“While individual doctors have obligations to both the individual and public health, their first concern is their patients. And these decisions have to acknowledge fears and respect the stance. Providers must balance reassurance with acknowledgme…
Category: Infectious disease
Think TikTok is smarter than me? Then I’m not the right doctor for you.
“I don’t think I am the right doctor for you.” In over 20 years of practice, I had never uttered those words before this year. Now, as my medical assistant of 20 years remarks, almost two years into the pandemic, I say it almost daily…
Will the COVID Omicron variant change the world again? [PODCAST]
“The variant keeps me up at night a little bit because it has 32 mutations in the spike protein, in contrast to the Delta mutation. But it’s not just the mutations. In terms of biological plausibility, it’s plausible that it could be …
To Aaron Rodgers, from a physician and Packers fan [PODCAST]
“Mr. Rodgers, I’m glad you’re feeling well. This isn’t altogether unsurprising given your younger age and elite physical fitness (though cases in young unvaccinated people can and have become severe) and I hope you continue to feel well as you qu…
Anger toward unvaccinated will only cause more harm
Even though COVID infection rates are decreasing, health care providers are still struggling with how to handle unvaccinated patients. Last month, a Colorado hospital system, UCHealth, stated it won’t provide transplants to patients who choose to…
How to end the misinformation pandemic
Like any stressor, COVID-19 has revealed great strengths in science and medicine. But it exposed weaknesses that could have been tolerated before but now are untenable. Perhaps the best example of both is COVID vaccines — the success they have had agai…
A children’s guide to getting vaccinated, in comic form
Emily Watters is a physician and created a children’s guide to getting vaccinated, in comic form (click to enlarge): Emily Watters is a psychiatrist and can be reached at The Cartoon Shrink. Image credits: Emily Watters
A children’s guide t…
A dark corner of Reddit shines light on how misinformation kills
I’ve been struggling to find the right way to highlight how relentlessly misinformation is killing us. I could say that another World War II would only be 60 percent as deadly for Americans as this misinformation-fueled pandemic. I could say that if th…
A message from a physician treating COVID patients
Most of the people who debate COVID-19 vaccination are not physicians. Of those who are, not all have treated COVID-19 patients. I have. As soon as COVID-19 vaccines became available, my entire practice was vaccinated. One elderly patient was not becau…
Would someone please explain to me how to reconcile different versions of reality?
I traveled to Denver to California via train in mid-October. The train is aptly named the California Zephyr. It is a 33-hour trip, across the high mountains of Colorado — with magnificent views of rocky canyons flanking the Colorado River – and …
