January 2022 - Healthedly Insurance Services

American Red Cross blood crisis: How can we help?

As of January 14, 2022, 68% of blood centers in the U.S. have under 3 days of blood supply which is the minimum necessary to meet regular demand.

Under normal circumstances, the Red Cross supplies 40% of the U.S.’s national blood supply that hospitals use. However, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization has seen a 10% decline in the number of people donating blood.

To solve this shortage, the Red Cross is raising awareness and urging individuals to donate blood. “All types are needed now, especially types O positive and O negative, as well as platelet donations, to help reverse this national blood crisis,” wrote the American Red Cross in a press release.

If there is not an immediate opportunity available to donate, donors are asked to make an appointment in the days and weeks ahead to ensure the Red Cross can replenish and maintain a sufficient blood supply. Blood cannot be manufactured, and there is no alternative treatment for blood transfusion. It is therefore crucial for people to donate blood to save lives.

One unit of blood is equal to 500 milliliters. The American Red Cross predicts that 29,000 units of red blood cells are needed daily in the U.S. While the average red blood cell transfusion is around three units, a car accident victim may require as many as 100 units of blood. However, not everyone has been equally affected by the nationwide blood shortage.

During the initial phase of the pandemic in the U.S, the blood supply decreased, but our use decreased concurrently as elective and non urgent surgeries were canceled across the country. As these surgeries resumed, blood collection centers were unable to keep up with the demand.

Doctors said that one of the major reasons blood collection centers have been unable to keep up with the demand is that many of the ways in which people used to give blood, such as through community blood drives or pop-up sites at large gatherings, have been curtailed or canceled due to continued COVID-19-related restrictions.

Despite some loosening of these restrictions in various parts of the country, the repeated surges of COVID-19 disease related to the variants have continued to depress donations. Many hospitals and other organizations are sponsoring blood drives, but the return on these is also decreasing, meaning successive blood drives are not garnering the same amount of donations as they did in the past.

For more information on health insurance or healthy tips, visit us through Healthedly Insurance Services to learn more.

January 21, 2022

3 Ways Social Media Hurt Mental Health During the Pandemic

General

The worldwide Pandemic and lockdown utterly changed the face of American social and corporate life. Forced to stay in our houses for months caused an unprecedented trend towards dependency on digital platforms. But even now, Americans’ face-to-face interactions take a back seat more and more to social media.

Though most Americans no longer need to remain at home, the year spent in isolation with only virtual communication as a constant companion has its lasting effects.

1)Social Media causes increase in Anxiety and Depression

Social media offers real time access to current news and events going on around the world. Thus, this constant exposure to tragedies and catastrophes occurring globally can be unsettling. The amount of people struggling with anxiety and depression has dramatically risen since lockdown began in 2022.

2)Social Media causes decrease in face-to-face interactions

Due to government mandates, social distancing became a way of life during the Pandemic. Consequently, this meant a massive drop in human interactions in Americans’ day to day lives. Digital social apps became a huge tool of communication with loved ones and strangers alike. But studies show that even social media interaction cannot replace face-to-face socialization. Even though the Pandemic is over, reliance on communication apps continues to rise. This means a steady decrease in actual human interactions.

3)Pressure to gain social clout

In the digital age we live in, the pressure to become popular via apps like YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok only grows daily. The Pandemic accelerated this trend. These platforms, especially TikTok, gained millions of users seeking a boost in serotonin and companionship while in lockdown. With nothing to do but stay at home all day, many began to see social media apps as their ticket to popularity and success during the Pandemic. It became the hot new scene since high school and college starting going virtual. All the issues plaguing modern schools like bullying and worship of popularity transferred to social media platforms.

If you are struggling with your mental health and want answers, begin by discovering the right healthcare provider for you.

January 20, 2022

At-Home Tests May Miss New Variant

News

Some at-home tests may miss variant Omicron in early stages of infection

Experts recently discovered that the Abbott BinaxNOW and Quidel QuickVue rapid at-home COVID tests might sometimes miss traces of the Omicron variant in the first days after contraction.

The researchers create a focus group with 30 people infected with COVID at five different workplaces. These participants experienced what were most likely outbreaks of the Omicron variant that began last month. The focus group received both saliva-based PCR tests and rapid antigen-based tests involving nasal swabs.

It took three days, on average, for the group to test positive on the two rapid antigen tests. After their first positive PCR result, researchers reported that in four cases, participants of the study transmitted the virus to others even after a negative result.

Moreover, studies have also surfaced that some people who initially tested negative on antigen nose-swab tests then went on to receive a positive result after swabbing the back of their throats.

The latest study is consistent with other preliminary evidence that the at-home tests may fail to detect some Omicron cases in the early days of infection.

Thus, people should remain cautious after getting negative results, especially when they exhibit symptoms or believe they may have come into contact with the virus.

Why are the rapid at-home tests missing Omicron in the early stages of infection? They only detect proteins lying on the surface of the coronavirus. Experts say that if mutations in the virus change the structure of these proteins, antigen tests might miss the variant.

The study comes a week after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released its own update on the effectiveness of the rapid antigen tests. But early data suggests that antigen tests do detect the Omicron variant but may reduce sensitivity.

Many of those studies began too early with small focus groups, so much more data is needed.

The at-home tests can deliver results in minutes and positive results are more reliable. They can be an important tool alongside PCR tests, which can take days to come back. However a significant amount of testing still needs to be done.

The FDA update was not the first sign of decreased sensitivity with the rapid tests. Overall, the researchers found that the tests were less sensitive to Omicron than to previous variants.

Hopefully in the near future, at-home tests will be able to distinguish the Omicron variant from other variants.

Looking for the right insurance for you and your family? Start by getting a free quote today!

Don’t forget that it’s never too late to enroll with Healthedly Insurance Services for your life insurance.

January 13, 2022

Biden Administration To Offer Free At-Home Covid-19 Tests

General

Biden Aministration announces decision to make insurance companies cover at-home covid-19 tests

As of Saturday, private health insurers will need to cover at least eight home COVID-19 tests each month for people on their plans.

The Biden Administration announced this huge change on Monday. By starting this new push to at-home COVID testing, the current administration hopes to lower costs and make testing for COVID-19 more convenient. This could also result in cases going down.

Under the new policy, Americans will be able to either purchase home testing kits for free with their insurance or submit receipts for the tests for reimbursement. PCR tests and rapid tests ordered or administered by a health provider will continue to be fully covered by insurance with no limit. Say goodbye to spending money every week on at-home COVID tests.

Despite this announcement, President Joe Biden faced criticism over the holiday season for a shortage of at-home rapid tests at a critical time of the year. The shortage occurred at a time when many Americans travel to see family. Therefore, there was a surge in cases from the more transmissible omicron variant.

Now the administration is working to make COVID-19 home tests more readily available.

The federal government will also launch a public website to begin making 500 million at-home COVID-19 tests available via mail. Now you can order whenever you like and get it delivered right to your doorstep! Best part? You don’t have to pay for the test.

They also plan to scale up emergency rapid-testing sites in areas experiencing the greatest surges in cases.

Only tests purchased on or after Jan. 15 will be required to be reimbursed, the administration informed insurance companies. Some insurers may choose to cover the costs of at-home tests purchased earlier, but it will not be required.

Are you looking for the right health insurance plan for you and your loved ones? Start by getting a free quote today

January 12, 2022

HealthCare.Gov Offers Affordable HealthCare Plans

ACA, Individual and Family

New Law. Lower Prices. More Qualify.

With new law passed in the most recent calendar year, people who buy healthcare through Marketplace hubs are able to save more with more affordable premiums. A majority of suitors who find health plans through HealthCare.gov can fin plans for less than $10 a month.

There’s more than one way to enroll in Marketplace coverage. If you would like help from an agent or broker, or would like to enroll through one of our certified enrollment partners, you can visit here.

Don’t forget that it’s never too late to enroll with Healthedly Insurance Services for your life insurance.

Also, utilize these resources to help navigate what you’re looking for:

ACA

Medicare

Group Health

Life

Travel Health

January 7, 2022

Children Under 5 Await To Be Vaccinated for COVID-19

News

At this point during the pandemic, kids under 5 make up only a tiny fraction of the number of people who’ve been sick. This age group accounts for 2.7% of total Covid-19 cases, but only 6% of the overall US population.

Kids are far less likely to be hospitalized or die from Covid-19 than adults. Children make up 1.2% of the hospitalizations and 0.02% of the deaths. But the virus is still a threat to them, regardless. Hence, the push to release a COVID-19 vaccine designed especially for children becomes crucial.

Recently, Dr. Claudia Hoyen, director of pediatric infection control at UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, reported the highest number of Covid patients in the hospital in the past week. That number far exceeded anything seen during the pandemic.

This recent surge in children cases increased the urgency for a child-friendly vaccine. Dr. Bill Hartman runs the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine trial for kids 6 months to 5 years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He thinks that a vaccine for this age group could be available as early as the first or second month of 2022. He says they are making the vaccine a priority due to the rising number of COVID cases in the children under five demographic. Hartman announced a new study to create an effective, child-friendly vaccine.

However, Hartman and his team saw so much interest that they had to shut down the recruitment line after only one day. But Hartman isn’t the only one starting to seek protection for children against COVID-19.

Dr. Simon Li works hard on the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine trial. He claims his study will follow tested children for two years to measure efficacy of their vaccine.

Moderna also plans to gather data on vaccines in younger children over the course of the next few years. Only Johnson & Johnson says it has not started trials of its Covid-19 vaccine for children younger than 12.

At first, Dr. Li thought it would be difficult to recruit children for the Pfizer/BioNTech trial. Parents can be protective, he said, especially when it comes to vaccines for their children. Thus, it can take a while to recruit volunteers.

The center initially needed to recruit about 150 children ages 6 months to 11 years. In August, the US Food and Drug Administration asked Pfizer to enroll more participants to verify that there were no safety issues. Though there were only a handful of available spots, Li reported that another thousand people asked to be part of the trial.

Pfizer announced in an earnings call last week that in the first half of 2022, they intended to submit data from the trials to regulatory authorities. The company reassured that the development of a third dose should not affect this timeline.

The more people the virus can infect, the more chance that it will evolve and become more infectious. We saw this happen when the Delta variant mutated.

Dr. Hartman advised parents to insulate kids from the COVID-19 virus until vaccines for children are released.

Are you looking for the right life insurance plan for you and your kids? Get a free quote today!

January 4, 2022