Alberta, Canada, is seeing an overwhelming surge in COVID-19 cases as they enter their fourth wave of the pandemic. Premier Jason Kenney says he is sorry/not sorry for the way his government has handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Kenney has been widely criticized for not implementing public health measures/mandates that would have protected hospital capacity and saved lives (the two top medical priorities in the entire response to the pandemic). ICUs in Alberta are full and patients are being transferred around the province due to bed shortages in some areas.

Privacy rights were cited as the reason for not introducing vaccine cards (to show proof of vaccination before accessing public spaces in order to try and contain the spread). Now, Kenney says, protection of life must be the paramount consideration (“morally, ethically and legally”). (I said this in a post yesterday in response to a comment about withholding care on the basis of a COVID patient having refused to be vaccinated. It’s not a simple call and there are repercussions either way).


Article:

CTV News, Sept 15/21:

https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/i-apologize-kenney-says-alta-wrong-for-covid-19-pandemic-to-endemic-shift-not-sorry-for-open-for-summer-plan-1.5587497


Excerpts:

“Premier Jason Kenney apologized for his government's recent COVID-19 response as he introduced a proof of vaccination program and implemented new restrictions for the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Kenney started off the press conference by apologizing for moving Alberta too quickly from a pandemic to endemic based on provincial modelling.

"I know that we had all hoped this summer that we could put COVID behind us once and for all, that was certainly my hope and I said that very clearly," said Kenney. "It is now clear that we were wrong, and for that I apologize."

"Yes, I said a lot of optimistic things in the summer, because I think it is the job of a leader to convey a sense of hope and optimism, not a sense of despair and pessimism, and from the perspective of where we were in July there were good reasons to be hopeful and optimistic."

“Wednesday marked the most Albertans ever occupying ICU beds in the history of the province, with the CEO of AHS announcing it was asking neighbouring provinces for help managing the situation.

"I don't apologize for not maintaining lockdown-style policies permanently but I do apologize for having predicted we could be open for good."


Article:

CBC News, Sept 15/21: “Province introduces sweeping COVID-19 measures, including proof-of-vaccination program”

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/kenney-shandro-hinshaw-update-covid-19-1.6177210


Excerpts:

“Alberta Premier Jason Kenney on Wednesday introduced strict and sweeping new measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 as he apologized for his government's handling of the pandemic.

“The measures include a new program that requires people to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test in order to gain entry to participating businesses and social events.

“A decision this spring to move from a pandemic-to-endemic approach — or learning to live with the virus — seemed like the right thing to do based on data from other jurisdictions with similar vaccination rates, Kenney told a news conference.

"It is now clear that we were wrong, and for that I apologize," Kenney said.

“Alberta has declared a state of public health emergency and is taking immediate action to stave off the ongoing crisis in the health-care system, the premier said.

"To prevent an ongoing crisis, we must do three things urgently," he said.

"First, we must maximize our health-care capacity. Secondly, reduce transmission of the virus by reducing interaction with other people. And thirdly, we have to get as many people as possible vaccinated."

“Without interventions, Kenney said, Alberta hospitals may run out of staff and intensive care beds within the next 10 days.

“Right now, Alberta has more than 18,000 active cases — the most of any province. On Wednesday, there were 877 people in hospital with the illness, including 218 in intensive care. By contrast, Ontario, with a population more than three times Alberta's had 346 in hospital, with 188 in intensive care.

“The new measures include restrictions on restaurants, indoor gatherings, weddings and funerals, retail, entertainment venues, and indoor sport and fitness.

"I had earlier committed not to introduce proof of vaccination because of concerns I had around privacy rights," he said.

"But the government's first obligation must be to avoid large numbers of preventable deaths. We must deal with the reality that we are facing. We cannot wish it away. Morally, ethically and legally, the protection of life must be our paramount concern."

"No one will be compelled to get vaccinated against their wishes, and a negative test option will be offered as an alternative," Kenney said. "But with unvaccinated patients overwhelming our hospitals, this is now the only responsible choice that we have."

“Kenney later qualified his apology saying that it was a mistake to switch from pandemic management to endemic management too soon but he didn't believe it was wrong to lift public health restrictions in July.

"No, I don't apologize for the decision to relax public health restrictions in the summer … when numbers were declining and vaccine numbers were going up," he said.

“Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health, said Albertans must meet the challenge the fourth wave is presenting, especially as health-care capacity is stretched nearly to the limit.

"To ask Albertans yet again to step up, to protect each other through activity restrictions after all we have been through, is agonizing. And yet it is absolutely necessary," Hinshaw said. "Our hospitals cannot sustain care for all Albertans with the dramatic and rapid increase of COVID patients that we are seeing."

“Alberta reported 1,609 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 24 new deaths, the highest number of deaths reported in one day in the province's fourth wave.

"That is one person's life lost for every hour of the day," Hinshaw said. "Every death is a reminder of the seriousness of this virus and why these actions that are being taken today are so critical."

----------

Re Mormonism - I continue to be amazed that the Big Guys have said Be Vaxxed and so many members respond with a big fat NO. As others here have commented, why don't they exercise their free will more often, though in more positive ways than refusing to comply with public health directives. I would never have predicted that Mormons would be anti-science types, at least when it comes to medicine. Mormons I knew and, in fact, all the Christians I've known in various denominations have seemed middle-of-the-road types to me. The only exception re medicine is the JWs who, following the dictates of their faith, refuse to accept blood transfusions (and die needlessly for their choice, based on a questionable interpretation of one scripture). The difference between that and people refusing to receive the vaccine against COVID is that a JW's refusal affects themselves only (and their family members who mourn their passing if they don't pull through their emergency) whereas a person refusing to be vaccinated against COVID can contract the virus and spread it to others, potentially killing themselves and/or their spreadees in the process.

When your choices affect only yourself, fair enough. But when they affect others, potentially drastically negatively, that's a different matter.

Here's a shout out to Lethbridge Reprobate who lives in Alberta (in Lethbridge, obviously). Another COVID winter is an unwelcome prospect for all of us and complicated issues arise involving limited hospital capacity and potential rationing of care. Who lives and who dies are undoubtedly the toughest decisions medics must make. When it's purely a medical decision the choices are clearer. When fairness and moral considerations are in the mix things get hairier. I feel for everybody, patients obviously, staff, family members, decision-makers and the wider community.


'No Man is an Island'

No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

*John Donne


Don't be a clod washed away.

**Get vaccinated!



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2021 01:52PM by Nightingale.

that has plants internationally, but several in the U.S. All the other plants have over 70% vaccination rates. The headquarters has over 90% vaccination rate. And the plant in Logan has 51% vaccination rate. They were even paying people bonuses to get their vaccination. Nope. The mormons aren't budging.

I really don't get it.

BUT my boyfriend's daughter lives on Cordes (spelling) island by Vancouver and she isn't vaccinated. She has been disinvited from Thanksgiving at her mother's house because she doesn't have her vaccination and they have a new baby that will be at TG. She is going to get the vaccine.

I'm sure glad I got it. I believe I avoided a bad case of COVID as I'm not very sick with it. I'll get another test next Friday.

Cortes Island :)

Re your daughter getting vaxxed because she wants to be with family (including baby) that's great. Health officials are hoping that type of thing will be the motivation for many more people to be vaccinated, if they can see the benefits (fewer restrictions).

Re your own case of CV - I'm sorry about that but it's good news that for you it's a mild case. Yes, indeed, that is one huge and hoped-for benefit of being vaccinated - that if you contract the virus you are more likely to have a mild case than you may have had otherwise.

It irritates me beyond endurance when antis say if you're vaxxed you shouldn't become infected. That is a hoped-for outcome but it's not guaranteed. Rather, it's that if you do get CV you have a better chance of a milder infection and not ending up on a vent in ICU or in the morgue.

Re Mormon antis - yeah, as I said, I don't get it either. I'm glad we're talking about it here and trying to understand it better as the question of why why why is really irking me. It's like somebody drew a line in the sand and told everybody to stand back and declared we ain't for movin' and they all say yeah we're not moving and you ask them why and they don't even rightly know.

And if even their own prophet can't budge them, I don't even try. (Or mostly don't).

My boyfriend has said before that Utah drivers have to get there first. I had never noticed. I don't drive fast, so they are probably trying to pass me. But he's right. They have no control over most of their lives, so they rebel over something that won't get their TR taken away or keep them out of the CK.

Maybe the Prophet, Seer & Revelator *should* threaten to take away their TR if members don't Follow the Prophet to the vaccine clinic.

However, it could backfire. Maybe many Mormons wouldn't mind so much if they couldn't get into the temple. Then they could be more lax about their tithing too. :)

I found it mind-numbingly boring and wasn't ever anxious to get back in there.

Weird and boring to be exact.

cl2notloggedin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My boyfriend has said before that Utah drivers
> have to get there first. I had never noticed. I
> don't drive fast, so they are probably trying to
> pass me. But he's right. They have no control
> over most of their lives, so they rebel over
> something that won't get their TR taken away or
> keep them out of the CK.

This is mildly off-topic, but I suspect that's one of the reasons Mormons give their children such weird-@$$ names *** - because deviating in any way in many aspects of their lives will result in some form of ecclesiastical jeopardy for them. Naming their kids totally made-up names is one of their few avenues of exercising individuality and liberty without endangering temple recommend status.

***Another reason is that Mormons have enough kids that they actually use up their first-string name choices. They then resort either to the totally bizarre names they dreamed up in middle school or the delusional non-names they invent in adulthood.

I think you hit the nail on the head there, Nephi.

Nephi. I somewhat like the sound of it, though I'm not sure how well it fits.

"I, Nephi, having been born of well-intentioned if not necessarily goodly parents. . . "

Back in the day, soap opera characters were especially popular name sources.

Yes. Strange as it goes against nature which dictates that self-preservation is the highest imperative.

"The summer of fun has turned into a late summer horror show" says a CBC anchor about the current situation in Alberta.

A communications expert said "the government broke their own brains out of desperation to avoid the words 'vaccine passport'", (which they are now implementing but calling it the "restriction exemption program" - say what???).

Citizens are confused. ICU beds are predicted to run out within the next 10 days. Doctors are reportedly "memorizing the triage protocol" which they predict they will have to implement within days.

The end result of triage is that some people will die and others will live, depending on decisions MDs make about who will receive which treatment (and, by definition, who will not).

In Canada, 77.49% of the population have been fully vaccinated.

In Alberta, 71.4% of the population have been fully vaccinated.

The problem in Alberta is that preventive measures were lifted so they could "open for summer" and the result is further spread of the virus and unsustainable strain on hospital capacity and staff.

This is a result of the pandemic being approached from a political point of view rather than, logically, from a medical standpoint. Because politicians by definition must often or always put their own considerations in the forefront of every situation.

This is far from the only example of this reality but it's an outrageous one. Can you sue a politician for utter and complete malfeasance, ineptitude and stupidity? Should be able to.

Ten more people died of COVID-19 in Alberta in the last 24 hours. That's always tough on staff, not to even mention the loved ones left behind.

The number 10 is also crucial in the grim projection that 10 days is how long they've got before there are no more ICU beds. Exactly to prevent this calamity is why many of the measures were implemented in the first place.


PS: They're using surge capacity now, meaning that the ICU is full and they're setting up ICU beds in non-ICU areas (i.e. transforming them into spaces that can accept ICU cases). Too, they're in contact with other provinces to make arrangements to transfer patients for whom they have no room, now and in days to come. Yet another reason why family members and patients will be separated from each other. I would be inconsolable if that had happened to us when my darling mom was ill in hospital (not from the virus). We camped in her hospital room for 48 hours until she breathed her last. It was desperately hard but would have been far worse if we hadn't been able to be with her. I feel for the families and the patients. And the staff for the grave illness and major losses they must deal with and witness. Medical folks have feelings too.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2021 06:03PM by Nightingale.

https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/coronavirus/article254283733.html

"Crisis care standards mean hospitals must prioritize patients differently. Typically, a hospital prioritizes those who need medical attention most and treats them first. When crisis standards are activated, health care is given to patients who are most likely to survive.

Health and Welfare said the following in its Thursday news release: “In other words, someone who is otherwise healthy and would recover more rapidly may get treated or have access to a ventilator before someone who is not likely to recover.”

As soon as the Alberta premier announced “Open for Summer!” back at the beginning of July, internet wags started posting memes saying “Open for Summer, Closed for Fall!” on fb. Now there was a prophesy that came true...

I watched the press conference yesterday - breaking their brains is an apt description. The premier and health minister were tripping all over themselves to avoid using the term “vaccine passport”. It was the only entertaining moment. And today all the media outlets are calling it a vaccine passport! It’s a good (and very late) step, but the government has left it to individual businesses to decide if they will mandate customers be fully vaccinated, which I think will create a lot of inconsistency. The alternative is that they would have to close their doors to indoor service, be they a restaurant, a gym or whatever, so I imagine most will be on board. My son’s partner is a hairstylist and I saw that she had posted her new protocols on social media within an hour of the presser.

Still, this feels like a bit of order is being brought to tame the chaos that it feels like we’ve been living with forever. Fingers crossed we get through the next few weeks until the surge slows down.

Why not put some infrastructure funding into more icu beds and specialized staff? Not as an only solution per se but why are there always too so few of them? before covid there were not very many, so with the pandemic they may want to rethink getting at least a few more!

Also why not put some new funding towards paying more nurses and doctors as well as for nurse and doctor and medical assistant training if there are shortages and fears of collapse?

All of what you suggest makes great sense, and most Albertans are begging for that. Our medical system in Alberta is in crisis, but not only due to Covid. Very soon after they were elected, our government began a concerted process aimed at dismantling our public medical care system. Our premier has strong libertarian leanings and his party has a majority in the legislature. Over the two years and change that they have held power, they have passed numerous bills that have been introducing more and more privatization into both our health and education systems. As opposed to increasing funding to improve infrastructure and hire more, and much needed personnel, huge cuts have been made to the health and education budgets. Things have never been this terrible in Alberta, at least in my lifetime.

I live in Western Australia, where we have problems with a health system at capacity as well, despite having literally zero Covid cases in hospital.

If we do get an outbreak, we will be in trouble indeed, because vaccination is at only 40%.

Hospital capacity problem is due to staff shortages and funding cuts and complacency.

It's gut-wrenching that BC can't help out our neighbour province Alberta due to our own capacity issues. The closest assistance for Alberta patients who need ICU care is all the way east to Ontario. Obviously family members can't be present when patients must be transferred so far away.

Today comes news that a child under the age of 10 in Ontario has died from COVID-19. Health officials are saying that is rare but, obviously, tragic. The child reportedly had underlying health issues. For privacy reasons they're not making too many details public. This is one of the reasons it's beneficial over and above just for ourselves to be vaccinated - to help protect others.

One of the most unexpected (to me) and obscene aspects of the pandemic is hearing and seeing people expressing opinions and demonstrating behaviours that reveal their complete disregard for that crucial aspect of public health measures - community members helping to protect others. The absolute height of selfishness is on display when people shrug off the concept, indicating their complete indifference to the suffering of others.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2021 03:23PM by Nightingale.

I just this week disinvited myself from my annual October Thanksgiving trip to Alberta and Manitoba. Actually I was most worried about me dragging up the virus from Utah, whose infection rate makes Alberta look like a day at the park.

Plus I know at least one friend in Alberta is a naturopathic blah blah antivaxxer. Just no.

When you were young, was it possible to be a hippie while also wearing a pocket protector? Was such a thing done?

Somehow your post raised that question.

As they say, if you can remember the '60s you weren't there.

Well I WAS there and I DO remember.

And no, it was not possible to wear pocket protectors and be a hippie.

However, you COULD live off your parents and be a hippie. That was okay. Capitalism was BAD, jobs were BAD, but how are ya gonna live wihout $$$/

Tie dyed T-shirts, long hair for the men (no pockets to protect and why would you want to protect a pocket?) Battered blue jeans, with a few thread worn areas and maybe even a hole in the knee.

Straight long hair parted in the middle, granny dresses, granny glasses (whether you needed glasses or not), no bra (whether you needed a bra or not) for the women.

Sandals or earth shoes or even barefoot for everyone.

Free love that everybody would end up paying for, especially the women.

Another time, another place.

Sex, drugs and rock and roll.

The only thing that is still in my life are the drugs.

All prescribed of course. Even the marijuana.

>>Free love that everybody would end up paying for, especially the women.

Well, birth control pills were a thing back then, too. And sexually transmitted diseases were not that common among college students at the time.

>>And no, it was not possible to wear pocket protectors and be a hippie.

If you are talking about those were furthest out on the hippie spectrum, then I would agree. But IMO it was a spectrum. My brother was an engineering student in the 60s and early 70s. Among his friends, there were longhairs, those who wore tie-dye and smoked pot, etc. They had to clean up once they got out into the working world, but they were not uncool. I would say they were nuanced individuals who were not easily categorized other than being smart and responsible people.

Nice description of the decade, loislane, positive and negative.

I will also confess to some childish amusement at your opening sentence, which reminded me of EOD's once saying he wished he could remember his 60s!

I don’t think I ever had a pocket protector, nor did I ever have an HP calculator. I did have a couple slide rules, and a Swedish Original Odhner calculator. I have never liked UNIX in any of its myriad variations. I am a Mac fan, so I guess that makes mea counter culture computer nerd. UNIX and Windows are just irredeemably ugly.

Very good decision BoJ. Crisis stations in Alberta as we speak.

I almost can't listen to the news. It's excruciating.

Today they are saying that the 4th wave in Alberta "is almost out of control".

One MD stated that if you don't get vaccinated and so contract the virus "care may not be there". "This is unprecedented in Canada" he said.

How does that not set off alarm bells in people's heads?

Alberta is consulting with other provinces to obtain more resources and staff. They're lining up Medevac and talking to the Feds re gaining access to military assistance. Too, the Red Cross is another resource they're arranging to access if/when needed. Does that scream EMERGENCY yet?

An MD who is a Professor at the U of Alta said this morning that their approach now is airlift and triage. "We need lockdown" he stated due to their surge in urgent cases since the premier's "We're Open for Summer" approach which was great news for the virus.

The Alberta government is (finally) yielding to the idea of having a vaccine card. (They don't call it vaccine passport because so many people are against it - I guess card sounds better? Same as here in BC re being careful with the word choice).

Saskatchewan, the province east of Alberta (which is east of BC) is also suffering. An MD is saying today that they're in crisis mode. Even urgent surgeries are being cancelled at this point. For example, too bad for you if you have a brain aneurysm. Those surgeries are among the ones being cancelled. If your brain starts to bleed, "well..." shrugged the dr (not uncaring, just resigned to today's realities).

Sask (I think it is) is sending adult patients to a children's hospital as other beds are full. Now so is the children's hospital. (So where do the kids go?)

An Emergency MD said getting a vaccine is not about a personal choice, it's about looking after your neighbours and friends, making sure they're kept safe. We are displacing people who need care by not getting our vaccination, he added.

The reporter said that "Alberta is on the cusp of a formal implementation of triage, which we haven't seen in modern times".

An ER MD/Prof in Sask said "we are heading in that direction" (triage).

Need I say that, by far, the highest percentage of critically ill patients taking up ER and ICU beds and bumping others who need urgent care are unvaccinated. IOW, much of this is preventable.

My heart breaks for the loved ones of those who aren't getting the care they need. It is next to impossible to come to terms with one's loss and grief if you believe the death didn't have to happen or at least that your loved one didn't get the care they should have had.

Also for physicians who have to make these impossible choices as well as nurses and allied workers who are in the midst of a war zone at this point, every minute of every shift, with all the chaos, urgency, heartache, loss and grief. Bad enough at any time but to think it doesn't have to be this way. Unbearable.

And I think there are conflicting emotions which can be so tough to process. For the willingly unvaccinated person who ends up needing critical care, staff may be torn between irritation or anger at the situation that didn't need to arise and their instincts as a health care worker who daily feels compassion and patience and understanding for their patients in general. That's why they're HCWs in the first place.

For all these reasons and more I have a difficult time being patient and understanding with anti-vaxxers now. Before I thought they may be reachable but now I see that by far most are not, at all. However, I still hold out hope for some in the "hesitant" crowd who may just need to get hold of accurate information in order to prompt them to just do it (get the vax).

It's usually war time or equivalent emergency situations that prompt tears when I watch the news. But this is a tear-jerker all the way 'round.

"It's an unprecedented medical crisis" says the former deputy premier of Alberta.

Public. Health. Emergency.

And yet the pols still pol.

Despicable.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2021 03:41PM by Nightingale.

Another aspect of the Public Health Emergency is that emergencies over and above patients with COVID-19, even those that arrive by ambulance, may not, or likely won't be able to access care. Usually ambulance cases are a top priority, says the former Deputy Premier.

The biggest problem is that politicians (with their own priorities, biases and self-interests) are in charge of decision-making.

This is a medical emergency. Not their wheelhouse. Move over you dolts.

The Alberta health officer just said that Alberta now accounts for 45% of all cases in the entire country.

100% of their current cases are unvaxxed.

In ICU patients with COVID-19 92% are unvaxxed.


"Creating capacity is not a simple task", states the MD who is CEO of Alberta Health Care Services.

Much of the recently created capacity is in beds and areas not in ICU - they just make a bed/area "ICU", not ideal and very stressful for staff.

You also have to realize that medical and nursing staff in non-ICU areas are not experienced in caring for ICU patients.

Also, giving adults care is different from treating children.

Just saying.

Also the MD/CEO said she knows members are exhausted and frustrated.

Every 84 minutes yesterday a COVID patient died.

At 90% of capacity, triage kicks in. They're at 179% capacity now.

Bad news for everybody.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2021 05:52PM by Nightingale.

I really wish they would not call it a fourth wave. It's the same old wave it has always been.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/opinion/fake-news-media-attention.html

"Critical thinking, as we’re taught to do it, isn’t helping in the fight against misinformation"

It is important we fight misinformation

I just saw the saddest looking ICU MD discussing the situation as they ramp up towards rationing care (aka triage).

Sad. Exhausted. Worried. Discouraged.

He said that triage involves choosing patients who will benefit most from the limited resources available. He said the usual approach is to provide care in line with a patient's and family's values "but not now".

He said "we become analytical about how to distribute the available resources".

It's not just people coming into hospital who need ICU care who get triaged. It's also those already in ICU. They may get bumped in favour of a new arrival. The major consideration is which one is more likely to obtain the best benefit. This doesn't mean the current ICU patient wouldn't survive if ICU care continued. It just means the incoming patient has better odds. And the bumped ICU patient has lesser odds of surviving when despite their grave condition they may have survived if ICU care was continued.

Any wonder the medical staff looks so pained and exhausted. This is just at the thought of having to make such decisions.

Part of deciding who gets ICU care when there are more patients than space are considerations such as age and severity of illness. I'd say if a patient is elderly, with severe illness, they stand a good chance of getting bumped for a younger person. These are the tough choices that have to be made in such times as we're in.

To be clear, those who can't get into ICU will still receive medical care but not ICU or ventilator.

The MD described surgery cancellations for adults and children; in particular, cancer surgeries. "Patients with cancer do better with prompt surgical treatment" [compared to delay] he said.

The reporter asked about the full capacity crowd expected (and being allowed) at an upcoming hockey game. (Because God knows, Canada must have its hockey). The MD's brow furrowed further and he put his hand over his face for a moment. "It's a really bad idea" he said quietly. "We have weak restrictions" and he went on to describe them as being "on a precipice, we are over it, hanging on" and said they need staffing and resources from the military and they need to prevent future waves of the virus.

He couldn't summon up a smile as he signed off.

Who can blame him.

He looks like he needs to sleep for a week.

This thing is going to take some getting over for all the medical personnel. (It goes without saying that the same is true for patients and family members, whatever their outcomes). To those who jeer and mock and laugh, give your heads a shake. If that is your attitude you are being most unkind. Even so, exhausted yet committed and professional medical staff will do their utmost to help you live should you end up under their care.

I remember when Italy had to triage care in the early days of the pandemic. Italy did triage using age as a factor. If you were over a certain age, you did not get a ventilator.

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Doctor-who-has-lost-over-100-patients-to-covid-16484138.php?IPID=SFGate-HP-CP-Spotlight

"But when a well-regarded intensive care unit nurse told him during a recent shift that the wife of an unvaccinated covid patient had berated her when she informed the woman of her husband's deteriorating condition, Trunsky, who has lost more than 100 patients to the coronavirus, reached his breaking point."

"Still sporting his black scrubs, he began to vent. He wrote about a critically ill patient who disputed his covid-19 diagnosis. Another threatened to call his lawyer if he wasn't given ivermectin, an anti-parasite drug that is not approved for treating covid. A third, Trunsky wrote, told the doctor they would rather die than take one of the vaccines.

One demanded a different doctor, "I don't believe you," he told the physician."

"Trunsky's post detailing his interactions with eight covid patients and their relatives highlights the resistance and mistreatment some health care workers across the U.S. face while caring for patients who have put off or declined getting vaccinated. Trunsky estimates that nine out of every 10 covid patients he treats are unvaccinated.

His post - a plea for people to get vaccinated - also reveals the physical and emotional toll the pandemic has had on health care workers, who have been on the front lines for over a year and a half. Roughly 3 out of 10 have considered leaving the profession, according to a Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll, and about 6 in 10 say stress from the pandemic has harmed their mental health."


"Trunsky, 55, empathizes with other burned-out medical workers.

"We are physically tired as a whole, me included, and we are emotionally exhausted . . . I don't think a week goes by that I don't see someone pass away," he told The Post."