Page 18 - January 2021 South Florida Hospital News

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A message from our President

Science Takes Center Stage in the Hunt
for the Right Vaccine for COVID-19

“While dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh, vaccine well in tow, ated coronavirus causing diseases classified elsewhere, and
delivering along the way…” Okay, so, maybe song writing isn’t my strong suit, but B34.2, Coronavirus infection, unspecified should be used.
you get the idea; today we are talking about COVID-19 and the vaccines that are here, In looking comparatively at those codes for 2018, 2019,
or on the way. and 2020, we see that coronaviruses and viral pneumonia
Pfizer (ultra-cold storage), Moderna (cold storage) and J&J (refrigeration) are all have contributed 1,578, 2,054, and 3,163 inpatient stays in
soon to be available in sufficient quantities to begin general vaccinations by early the first quarters of each year. Preliminary analysis of these Jaime Caldwell
spring. Healthcare workers and residents in skilled and adult living facilities were first numbers shows that in the first quarter (January, February,
and now the script calls for elders over 75, grocery workers, schoolteachers, etc. The and March) of this year, when COVID-19 was getting established in Florida, the num-
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has a hierarchy, but states can make changes. ber of admissions increased by almost 54 percent over 2019 (remember, first cases in
Moderna’s vaccine was available right before Christmas and we are now waiting on Florida were reported on March 1). Other indicators like lengths of stay weren’t much
J&J to announce their results in early January. J&J has two studies underway, one different than in 2018 and 2019 (6.8, 6.1, and 5.7). Average charges also weren’t
looking at the efficacy of a single dose of their vaccine and the second study looking much different across the three years ($82,156, $74,734, and $75,250).
at the additional benefits of a second dose. The purpose of the second study is to There are two indicators that are noticeably different for the most recent available
determine if a second dose would instill longer term immunity. Vaccines in China and quarter, admission through the ER and Deaths. 92.9 percent of the 2020 admissions
Russia are already in use prior to the final analysis of their study’s results. The Russian came into the hospital through the emergency room, an almost three percent jump
vaccine is rumored to be 91 percent effective. We will see. from 2019. And deaths in the first quarter of 2020 were 728 percent greater than in
On the data front, the Agency for Healthcare Administration has released the first 2019; 46 versus 335. And, consistent with what we know about COVID-19, while
quarter of hospital data for 2020. Trying to analyze the exclusive impacts of the SARS only 57 percent of the deaths were of patients over the age of 65 in 2018, in 2020 that
CoV-2 virus and resulting COVID-19 on hospitals and communities are difficult as percentage was almost 83 percent.
unique ICD-10 codes identifying this specific variant of this virus weren’t in use until There is much we are continuing to learn about COVID-19 and, thankfully, the vac-
almost the third quarter of 2020. In guidance provided by the CMS and the CDC, cines needed to lessen the chances of us developing COVID-19 are on the way for
researchers were told that codes such as J12.89, Other Viral Pneumonia, B97.29, one-and-all.
Other coronavirus as the cause of disease classified elsewhere, B97.21, SARS-associ- Data provided by Bill Sampsel, Founder, HealthScope Inc.

18 January 2021 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News