Category: Infectious disease

The political backlash to evidence-based doctors’ recommendations

Last week, someone referred to me online in the most shocking terms: a liberal. As I read the phrase, I gripped the pearls around my neck and coughed down my scalding afternoon tea. How could this have happened to me? With all its newsworthiness to the…

Think of the vaccines like an umbrella, and it’s raining outside

If you are confused about delta and how well the vaccines protect against infection right now, I don’t blame you: We are learning and updating data in real-time, and it is hard to keep track of it all. So maybe this analogy will help. Think of th…

A pandemic of the bullies over others

In the sweltering heat of late afternoon, I walked up to a grassy patch in front of the Central Bucks School District Administrative Building, for a July 27th press conference representing concerned medical professionals and parents in the district, in…

A pediatric infectious disease physician shares his pandemic lessons [PODCAST]

“COVID-19 has changed nearly every aspect of society as we know it, and doctors in hospitals across America are at the forefront of those changes. As a pediatric infectious diseases doctor who also writes curriculum to help the next generation of…

Vaccine hesitancy is complex

Given the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, many are asking why people would be hesitant to be vaccinated against it. That’s the question that bounces around the skulls of countless physicians, public health experts, journalists, poli…

COVID’s lab leak theory obscures zoonosis and progression

Even as COVID-19 is found in apes, big cats, minks, domestic cats, other small mammals, and now in U.S. deer, some don’t want to let go of the insultingly simplistic “lab leak” theory. Do they really think the 1918 influenza and AIDS pandemics (or Ebol…

Dying after leaving AMA

The nurse called: “The patient wants to leave AMA.” These calls come, fortunately not often. Typically the patient is not terribly ill, but they really miss their cigarettes or alcohol. Spending another day or two in the hospital would be wise, but lea…

Try this new technique when talking to vaccine skeptics

“Trust and confidence in any product — and here the vaccine is the product — starts with confidence in the process and safety.” -Payam N., Vaccine Outreach Supervisor While training over 1,800 vaccine outreach workers enrolled in the UCSF P…

Try this new technique when talking to vaccine skeptics

“Trust and confidence in any product — and here the vaccine is the product — starts with confidence in the process and safety.” -Payam N., Vaccine Outreach Supervisor While training over 1,800 vaccine outreach workers enrolled in the UCSF P…

How to convince your health care colleagues to get vaccinated [PODCAST]

“When a colleague in health care mentioned hesitation to get the COVID-19 vaccine in two separate instances, I was shocked and dismayed. If we recommend vaccination to our patients, how can we not take the same precautions for ourselves? With COV…