Emily Watters is a physician who explains the side effects of the mRNA (Pfizer and Moderna) and viral-vector (Johnson & Johnson) vaccines (click to enlarge): Emily Watters is a psychiatrist and can be reached at The Cartoon Shrink. Image credits: E…
Category: Infectious disease
Partners of health care workers deserve to be vaccinated
As a general surgeon, being called into the emergency room to perform a bedside procedure is par for the course. After gathering the standard list of supplies, I ran through another checklist before entering the room of a recent patient. N95, surgical …
COVID-19 is a crucial part of our individual medical career stories
In early 2020 the COVID-19 virus descended upon all of us in the U.S. No longer something we would anxiously read about in the news from outside our shores, this new public health dilemma had touched down close to home. Before long, the WHO would proc…
COVID-19 is a crucial part of our individual medical career stories
In early 2020 the COVID-19 virus descended upon all of us in the U.S. No longer something we would anxiously read about in the news from outside our shores, this new public health dilemma had touched down close to home. Before long, the WHO would proc…
COVID-19 recovery? My long-haul experience with infectious illness suggests disability.
People who say, “I’ve recovered from COVID-19, what’s the big deal?” are wrong. I have lived with long-term disability stemming from acute infectious illnesses like COVID-19 and polio. One winter when I was 17, I was struck with a relentless flu. I “re…
The coronavirus vaccine is not a political or social issue
It has been over a year now since shelter-in-place orders struck fear into many, forced millions into unemployment, and taught us all the meaning of the term “supply chain.” It didn’t take long before the chants of “flatten the curve” and “support our …
Observing the effects of COVID-19 on the pediatric population
“Everyday, there is a theme to our rounds, and I will ask for your thoughts at the end.” This was the warning our attending physician gave before we went to see our patients on the hospital inpatient floor. As third-year medical students on our first c…
Not throwing away my shot: Health care workers show confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine
This version of “My Shot” was written and recorded by an anesthesiologist, Bryan Tischenkel, MD, to raise awareness for the COVID-19 vaccine. He wanted to show the public the confidence with which many health care workers are receiving thei…
Doctor, am I going to make it?
Never have I ever had to rely on my communication skills as much as I have as a physician in the pandemic of 2020. My eyes, however, were not taught those skills. There are pillars in medicine, communication guidelines, and lessons in empathy — a…
Health care workers get the applause, but our families are essential, too
Leanne, a nurse, sits next to me in the ICU. She says into the phone, “Now, Johnny, you be good for Nana.” We’re only halfway through another 12-hour shift, and she won’t be home until after her 5-year-old son is ready for bed. Such calls to palliate s…
