“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 ev…
Category: Infectious disease
Kissing disease’s link to multiple sclerosis
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 …
Are we opening everything too quickly?
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 dan…
Viral nomenclature or a sign of our times?
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….
Farmer Jesty’s bold experiment
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 e…
An update on COVID’s long tail
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 in…
Is Descovy really the better option? [PODCAST]
“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, noth…
I go on because I must: for my patients and for my children
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…
The post-pandemic future I envisioned is here
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 bris…
Omicron and misinformation: When will we learn from past mistakes?
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 …
