Infectious Disease

Infectious disease physicians and clinicians writing on KevinMD about outbreaks, antimicrobial resistance, vaccines, and the ongoing challenge of preventing and treating infection. Contributors include the physicians who treat infectious disease and the public health physicians who track it. For a maintained record of what physicians have said about vaccines and vaccine refusal since 2004, see Vaccines: what physicians say, in their own words. For what clinicians wrote during the COVID-19 pandemic as it happened, see COVID-19: what physicians wrote as it happened.

The missing link in the vaccine chain: caregivers

Romilla Batra, MD, MBA

Physician

April 18, 2021

About half of America’s seniors are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and close to three-quarters have gotten at least one shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

This is good news. Seniors have suffered disproportionately from the coronavirus. They have become gravely ill, passed away, and passed the time over the last year in complete isolation.

When the vaccines first became available, health officials wisely moved older adults to the …

A physician gives a dose of hope

Shirin Poustchi, MD, PharmD

Conditions and Diseases

April 18, 2021

During medical residency, one’s goal is two-fold: to provide compassionate and evidence-based care for patients and training and learning.

But when a global pandemic emerges, we rise to serve, upholding our oath to care for the sick and our duty to our profession. The privilege of this role during an unprecedented time in history means that I witness the toll this pandemic has taken on people from all walks of life. …

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A physician gives a dose of hope

How one doctor’s medical fraud launched today’s deadly anti-vax movement

Kurt Eichenwald

Conditions and Diseases

April 17, 2021

An excerpt from The Big Lie: How One Doctor’s Medical Fraud Launched Today’s Deadly Anti-Vax Movement.

Inside the Royal Free Hospital in London, scores of reporters, physicians, and hangers-on packed the Atrium conference room, waiting for a press briefing to begin for five medical specialists who would deliver what would prove to be a historic—and dangerous—announcement.

It was February …

Missouri and Texas: a tale of 2 COVID cultures

Cory Michael, MD

Conditions and Diseases

April 17, 2021

The Major League Baseball season is in full swing, and nothing reflects the variable nature of our country’s response to COVID-19 better than how major cities are continuing to respect (or ignore) the virus and their baseball teams are handling fans. In Toronto, they are not even letting the Blue Jays play in their country, while in North Texas, it is as if there isn’t even a virus out there …

Post-pandemic life: Back to the future

Saloni Sharma, MD

Physician

April 16, 2021

The door to our pre-pandemic world seemingly stands before us. Vaccines are becoming more accessible, and some COVID-19 restrictions have loosened. We simply have to open the door and return to our pre-pandemic life, right? Back to the future we know? If only it were that simple. Our previous reality has vanished. Millions of lives have been lost, and millions more suffer from the consequences of the pandemic. People we …

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Post-pandemic life: Back to the future

The J&J COVID vaccine pause: What the experts are saying

Phil Galewitz

Conditions and Diseases

April 14, 2021

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 …

Johnson & Johnson vaccine suspension: What this means for you

William Petri, MD, PhD

Conditions and Diseases

April 13, 2021

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 …

One year into the pandemic: It’s now time to Zoom out

Alya Khan, MD

Conditions and Diseases

April 13, 2021

Zoom: It’s now a verb. This pandemic has led to people using the digital space to stay connected, learn, and interact. We’ve had these capabilities for years, but its true essence did not come to light until a deadly virus shut the world down. In medicine, many visits turned to telehealth. Physicians skeptical of telemedicine were now forced to use this platform to continue health care delivery. As a residency …

A “wait and see” approach to COVID-19 vaccines may derail our recovery

Wynne Armand, MD

Conditions and Diseases

April 13, 2021

The first clinical trial administration of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine took place over a year ago, on March 16. An annus horribilis of masks, remote schooling, unemployment, loneliness, and depression ensued, leaving in its wake more than a half-million deaths in the U.S. — 2.9 million globally. Will vaccines save us? We have ample reason to hope so—unless we derail our deliverance by adopting a “wait …

Young adults: Let’s see this pandemic through together

Jesper Ke and Matt Alexander

Conditions and Diseases

April 12, 2021

Over the past few months, we’ve celebrated the vaccination of over 100 million Americans against COVID-19. At the same time, we’ve seen worrying indications that young adults like ourselves are letting down our guard too early. In fact, the latest surge in COVID-19 cases is being driven largely by younger people; concerningly, hospital wards in states like Pennsylvania and Florida are starting to …

COVID-vaccine induced thrombosis as explained by a hematologist

Akshat Jain, MD

Conditions and Diseases

April 11, 2021

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. …

Stress and medicine: My salute to frontline workers

Tomi Mitchell, MD

Conditions and Diseases

April 9, 2021

What is stress? Stress is a bodily response to external pressures. It’s an emotional state that we go through when dealing with difficult situations, and it can have a major impact on our health. When faced with work deadlines, family problems, and other daily stresses, our bodies release hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline into the bloodstream. These chemicals can lead to high blood pressure or weaken the immune system …

A Passover vaccine clinic at a Sikh temple

Jonathan Terry, DO

Conditions and Diseases

April 1, 2021

She frowned at me, as she stepped off her truck’s side-rail and onto the pavement. If her mask had not been tightly pulling up from under the woman’s chin, it would have been harder to see her disgust with not just our vaccination event, but even with the volunteers, themselves.

“You know, it’s just like a concentration camp here.”

I looked at the Sikh doctor working with me, then at the three …

Partners of health care workers deserve to be vaccinated

Zeenat Hasan, MD

Conditions and Diseases

March 29, 2021

As a general surgeon, being called into the emergency room to perform a bedside procedure is par for the course. After gathering the standard list of supplies, I ran through another checklist before entering the room of a recent patient. N95, surgical mask on top, eye protection, impervious gown, gloves. Since my patient was COVID positive, I double-checked everything before I unzipped the isolation barrier to enter her …

COVID-19 is a crucial part of our individual medical career stories

Uchenna O. Njiaju, MD

Conditions and Diseases

March 28, 2021

In early 2020 the COVID-19 virus descended upon all of us in the U.S. No longer something we would anxiously read about in the news from outside our shores, this new public health dilemma had touched down close to home. Before long, the WHO would proclaim it to be a worldwide global viral pandemic, emphasizing the magnitude of the problem and the urgent need for all nations to work in concert …

COVID-19 recovery? My long-haul experience with infectious illness suggests disability.

Melissa J. DuPont-Reyes, PhD, MPH

Conditions and Diseases

March 25, 2021

People who say, “I’ve recovered from COVID-19, what’s the big deal?” are wrong. I have lived with long-term disability stemming from acute infectious illnesses like COVID-19 and polio. One winter when I was 17, I was struck with a relentless flu. I “recovered,” yet when spring came, a relative observed how my legs were different sizes. I went for medical testing even though I had no notable symptoms. I learned …

The coronavirus vaccine is not a political or social issue

Cory Michael, MD

Physician

March 24, 2021

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 …

Observing the effects of COVID-19 on the pediatric population

Amy Cox and Rachel Kalthoff

Medical Education

March 24, 2021

“Everyday, there is a theme to our rounds, and I will ask for your thoughts at the end.”

This was the warning our attending physician gave before we went to see our patients on the hospital inpatient floor. As third-year medical students on our first clinical rotation in pediatrics, we were eager to face any challenges that would come our way. After months of isolation studying for our first board exams, …

Not throwing away my shot: Health care workers show confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine

Bryan Tischenkel, MD

Video

March 23, 2021

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.

Not throwing away my shot: Health care workers show confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine

Doctor, am I going to make it?

Razia Jayman-Aristide, MD

Conditions and Diseases

March 22, 2021

Never have I ever had to rely on my communication skills as much as I have as a physician in the pandemic of 2020. My eyes, however, were not taught those skills. There are pillars in medicine, communication guidelines, and lessons in empathy — all things we learn in our training. I can’t say that I had a strong foundation in communication skills as a medical student, but I learned …

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Doctor, am I going to make it?