Category: Infectious disease

Why do I laugh during a pandemic?

I just started laughing. It was early on Monday morning during our COVID surge. I couldn’t help myself. Phones were not on yet, but I already had triage COVID calls.  “Put on your roller skates” was all I was thinking. I questioned my laughter. The day…

How transparent were the COVID vaccine trials?

On March 2nd, 2020, as New York State announced its first proven case of COVID-19, a federal court there handed down a stunning decision. For 10 years, according to the court, the United States government illegally failed to hold drug companies account…

Medical school in a pandemic: Privileged or slighted?

Moving across the country and beginning my medical training during a global pandemic is definitely a non-ideal way to embark on what will be a very long journey. I came to medical school expecting to do all of the activities that first-year students ty…

The side effect of the COVID vaccine that no one is talking about

7:42 a.m.: I got my first COVID vaccine today. I don’t feel a thing and almost wonder if I really got the injection. Then, within the first few minutes after receiving it, I feel a little lightheaded. But I realize I haven’t eaten yet for the morning. …

Maximizing COVID-19 vaccine equity and minimizing death in South Carolina and beyond

That hospitals in South Carolina (SC) began COVID-19 vaccinations in mid-December of 2020 is a marvel of human ingenuity, resilience, and courage. Tragically, however, more than 5,000 confirmed South Carolinian lives have now been lost due to COVID-19….

COVID doesn’t matter to them. Until it matters.

As I take the pups on their daily walk around the neighborhood. I come upon eight adults outside their houses, near the street, laughing and coughing and sneezing and smoking their cigarettes and huddled up close together. They didn’t say hello to me, …

The ethics of rationing care during COVID

I recently read an opinion by a physician regarding the decision as to which COVID patient would receive care and which would not when hospitals became too full to care for every patient. He suggested that no one need be denied care if some structural …

Beyond the medical lessons learned from COVID [PODCAST]

“I am thankful to you SARS-CoV-2 virus as you allowed me to be human again, to make mistakes, and learn from them. You taught me to slow down so that I could reset and redefine my goals. You allowed me to have time for myself, to dream again, and…

Why won’t unproven COVID treatments go away?

A recent conversation among a group of physicians gave me a fair amount of distress and discomfort. The topic was an unproven treatment for COVID-19. The discomfort was the disinformation — in my opinion — being shared. The distress was that the discus…

Knowledge is power: Why science and health literacy matters

As a physician epidemiologist and former public health official, I’m constantly struck by the sheer amount of disinformation that spreads related to COVID-19. I’ll routinely encounter myths about how masks actually cause viral spread. Or I’ll be told t…