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Gold Glove

By Karen Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

On Saturday May 13, we had tickets to see the Cleveland Guardians play the Los Angeles Angels at Progressive Field.  The first 10,000 fans received replicas of the Golden Gloves being awarded that night to four Guardians players.  This was the first time in franchise history for four players to receive the award in one year.  The Gold Glove trophies were given to outfielders Steven Kwan and Myles Straw as well as pitcher Shane Bieber.  The final award went to Andres Gimenez for his performance at second base.  

In 1957, the Rawlings company started the Gold Glove Award given annually to Major League Baseball players for superior individual field performances.  The award is based on managers and coaches from other teams voting with an additional 25% based on player statistics.  In 2022, the baseball utility player was added as a Gold Glove category.  In 2016, the company started awarding a Gold Glove for player performance in the National Pro Fastpitch softball league. 

In 1957, Gil Hodges was one of the first players to receive a Gold Glove.  Pitcher Greg Maddux holds the current record for 18 Gold Glove trophies with Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays leading outfielders with 12 each.  Johnny Bench of the Big Red Machine won 10 Gold Gloves as a catcher. 

Having a good defense is an important part of baseball and so is having a good defense in health care!

On May 11, 2023, the Public Health Emergency ended for the United States with the World Health Organization making a similar announcement on May 5, 2023.  The COVID-19 public health emergency resulted in over 1 million deaths in the US and over 6 million hospitalizations over the last three years.  Although COVID-19 continues throughout the world, the health care system has developed excellent defense mechanisms for superior performance in the field. 

Since April 12, 2023, there has been a 6.5% decrease in COVID-19 hospital admissions in the US.  The CDC reports a 5.3% decrease in COVID-19 deaths since March 18, 2023. This is the good news. The unfortunate news is the lack of uptake of updated COVID-19 vaccine booster doses. Only 17% of the US population has received an updated COVID-19 booster.  This is a defense mechanism being underutilized in the US.  

Our access to COVID-19 data will change with the end of the public health emergency.  The COVID Data Tracker from the CDC will only display hospital admissions, deaths, and emergency room visits due to COVID-19.  All past data will be archived by the CDC on June 1, 2023.  The CDC has announced the primary reporting system for COVID-19 will now be the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System.  

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) website provides some essential information for continued resources for COVID-19 with the ending of the public health emergency (https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/covid-19-public-health-emergency/index.html). The HHS stresses the emergency is over, but the agency still has COVID-19 as a priority in keeping up our defenses against the virus.  Some emergency measures will remain in place to provide continued services.  The HHS announced continued access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatment at no cost while the government continues to purchase supplies. 

On April 18, 2023, HHS provided a press release related to the Department’s HHS Bridge Access Program For COVID-19 Vaccines and Treatment.  The program has been nicknamed the “Bridge”.  Under this Bridge, COVID-19 vaccines will be covered under Medicare Part B without any cost sharing or copay. This includes coverage with any Medicare Advantage plans. The COVID-19 vaccines will be covered without cost through September 30, 2024 for Medicaid coverage.  COVID-19 vaccines are to be free to consumers as long as the government is purchasing the vaccines.  When government vaccine supplies end, the cost of the COVID-19 shots will be dependent on the insurance coverage.  

The antiviral drugs for COVID-19 of Paxlovid® (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) and Lagevrio® (molnupiravir) will be available, but the costs may vary depending on insurance.  There may be cost sharing with these antivirals with Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans. 

The HHS is committed to research and treatment related to long COVID-19 and published an important Fact Sheet to explain the resources available in the US. 

Win a Gold Glove with a good defense against COVID-19.  

ONU HealthWise is offering bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Please call the pharmacy for more information. 

ONU HealthWise Pharmacy
419-772-3784

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