Voting still out on value of pulse oximeters

In early October, The New York Times carried an article headlined "Do I Still Need a Pulse Oximeter?" It went on to report that a study done in South Africa showed home monitoring of oxygen levels can be a true lifesaver.

My youngest granddaughter has not been vaccinated. Up until a few days ago children her age were not even offered the opportunity of getting vaccinated against COVID-19. This left me feeling uneasy whenever my 84-year-old sister and my granddaughter both paid me visits at the same time. How to feel comfortable having a non-vaccinated person in the same house as my double-vaccinated oh-so-senior sister?

The truth is there is no truly safe way this can be done. None. But a pulse oximeter can provide a little assurance that the child is unlikely to be an asymptomatic person quietly fighting the COVID-19 virus. 

 

It is not a perfect COVID-19 screening device but it does work in a statistically important number of cases. A perfectly healthy child often has a reading as high as 98 or 99. My granddaughter always hits 99. If she hit lesser number, I'd ask why.