Here is Dr Andrew Miller’s weekly medical and news commentary transcript on WAMN News’ Sunday broadcast.
“Thanks for your time, just been to North America and back, which involves an awful lot of time on airplanes. And with the threat of respiratory disease still quite large in our community,”
“We’ve got a lot of COVID around and a new variant on the rise in the last few weeks, which includes unfortunately hospitalizations and deaths in nursing home facilities across the country right now.
“We also see a lot of influenza B making people very sick and causing admission to hospital, unfortunately hospitals across the country have been dropping mask requirements.
“Infection of patients and fiction from staff to patients and vice versa, has been going on with a big consequence for patients because the frail population that are in hospital have a 10% risk of dying if they get COVID.
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“While they’re in there, according to studies from around the world, and also that’s what we’re seeing from leaked data out of the Victorian system.
“We don’t record that data in Western Australia and we should be preventing the infection of people whilst they’re in health care facilities, we can choose whether or not we want to go to a restaurant or to a movie theater.
“But the clinically vulnerable can’t stay away from hospitals. It’s their human right that they’ve been protected. I have just traveled to North America and back with an n95 mask on had no problem with infection of any kind, really enjoy the trip and if you want to insure your holiday, the best way to do that is to make sure you don’t get sick while you’re away.
“I used to always get some sort of cold or flu after going on a reasonable length flight but since I’ve been wearing an n95 Mask and got nothing. It’s really not that inconvenient.
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“In fact, I forget that I’ve got it on after I’ve been there for a while and when you think about that, particularly that time when you’re getting off a plane or getting on a plane and everyone’s just breathing unfiltered air at that point.
“It’s not until you get in the air that the aircraft filtration system is working properly. But particularly those times when you’re on the ground and when you’re queuing up.
“You need to be protected from that crush of people who are all breathing filthy air on it. So I encourage you to not be too worried about the peer group pressure.
“I had no pushback whatsoever from wearing a decent mask, and in fact I saw other people thinking about and then getting theirs out and putting them on, particularly when we’re all stuck in a line somewhere in an air bridge.
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“So look after yourselves, look after your family and try to avoid getting sick more than you have to. who would have thought that that’s something we would need to be emphasizing these days.
“Sir Charles Gardiner, and Osbourne Park hospitals have been given a warning this week, that staff need to return to wearing masks because of the higher rate of respiratory infections, including COVID.
“That’s happening within patients and within staff. surgical masks are inadequate. Of course we know they’re not designed to prevent the spread of respiratory illness. you wouldn’t be allowed to wear one on a Mindsight you wouldn’t be allowed to wear one if you’re working with stone or with asbestos.
“You shouldn’t be allowed to wear one. If you’re working with infectious patients. Thanks for watching.”
