February 24, 2021

It’s been a little over a year since the first COVID-19 case was treated in an American hospital. Since that time, we have witnessed one of the most remarkable societal transformations to occur in peace time. Millions of people have masked up and thousands of businesses have shut down. With increasing unemployment and social disruption, angst and concern spread across the land. In the center of the storm have been our nation’s hospitals. These facilities have been on the forefront of treating people with the severest symptoms and have been instrumental in saving countless lives. In short, for the American hospital, this has been a year unlike any other.

The Past is Prologue

We now head into another year of COVID and another year of uncertainty. During year one, we watched as nearly every week brought news of conflicting recommendations and changing symptomology. In year two, confusion continues to reign. Even while hospital-based COVID cases in much of the country continue to plummet, top officials in Washington, D.C. are warning that “the worst is yet to come” and we should plan on wearing masks until 2022 and possibly beyond. But not just one mask. These same officials have recently suggested that two (or even three) masks are even better. They have also mandated the wearing of masks in all conveyance vehicles that can be characterized as public transportation, to include planes, trains, buses and taxis.

Another milepost we can point to as we begin COVID’s second year is the mass immunization effort now taking place throughout the country. This involves an injection regimen using mRNA technology (commonly referred to as the “COVID vaccine”) that provides for a series of two injections administered over the course of a few weeks. According to various reports, about one in 10 Americans have already received the first of these injections, with some 10 million having been injected with both doses.

What Could Go Wrong?

As a hospital administrator or department head, it will be up to you to read the tea leaves as it concerns the short- and long-term effects of these and other COVID-related events. It is imperative to your planning—personnel, supplies, organization and budgets—to determine the extent to which the current permutation of COVID and the responses to it will affect the financial stability and clinical viability of your facility. It is therefore incumbent on you to soberly consider some of the following potentialities.

Let’s talk about the masks—not the ones that millions of Americans are wearing for prolonged hours every day, but the ones required by clinical professionals in the hospital setting. According to a February 18 report, federal agents seized 10 million “fake” N95 masks that were represented as the 3M brand. That’s right, 10 million! It’s been claimed that many hospitals have been desperately trying to increase their supply of the N95 masks. Out of such desperation, some have apparently been going outside their normal supply chain to obtain extra N95s—from what they thought were valid sources offering these masks. Unfortunately, they wound up buying a counterfeit product that, according to officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), were completely ineffective and had “no utility whatsoever.”

The government has already notified some 6,000 known victims of the scam, reflecting hospitals and other medical facilities in at least 12 states. If you suspect this story could potentially apply to your N95 supplies, officials at DHS have recommended going to the 3M website for tips on spotting the fake masks that may be present at your facility. The relevant link is provided here: 3M PPE How to identify fraudulent offers, counterfeit products and price gouging.

Let’s now turn to the vaccines. It is with some concern that we’ve been hearing about the different strains of the virus arising from the United Kingdom and South Africa; and, according to a recent study cited in several mainline news outlets and medical journals, the mRNA injections currently available in the United States (Pfizer and Moderna) look to be “less effective” relative to the South African variant. Will this mean additional injections being recommended or required in the future? Since there were no multi-year studies of the possible side effects, including long-term effects, of the current injections, what percentage of those being injected today will become seriously ill (requiring hospitalization) later on?

It may be worth noting that India, the second most populous nation on earth, has reportedly shown some recent reticence pertaining to the Pfizer injections due to possible health concerns. According to articles found this month in multiple news outlets (Newsweek, The Independent), India has rejected Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine emergency use application, at least for the time being. Meanwhile, India is moving forward with developing its own immunization injections.

The point of the above recitations is that we appear to be in for another volatile year where uncertainty abides, and it will be up to hospital decision-makers to evaluate what information and products are trustworthy and make plans based on best judgments. If we can do anything to make your life easier as it concerns planning and business solutions, please feel free to reach out to us at info@miramedgs.com.