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…
Category: Infectious disease
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 Below is an unpublished account (in short story form) of my most memorable day during the height of COVID.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…
How dementia and COVID-19 robbed the baby doll of love
When I started visiting patients in nursing homes, a good many of them had some degree of dementia. In its earliest form, a person with dementia could recall what they were doing when they found out about 9/11, or when Kennedy was shot, or when Pearl H…
Patients aging with HIV: What role can doctors play?
As a member of the Washington D.C. Center for AIDS Research, I’ve been deeply grateful to see how medications such as PrEP are significantly reducing the toll of HIV. Additionally, we have made great strides with limiting the transmission of HIV. A ple…
It’s time to stop stigmatizing long COVID patients with mental health conditions
Mental health conditions are common among individuals with long COVID due to various factors. These include the direct effects of COVID-19 on the body, such as neuroinflammation, as well as the circumstances often associated with the condition, such as…
Our institutions have given up on the COVID-19 pandemic. We should not.
The COVID-19 pandemic is over. On May 5, The World Health Organization announced that COVID-19 was no longer a public health emergency. The U.S. followed suit on May 11, allowing the public health emergency declaration to expire. The pandemic did not e…
C. difficile: a dangerous bug takes hold in communities
Carol Raye’s devastating Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) experience started with what she thought was a stomach bug after a dental visit. She took the antibiotics prescribed by her dentist and thought a weekend of rest would make her feel…
COVID-19 vaccine neglect: a tale of regret and debilitating symptoms
As an allergist-immunologist who trained at Mayo Clinic, one might assume that I’m up to date on my COVID-19 booster vaccinations. However, I realized months ago that I was overdue for a booster; it’s been over a year since my third vaccina…
Unraveling the mysteries of granulomatous mastitis: a patient’s inspiring journey [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join us in this episode as we hear the remarkable story of Tami Burdick, a patient advocate and author of the book Diagnosis Detective: Curing Granulomatous Mastitis. Tami takes us on her j…
The unsung heroes of disease detectives: Controlling outbreaks and pandemics to save lives
An excerpt from Outbreaks and Pandemics: The Life of a Disease Detective. The importance of disease detectives in solving and controlling outbreaks and pandemics must be recognized. We are the backbone of our public health system. We are scientifically…
