Category: Infectious disease

Is it time for a true federal COVID vaccine mandate?

President Biden recently unveiled a series of regulations aimed to increase COVID vaccination rates. Impacting up to 100 million people, the president will require government employees, businesses with 100 or more employees, and federal contractors to …

Working in a rural emergency department during the pandemic

I finished residency in 2020, during the height of the pandemic. We had a ceremony limited to just the graduating class; no family or friends could attend. Then my four other colleagues of the past three years and I embarked on our next steps as physic…

Why we need to end social COVID and establish care to replenish joy   

“Where do you find the most joy in your life?” This is one of the questions the Knowledge and Evaluation Research Unit at Mayo Clinic asks people living with ongoing health conditions. Their answers give a sense of each person’s purpose, reason for bei…

I’m grateful for your trust in me. I wish it didn’t require a cancer diagnosis to win it.

You are my favorite patient. You’re charming and funny. You proudly tell me you’ve just retired – having built multiple successful businesses from scratch. You were admitted to my service with rapidly progressive respiratory failure. Your C…

There was life before COVID, but we are not yet at the point of life after COVID

Each weekday morning, without fail, I awake to two texts. One is a symptom checker from my hospital. The other is a symptom checker from my son’s elementary school. They serve as a persistent reminder that the pandemic isn’t over, even if we would all …

How to get patients vaccinated against COVID-19 [PODCAST]

“While opposition to the vaccine may be hardening, pediatricians and family physicians enjoy an advantage the CDC and Dr. Fauci may not: namely, they are liked and trusted by patients. In general, parents look to personal physicians for guidance …

“We are not that great.” Gain-of-function research highlights our hubris

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has made believers out of us. The statements “I believe in science” and “follow the science” express our collective assurance that scientific innovation will continue to serve humanity and sustain us through our pandemic wearine…

A prescription against COVID-19: Telehealth and ivermectin

It’s been in the news that several telehealth companies are offering patients access to the anti-parasite drug ivermectin, which while rumored by some to be an effective treatment for COVID-19 is unproven. As coronavirus deaths in the United States con…

Why pediatricians think about COVID differently

Earlier this summer, the American Academy of Pediatrics made recommendations that contrasted with those from the CDC, emphasizing the need to do everything possible to prevent COVID infection in children. Specifically, they recommended that even vaccin…

A pandemic is not a war. It’s a natural disaster.

The main reason we are seemingly so accepting of lockdowns and vaccine mandates is that we have been conditioned to view a pandemic or an epidemic as a war being waged on our society. In wartime, we naturally expect civil liberties to be suspended. Lik…