COVID vaccines, overcoming skepticism, and pandemic theater

"Environmental cleaning rightfully plays a more prominent role within health care facilities to control the spread of other diseases, but even hospitals have overreacted when it comes to contact precautions for SARS-CoV-2.  I recently went to get a flu shot from one of the hospitals I cover, and I couldn’t help but think that several steps in this process seemed wasteful.  Even though everyone was already masking and maintaining appropriate distance, recipients were each assigned one large desk and one pen to fill out the obligatory paperwork.  Once complete, the pens went into a “dirty” cup, and a gloved staff member had to wipe down the pen, clean the entire desk surface and dispose of the cup before anyone else was allowed to use that station.  Before I could sit down and receive the vaccine, I had to stand back and allow the administering nurse to wipe down the whole chair with isopropyl alcohol.  We didn’t go to these lengths before the pandemic, so why go over the top now for a virus that, for all intents and purposes, is not spread by contact?"

Clayton Foster is an infectious disease physician and founder, AirborneID. He can be reached on Facebook and Twitter @AirborneID_CO.

He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "COVID transmission should not be a touchy subject." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/09/covid-transmission-should-not-be-a-touchy-subject.html)