No matter your politics or judgment on the COVID-19 vaccine, we can agree that the visuals of the world’s number one tennis player being detained and treated like a criminal when he went to the Australian Open last year were unsettling, and the A…
Category: Infectious disease
Turning adversity into hope: my path to a career in medicine
I have wanted to work in medicine ever since my eleven-year-old cousin passed out during my uncle’s birthday party. He suddenly fainted when we were supposed to cut the cake. We rushed to the emergency room. Doctors diagnosed him with blood cance…
When mandates fail to protect, science can help
On October 28, 1918, a San Francisco horseshoer named James Wisser urged a street corner crowd to throw away their masks in defiance of a local mask mandate issued a few days before. He was shot twice after resisting a local health inspector’s at…
Heroes of pandemic control [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Nicholas A. Daniels, an internal medicine physician and the author of Outbreaks and Pandemics: The Life of a Disease Detective. In this episode, we delve deep into the crucial role dis…
Exploring HIV care and advocacy [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join George Kerr, III, a community health advocate. We delve into the complex world of HIV management, especially among aging individuals. George brings his expertise to the table, discussi…
Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development
The development of COVID-19 vaccines has been an extraordinary scientific achievement in the face of a global health crisis. However, an unfortunate consequence has been the emergence of misinformed claims by non-medical individuals who assert that the…
Lessons taught by Bell’s palsy
Recently, after a week of a viral illness that I most likely picked up from one of my patients as a pediatrician, I noticed that one side of my tongue felt as though I had dental anesthesia. During the day, this slowly progressed, but as night came, th…
Biological weapons: a history and emerging risks
Biological weapons are not new. Their use by armies has taken place for centuries. Take the Plague, for example. The pandemic was reportedly first introduced to Europe during the siege of the Genoese trading port of Kaffa in Crimea by the Golden Horde …
Balancing health care worker immunization and patient safety
Recently, I heard a news report regarding several states’ attorneys general suing the federal government to eliminate the requirement that health care providers be immunized against COVID. They argued that as fully immunized individuals still con…
A memorable day during COVID: Staying true to my calling
COVID reminded me of why I became a doctor. Below is an unpublished account (in short story form) of my most memorable day during the height of COVID. It is a reminder that we can remain true to our intrinsic motivators rather than victims of extrinsic…
