During the pandemic, getting treatment for other diseases has become a big problem due to a considerable number of Covid patients in most hospitals. In the US, the hospitalization rate is at an all-time high due to the Omicron surge in recent weeks. Given this situation, people who want to get treatment for other diseases avoid hospital visits due to fear of catching the infection.
No Increased Risk Of Covid Transmission Due To Hospital Visits
The situation is very bad for cancer patients who suffer from a weak immune system. Due to this condition, they should be conscientious about coronavirus as they are likely to face a lot of complications if infected with Covid 19. Due to this fear, many patients cannot get regular treatment at hospitals.
However, a recent study has shown that the risk of getting Covid infection through hospital visits is very less for cancer patients. The researchers analyzed the data of several cancer patients for many months as part of the study. The risk of getting infected was not much, and most patients who visited hospitals for cancer treatment during the pandemic were not affected by Covid 19.
On the other hand, external factors like social distancing and masking play an important role in avoiding the infection. This is true even for cancer patients, and they need not worry about an increased risk of catching infection at hospitals. This is a big relief for several cancer patients as they can comfortably visit the hospitals for treatment after taking the necessary precautions.
A lot of research is being done to assess the impact of the pandemic on delayed treatment for various diseases. The treatment for cancer patients also got disrupted due to the pandemic restrictions in many regions. Due to this reason, it is important to study such impact in a detailed manner.
Many people who wanted to get surgeries done have postponed them due to the pandemic. Some hospitals have become exclusive Covid wards leaving no space for other patients. Apart from that, the high number of caseloads has sent panic waves across the health system. This was evident in the second wave of the pandemic, which saw a record number of hospitalizations across the US.
Many patients had to be put on critical support during the second wave, and the daily death count crossed 2000 for many days in the US. Even though Omicron leads to mild infections, the health system is still under pressure in the third wave. As the new variant is highly transmissible, it is landing more people in hospitals even though for a brief period. Due to this, the health system is overburdened with Covid patients.
Many doctors and healthcare workers are also infected with Omicron, which has led to staff shortages in various hospitals. The CDC has even asked infected doctors and healthcare workers to resume work if they have only mild symptoms. This is being done as there is no other option to get the services of trained healthcare professionals.
Due to this situation, many patients who want to get elective surgeries done are avoiding hospital visits at the moment. Even cancer patients are facing a similar situation. Some of them take online therapy for ongoing treatment, and others have discontinued their follow-up treatment with the hospitals due to fear of catching Covid infection.
However, it is important to understand that Covid infection can be avoided by following proper safety guidelines. Cancer patients can use professional-grade N95 masks to get better protection and use PPE kits when they visit hospitals for regular checkups. In this way, the risk of Covid infection can be avoided to a large extent.
