Coronavirus Check Up with Dr. Kaveh Hoda

kind of like Star Trek. Right, yeah, yeah, there's a well, I don't think there's like new versions of it. I think it's like the same, good old syphilis pretty much. I don't think it changes drastically, so it's like Star Trek on Netflix. Yeah yeah, okay, Well, good to hear from syphilis. This has been your syphilis update. That's gonna

do it for us this week until next week. I've been Robert Evans, Dr Cavojota, and of course Garrison Davis all right, by everyone by It would be pretty funny to just do that, so fa, to just drop a one and a half minute episode on, but only if we put in fifteen ads. M. Yeah, we really like every word, we have a full ad break in between. Yeah, then then people would probably complain lest about the nine

dads that are in our episodes. Right now, I can talk about what are we what are we doing right now? What is this episode about? What's going on? I'm assuming you guys want to talk about the coronavirus or I don't know. I can talk about whatever you want, but I think that's probably what you guys brought me on for. All right, what do we what is this coronavirus? Is this a problem? It's a little problem. It's not good to hear it's it's it's not great. So why didn't

you give me a heads up on this? So? Yeah, that that's me not giving you heads up on the plaque, the figure talking about hear anything about this? All the masks, that's why you got those two jabs in your arms and that random parking lot. Oh I thought that was heroin. Sorry. First of all, can can we talk about the use of the word jab. I don't love it. It's I mean, you're not James Bond, you don't. Let's not use jab. Prefer it's fair. I prefer what I think is the

proper medical term. Vain fucked. Yeah, but it's not really your vein either, It's really just interra muscular fucked. Oh right, muscle fucked. Yeah. I mean, what what are the cool kids calling it? Is it a poke? What do we want to what do the teens call it? Is it? Are they calling it the TikTok's? Yeah, it's called it's called the TikTok. I don't know. I've I've been been working on I've been working on a all day Today've been working to find this proud boy who's pretending to

take COVID vaccines but it's actually steroids. Um. He calls the critical support, he calls the extracurriculars. Okay, So that honestly rules, that's extremely funny. I'm hoping that article will be by the time this podcast airs. So, uh, who's the article for? I'm not sure yet. I'm talking with Opossum Press. Okay, cool, Well that's funny, Garrison. What is

today's episode about? Well, we we want to talk to We wanted to talk to kVA about both what the current plague situation is because a lot of people seem to think it's over a lot of people seem to think it's not over um. And then also, how is COVID and all the stuff still affecting our hospital and medical system? Um? Is there supply shortages for medical supplies? What's going on in different areas? Yeah, because all of that, all that kind of stuff, Yes is the answer. Yes,

the answer. Yeah, it's a it's still a problem. I don't think. Uh, don't listen to anyone who tells you that it's not. Um, don't listen to anyone who gives you too Sonny of forecast on it. But it you know, it's different in different places. Is the along the short of it. In places where the vaccinations are higher and where there's mandates and there's reasonable laws about things, the rates are going downs California, but also like Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont.

These are places with high vaccination rates. The rates of cases are going down in those places. Places like Mississippi, West Virginia, Idaho, Alabama. These are places where like it's for vaccination rates and the cases are going way up. You guys might have heard of a couple of things happening, Like there was that forty six year old guy named Daniel Wilkinson. He's like a vet who develops something called gallstone pancreatitis, which I could talk to you guys about

for hours, but I won't. Don't worry, but I could. I'm just like you know, I could, I mean declared. It's not a total DNR, but like anyone who has um cardiac arrest is on a DNR now in Idaho because they just don't have the resources to be well, that's not entire I mean what am I Okay? So that's not your fault. You got wrong, because there are there were doctors that were sort of spreading that story about now they are and what's called the crisis standard

of care. But and in part of that means that hospitals could go to putting everyone on DNR, which means do not resuscitate, which means if you have a cardiac arrest, they won't do anything about it. That's that's not what's actually happening. It could happen. What what when they institute this crisis standard of care. What it means is that if a hospital gets so short on their ventilators and they just don't have any more room, then they could implement that. I mean, I don't know I even heard

of anyone I was. I was asking around to see if any doctors in Idaho could tell me of a hospital that's actually doing it. I haven't seen or heard of one that's actually doing it yet, but they could. The point is it's it's that bad. But that's a reasonable discussion where doctors have to discuss kind of like they were back in the day in New York, where they have to be like, okay, does this person do we put the you know, the young lady on the mental leader or the old guy? You know? Then we

have to decide and they make those decisions. It's really awful. It's a position no doctor wants to be in. And now that's becoming a reality. It's brutal. It's brutal out there, and and that's bleeding into other states nearby, you know. So is that what you mean by the Welkerson situation because his doctor like couldn't find uh an ICU bed for him? Is that that is that the story you're talking about? That's the story. So he's this guy who

had a problem that can be fixed. I mean it's a procedure called an e r CP that he can get done at specialty centers and he didn't live far from Houston. Houston has plenty of the specialty centers that can do it. They have great guests from urologists like myself, not as good, but you know, the same sort of thing. And they could do it if they if they, you know, if they had the availability to get him in. But they didn't, and so he died. Is something that he

shouldn't love. It's basically the example. And I'm sure there's more examples of that. And what really worries me is the examples that you're not hearing yet, like cases they're delayed now, cancer screening, things that are being delayed now in these hospitals that we're gonna be paying down the road. That's that's the ship that really scares me. Just people

not going in for things in general. Yeah, exactly. I have friends other than you who work in E. R s and stuff, nurses and the doctor um and bullshit.

It's up in the pm W. But the ship they're saying is like in the days crap Like like I they are working on like building capacity and making sure they have things to like treat their friends because it's there, like the advice do not go to the hospital, like if if if at all possible, like because there's just not capacity for you unless it's like literally an immediate life and death thing. It's it's almost uh not worth like trying because there's just nothing, there's no slack the

system is and it's it's it's starting to turn. It looks like here in in in the Portland area, but like it's it's frightening, like these are not people who would be bullshitting or or are are are prone to panic.

You know, they're e er professionals, but um, it's it's it's fucked up, like it's it's it it's this thing where like the scary thing to me is not even necessarily where we are right now, because it does like there is some kind of broadly positive news in a lot of areas about like where the pandemic is going. It's just like this situation won't be fixed when case numbers go down. It's it's it's going to be permanent

damage has been done to this system. And I guess what I'm wondering, first off, like from what you're seeing, like what what is the extent of the permanent damage done to our our emergency medical system in particular, and our our ability to even get care at the moment. Yeah, that's a really good question. I don't I don't know. It kind of goes back to I think what Garrison want to talk about, which is like the collapse of

the medical system. I think we talk about it a lot in terms of we're on the edge of collapse, we're near collapse. I think there are places in this country where it already has collapsed. I think that's pretty evident. It's really it's not homogeneous in any way across this country. There are certainly places that are better than others, and there's certainly places that have a lot more uh leeway

and flexibility, but everywhere is strained right now. And in regards to your question about permanent damage, I'll answer that in regards to just the personnel. You know, because um, because of the show that I have the House of Pod, all those twitter at the House of Pod, and I talked to a lot of doctors and nurses from all over the country, talk to them a lot, and it's bad.

I mean, the stress that they're under, the pts D that they're that they're dealing with, the burnout, the level of burnout is just intense it's intense and and it's I think we were talking about moral injury and burnout before all this started, and now it is to a point where I don't know what's going to happen to the medical system, just in terms of the personnel when this is all over. I know a lot of people who are getting out of medicine, getting out clinical medicine.

I mean out of like I would I would say, out of just my immediate friend group. I can think of a couple off hand, excellent doctors, really great I c U e R doctors who are already planning their exit. Yeah, and when I don't know, I mean in the next coming years, that's gonna be a major issue, and I don't know how we're going to address that. And our nurses in the i c u. S. Man, the stuff they have to put up with is is in and you just see it in their eyes. Eyes are broken,

Like I was. I volunteered on the wards a couple of weeks ago, and people, they're the doctors and nurses taking care of these COVID patients day in day out, like they there's like a little bit of their soul that's been broken. Just see it in their eyes. Like I was there for like just a week, and it's terrifying. You're going into a room with a patient with COVID. It's scary, you know, even no matter how much ppe protective equipment you have on, like, you're always a little scared.

And I just think years of that that way is on a person in a way I don't I mean, I am worried about. I don't know how we're going to address that. M Yeah, that's cool. Yeah, And it's frustrating because, like from the perspective of people listening, right, the thing you want to ask is like, well, how can I help? And it's like, well, you can't because you're already if you're listening to the show, I assume

you're masking. I assume you've gotten vaccinated. If you don't have like a condition that that renders you unable to get the vaccine, you're you're I I think our listeners tend to be pretty responsible people. It's just not enough because the country decided to like Leroy Jenkins a plague and um Garrison, do you know that reference? Is that gence? I'm familiar with Leroy Jenkins. That's good. Were you born when Leroy Jenkins became a thing. I don't know. You

would have been like three, would have been young. Yeah, it was it was Deadpool that brought him to your attention, isn't it. No, No, I it came to my attention just doing general internet nothing. Yeah. It was one of the first. It was the first meme that you could show your parents pretty much. I guess they were like Badger, Badger, mushroom, a couple of others in that category, but like, it was one of the first memes that wasn't a man's gaping asshole prolapsed. But I showed my parents that all

the time. I don't know. Yeah, there was a beautiful full moment back in the day with some sea to stadium. Yeah, that's what brought you into medicine. This is when I saw work. They were so proud of me, like, look at look at our son, look at our boy, look at our boy. He can tell us exactly why that man's asshole looks that way. I have a weird job,

I guess. One of my questions is, with the assumption that people are taking the actual plague related steps they can to reduce their burden to the medical system, what can people realistically do. I mean, I think part of that is and this is and I'm not going to have you to like explain how you can take care of your own medical treatments in an emergency on a podcast.

That's not the time or the place. Although I do think it's probably a good idea for people to read up on first aid and basic life saving emergency like it's always a good idea to have some training there. But yeah, I mean, do you have other advice? You know, You're exactly right. The people that are listening to this podcast are totally on board already, and they're super supportive and we appreciate that. I mean, that is not unnoticed. I mean, um, you know, it's having people like uh

outside the hospitals every now and then applauding doctors. I know it's cheesy, but it's great. I'll take that over the blue angels flying overhead any day, you know. So it's that's that stuff is really important, and masking and taking care of themselves is is great, you know. Um. The the real practical things that people can do, I think is help contribute to sites that will help get

the rest of the world vaccinated. I mean, we can definitely talk about that, the question of boosters here versus you know, vaccines for the first time elsewhere. But there, that's the one thing I would recommend right now, if you want to help, um, let's put our money into places where we can get vaccines to other places. And I think that every little bit of that helps in the long run. And that's the sort of thing that

we could use. Other than that, I mean, I just hope that people are still going into medicine and in nursing, you know. That's the only thing I can still hope is that people who haven't interest in it, you know, continue to do it. And and for those people who are just their training, those years of their formative years are during this time. I just want to let them know. I swear it gets better. It's not always gonna be

like this. And if you make it through this, you're gonna be an amazing clinician, You're gonna be an amazing nurse, You're gonna be an amazing doctor. And I really want you guys to keep doing it. That's that's one thing I would say to Yeah, I mean, and I'll certainly add that if you're someone who's contemplating a medical career, please please. I mean just from a there's a couple of things on that, like just from a perspective of

what the world needs, it's what the world needs. But also, if you're listening to this stuff we're saying about the crumbles, about the possibility of the collapse, if you're someone who who foresees things getting potentially much more difficult in the future, not a lot of things more useful in a bad situation than somebody with medical training. I do count on that getting me through the apocalypse. I'm I'm soft, I am so so. I went camping and I couldn't handle it.

A couple of weeks ago, I went camping. It was awful. There was so much dust. It was an awful experience. But I just thought, if the apocalypse comes, I will hopefully get placed in a very nice tent because I'm a doctor. So I'm counting on that to get me through.

There are there are so many dumbass boogaloo type quote unquote preppers who focus on the guns and the gear and the dried food but thrown in the shirt throwing knives but don't even have a n IFFAC, an individual first aid kit or like a tourniquet, and like the talk to you talk to like like I mean, this is a little off topic, but like talk to combat marines about like their favorite person. It's always the corman. It's the guy who knows or the lady who knows

how to like patch a bullet wound and whatnot. Like there's there's nothing more useful in any situation pretty much that that is dangerous than somebody who can do medicine. So please, if you're if you're studying to do medicine, if you're contemplating becoming an e MT or a paramedic or a nurse or whatever, good God, we need you so badly. Yeah, we've talked to a little bit about just in the medical system in general, and then we can also kind of discuss more stuff related to how

COVID is impacting certain areas more than others. And like let's say someone who's someone who's listening, who's in one of these areas that it has only vaccinated, you know, not a lot of people are going on with masks on, and you know, school starting back up, maybe they have kids are going to their school system. I know in Texas,

you know, child deaths arising. That sounds very frightening to be that kind of person who, like, you know, would like like to see that stuff happened in their state,

but it's just not really possible. And I don't know, with so much of the rest of the world kind of slowly taking back restrictions, and I'm sure it feels very jarring to be in a situation like that and kind of like there's really nothing you can do right besides you right, because you can talk to your family, talk to your friends, but like overall, it's hard to hard to make you know, a big impact in a state, you know, like Texas, Alabama, like Idaho, all the ones

that you that you were mentioning before from a medical kind of perspective, is there is there any way people can kind of start to talk about those things with their family And because the way we've been trying to get people take the vaccine, with the marketing we've been doing, has not been super successful in these demographics. Um, do you think there's other conversations that can get people to slowly kind of be more be more able to you know, yeah,

contemplate that. Yeah, that's a that's a tough question. It's particularly tough if you're someone who is believes in the importance of vaccines and you're or the importance of masks and that sort of thing, and you're in a place where you're a minority. That is tough. The first thing I'll say is definitely know that the vaccine helps. You're in a much better position because of the vaccine. When I was on the wards and I was looking at

patients the they're almost all unvaccinated. Those are the people that end up in the hospital. You can't still get into the hospitalized if you have the vaccine, but it's it's much less likely. And you know, not that these people don't count, they count just as much. But if you don't have an underlying problem like a liver transplant or some immune suppression, then you're less likely to have a really bad outcome with COVID if you're vaccinated. So

just know that it helps. You still might get it, it'll suck, um, but for the most part, you're gonna stay out of the hospital. And that really, I think is something have a little comfort in. It really does seem to work. You know. Outside of that, the schools thing is a real concern for me. And I'm gonna feel a lot better than We're going to be in a much better position once we are able to get

kids vaccinated. So there's there's two things. You guys probably heard that there was, um this this committee that met to advise the FDA about booster shots. That's one thing. So booster shots are gonna go out to people who need them UH sixty five and older people at high risk people in high risk occupations. They're gonna like frontline workers. So there's gonna be booster shots coming out. And then the data is coming out now about five till Yeah,

and that's pretty promising. Um, it looks like they're gonna do okay with lower doses, so they use about one third the dose of the vaccine that the adults get and it seems to work. We haven't seen much other than the pre press release from UH Fighter, but you know, if you really pick at it, it looks promising. So I am that's something that makes me hopeful. That's something I'm definitely clinging to. I think there's no way we're getting out of this without vaccinating kids. That just has

to happen. Um, I think once that starts rolling out and hopefully it will soon. I mean, I don't want to put a date on it, but I'm hoping within the next couple of months this starts happening. So, you know, once, once that starts happening, I'm gonna feel a lot more comfortable. I think people in those situations are gonna feel a lot more comfortable too. Yeah. Yeah, the booster thing is

an interesting question to me. I mean their ethical standpoint, particularly, you know, I I think I think it's not a fair narrative to say it has to be one or the other, and I think people are saying that. I don't think. I think we can do it. I think we can produce enough vaccine here for people who haven't got it yet, and enough for the boosters and start supplying more to the world. I mean, we can do more. Our government sharing Fiser Maderna definitely need to do more

in that regards. They definitely need to do more in terms of production. They haven't hit their goals in a lot of these places. And but it's also not like they haven't done anything yet. They give about like a you know, two million doses are being donated just this week. I think, so they are doing things that's happening. It's just we need more of it. Everything needs we need

more of it. We need to ramp up production. Yeah, it's weird because, like you're right, we could produce enough vaccines for the places that don't have them and enough vaccines for boosters over here, and all of that would take is a couple of months of our Afghanistan Mad money. But we're not going to do that, and so it probably will, like I don't know, contribute to an issue effect. There's there's a chance that it will contribute to an

issue of vaccine unavailability. But also it's not like if we don't get the sisters, those vaccines will be available because we're just not giving them out. Yeah, in the extent that we need. So yeah, I don't know, I understand what you're saying. I'll get the booster if they decide to give out boosters because I like not having not the plague damage, getting or getting long COVID. Yeah. Yeah, that that seems great, And a lot of the vaccine

has been seen kind of relies. It tracks back to how we've been marketing in it, and I've I've been on the team that's like we should stop using Fauci, because every time Fauci goes on TV to talk about vaccines, more people are going to do like a backfire infact, to be like, no, I'm not gonna get that. Don't trust Fauci. So there's a particular like marketing thing that I think we've failed on. Like America is very good at marketing when we can make money, but when it's

not related to getting gaining more off it. I think the government is very bad at marketing these types of things. Um. And on the kind of the marketing side of things, I don't know this is this is kind of old news at this point. But the whole smoll in testicals thing um, which we have you have not talked about on this show about but I'm sure you have thoughts about how this thing has kind of balloons, which is that can be like so, how how the marketing and

misinformation relates to this cold kind kind of current problem. Yeah. Yeah, First of all, that particular story, I mean that's hilarious. I mean, like this, I've never I've never seen someone's excuse for venereal disease becomes such an international issue. Yeah, contribute to the test probably of hundreds of people, Um, you know it's it's the marketing thing. Is a really great question, and and it's been driving me crazy because like part of me at this point just wants to

be like, get the fucking vacs. What the fund's wrong with you? Get the vaccine part of my language and like, um, but then the part of me knows that that doesn't work. Like I do believe doctors should be able to express their frustration. Um, they need to be able to do that. If we can't do that right now, I mean it's

game over. They need to at least have that ability where doctors can voice their frustration with antivactors but still give them the same high level of care that we're always going to give them the matter what when they show up in the hospital. But if not working to do that, we need other approaches. I don't I don't entirely know what they are. There are some people they're they're so far out there that we're just never going

to reach the people, the microchip people. There's like a level of deep programming that will need to happen to those people that we just it's it's too exhausting to do that. You really have to, like, if you can't scale that in any meaningful way for the country. I think,

I think, yeah, I don't know. I think calling it the Trump vaccine was the closest we got to have psibility and that fucking I'm interested in your thoughts on the fucking bright part article and if you're not aware, if you're less online than us, and God bless you if you are right bart the which is I don't know.

CNN for Fascists came up with an article blaming the Democrats for the fact that Republicans don't want to take the vaccine and saying it's a secret liberal plot to exterminate conservatives because conservatives refused to take vaccines because they're fundamentally oppositional, defiant um and like it's it's the fault of people who are telling them to take the vaccine that they're not taking the vaccine because obviously, why would you trust the liberal on anything, But also they're trying

to kill us and we're gonna lose the election because we're all dying because we refuse to get vaccinated for a preventable disease. Anyway, how do you feel about that, guy? I don't I don't love it. I don't love it. Um, I'm vaguely familiar with bright Bart. I don't know that exact article because I have enough pain in my life already.

But um, but you know, I do wonder it's like when they put out articles like this or would Tucker calls him, goes out and he does his thing questioning vaccine, just asking questions about vaccines that lead to vaccine hesitancy, Like what calculations are they doing? Are they doing calcular? Is this just him being callous in not giving a fun and just doing it, or is there some calculation that him and some sort of right wing fink tank are doing where they're like, hey, look this sells to

our audience. They love it, Let's keep doing it. Yes, we are going to lose ex portion of our audience because of this, but we still have plenty of audience left. Like, I don't I wonder how that's happening. Like it is hurting. It is true, it is hurting them more than than other people. It's hurting everyone. Everyone's getting affected by this. Um. But there it's those states that are being affected, the people not getting vaccinated who are listening to people like

Tucker Carlson. So I don't. I don't understand what their endgame is here, like this is their market, why why not protected? And that I do not have a good answer for. I was hoping one of you guys would. Um, you know, it's there's a lot going on there. I think a decent chunk of it is the assumption that whatever they lose in terms of dead followers won't be worth more than continuing the cash bonanza that is owning the lips, right, because that's all they that's all that's

the entirety of the right wing media. It's just owning the lips. It's just oppositional, defiant, it's just hating anything democrats do. So you you kind of can't. You're a cuck if you tell people to receive basic medical care if democrats are taking that basic medical care right, Um, so it's a pride thing for a lot of them. To two things I love is when you when you use the word cuck or when you do Ben Shapiro's voice, Like those are like two of my favorite things that

you do. It's you're saying really well, far beyond anything rational on the right. Um, and it's it's difficult to like I I think the calculation is just like I think a lot of these guys is the same thing with climate change. Like they're smart enough to know that they're contributing to an uninhabitable world, but they want to cash in first. They want to get as much as they can out before it falls apart. And I think that's all any of these people care about, because I

think there are the true believers. The radio guys are true believers, right, the radio guys who keep dying because they don't be vaccinated. Those guys did believe that it was some sort of weird conspiracy, it was the communist whatever, um clearly because they did management level, mid management level. They don't know all the stuff that they're being told from above, and they kind of believe it enough to

where they kill themselves for the company. I think for Tucker, it's more a matter of like, hey, I keep making money and I maintain my power if I if I continue to hold this line, you you lose power, you get weaker. It's like when Trump got booed for people to take the vaccine. You know, yeah, yeah, um yeah crazy. You can't go back with this ship. You just can't, and you certainly can't admit to ever having been wrong. Right, yeah, man,

it's good ship. What a what a fun note to end of the episode on what a good society we've built. Oh bravo, m hm ah, Well cover it. People can find you by looking up the House of Pod. Yes, uh, slightly less depressing, but not not super uplifting either at this point. Uh. Follow us at the House of Pot at Twitter, and you can listen to our podcast pretty much anywhere you listen to podcast. We'll talk about medical type things, but not so deep into the woods that

it's not entertaining, I hope. Yeah. Fun the woods, Yeah, the woods. We have fun guests ranging from the world's best medical experts to you know, you guys like us. The best medical experts. You guys are right up there for medicine, right, there's no better medicine than just a big fat pile of cocaine. And the good thing about cocaine is it's a sterilizing agent. So if you're worried about COVID getting in your nasal passages, just rail cocaine before you and after you go into the store. It's

like getting a COVID test, but more fun. Legally, I have to tell you that's false. Well, we all have our opinions about how cocaine works, and I have my fact have my facts. Now, if you excuse me, I'm gonna go pick up a single item at the grocery store. It Could Happen Here is a production of cool Zone Media. For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website cool zone media dot com, or check us out on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

listen to podcasts. You can find sources for It Could Happen year, updated monthly at cool zone Media dot com slash sources. Thanks for listening,