One year ago, the FDA granted emergency use authorization of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S., and nearly 549 million total vaccine doses have been given since. These vaccines have been safe, effective methods in preventing infection and death from COVID-19.
Vaccine recipients had a lower overall risk of death from non-COVID-19 disease compared to unvaccinated counterparts.
Among available vaccines, …
Health care is now at a crossroads.
We’ve been hearing that phrase more often recently, but what does that mean? Being at a crossroads signifies that now is the time to make a decision that will affect the future in substantial and irrevocable ways.
Why is health care at a crossroads now? Americans are getting sicker as every year passes: “A 2007 study reported that seven chronic diseases have a total impact on …
On December 14th, 2021, hospital CEOs met under the guise of The Transformative CEO Healthcare Summit to brainstorm novel ideas in health care and to create “a new world ecosystem.” Themes included how to utilize medical data, how technology can transform health care and expanding at-home delivery systems of care.
Leaders in health care met just weeks before hospital admissions skyrocketed to an all-time high of Read more…
I am so tired. Not in the usual “hard day at work,” but in a “deep-in-my-soul” tired. I am exhausted.
I am heading into my third year as system medical director, where I lead a system-wide palliative medicine program in rural health.
As in many rural systems, we have issues with broad geographic spread coupled with lower population density and limited resources.
But for those of us working in rural health, there is …
Them: “I have never heard of this.”
Me: “That’s OK, let me explain what is going on. Your child has a condition called multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children, which we call MIS-C. We see this condition after a COVID infection where the whole body becomes inflamed, causing fevers. You get inflammation in the small blood vessels of your eyes and skin, which is why your son has red eyes and a …
The 911 call came too late. Her daughter was 32 years old and usually quite healthy. But she refused the COVID vaccinations. She said she took her vitamins and was healthy and that “God is my pilot” and “I don’t want toxins in my body.”
Her mother knew she was running a high fever. She knew she was short of breath frequently … until…
Her 10-year-old grandson couldn’t wake his momma up …
It’s 2022. COVID-19 is still here, and there is little evidence that it’s going away. Coronaviruses have been here longer than us and will be here after us. For centuries, we have co-existed with viruses, and our God-given immune systems have evolved, perfecting our macrophages which fight the nasty microbes. Cytokines or killer chemicals usually put many viruses at bay during our lifecycle, without us even realizing their magnificent work. …
I started this commentary when the initial COVID spike involving the mass hospitalization of unvaccinated individuals occurred, and non-COVID patients requiring hospitalization were turned away because no beds, especially in intensive care, were available.
Some patients traveled hours to find vacant beds, and a few even died! I put the draft aside as COVID declined and hospital beds became available.
Then, Omicron joined Delta, and cases climbed once again. Hospital beds refilled …
“The starting point is to do our best to approach discussing COVID and vaccination with the appropriate type of empathy and understanding.
To understand that our patients don’t have access to the same level of data and research that we do, and even if they did, they might not understand …
In recent decades, mounting evidence has suggested the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a ubiquitous member of the herpes family that causes infectious mononucleosis (a.k.a. the “kissing disease”), can cause multiple sclerosis (MS). Last month, a study published in the journal Science went even further, citing EBV infection as likely the leading cause of MS. It is a compelling connection that begs many questions. For example, if someone has …
In “Open Everything” published in The Atlantic on February 9th, 2022, Yascha Mounk discusses his arguments for lifting any remaining COVID-19 restrictions to “shake off the pandemic malaise.” He asserts that we are “in danger of prolonging the status quo more than is justifiable” and that “the time to end pandemic restrictions is now.” The broad strokes that Mounk makes are diametrically opposed to …
As Pandora’s box of coronavirus opened in 2020, it engulfed our planet into an abysmal nightmare. As darkness fell, those of us in medicine sought refuge under a lamp called “knowledge” that sparked its flame from scientific evidence. But what if medicine and life itself were being written in real-time on a clean slate?
From the get-go, the medical world switched up its protective parental gear.
Moral responsibility got perceived as heroism. …
An excerpt from First Patients: The incredible true stories of pioneer patients.
Unfazed by the village doctors’ refusals, the parish deacon forged ahead. Dr. Andrew Bell–preacher, educator, and doctor, possessed the temper and energy of a combustion engine. Nothing would stop him from carrying out his plan to vaccinate the three …
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What’s the problem?
Anthony Fauci, MD, has said: “Virtually everybody is going to wind up getting exposed and likely get infected.” There’s one reason to avoid this scenario: long COVID.
If Omicron is sooner or later going to infect even just “more than 50 percent,” how many will get long COVID? We can’t know yet, the variant having appeared just three months ago. Hopefully, this …
“As individual patients, we often don’t think about these costs. In my Instagram poll, nearly everyone taking Descovy reported receiving the drug effectively for free, largely due to Gilead’s copay coupons. However, as with anything in life, nothing really ever is free. More patients taking Descovy rather than generic …
I stare at the sharply rising line in front of me, its stark outline harshly highlighting the data–data that shows that we are in the midst of yet another surge. That graph haunts me, intruding upon my thoughts, hovering at the edges of my life. I hold my breath, not knowing when this sly encroacher will become an intruder that will disrupt the normalcy of these last few months, …
It has been exactly one year since Pfizer’s first trucks rolled out to much fanfare. Billions followed every twist and turn on the path to getting a vaccine that would save countless lives and give us a return to normalcy. We all hoped for a brisk global vaccination campaign that, in addition to securing our health, would restore our social lives. We yearned for going to large events without the …
Did anyone else’s heart sink when you heard about the new COVID variant? Mine sure did. I wasn’t surprised when I heard the news. I felt numb as I know we are in for a challenging period, partially because the colder months are quickly approaching and Omicron has already been identified in numerous countries globally. Echoing the words of a science-fiction movie, “the alien(variant) in amongst us” resonated with many …
Your toddler has had a cough and runny, stuffy nose on and off for months. They also attend daycare and have a sibling in preschool. You are worried about the symptoms. You are also exhausted because your child’s coughing and congestion is not letting either of you sleep at night. Does this sound familiar?
You ask yourself, “Is this normal?” and “What is wrong with my child?”
Well, to calm your fears, …
The U.S. is progressively falling behind other countries when rated on the percent of the population that is vaccinated against COVID-19.
I ask all my patients if they are vaccinated against COVID-19 and estimate that 80 percent are vaccinated. The unvaccinated can be unscientifically categorized into three groups, highlighting three real but anonymous patients.
Politically indifferent, medically uneducated, under peer pressure
The first patient is in their 5th decade of …
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