COVID
Essential clinician commentary on COVID-19 coronavirus from the KevinMD community.
Pandemic aftermath: Navigating a new normal in health, education, and social dynamics
Psychological distress. In 2021, 40% of high school students felt sad and hopeless, 20% seriously considered suicide, and 10% attempted it, with suicides among young people hitting their highest rates ever, though they fell in 2022. Since the greatest increase was before 2017, we can’t really blame the pandemic. And some “innovative” approaches for combatting …
Bridging the health care divide: All our actions matter
Much has been written on the social divides laid bare and amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, the more divisive punditry and polemics have receded along with the COVID-19 mandates. And yet, as professionals in health care who have worked in direct patient care and in support of our clinician colleagues, we still see a broad gap separating the culture and worldviews of the people in health care and the …
Time to retire quarantine: Why 5-day isolation guidelines are doing more harm than good
I’m making morning rounds on the pediatric unit today: First up, 4-year-old twins with a severe asthma flare; next an infant with bronchiolitis on supplemental oxygen; then a dehydrated 3-year-old listless in bed. These children are all hospitalized with viral illness – but none of it is COVID-19. Meanwhile, their sniffling peers fill daycares and classrooms, and my daughter is among them. “Maybe it’s allergies,” I said to myself this …
A cardiologist’s COVID-19 frontline journey [PODCAST]
Navigating COVID: Why it still matters
This article is sponsored by Gilead Sciences, Inc.
In this special sponsored episode from Gilead, I’m joined by Anu Osinusi, an infectious disease physician and Vice President of Clinical Research for Hepatitis, Respiratory, and Emerging Viruses at Gilead, to discuss navigating COVID-19 today. We look back on the early days of …
Dependent on the mask my great-grandfather invented
Decades ago, I missed my college graduation ceremony with President Clinton as the commencement speaker because I had to be elsewhere. I was in Shanghai, celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Chinese Medical Association—an organization founded by my great-grandfather, Wu Lien-teh, who was the first Chinese person to be nominated for a Nobel Prize. My father, his grandson, had immigrated to the U.S. from Beijing, met my mother in Palo …
Prayer in the COVID ICU [PODCAST]
The Djokovic saga: Vaccination policies revisited
No matter your politics or judgment on the COVID-19 vaccine, we can agree that the visuals of the world’s number one tennis player being detained and treated like a criminal when he went to the Australian Open last year were unsettling, and the Australian government should have better handled his case. To recap, Mr. Djokovic flew to Australia in January 2022 on a vaccine exemption as he had a COVID-19 …
When mandates fail to protect, science can help
On October 28, 1918, a San Francisco horseshoer named James Wisser urged a street corner crowd to throw away their masks in defiance of a local mask mandate issued a few days before. He was shot twice after resisting a local health inspector’s attempt to force compliance. At that time, most of the medical community believed that cotton gauze masks were useful in slowing infection rates, but dissenting …
Heroes of pandemic control [PODCAST]
COVID vaccines and weight loss medications: a tale of 2 needles
I am perplexed by two different needles which, when viewed together, illustrate the irrational themes which dominate our shared humanity. They inform me that, despite being a doctor for more than twenty years, I honestly feel dumber each day about human behavior. If, unlike me, you have somehow figured out more along the way, good for you.
The first needle which vexes me was the one stuck in my arm on …
Battling COVID chaos and recruiting doctors
An excerpt from Our Hospital.
Kush Kare Hospital in Columbia, New York, was the flagship of Kush Kare Private Equity Inc., a for-profit chain of hospitals across America. A for-profit that was listed on a lot of lucrative trading routes. Clearly its workings were murky—maybe not equity at all. A clever …
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A heartbreaking COVID-19 case: the importance of trust in medical care
An excerpt from One Hundred Prayers: God’s answer to prayer in a COVID ICU.
(August 30, 2021) Susan was 44 years old and previously healthy; an ardent anti-masker. When she caught delta COVID, she took ivermectin, zinc and vitamin C. She arrived at our ER about a week later, requiring immediate …
A memorable day during COVID: Staying true to my calling
COVID reminded me of why I became a doctor. Below is an unpublished account (in short story form) of my most memorable day during the height of COVID. It is a reminder that we can remain true to our intrinsic motivators rather than victims of extrinsic factors. And most of us still have the opportunity to choose every day which forces rule our day: intrinsic or extrinsic.
On a Tuesday morning …
How dementia and COVID-19 robbed the baby doll of love
When I started visiting patients in nursing homes, a good many of them had some degree of dementia. In its earliest form, a person with dementia could recall what they were doing when they found out about 9/11, or when Kennedy was shot, or when Pearl Harbor was bombed in the Second World War. However, they couldn’t recall their most recent …
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It’s time to stop stigmatizing long COVID patients with mental health conditions
Mental health conditions are common among individuals with long COVID due to various factors. These include the direct effects of COVID-19 on the body, such as neuroinflammation, as well as the circumstances often associated with the condition, such as job loss, reduced income, disconnection, isolation, chronic pain, immobility, and the persistent feeling of being unwell. Alongside cognitive impairment and fatigue, mental health issues form what I call the “unholy trinity” …
Our institutions have given up on the COVID-19 pandemic. We should not.
The COVID-19 pandemic is over. On May 5, The World Health Organization announced that COVID-19 was no longer a public health emergency. The U.S. followed suit on May 11, allowing the public health emergency declaration to expire.
The pandemic did not end because of vaccination efforts nor from acquired herd immunity. The pandemic is over because of the capitulation and resignation of public health authorities as they concede …
COVID-19 vaccine neglect: a tale of regret and debilitating symptoms
As an allergist-immunologist who trained at Mayo Clinic, one might assume that I’m up to date on my COVID-19 booster vaccinations. However, I realized months ago that I was overdue for a booster; it’s been over a year since my third vaccination. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I didn’t stop at the pharmacy or schedule an appointment with my primary doctor. I was among the roughly 85 percent of …
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The heartbreaking reality of a nurse’s struggle: a father’s tale
I love two nurses. One of them is my son, and the other is someone very close to me. She’ll have her own article.
My son has just finished his seventh 12-hour ICU shift. He’s wiped out, devastated, and shell-shocked. Let me introduce him to you before sharing his pain.
The kid was always enthusiastic about medicine. He wanted to be a physician more than anything. Maybe it runs in the family; …
Past Week
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What’s driving medical students away from primary care?
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A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how
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Why no medical malpractice firm responded to my scientific protocol
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A world without antidepressants: What could possibly go wrong?
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Reimagining diabetes care with nutrition, not prescriptions
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Bridging the digital divide: Addressing health inequities through home-based AI solutions
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Past 6 Months
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Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting
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The silent crisis hurting pain patients and their doctors
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What’s driving medical students away from primary care?
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What happened to real care in health care?
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Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?
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How to build a culture where physicians feel valued [PODCAST]
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Recent Posts
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Reimagining diabetes care with nutrition, not prescriptions
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Why funding cuts to academic medical centers impact all of us [PODCAST]
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What’s driving medical students away from primary care?
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When rock bottom is a turning point: Why the turmoil at HHS may be a blessing in disguise
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How grief transformed a psychiatrist’s approach to patient care
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A speech pathologist’s key to better, safer patient care
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Past Week
-
What’s driving medical students away from primary care?
-
A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how
-
Why no medical malpractice firm responded to my scientific protocol
-
A world without antidepressants: What could possibly go wrong?
-
Reimagining diabetes care with nutrition, not prescriptions
-
Bridging the digital divide: Addressing health inequities through home-based AI solutions
-
Past 6 Months
-
Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting
-
The silent crisis hurting pain patients and their doctors
-
What’s driving medical students away from primary care?
-
What happened to real care in health care?
-
Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?
-
How to build a culture where physicians feel valued [PODCAST]
-
Recent Posts
-
Reimagining diabetes care with nutrition, not prescriptions
-
Why funding cuts to academic medical centers impact all of us [PODCAST]
-
What’s driving medical students away from primary care?
-
When rock bottom is a turning point: Why the turmoil at HHS may be a blessing in disguise
-
How grief transformed a psychiatrist’s approach to patient care
-
A speech pathologist’s key to better, safer patient care
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