Hello and welcome.

PBS39 and WLVT art community Update on coronavirus.

It's brought to you with help from our community partner Lehigh Valley Health Network.

We're coming to you on this snowy day not from our studio at the PPE public Media Center in Bethlehem, but from our home.

I'm Brittany Sweeney.

And our guests today include LVHN Doctor, who is an infectious disease specialist who we had on the show before.

Also with us is a child and adolescent psychiatrist.

We'll meet both of them in just a few minutes.

For daily coronavirus updates.

Be sure to sign for our newsletter.

You can do that at our website coronavirus Lehigh Valley.

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There you will find helpful information in both English and Spanish.

Let's take a look at some of today's top headlines.

The winter storm has forced the cancellation of several Covid-19 vaccination clinics.

The Allentown Health Bureau canceled vaccinations at the Allentown Fairgrounds for today and tomorrow.

Those with Monday appointments will now be vaccinated Wednesday.

Tuesday appointments are now being moved to Thursday.

Times will remain the same and people who already had Wednesday and Thursday appointments will still have them as scheduled.

St Luke's University Health Network has canceled vaccinations today and tomorrow and is asking people to reschedule, not Lehigh Valley.

Health Network had scheduled mostly second doses today and tomorrow.

Those appointments are still on, but LVHN is allowing people who want to reschedule for another day this week to do so.

Also this from the state through yesterday more than a million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Pennsylvania.

That includes about 600,000 people who have gotten first doses and 200,000 who have received both the Department of Health today reported 2854 new coronavirus cases and 26 deaths.

The totals are nearly 850,000 cases and 21,600 87 people who have died.

Confusion and demand for Covid-19 vaccines has led to the inevitable Facebook group.

The public group Lehigh Valley Covid vaccine info contains health and vaccination information.

It's also become a place where people share tips on making appointments and different places where appointments are available at that moment.

Most of the information is specific to the Lehigh and Northampton County areas.

today.

Dr Luther Rhodes is back.

He's an infectious disease specialist who we've relied on for his expertise throughout this entire pandemic.

Also, Dr Ashley Anderson is an osteopathic physician.

She's also a board certified psychiatrist.

And we want to thank both of you so much for joining us today.

On this snow day, of course.

And Dr Anderson will be with you in just a little bit.

We do want to start Dr Rhodes today.

Dr Rhodes, as always, thank you so much for joining us.

This storm looks like it will have an impact on people getting around at least for today and tomorrow.

Lots of people scheduled for vaccinations.

Where does LVHN stand in vaccinating people today and tomorrow?

Now we kind of mentioned that you can still get your vaccination.

So where's that happening?

Well, at least two sites for Lehigh Valley Health Network are still offering vaccine.

Of course, it's important first to call ahead to make sure again this storm changing by the hour is an important to let them know you're coming.

And for and to hear from them that they are still open and offering vaccines, obviously to say safety is important.

The vaccine will is OK to wait a day.

It's absolutely OK. And it won't go away.

We may have to work extra hours to get that to do catch up.

But it's so important to get the vaccine.

But you wouldn't want to break a leg or something.

Going to get a vaccine.

But I would be careful.

Keep in mind the vaccine is not going to go away.

You won't lose your turn.

Whatever vaccine you've been allocated promised to you will receive and again, be very, very careful with the winter weather.

I mean, it's just.

If you have confirmed ride a solid safe way in and out of your house, it's OK.

But for many people, most people I would say it's best to stay home and rethink this.

Just call and reschedule short runs.

How about a hospital staffing on a day like today, of course, winter weather.

We see similar winter weather every year.

But how is hospital staffing on a day like today, especially when the hospitals are super busy treating Covid patients?

That's a very good question.

The hospitals have become very sophisticated over the years.

I noticed the storms are predicted.

The level of of change within a university or a hospital setting is pretty well announced ahead of time.

A lot depends on whether or not, say, the governor declares a state of emergency or not, but they may preparations early for staff staying over until last year, the staff would stay over in the hospital in an open area, if you will.

But they can't do that because of social distancing.

So staff now that would be staying over would be staying over at a hotel nearby the hospital.

So there's lots of thoght, lots preparation.

Safety is always first concern.

There's the.

It's not in anybody best interest to to put themselves at risk for an automobile accident.

Going to and from work.

So just planning ahead of time.

We recognize the risk of of of travel and so on.

But there's a lot of preparations made ahead of time.

I mean, this is an ongoing every year we have some level of it and the staff shows up.

I mean, I must admit it's remarkable just how many people do managed to get in and many volunteers stay over because the mission is the important thing, providing services for food services to two vaccines to medical care is not interrupted by the weather.

Absolutely.

Dr Rhodes, let's switch gears and talk vaccines.

Now, we learned recently that Pennsylvania has administered 1 million doses of the vaccine over a six week period.

Is that good?

Is that bad?

Would you have liked to see more happen or do you stand on this Gamma Well, the vaccine is coming in.

It's being given about as fast as it's being distributed.

But if you recall, I mean, this is unlike flu vaccine where you just sort of show up multiple people a few minutes, sort of a bump and run kind experience.

The Covid vaccine takes time.

Screening is important.

The 15 minute wait after he shot the social distancing is a bit of a bottleneck.

Now almost everywhere.

In fact, I'd say essentially everywhere giving vaccine, they're getting much better at it.

So the bottleneck is going to become less a problem going forward.

I think both Lehigh Valley Health Network and St Luke's network have clear goals to be givi to be given giving thousands of vaccines per day.

So it's getting better.

There's a lot of remote areas in the state that don't have the if you will, the access that we have in our region because we have multiple large health networks.

But I see the numbers getting better each week.

You see more vaccine distributed and more vaccine given there's always a gap because remember, if you give it if a network is given 5000 vaccines that covers 2500 people because you have to allocate two shots for each person.

So some of the gaps you see in vaccines out there in vaccines given have to do with every patient or individual you bring forward is going to be you have to get to vaccine for that person with a lot coordinating for sure.

Dr Rowe, I want to also talk about telemedicine, something we talked a lot about in the beginning of this pandemic.

A lot of people switching over to telemedicine, especially during those lockdown periods.

How is telemedicine going these days?

We'll tell you, as you know, is certainly no sort all the rage, but there are telemedicine, a pretty general term for nearly 10 years now.

I spent most of my days here in Allentown seeing patients infectious disease consultation shows in other hospitals and other cities.

And the purpose of that is so someone with my expertise or training is able to provide care without myself or a patient having traveled 50, 75 or 100 miles to do yet.

That's been a traditional role of telemedicine up to the pandemic.

Now with the pandemic, it's changed in some respects because we now have video visits, almost everyone here.

This probably has had an attempt or successful.

Demps, hopefully at a video of it.

That's a little different.

That's a version of telemedicine, the version I'm talking about.

And what I do mostly is see patients who are in another hospital.

They can be in an ICU, very ill and with the proper Hi-Def equipment and security, you can basically take care of a patient.

They put a stethoscope on a patient 100 miles from here and I hear their heart sounds, their long sounds.

And I'm able to do everything but the in the room.

And it's one of the last interactions I might add, that you can actually see they face of the doctor who's examined you because they don't have to wear a mask during telemedicine.

And that's got this its advantages.

But video visits are what most of us are familiar with.

They're very common.

Probably would have done two or three today except again, weather has stopped a whole lot of things, including some of the video visits.

They're a lot easier to do it from an office, a doctor's office because your bandwidth and so on are a lot better.

But video visits are getting better.

They're appropriate for some kinds of health care, not appropriate for all health care.

Of course, but video visits.

I think a lot of us are catching on it.

That's a good way to do a lot of things that in the past might have cost us a couple hours of time talking now as a patient taking half a day off or more to go to the doctor's office for a video visit.

Now could be the entire visit can be half an hour of time investment.

Absolutely, in Doctor words.

What about Covid patients or someone who thinks they may have Covid?

Are they doing tele visits right now?

Are you asking them to come in or how does that work?

Well, fortunately, this that's a very good use of video.

Visit someone who is symptomatic who thinks they may have Covid.

The first thing we would tell that person is not to go to a doctor's office.

We don't want symptomatic people going for vaccine or going essentially anywhere.

So a video visit is a good way to interact.

A provider who can screen pretty much the symptoms severity of it.

And so in a video visit, it's a pretty good fit for someone who's health for whatever reason, contagious disease or or other medical condition keeps them from getting in their car and go to the doctor's office.

It's a good use also for somebody who is home about very homebound and hasn't really been able to go out and see a doctor for some time.

I think with improve communication is laptop and pad communicating with your doctor.

You can see just over the video that we're doing, you can get a pretty good sense for how someone is doing just by looking at them.

And I think it's also reassuring face time.

It's reassuring to see people face to face yet again.

Video visit.

You can take the mask off to your doctor and vice versa.

To our doctor, as is that many patients you're seeing now, are they via telemedicine and Covid patients Gamma It's probably 80% of the patients.

I see or are unfortunately in infected with Covid some with severe pneumonia might presenter the nurse at the other end to do telemedicine you need a nurse and a patient in a room at the same time.

And another state, another city saying the patient.

And so of the three of us, the only one without a mask because I have other city and but the patient and the presenting nurse who holds the stethoscope up and so on, both in proper protective gear and you can get a pretty good history from people.

It's a it's also an opportunity to step back a little bit and talk to somebody about what is Covid.

What do they anticipate?

What can they anticipate?

Is there a game plan to to handle this very scary condition?

It is helpful to pause and be able to do that.

Telemedicine is a pretty good format for doing just that, actually talking the same way we're talking in the same kind of conversation can be having somebody who is in a hospital quite terrified about what's going to happen next.

And no visitors, no family.

There's pretty good role for that.

It seems like telemedicine is definitely here to stay.

Before we let you go.

I did want to ask you about the different variants of the coronavirus that we're hearing about.

Let's set the record straight.

Is this something that we should expect in our area?

You know, they try to stop it where they find it.

But do you think that's something that's going to spread either way?

It has to.

It's just a natural cause.

The virus the virus itself is just prone to mutate over time and already a virus.

And that's what they do.

It's like the flu virus.

It tends to mutate.

So there'll be variants and that's why it's so important to get people vaccinated ahead of the tsunami of virus is spreading because the fewer people that become susceptible, the less likely there has to be new variants and new variants taking off and infecting everybody.

So the variance are important.

It's entirely possible we have variants already in this area because we've certainly examples of rapid spread of Covid in families that in our area and that sort of has the hallmarks of some of these various.

Absolutely.

Dr Luther Rhodes, an infectious disease specialist with Lehigh Valley Health Network.

As always, thank you so much for joining us today.

Thank you, Brittany.

Pleasure to be here.

A pleasure to have you.

And we continue this community update coronavirus on PBS39 and you can hear the rebroadcast on the radio tonight at 9:30 on WLVT News 93 FM And we also like to invite you to a special presentation this Thursday night, 7:00.

I'll host a live interactive community conversation Covid-19 Vaccines Fact versus fiction.

We'll ask the experts in an hour long forum about vaccine delivery and safety as well as explore issues related to reopening schools and workers rights.

Again, that's Thursday at seven o'clock.

Now I'd like to bring in our next guest, Dr Ashley Anderson.

As I mentioned.

She's an osteopathic physician.

She's also a board certified psychiatrist.

She works with adolescents and teens from kids.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

Thanks for having me.

Dr Anderson, if you could just start and give us a little bit of background about kids piece and what it is for those who don't know that would be wonderful.

Sure.

Kids piece offers comprehensive psychiatric services for both children and adults.

We have services ranging from acute inpatient hospital to residential services to various community based services, including outpatient clinics, foster care.

We do have acute partial hospitalization programs as well.

So it's a pretty comprehensive anything that you could need for your psychiatric needs.

Kids peace can cover it.

Thank you so much for that, Dr Anderson.

Being a teenage you're growing up has its challenges in and of itself.

Then you add a pandemic into the mix.

A lot of teenagers, like adults, are probably feeling a lot of stress right now.

Anxiety.

What are you seeing on your end and how do you quantify this for us?

Exactly that we are seeing an increase in depression and anxiety.

In fact, I was on call this weekend and when speaking with parents and kids alike about their presenting symptoms, we are seeing a lot of kids come in with distress at school.

The stress of online school parents and kids alike say just the stress of the pandemic alone is exacerbating their symptoms.

If they had underlying disorders, it is making them worse.

And if you know, if they were going to experience any depression, anxiety symptoms, they're experiencing them now.

So it's better.

And it's been particularly stressful for both parents and kids alike.

I can only imagine like I said it, it's taking a toll on adults as well, just working from home.

A lot of those kids, like you said, are virtually learning right now.

They have parents at home who are trying to work.

What's your advice for that balance and for those kids who maybe this is a little bit stressful because they're not getting that social aspect that they need, right?

Well, I think when we initially the last time you and I talk, we thought this whole thing was maybe going to last a couple of weeks.

And here we are nearly a year later.

So I think that since everybody has shifted to this home environment, so home used to be just home.

Home is now school.

Home is now work for parents.

And so I think that there has just been a shift in boundaries with this with the whole situation.

And I think that it's been a shift.

Parents are trying to be teachers.

Parents are trying to maintain a full time job.

Parents are trying to make sure that their kids are taken care of as we were pre-pandemic.

But I think it's just been.

And overall, it's been very, very stressful in that way.

Just because I think that we're naturally parents go to work, kids go to school.

And so I think it's really important because we don't have that natural separation or natural distinction any more in most cases to check in with your kids.

Check in because I think that when you're going through your day, you're so focussed on can I get my work done?

Can they get their school done and oh, please don't come in on my zoom goal.

And so I think you're so focussed on those things that you forget to check in with your kids and say, hey, how are you?

How was your day Gamma What do you need from me?

Is there anything that I can do for you today?

You know, just simply checking in and saying, how are you feeling today?

Because I think we get so lost in the day to day that sometimes we forget to do the simple things like that.

And that can tell you a lot for I know one of the challenges for many parents with teenagers in general is getting them to talk to them.

Then you have this pandemic, like I said.

So what are some ways that we can get our kids to talk to us and express their feelings and tell us how they're feeling if they're feeling anxious, that they're feeling depressed?

How do you kind of communicate that to each other?

Well, I think you have to know your kid and every child is different in the way that they are most comfortable and effective at communicating.

So if I think pre-pandemic, everybody was very focussed on virtual you electronic ways of communicating and kids almost preferred that.

your child wants to do and is more effective at doing, then certainly they can do that.

If they say, you know, like, hey, mom or dad, I really don't feel comfortable speaking to you.

Let me let me write it down or let me text you and this is how I'm feeling.

But if at all possible because everybody because the virtual environment is what we do now.

Put down screens, put down the computers, have that natural separation where you can just be off screens, be don't any social media, anything like that.

Really?

See if you can connect truly connect in person with your kids because I think that I think that is important because then you can see their body language because it's not only their you know, it's not only what they're saying, but it's how they're acting.

So I think it's really important to to tap the actual human connection and interaction and personal interaction where the connection is so important.

And speaking connection, we're seeing a lot of people connecting with therapists, both children and adults.

Do you think the rise in people using therapy services is because of Covid?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

And I think that, you know, people this is a very isolated virus.

And I think because, you know, you are told do not leave your house.

Do not we can't when we are sick.

So pre Covid when we're sick, you know, you count on people and you say, hey, so-and-so, can you come over?

My kid's sick, I have to do this.

So now your you're forced to stay home and for good reason.

But I think initially that was OK.

But now that it has been ongoing, people are getting lonely and people are gettin scared.

And so I think that it is nice to have someone on the other end to talk with you validate your concerns and see how they can be helpful going forward.

And I do think with telemedicine, it's it has increased access to care.

Such a phenomenal way because other people who had barriers to care, whether it would be transportation work, you know, various other responsibilities.

I think that the telemedicine has has increased access to care in a really, really great and helpful and much needed way.

Absolutely.

And we want to since we're talking about this loneliness, depression, we wanted to share some information with our viewers.

We want to make sure we put this phone number.

This is the national Suicide Prevention Lifeline Train crisis counselors are available 24/7.

They can help.

Suicide is never the answer.

And you can speak with someone right now through that hotline.

Now, the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1 800 2 7 3 8 2 5 5.

And you can access that crisis text line as well.

You can text home to 7 4 1 7 4 1.

That's HMS.

2 7 4 1 7 4 1.

And the phone number once again is 1 800 2 7 3 8 2 5 5.

Now along those lines, it's always hard to talk about suicide, but of course prevention key here, Dr Anderson.

Are you seeing an increase of this being talked about?

An increase in this?

Unfortunately, unfortunately, yes.

When kids come in oftentimes they are having suicidal thoughts and that's the reason that they get admitted to our hospital.

So and we are unfortunately seeing an increase in those thoughts.

Luckily, they are the kids that we see.

They are getting to us before anything happens and we are able to provide the care and intervention needed.

But it is unfortunately rising.

Yes.

And Dr Anderson, how do you talk to your children about this?

Well, I think it's important to just be honest and transparent and if you're noticing that your kids are having a change in their functioning and a change their baseline, then you need to have an honest conversation with them to get ahead of it.

Because, you know, God forbid that's every parent's worst nightmare.

And whether it's an as I stated before, it just depends on how your child will most effectively communicate and who they will communicate best with.

So whether it's a friend, whether it's a grandparent, with they have an existing therapist, whether they're a therapist or a crisis hotline, it's just important to know the warning signs.

And you know, if they are having changes in their mood, that is grossly different from normal.

If they are unable to attend school in whatever capacity they're attending school, if they're not eating, not sleeping, having changes.

You know, as I stated, changes in their mood or talking about suicide.

It's important to talk with them and get the help that they need.

Such crucial information.

Just make sure you're talking about it, especially if you're seeing it amongst your children.

Dr Ashley Anderson from Kids Peace.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

Thanks for having me.

Absolutely.

We want to thank Dr Rhodes from LVHN.

Also for being here today.

We also want to thank you for watching community update on coronavirus.

You can join us again on Wednesday at 4pm when we will talk about these small vaccine providers and some of the challenges they're facing with getting that vaccine out.

If you have a question for us, you can get.

Always give us a call.

In the meantime, for now, for PBS39 and WLVT news, I'm Brittany Sweeney.

You see.