Latest / Morning Medical with Dr. Chow / U.S. Healthcare Access, Long Covid Risks, and Social Media's Impact on Youth Mental Health

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U.S. Healthcare Access, Long Covid Risks, and Social Media's Impact on Youth Mental Health · Morning Medical with Dr. Chow

• 0:00
  Good morning and welcome to Morning Medical with Dr.
• 0:02
  Chow.
• 0:03
  I'm your host, Dr.
• 0:04
  Chi-Ming Chow.
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  Today, we have a compelling and somewhat alarming story to discuss regarding healthcare
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  access in the United States.
• 0:14
  A new survey conducted by West Health and Gallup reveals that a staggering 45 percent of
• 0:19
  Americans are unable to afford or access the healthcare and medications they need.
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  This survey highlights a troubling trend in the U.S.
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  healthcare system, where fewer adults can reliably secure the medical treatment and
• 0:32
  medications they require.
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  According to the survey, 55 percent of U.S.
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  adults do not report having problems paying for or accessing medical care and medications.
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  However, this is a six-percentage point drop from 2022, when 61 percent of Americans could
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  access and pay for their healthcare needs.
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  This decline marks the lowest percentage since West Health and Gallup began tracking
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  healthcare affordability in 2021.
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  Breaking down the numbers further, the survey categorizes Americans into two groups: those
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  who are 'cost secure' and those who are either 'cost insecure' or 'cost desperate.' 'Cost
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  secure' individuals do not struggle to pay for or access medical care and medications.
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  Unfortunately, their numbers have decreased significantly.
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  For instance, the percentage of 18- to 49-year-olds who are 'cost secure' has dropped
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  from 52 percent in 2022 to 47 percent in 2024.
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  Similarly, the number of 'cost secure' adults aged 50 to 64 has fallen by eight percentage
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  points since 2022, and the portion of 'cost secure' adults aged 65 and older has also
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  decreased by eight percentage points, plummeting to 71 percent over the past two
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  years.
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  The survey also reveals that nearly half of U.S.
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  adults — 45 percent — have had to skip a doctor's appointment or forgo picking up
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  necessary medication because they could not afford the drugs or the appointment, or they
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  could not easily access either one.
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  This 45 percent is further divided into 'cost insecure' and 'cost desperate' individuals.
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  'Cost insecure' Americans report having problems paying for or accessing medical
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  treatment or medication, while 'cost desperate' adults cannot pay for nor access medical
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  treatment and medication at all.
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  More Americans are considered 'cost insecure,' with 37 percent reporting they struggle to pay
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  for or access treatment or medicine.
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  Meanwhile, 8 percent of adults are classified as 'cost desperate,' meaning they cannot afford
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  or access medical treatment and medications at all.
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  The generational divide is also evident in the survey results.
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  Younger adults, those between the ages of 18 and 49, are more likely to have forgone medical
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  treatment or prescribed drugs, with 53 percent admitting to not going to a medical appointment
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  or paying for medication due to money or access issues.
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  In contrast, only 29 percent of older adults — those 65 years old and up — have chosen to skip
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  medical treatment or medication for the same reasons.
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  The data for this survey was collected as part of the West Health-Gallup 2024 Survey on Aging
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  in America.
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  Approximately 5,150 U.S.
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  adults completed the web and mail survey conducted between November 2023 and January
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  2024.
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  These findings paint a concerning picture of the current state of healthcare affordability
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  and access in the United States.
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  That's all for today's segment on Morning Medical with Dr.
• 3:43
  Chow.
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  Stay tuned as we continue to explore more pressing health issues and updates from around
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  the world.
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  A large new study suggests that the risk of developing persistent symptoms after a Covid-19
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  infection has dropped over time but has not gone away completely.
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  With a summer wave of Covid-19 infections sweeping the country, a timely new study has
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  looked at the risk of getting long Covid and whether those odds have changed over time.
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  It found that the likelihood of developing long Covid has dropped since the start of the
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  pandemic but remains substantial, especially for people who are not vaccinated against the
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  coronavirus.
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  About 7 percent of American adults, roughly 18 million people, have ever had long Covid,
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  according to an analysis by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that was
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  published in June.
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  Harvard economist David Cutler estimated in 2022 that the total cost of long Covid to the
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  nation was 3.7 trillion dollars, or 17 percent of the country’s pre-Covid gross domestic
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  product.
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  The new study, which was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests
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  that the human and financial toll will only grow.
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  The investigation leaned on computers and advanced machine learning to sift through the
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  data in millions of medical records maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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  Researchers at Washington University in St.
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  Louis and the VA Health System set out to find people who caught Covid over different points
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  in the pandemic – before vaccines were available, during the period when the Delta
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  variant was dominating transmission and after the Omicron family of variants entered the
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  picture – to see whether the risk of lingering symptoms related to long Covid had changed.
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  They also considered vaccination status.
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  People were considered vaccinated if they had had at least their initial series of shots and
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  unvaccinated if they had not.
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  The study included more than 441,000 people who caught Covid-19 between March 2020 and the end
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  of January 2022 and who lived at least 30 days after infection.
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  Their records were compared with those of more than 4.7 million people who did not catch Covid
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  but who were seen at the VA for other reasons over the same time period.
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  The researchers found that in the first year, when the ancestral coronavirus strain was
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  circulating and there was little immunity against the virus, 1 out of every 10 people who
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  caught Covid went on to have symptoms consistent with long Covid.
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  Symptoms were counted across 10 disease categories as part of long Covid if they were
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  new and developed between 30 days and a year after an initial Covid infection.
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  Vaccines were a game-changer, cutting the risk of long Covid by half during the Delta wave,
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  which struck in the summer of 2021.
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  The risk remained high during Delta for people who were not vaccinated, however.
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  Roughly 10 percent continued to have symptoms that lingered after their initial infection.
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  During Omicron, which started after Thanksgiving in 2021, 3.5 percent of people who
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  were vaccinated went on to develop long Covid after the acute phase of infection, while 7.7
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  percent of people who were unvaccinated did.
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  The study has some limitations.
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  People treated at the VA are mostly White men, so the study population is not as diverse as
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  the general population, and its findings may not apply to everyone.
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  For example, a recent study found that nearly 1 in 10 people who get Covid-19 for the first
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  time while pregnant will go on to develop long Covid, an incidence that may be higher than in
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  the general population.
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  The new study does not account for possible differences in people who stopped after their
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  primary series of Covid-19 vaccines and those who went on to get recommended boosters to keep
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  their immunity up to date as the virus mutated over time.
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  It also does not consider the immunity that people might develop after infection and
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  reinfection, although that is a question senior study author Dr.
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  Ziyad Al-Aly, who is chief of research and development at the Veterans Affairs St.
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  Louis Health Care System, said he is looking into as a follow-up.
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  Al-Aly estimates that nearly three-quarters of the drop in long Covid risk since the early
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  days of the pandemic can be attributed to vaccines.
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  Although the cause or causes of long Covid symptoms are not completely understood, there
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  is some evidence that people with long Covid continue to have active virus hiding out in
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  their bodies long after their initial infections.
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  “Vaccines actually help your immune system to get rid of the virus,” Al-Aly said.
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  “They help the immune system suppress the viral load and clear the virus faster.”
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  The importance of vaccination is a key takeaway from the study, said Dr.
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  Hector Bonilla, who is co-director of Stanford’s Post-Acute Covid-19 Syndrome Clinic.
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  Bonilla said that when Covid vaccines first became available, most people were eager to get
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  vaccinated, and doctors saw a large drop in the number of new patients coming to them with
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  lingering symptoms.
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  Now, instead of a flood, they have more of a steady influx of new patients at his clinic,
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  some of whom develop long Covid after a second or third infection.
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  “Long Covid is a bad illness,” Bonilla said.
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  And many people are caught off-guard when they experience it.
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  But at this point, most have made their minds up about whether to stay up-to-date with their
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  shots.
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  He says more people need to understand that vaccination is a critical way to lower long
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  Covid risk.
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  “Vaccination is still a very important piece to prevent long Covid symptoms,” Bonilla said.
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  After the impact of vaccination, the study says, the other 30 percent of the drop in risk
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  over time is probably due to changes in the virus itself.
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  “The virus is changing, is evolving, and it has, even among unvaccinated people, led to
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  less risk of long Covid-19 over time than the original or the very early era of the
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  pandemic,” Al-Aly said.
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  So according to the latest data, about 3 people out of 100 who are vaccinated with at least
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  their primary series and catch Covid-19 now will go on to have long Covid, Al-Aly said.
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  That is important progress but still amounts to a large number of people living with disability
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  and poor health.
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  Experts who were not involved in the study agree that 3.5 percent means the risk of long
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  Covid is still substantial and serious.
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  “Large numbers of new infections and reinfections are still translating into a huge
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  number of persons with long Covid,” Dr.
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  Daniel Griffin, an infectious disease specialist at Columbia University who treats
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  people with long Covid, said in an email.
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  “While numbers have dropped from the early days of the pandemic, we are still seeing new
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  patients with long Covid that developed after a recent infection,” he added.
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  Al-Aly said this study and others underscore the need for more funding for coordinated and
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  continuing care for long Covid patients as well as the need for more urgency in the search for
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  treatments.
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  “I do not think the United States is doing enough to address this problem,” Al-Aly said.
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  “I understand the desire to move on and put it all behind us, but the fact is, there are
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  literally millions of people who are suffering from long Covid, and then even with the decline
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  in number, there will continue to be millions more.
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  “There is really no plan to tackle this issue, and that cannot be.”
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  A growing body of evidence is pointing to the harmful impacts of social media on youth mental
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  health, according to U.S.
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  Surgeon General Dr.
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  Vivek Murthy.
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  Dr.
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  Murthy sat down with Dr.
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  Jeremy Faust, Editor-in-Chief of MedPage Today, to discuss his advisory on social media and
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  youth mental health.
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  The discussion shed light on the nuanced effects of social media and the urgent need for
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  more research and regulation to protect young people.
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  Dr.
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  Murthy emphasized that while social media can offer benefits such as opportunities for
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  self-expression and community building, the risks appear to outweigh these advantages.
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  He compared the situation to the medication Vioxx, which was initially beneficial for pain
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  relief but later found to have significant cardiovascular risks.
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  Similarly, social media may offer some benefits, but the growing evidence of mental
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  health harms cannot be ignored.
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  One of the key concerns Dr.
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  Murthy highlighted is the lack of comprehensive data on the safety of social media for children
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  and adolescents.
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  He called for more transparency from social media companies, insisting that they should
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  share data regarding the impact of their platforms on youth mental health.
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  He likened this to the responsibility hospitals have to maintain a safe environment for
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  patients, suggesting that social media companies should be held to similar standards.
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  Dr.
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  Murthy pointed out that social media algorithms often expose young users to harmful content,
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  such as videos promoting self-harm or suicide.
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  He argued that companies should be accountable for the consequences of their platforms, just
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  as other industries are held responsible for the safety of their products.
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  The Surgeon General also called for a comprehensive set of regulations to make social
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  media safer, including protective measures against harmful content and features designed
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  to promote excessive use, like infinite scroll and autoplay.
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  Dr.
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  Murthy also discussed the potential benefits of digital warning labels on social media
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  platforms.
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  He suggested that these warnings could help increase awareness about the risks associated
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  with social media use.
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  However, he stressed that such warnings would need to be part of a broader strategy that
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  includes rigorous scientific testing to determine the most effective ways to
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  communicate these risks to users.
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  The Surgeon General emphasized the need for more research to understand the mental health
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  impacts of social media fully.
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  He called for investment in independent research to help guide future regulations and
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  safety measures.
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  Dr.
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  Murthy noted that while anecdotal evidence suggests that reducing social media use can
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  improve mental health, more rigorous studies are needed to validate these findings.
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  Dr.
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  Murthy also highlighted the challenges faced by LGBTQ youth, who may find valuable community
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  support online but are also at higher risk of harassment and bullying on social media.
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  He argued that these young people should not have to choose between the benefits of online
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  communities and their safety.
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  Ensuring a safer online environment would allow them to enjoy the positive aspects of social
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  media without being exposed to its harms.
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  In conclusion, Dr.
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  Murthy called for a fundamental change in how society approaches social media and youth
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  mental health.
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  He urged for more accountability from social media companies and emphasized the importance
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  of ongoing research and regulation to protect young people from the mental health risks
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  associated with social media use.
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  A recent survey has revealed that a significant portion of TikTok users are turning to the
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  platform as their main source of health information.
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  According to the survey, conducted by the personal fitness app Zing, 56 percent of
• 15:41
  Generation Z respondents stated that they go to TikTok for health and wellness advice.
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  Even more concerning, one in three cited the app as their primary source of health
• 15:51
  information.
• 15:53
  This trend has raised alarms among health professionals, who caution that the information
• 15:57
  found on TikTok is often inaccurate or misleading.
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  Dr.
• 16:02
  Dale Criner, the chief medical officer at Methodist Le Bonheur Hospital in Germantown,
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  Tennessee, expressed his concern, stating, 'It is not good to get your medical advice, your
• 16:11
  health advice from TikTok or really a multitude of social media sources.'
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  While some TikTok videos can be helpful in spreading awareness about various health
• 16:21
  conditions, they also contribute to a surge in self-diagnoses, which can be dangerous.
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  Dr.
• 16:27
  Criner warned that taking advice from unverified sources can lead individuals down a
• 16:32
  'dangerous road,' especially if they believe they have a condition based solely on what they
• 16:37
  see in a video.
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  The survey included 1,000 Generation Z respondents, and the findings underscore the
• 16:44
  need for caution when seeking health information online.
• 16:49
  University of Memphis student Aasartha Utti commented on the situation, noting, 'I think a
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  lot of times on social media, things can seem very credible, even though they're not.'
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  Dr.
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  Criner and other health experts stress the importance of consulting licensed health
• 17:07
  professionals for accurate medical advice.
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  Despite the convenience and accessibility of social media, it should not replace
• 17:14
  professional medical consultation.
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  The experts argue that while social media can be a tool for raising awareness, it should not
• 17:22
  be relied upon for making health decisions.
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  As more young people turn to platforms like TikTok for health information, the risk of
• 17:31
  misinformation grows.
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  Health professionals are urging users to verify the information they find online and to seek
• 17:38
  advice from qualified medical practitioners.
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  The consensus is clear: social media should supplement, not replace, professional medical
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  advice.
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  That wraps up today's episode of Morning Medical with Dr.
• 17:52
  Chow.
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  I hope you found our discussions informative and insightful.
• 17:57
  Remember, when it comes to your health, always seek advice from licensed professionals.
• 18:02
  Thank you for joining us, and have a great day!