending a letter vs …

Could Dollar General Succeed Where Walmart Has Failed?

JUCM and JUCM News have been tracking Walmart’s unsuccessful efforts to become a go-to destination for their customers’ healthcare needs for years. The idea that shoppers would appreciate the convenience of getting a strep test or a flu shot where they buy tires simply hasn’t caught on among healthcare consumers. Now Dollar General apparently thinks it has a shot at getting the idea right among its acknowledged customer base of lower-income, largely rurally located Americans. …

‘Back to Normal’ Means Back to Community Outreach Initiatives

This summer may have kids heading back outside with greater enthusiasm than ever before. With that energy comes risk, however. West Texas Urgent Care is well aware of this—and the fact that Texas Medical Association data show nearly 85% of head injuries are the result of bicycle crashes—and has already launched a safety event for local cyclists. Visitors were invited to take part in a bicycle safety course that reminded them of the rules of …

Still Have Staffers Resisting COVID-19 Vaccination? Share These Data on Asymptomatic Infection

Anecdotally, it seems clear that there are too many healthcare professionals among the population resisting COVID-19 vaccination. A study just published by JAMA Network may be more persuasive than any workplace edict in getting them to opt for the best protection available. Researchers at the University of California Irvine evaluated rates of COVID-19 infection, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, before and after vaccination with the Pfizer or Moderna versions of the vaccine. Subjects were screened daily …

Unintended Consequences: Stay-at-Home Orders Are Being Linked to Opioid-Related Deaths

When Illinois issued stay-at-home orders back in March 2020, the obvious intent was to lower risk for transmission of COVID-19 and, ultimately, to save lives. By the time the order was lifted 11 weeks later, the state was wrestling with an unintended consequence of a higher rate of deaths attributed to opioid overdose. A Cook County-based study of such deaths, recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, revealed there were 23 fatalities …

Keep at It—Physician-Delivered Patient Ed Really Does Make a Difference (Especially with COVID-19)

With only 49% of the United States vaccinated against COVID-19 as of July 21, it can feel like your efforts to educate patients enough to protect themselves are in vain. New data published by the Journal of the American Medical Association says otherwise, however. In fact, it appears that messages delivered by physicians can actually help increase COVID-19 knowledge and even bridge the gap in health inequities among different racers in the U.S. Drawn from …

After the Pandemic Blues, Public Health Experts Fear an Onslaught of STD Cases

Last summer, and certainly the seasons that followed, had most Americans struggling with disruptions in the routines and isolated from their social norms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Young singles may have been especially frustrated with reduced opportunities to meet and mingle. Now, however, with mask mandates and social distancing restrictions largely a thing of the past, the dating seen is back in full force—with public health experts now seeming as worried about a surge …