“I am a proud science-trained medical doctor and concerned mother. I am not going to remain silent when the biggest tragedies are yet to hit earth yet. Like seriously, I do not want to become like the dinosaurs. History wasn’t too kind to them. J…
Category: Infectious disease
COVID-19 vaccines: the state of the art
Effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccines appeared in record time, with 68% of Italians, 60% of Americans, and 32% of all human beings already having at least one dose. Most of the 138 candidates quit by Phase 2; the German mRNA vaccine CureVac went through an ent…
Giving ourselves grace as physicians
“We must give others the dignity of their own path.” – Judith Orloff, MD As the Delta variant surges, few words can underscore what we as a physician community are grappling with. We struggle to make sense of humanity around us. As physicians, we trust…
As we wait for the joy to return to medicine
We liked science and wanted to help people. “I’ll help people,” we said, “I’ll be a doctor. I’ll do no harm and try my best.” We studied and studied and were terrified on our first months on the wards. Finally,…
How do we explain the unexplainable? Are there words for the things we’ve experienced?
I’m usually good with words. The last year and a half of being a “front line nurse” has left me struggling to find the words. The frustration, anger, trauma, and sadness have so muddied my mind that I find it hard to sort through all of the complexitie…
Is it a badge of honor to refuse the vaccine but choose to die?
You know that if you don’t get vaccinated and you don’t wear a mask, you potentially will die. You go to super spreader events, big groups at beaches, football games, baseball games … loads of people laughing and clapping, and shoulder to shoulder. You…
The end, through the eyes of a critical care nurse
On the day you die from COVID, many things will happen. A colleague and I will enter the room to carefully prepare and clean your body. We will shut off all the IV pumps. We will turn off the ventilator. We will silence and turn off the monitor that is…
The most patriotic thing you can do right now is get vaccinated
I am so tired of the freedom argument with it comes to vaccines. So tired. It didn’t really hit me until I learned more about medicine, government, and public health, just how much freedom is taken for granted. I get it. I don’t like it whe…
A summary of state of the art COVID treatment
Prevention Our most effective weapons are lockdowns, masks, distancing, ventilation and vaccination, but we can also protect close patient contacts pharmacologically. Subcutaneous REGEN-COV (Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody combo, casirivimab plus imdev…
Clearing the air our kids share: a prescription for healthy schools
As a pulmonary and critical care doctor and the mother of three children too young to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, life has been harrowing. At the beginning of the summer, however, I was beginning to breathe a sigh of relief. My children had been in sch…
