What is this potential side effect of the J&J vaccine for COVID-19? The potential side effect is a blood clot in the veins that drain blood from the brain. This is called central venous sinus thrombosis. In the vaccine-associated cases of this, pla…
Category: Infectious disease
One year into the pandemic: It’s now time to Zoom out
Zoom: It’s now a verb. This pandemic has led to people using the digital space to stay connected, learn, and interact. We’ve had these capabilities for years, but its true essence did not come to light until a deadly virus shut the world down. In medic…
A “wait and see” approach to COVID-19 vaccines may derail our recovery
The first clinical trial administration of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine took place over a year ago, on March 16. An annus horribilis of masks, remote schooling, unemployment, loneliness, and depression ensued, leaving in its wake more than a half-million …
Young adults: Let’s see this pandemic through together
Over the past few months, we’ve celebrated the vaccination of over 100 million Americans against COVID-19. At the same time, we’ve seen worrying indications that young adults like ourselves are letting down our guard too early. In fact, the latest surg…
COVID-vaccine induced thrombosis as explained by a hematologist
VIPIT is the medical term given to the phenomenon of developing clots in various parts of the body after certain (not all) COVID-19 vaccines. VIPIT stands for vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia, a complicated term explained simply as…
Stress and medicine: My salute to frontline workers
What is stress? Stress is a bodily response to external pressures. It’s an emotional state that we go through when dealing with difficult situations, and it can have a major impact on our health. When faced with work deadlines, family problems, a…
A letter to Black America for those who do not want the COVID-19 vaccine [PODCAST]
“As a Black physician, I urge you to consider taking the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to you. Vaccines save lives. Preventing poor outcomes, as in death, is an exciting effect of this vaccine. I will be first in line when it is off…
A letter to Black America for those who do not want the COVID-19 vaccine [PODCAST]
“As a Black physician, I urge you to consider taking the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to you. Vaccines save lives. Preventing poor outcomes, as in death, is an exciting effect of this vaccine. I will be first in line when it is off…
An unexpected COVID-19 vaccine side effect [PODCAST]
“Just a few seconds after the needle penetrated my arm, I felt a mild soreness, kind of like a flu shot. But as I sat for the required 15 minutes of observation time, a wave of something engulfed my body. It was such a strange, unfamiliar sensati…
A Passover vaccine clinic at a Sikh temple
She frowned at me, as she stepped off her truck’s side-rail and onto the pavement. If her mask had not been tightly pulling up from under the woman’s chin, it would have been harder to see her disgust with not just our vaccination event, bu…
