Jesse O'Shea is an infectious disease fellow.

It’s time to treat the COVID-19 vaccine campaign as if we are at war

Conditions and Diseases
January 13, 2021

The abysmal attempt at mass vaccination against COVID-19 in the United States is uninspiring—a prophecy seemingly set in stone by the testing debacles’ failures.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday, that of 17 million doses, only 4.8 million had been administered. That’s only 28.4 percent of distributed doses in over three weeks. Of the possible 528 million doses to achieve herd immunity (roughly 264 million …

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It’s time to treat the COVID-19 vaccine campaign as if we are at war

A thank you to all artists on behalf of the health care community

Physician
November 1, 2020

Amid the pandemic, when the world quieted to the sounds of our own breathing when the stillness of our isolation felt dark, who did the health care workers on the frontlines battling COVID-19 turn to, earnestly and urgently, for comfort and meaning? The artists.

The skin on my face was weathered and raw from my tightly fit N-95 mask and goggles. As an infectious disease physician, I spent my day treating …

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A thank you to all artists on behalf of the health care community

The inconvenient truth: We need to learn how to live with COVID-19 and here’s how

Conditions and Diseases
October 17, 2020

Since the small cluster of cases broke out in Wuhan, China nine months ago, the world has profoundly changed. With each passing moment, there seems to be a new COVID-19 milestone. 1 million deaths worldwide. 215,000 deaths in the United States. A White House outbreak. Rather than tell you reassuring lies or downplay the virus, I am going to tell you inconvenient truths. But if …

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The inconvenient truth: We need to learn how to live with COVID-19 and here’s how

The world needs more infectious disease doctors

Conditions and Diseases
August 23, 2020

My face shield whistled with noise as it brushed against my thin yellow gown. Bright monitors surrounded me, chirping like cardinals in the summer. A slow exhale felt comfortably warm against my N-95 mask. Treading down the river of COVID-19 patients as a second-year infectious disease fellow, I knew this was exactly where I needed to be. Even beneath these protective barriers, I could look left, right, and …

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The world needs more infectious disease doctors

Enduring the pandemic: How to support your friend on the frontlines

Conditions and Diseases
May 12, 2020

Troubled by the volume of patients dying before they could even be taken out of ambulances, a New York emergency physician recently ended her own life.

Are we all just vital statistics, waiting to be calculated? COVID-19 has infected and killed more than 56,000 Americans. We must remember that every single one of these deaths is a loved one—a son or daughter, a father or mother, a husband or wife, a …

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Enduring the pandemic: How to support your friend on the frontlines

False certainty and blanket statements: Not even the WHO is immune

Conditions and Diseases
May 4, 2020

The World Health Organization (WHO) says there is currently “no evidence” showing that people who have recovered from the coronavirus are not at risk of becoming infected again.

“Some governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could serve as the basis for an ‘immunity passport’ or ‘risk-free certificate’ that would enable individuals to travel or to return to work assuming that they …

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False certainty and blanket statements: Not even the WHO is immune

4 reasons why this physician specialized in infectious disease

Physician
April 27, 2019

The last sunlight of the day was slanting through Joseph’s hospital window. As the sun descended, it burned the sky crimson, and the mists rolled away, disappearing into Rwanda’s seemingly endless hills. I had just arrived in Kigali for global health work with a goal of medical education and, as I looked out, I felt at peace with my recent decision to apply to an infectious disease (ID) fellowship.

Earlier, while …

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4 reasons why this physician specialized in infectious disease

Have the flu? Tweet it. Diarrhea? Review it. Help identify outbreaks.

Social Media in Medicine
September 25, 2016

When it comes to social media, oversharing is the new norm. When #flu season comes around, everyone on Twitter becomes inundated with talk of runny noses, strangers sneezing on their morning commute bus ride, and avoidance of the airport. People update their statuses on their interactions, frustrations, struggles and even locations. When a friend is not feeling well, they may post about it on social media and get an instant …

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Have the flu? Tweet it. Diarrhea? Review it. Help identify outbreaks.

Antibiotic misuse and superbugs create the perfect killer

Conditions and Diseases
July 9, 2015

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Imagine the United States of America when a simple skin infection from a scrape causes a 10 percent chance of dying.  Out of every 1,000 women who give birth, nine will die, and out of the 1,000 infants born,  up to 30 percent will die.   It is difficult to imagine, but these are the alarming statistics prior to antibiotics in the early …

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Antibiotic misuse and superbugs create the perfect killer

Telemedicine is medicine’s sexiest new field, but why aren’t we ready for it?

Health Policy
May 24, 2015

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Imagine a surgeon removing a gallbladder miles away from where he or she actually is. Imagine when you are ill, a physician has the ability to diagnose you from your living room. Telemedicine.

Telemedicine itself is not a concept that is all that new. In the 1930’s, Italy used telemedicine to communicate with ships at sea, while in the United States, NASA …

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Telemedicine is medicine’s sexiest new field, but why aren’t we ready for it?