He was a healthy 36-year-old paramedic with a loving wife and an adorable little boy. Jim loved his job. The rush, the adrenaline, the blaring lights through downtown hurrying to get to the major hospital. Cardiac arrests, gunshot wounds, tragic auto a…
Many friends have asked for my perspective on the COVID vaccine. Answering this requires both an explanation of clinical trials and an understanding of what normally slows down pharmaceutical development. Importantly, COVID vaccines are required to go …
The mammoth task of vaccinating most of the world’s human population against COVID-19 is before us. Several viable, highly effective vaccines have been developed at record speed. The pharmaceutical industry will now be called upon to meet the nex…
The Queen’s Gambit, a seven-part Netflix series, has been the darling of streaming television during the coronavirus pandemic. Seen by more than 60 million people, the story chronicles the life of fictional chess prodigy Beth Harmon, who grows up in a …
For the past seven months, an epidemic in our country has spiraled out of control, claiming thousands of lives that could have been saved. It has been met by an inadequate, meandering national response that has often lacked urgency. It has disrupted fa…
It was the fall of 2009. I was a medical epidemiologist at the largest local health department in the state of Colorado, in charge of coordinating the area’s H1N1 pandemic vaccination efforts. The CDC was distributing vaccine to state and local healt…
Physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists on the coronavirus pandemic frontlines have been hailed as heroes for putting their lives at risk to help others. While they may be the face of the hospital and those interacting directly with the patients…
As of December 5th, there have been 281,878 total deaths and over 2,000 deaths daily. The U.S. has had a 48 percent increase in deaths compared with two weeks ago. Despite COVID-19 infections increasing exponentially, many still don’t believe i…
The screen of my laptop brightened up as the next patient appeared in time for her telemedicine visit. The attending physician and I smiled and greeted this typically genial 73-year-old woman—let’s call her “Mariana”—as she forced a reciprocal grin. Ma…
“Warp Speed” is a name that does not inspire confidence. It is a politically inspired slogan, not a serious name for a campaign to save lives. It suggests speed, not carefulness. It suggests politics, not science. The success of Warp Speed …
