Essential clinician commentary on COVID-19 coronavirus from the KevinMD community.
United States health officials have lifted the 10-day pause of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID vaccine. This pause dealt a devastating blow to the nationwide vaccination effort. The seven-day moving average of vaccinations in the U.S. peaked right before the pause, and has been trending downward. Fear of developing blood clots is adding to vaccine hesitancy. Moving forward, …
“Nowadays, I go on long walks through the city alone. I make dinner for one. When I go on bike rides, it’s a solo activity. I find comfort in myself, slowing down and making every small occasion a simple, peaceful one. I have a stronger sense of self, and through that, I …
During this pandemic, do we blame people for acquiring COVID or do we empathize?
I wonder this as I read a message from my senior, who mentions that people are suffering or in isolation due to COVID because of their own negligence.
My mind reflects back on all the dying doctors who caught the infection while treating the virus. And then, there was the ophthalmologist in Wuhan who diagnosed the virus, the …
I’ve been limiting my COVID-19 related engagement with social media because this has been a rough year. I like being a resource for my loved ones about COVID-19 stuff, but it feels never-ending.
A friend of mine asked me to weigh in on a letter sent to our local school board. It claimed that masks in school were a direct assault on human rights. This letter listed …
COVID-19 is the first-ever “politicized pandemic” in human history. COVID-19 happened in an era of widespread social media which helped the general population to understand the disease better and faster. However, the public also formulated an opinion about it. The problem was that their opinions were distilled by the information they were exposed to. And a large chunk of the information available was not scrutinized or scientifically proven.
This is a …
Joseph B. Fraiman is an emergency medicine physician currently practicing at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center and three other regional hospitals in Louisiana. This interview, conducted by journalist Martha Rosenberg, has been edited for clarity and length.
Rosenberg: Working at ERs in Louisiana hospitals that serve bayou communities, how seriously were you affected by COVID-19?
Fraiman: When COVID-19 began, as the only physician overnight, I was pronouncing or intubating patients two or three …
A couple of weeks ago, I received a text from my aunt that included a link to a physician-created YouTube video about the COVID vaccine. The creator has built her fame and fortune as an anti-vaccination proponent. Knowing that her videos are rubbish, I ignored the text.
A couple of days ago, I received the same text message, this time with my aunt imploring me to “PLEASE READ!” I went back …
COVID-19 has changed nearly every aspect of society as we know it, and doctors in hospitals across America are at the forefront of those changes. As a pediatric infectious diseases doctor who also writes curriculum to help the next generation of doctors prepare for their medical exams, I’ve seen firsthand how this current pandemic is changing our roles with patients, shifting what families and communities expect from us, and expediting …
In the “before times,” most Americans went about their lives relatively unpreoccupied with death. In fact, one CBS News poll found only 14 percent of Americans spent “a lot of time” thinking about their own mortality.
What a difference a pandemic makes. With every masked trip to the grocery store, every passerby who coughs too close and every “doom scroll” through …
Four months into the largest U.S. vaccine rollout in decades, it’s become clear that the messaging surrounding COVID-19 vaccination efforts is as important as the science behind them.
That was true when the first COVID vaccines were introduced in December at hospitals and nursing homes and even more so after the federal government on Tuesday paused the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after reports of extremely rare but very serious — in …
What is this potential side effect of the J&J vaccine for COVID-19?
The potential side effect is a blood clot in the veins that drain blood from the brain. This is called central venous sinus thrombosis. In the vaccine-associated cases of this, platelets in blood, which are important for making clots, have been lower than normal. While …
VIPIT is the medical term given to the phenomenon of developing clots in various parts of the body after certain (not all) COVID-19 vaccines. VIPIT stands for vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia, a complicated term explained simply as clotting of the thrombocytes or platelet cells in the blood vessels after receiving the COVID vaccine.
Clearly, understanding this newly evolving condition is very limited, but what we know so far is extremely concerning. …
For the past year, we have been inundated with statistics about the impact of COVID-19 on our lives. Reports of daily case rates, hospitalizations, and deaths are so pervasive that they have become routine fodder for “water cooler” and dinner table conversations. Several early studies, looking at the pandemic’s secondary health implications, give us an inkling of just how broad and deep its impact has been.
Mental health
Perhaps the most visible …
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After entering Gate D at Fenway Park, John had his temperature taken and verified that he was symptom-free. As he rounded the corner, his friend heard him whisper through his mask, “I think this is real.” He was referring to the calming sounds of a string trio emanating from the concourse, next to the FIELD BOX 54-70 sign. Vaccine day was finally …
It has been over a year now since shelter-in-place orders struck fear into many, forced millions into unemployment, and taught us all the meaning of the term “supply chain.” It didn’t take long before the chants of “flatten the curve” and “support our health care heroes” dissipated. Once more was known, many industries figured out to cope safely while others just decided to cope unsafely. The government stepped …
This version of “My Shot” was written and recorded by an anesthesiologist, Bryan Tischenkel, MD, to raise awareness for the COVID-19 vaccine. He wanted to show the public the confidence with which many health care workers are receiving their vaccinations daily.
We all believe in the science behind vaccination. Each patient should speak to their physician about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Leanne, a nurse, sits next to me in the ICU. She says into the phone, “Now, Johnny, you be good for Nana.” We’re only halfway through another 12-hour shift, and she won’t be home until after her 5-year-old son is ready for bed.
Such calls to palliate separation have long been part of the fabric of health care families’ lives. But the pandemic has magnified the frequency and pain of these absences.
Much …
Imagine that you’re a physician in the middle of the global pandemic. The life-saving vaccine has just come out, and your job includes administration of the vaccine. At the end of your day, you have 10 extra vaccine doses in an opened vial that will need to be discarded if not used. You know there are not enough vaccines available yet to vaccinate everyone who needs this vaccine as soon …
“I am grateful that I work in a small rural hospital that is like a family. I am grateful that my organization has done everything in its power to protect us… but I hope we can do better. I hope medical workers have enough left within them to give their all …
One year ago, on March 14, I worked my first of many COVID shifts as a hospitalist at a large academic teaching institution in Chicago. In the beginning, I think most of us on the front lines felt a strange combination of duty, fear, and exhilaration. There was this novel virus, the world was shutting down because of it, and while the rest of society was stocking up on toilet …
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