A month ago, a COVID-positive patient was admitted to a Baltimore Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF), which immediately adopted stringent COVID protocols, insisting that both staff and visitors wear masks at all times (not that either group wore them very carefully in the halls and at the main desk; everyone is burned out of masks), and that the doors to all the rooms in the ward be kept closed other than for entry and exit.  A short time later my mother (whose room was nowhere near that of the COVID patient) caught COVID -- Okay, no big deal, COVID now is rarely ever fatal -- whether due to shared ventilation or because the same mask-wearing staff tending to the COVID patient subsequently tended to my mother, and as we know, masks don’t work. (If you are equivocating even the slightest about mask efficacy and think a mask is at least better than nothing, read this long article, which will bring you up to date.  And in case you think such protocols are still followed only in a liberal city like Baltimore, the author of the above article recently had to wear a mask at a doctor’s appointment in Texas.)  As with the first patient, my mother was then kept mostly isolated for almost two weeks.

Given I am my mother’s power of attorney for her medical issues, I got a call from the SNF asking me if it’s okay to give her Paxlovid.  Remember that drug? Pfizer (with some help from Anthony Fauci) used its usual tricks (including an inadequate preliminary pilot study) to get it fast-tracked for public use, where it was observed to give those (including Fauci and Joe Biden) who took it rebound COVID, obviously not a good thing and with unknown long-term ramifications. Paxlovid also comes with a long list of warnings that doctors ignored (a friend of mine was prescribed it even though he had a heart issue which was a contraindication for it). I told the SNF that no, I do not give permission, but if they want to give her ivermectin, I’m okay with that. They said they don’t prescribe ivermectin at this facility.

A few days later, the staff met with me and other relatives to discuss my mother’s situation. The very first issue they raised was why my mother did not receive Paxlovid for her COVID.  That was my cue, and I held nothing back.  I went on a five-minute rant about how Paxlovid was not properly vetted and the harm it can do, and told them if they try to administer it to my mother on the sneak, I will sue. There was dead silence; they were stunned. You know, a SNF in 2025 can no longer feign ignorance, as all this is very public knowledge (although I am suspicious the staff really didn’t know, perhaps still blindly relying on the medical establishment’s edicts). It turns out my mother had a mild cough for about a week and then it was gone. I couldn’t stop thinking that if I didn’t know enough and trusted the medical establishment, I would’ve said sure, go ahead and give it to her. 

I contacted the nursing home administrator and asked why the SNF is still pushing outdated COVID protocols.  He acknowledged that it is, but said that unfortunately, the SNF (which happens to have great ratings) must follow the guidelines of the Baltimore City Health Department. The BCHD website is still pushing COVID vaccinations for everyone age six months and up, even providing a list of locations where you can still get them, and fails to mention any serious side effects observed. And it links to the CDC website, which, sure enough, still recommends Paxlovid and even Remdesivir!

Donald Trump just withdrew his nomination for CDC director.  But can’t the acting director take immediate action to remove the outdated and dangerous COVID protocols from the CDC website, and better yet, state that these drugs (and masks) are no longer recommended?  People’s lives are still at stake.

W.A. Eliot is a pseudonym

Image: CDC