CONSUMER GAL: Here's how COVID affects mammogram timing
Terri Dickerson
According to the CDC, if you're female and recently received a COVID-19 vaccine, you may want to consider delaying a mammogram. Why? Because people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine can have swelling in the lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy) in the underarm near where they got the shot.
While the swelling is a normal sign that your body is building protection against COVID-19, it can cause a false reading on a mammogram that may occur due to the vaccine.
Some experts like The MD Anderson Cancer Center, part of the University of Texas, suggested waiting 6 to 10 weeks after vaccination before having the mammogram performed. It's best to have a mammogram prior to the injection, if possible. If not, check with your doctor to see how long they recommend you wait to minimize the chance of inaccurate results caused by the vaccine.
Most routine medical procedures or screenings such as routine blood work, dental procedures, CAT scans, EKGs (electrocardiograms), cardiac stress tests, colonoscopies and ultrasounds are reported to be unaffected by the vaccine. If you're scheduled to have a medical procedure performed and were recently vaccinated, ask your doctor if you should wait prior to the procedure.
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What is the American Rescue Plan Act?
As part of the American Rescue Plan Act, eligible families may qualify for monthly payments from the government from July 15 through December. The Internal Revenue Service will send the payments directly to people through direct deposit, paper checks or debit cards.
The payments under this Act basically are an advance on the families’ child tax credit. Eligible people are scheduled to get half of their child tax credit in the monthly payments and the other half when they file their 2021 taxes.
Keep in mind that if you're getting a monthly payment, your refund could be less next year because of the advanced payments you receive this year.
Qualifying for payments is dependent upon income. The payment will be received the 15th of each month, automatically, without having to do anything.
If you have questions about the program you can visit www.IRS.gov and go to the link called The Advance Child Tax Credit Payments in 2021.
Be aware that any time there is money in the news, especially when it comes from the government, scammers are paying attention, too. It's likely that they will call, email, text or direct message you to say they can help you get your payments earlier (not true), get you more money (also not true) or tell you just about anything to get a portion of your money.
Only the IRS will send these payments so anyone representing themselves as an agent trying to “help” you get your child tax credit is really just a scammer only after your money.
As usual, the government does not contact us, out of the blue, via phone, text, email or direct message. Never share your Social Security, bank account, debit or credit card information with anyone.
Go directly to the IRS.gov website for information on the program.
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TikTok’s Chinese parent company
According to some former TikTok employees, the parent company reportedly has access to TikTok’s American user data and is closely involved in the LA company’s decision-making as well as product development.
TikTok is a social media app that was launched internationally in September 2017. Its parent company, Byte Dance, purchased Musical.ly for $1 billion in November 2017, another social app that was gaining popularity in the U.S.
After the merger, the company quickly amassed a user base of nearly 92 million in the U.S., particularly among teens and young adults. According to an October 2020 survey, TikTok has even surpassed Instagram in the U.S. to become a teenager’s second-favorite social media app behind Snapchat.
Why should we care? Because some cybersecurity experts worry that the Chinese government could use TikTok to spread propaganda or censorship to American audiences. Even the U.S. armed forces (along with other countries) have forbidden government personnel from using it and describe it as a threat to cybersecurity.
Last year, this concern caught the attention of then Secretary of State (under Donald Trump) Mike Pompeo. Even he voiced concern that it was more likely than not that TikTok was probably feeding U.S. user data directly to the Chinese government through its parent company. ByteDance denies that it provides any U.S. user data to the Chinese government.
TikTok’s privacy policy states, “We may share all of the information we collect with a parent, subsidiary or other affiliate of our corporate group. Then it downplays the importance of data access by following up with, “We employ rigorous access controls and a strict approval process overseen by our U.S. based leadership team, including technologies like encryption and security monitoring to safeguard sensitive user data."
While all these words sound good, they're designed to do one thing: Make us feel comfortable enough to let our guard down.
The bottom line is it's still our responsibility as consumers to protect our own information, data and privacy. Don’t expect companies or the government to do it for you.
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Remember: I’m on your side.
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If you have encountered a consumer issue that you have questions about or think our readers should know about, please send me an email at terridickersonadvocate@gmail.com or call me at 208-274-4458. As The CDA Press Consumer Gal, I’m here to help. I’m a copywriter working with businesses on marketing strategy, a columnist, a veterans advocate and a consumer advocate living in Coeur d’Alene.