COVID-19 pandemic

1,704 articles · Since 2020

Articles, page 25

#ThisIsOurShot to end the pandemic [PODCAST]

February 10, 2021Feb 10, 2021

"Vaccines have been around as early as 1776 when Edward Jenner first pioneered the smallpox vaccine and Louis Pasteur produced a rabies vaccine. As a microbiologist’s child, I grew up hearing these stories from my father and thinking of these…

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“Vaccines have been around as early as 1776 when Edward Jenner first pioneered the smallpox vaccine and Louis Pasteur produced a rabies vaccine. As a microbiologist’s child, I grew up hearing these stories from my father and thinking of these men as heroes. Vaccines have been proven so effective and safe that we are guilty of taking them for granted. There …

Physician voices

It’s time to end draconian hospital visitation policies during COVID-19

Taimur Safder, MD, MPH

February 10, 2021Feb 10, 20216

We were only a few miles away from the hospital, but we might as well have been in another galaxy. Normally I wouldn’t have minded that feeling since I’ve spent most of my adult life in hospitals going through the different larval stages a medical trainee must on their way to their final form of an attending physician. But this current feeling of disconnect from the local hospital was

…

Conditions and diseases

What the PlayStation 5 can teach the vaccine rollout

Zane Kaleem, MD

February 10, 2021Feb 10, 2021

It’s no surprise that the PlayStation 5 (PS5) has been extremely popular since its launch in November, with over four million consoles sold since launch. However, what is surprising is that the PS5 has broken all launch month gaming hardware sales records ever, despite its steep prices at $500 for the full console and $400 for the digital edition, not to mention its launch in the …

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Physician voices

When medicine is the virus that ails you

Phillis Cherie, MD

February 10, 2021Feb 10, 2021

I knew this day would come, when my survival would depend on my ability to reframe a covenant once made. Medicine, the knight in shining armor that has given me livelihood and legacy has taken so much. I willingly surrendered for the title of physician and the responsibility and privilege of being a healer. But relentlessly, Western medicine has tried to strip me of me so I would robotically serve …

Physician voices

How COVID-19 strained the relationship between patients and health care workers

Brendan James Flanagan, MD

February 9, 2021Feb 9, 2021

At its core, medicine is about a relationship between patients and health care workers. This bond between the sick and those who care for them transcends conventional boundaries and restrictions. Health care workers often witness the most profoundly intimate moments of complete strangers’ lives. We see patients in their most raw and vulnerable states. Patients, in turn, allow us into their lives and put their health and welfare in our …

Conditions and diseases

The United States earns a D+ on the vaccine effort

Chris Moag, PA-C

February 9, 2021Feb 9, 20215

The United States has, so far, earned a solid D+ on the vaccine effort. The high mark is not an F because people are actually being vaccinated. There are a multitude of factors that are making this already incredibly complex situation unnecessarily convoluted. From my research, which has been motivated by my company’s development of a digital tool that prioritizes and schedules vaccinations in multiple states, it has become apparent …

Conditions and diseases

Nursing home workers at catastrophic levels of burnout and trauma

Carole A. Estabrooks, PhD, RN & Yuting Song

February 9, 2021Feb 9, 2021

It’s been almost a year since nursing home workers began fighting on the front lines of COVID-19. They’ve witnessed and experienced extreme trauma. They’ve seen seniors they care for suffer in fear and loneliness during prolonged and repeated lockdowns. They’ve…

More than 17,000 seniors are dead from COVID-19 in Canada;

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Conditions and diseases

The pandemic has reminded me of the physician-patient relationship’s precious nature

John DeGuardi, MD

February 9, 2021Feb 9, 2021

“How is she? What happened?” – a family member asks me anxiously over the phone. I pause and proceed cautiously. “What is your understanding – “ I am cut off. “Just tell me what happened.” Again, I pause. “I am very sorry sir, and I am sad to say that your wife has unfortunately passed away.” A long silence ensues … he mutters an expletive.

As a physician, delivering bad news …

Physician voices

A dose of positivity? Just what the doctor ordered.

Krupa Bhojani Playforth, MD

February 7, 2021Feb 7, 2021

We have dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic, and its disruptions to our lives, for a year. And all the news reports, the dire warnings, and the messages of doom and gloom reinforce a feeling of despair as we face yet another week of virtual school, along with time away from the activities and the people we love. We have hit a collective pandemic wall of hopelessness. It is easy to …

Physician voices

My heart as a physician has been weighted with the pain I have witnessed

Erika Visser Aragona, DO

February 7, 2021Feb 7, 2021

There is such beauty that arises when we simply smile at our children's faces. Their roaring belly laughs, their absolute delight in catching snowflakes on their tongues on an early February afternoon, and their joyful playground adventures just a few…

There is such beauty that arises when we simply smile at our children’s faces. Their roaring belly laughs, their absolute delight in catching snowflakes on their tongues on an early February afternoon, and their joyful playground adventures just a few days prior when the weather graced us with sunshine and a peek into the hopeful Spring ahead of us.

This is the hope I find so uplifting

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Physician voices

In the midst of our COVID crisis, we must learn to take care of ourselves. And each other.

Ira Nash, MD & Jacqueline M. Moline, MD

February 6, 2021Feb 6, 2021

Applause every evening, volunteers sewing masks, personal phone calls, and check-ins – these are a few examples of the support that helped us get through the initial, brutal onslaught of COVID in New York City last spring. A year later,…

A year later, many hospitals across the country are full to bursting, the staff is exhausted, and medical science is still unable to save thousands of patients from dying in isolation. And we know …

Physician voices

COVID vaccine battles are as strange as the disease

Nina Shapiro, MD

February 6, 2021Feb 6, 2021

During these early weeks of COVID-19 vaccine distribution, the response across the country has been, well, odd. Unlike any other vaccine that’s been administered, the reactions to this one have ranged from elation to envy to fear to anger. On…

On December 14, 2020, Sandra Lindsey, a nurse in a hospital in Queens, New York, was the first American to receive the vaccine. At least for a day or two, she became …

Conditions and diseases

Vaccination and trust in science and patience is the only way out of this pandemic

Linda Silas, RN

February 6, 2021Feb 6, 2021

A COVID-free future is within our reach – a future where it's safe to hug again and where our smiles no longer need to be hidden behind a mask. To get there, we will need a robust vaccination drive. We…

A COVID-free future is within our reach – a future where it’s safe to hug again and where our smiles no longer need to be hidden behind a mask. To get there, we will need a robust vaccination drive. We will need Canadians to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated. But we will also need to be patient. Immunizing the country won’t happen overnight. It will be

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Physician voices

Overcoming PPE barriers to compassionate communication

Anthony Orsini, DO

February 5, 2021Feb 5, 2021

In the COVID-19 environment, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) is the norm for clinicians. Monthly, U.S. health care workers use 89 million masks. While these masks help prevent the spread of disease, PPE creates barriers to effective communication that is requiring clinicians to learn new techniques for interacting with patients. Learning new verbal and non-verbal techniques to overcome PPE communication barriers is especially important for conveying …

The Podcast by KevinMD

Prison medicine during the pandemic [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

February 3, 2021Feb 3, 2021

"Rumor has it that the SARS-CoV 2 virus was brought into prison via inmates who were on a work-release program. Allegedly, they boarded a city bus with a driver who was ill. From there, it crept beyond the work-release camp…

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“Rumor has it that the SARS-CoV 2 virus was brought into prison via inmates who were on a work-release program. Allegedly, they boarded a city bus with a driver who was ill. From there, it crept beyond the work-release camp and wafted over to the general prison population. The pandemic had reached this impenetrable fortress; a tiny virus with no proper …

Conditions and diseases

Caregiving for COVID at home: a physician story

Jen Baker-Porazinski, MD

February 3, 2021Feb 3, 2021

The day after Christmas, my husband Paul developed a fever, chills, and cough. On Sunday, he tested positive. He probably got sick helping a family member, but we’ll never be certain how the virus invaded our home, rendering us hostage…

Since I wasn’t sick, I tried working from home. In between patients, I’d peek in on Paul, trying not to disturb him, piled under blankets. He groaned when changing …

Physician voices

The destructive health consequences of political polarization

American College of Physicians & Philip A. Masters, MD

February 3, 2021Feb 3, 20212

A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD. Political divisiveness has always been part of the fabric of America. Even as our Founders laid the groundwork for the United States, they understood the challenges of seeking…

A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.

Political divisiveness has always been part of the fabric of America. Even as our Founders laid the groundwork for the United States, they understood the challenges of seeking to assemble a unified and functional country from such a wide geographic and culturally diverse landscape. In establishing a country based on the central principles of …

Conditions and diseases

COVID-19 vaccines are safe for people with severe allergies

Charles Feng, MD

February 3, 2021Feb 3, 20212

The intensive care unit nurse was worried the COVID-19 vaccine would kill her. In the past, just minutes after getting the influenza vaccine, she had hives, wheezing, and throat swelling. Her life-threatening reaction only resolved after an epinephrine injection and…

The intensive care unit nurse was worried the COVID-19 vaccine would kill her.

In the past, just minutes after getting the influenza vaccine, she had hives, wheezing, and throat swelling. Her life-threatening reaction only resolved after an epinephrine injection and monitoring in the emergency room. She vowed never to get another vaccine.

With the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine, she reconsidered her stance. Now she was in my clinic,

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Conditions and diseases

The COVID-19 pandemic brought many new challenges in medicine. A novel tool may help to overcome some of them.

Avital O'Glasser, MD & Shikha Jain, MD & Vineet Arora, MD

February 2, 2021Feb 2, 2021

In December 2020, almost a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States lost 140,000 jobs, and all of them were held by women. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unrivaled and unprecedented challenges, and the damage done to gender equity…

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Physician voices

Being “essential” has been overwhelming

Prerana Chatty, MD

January 31, 2021Jan 31, 2021

In July 2020, we became essential workers. We threw on our scrubs, put our stethoscopes around our necks, and walked to work for our first day as pediatricians. Six months later, I have had a moment to reflect on what…

In July 2020, we became essential workers. We threw on our scrubs, put our stethoscopes around our necks, and walked to work for our first day as pediatricians.

Six months later, I have had a moment to reflect on what it has meant to be “essential.” I have come to realize that the simple act of learning from and taking care of our patients has been essential. “Being essential” has looked …

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Being “essential” has been overwhelming

COVID-19 pandemic

Articles, page 25

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