The coronavirus pandemic has kept us in doors, seperated from one another, in order to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
But what happens when you have a medical emergency or a chronic problem, and you avoid seeing a health care professional about it because you're trying to stay safe?
According to a study from the Centers for Disease Control late last year, because of COVID-19, about 40% of adults are canceling or postponing their regular medical appointments.
The fear of contracting the coronavirus has people avoiding hospitals for things like cancer screenings, mammograms, biopsies, regularly scheduled vaccinations, and other important check-ups.
Another study, this one from the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that people are more than twice as likely to die from a heart attack during the pandemic, and that's because even with the warning signs of a heart attack, people are avoiding seeing medical professionals.
But hospitals are urging patients to come back for their regularly scheduled check-ups and screenings. They're citing extra precautions like temperature checks, socially distanced waiting rooms, and vaccinated healthcare workers as reasons to come back.
To begin today's program we'll talk about the effort to get the public back into the hospitals for routine screenings.
Later in the show, a conversation about the historic lack of trust between communities of color and the medical field.
This lack of trust is manifesting in new ways during the coronavirus, and with the rollout of the vaccine.
Finally, a look at the Afric-COBRA movement, which was an artistic style that emerged from the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.
- Joseph Knapp, MD, Medical Director, Cleveland Clinic West Region
- Lee Kirksey, MD Vice Chairman of the Department of Vascular Surgery, Cleveland Clinic
- Tosin Goje MD, OBGYN, Cleveland Clinic
- Wadsworth Jarrell, Artist and Afri-COBRA member
- Jae Jarrell, Artist and Afri-COBRA member
- Bob Abelman, Local Author
- Patricia Averbach, Local Author
