It is hard to envision that this is an election year. With a paucity of campaign ads and the presidential nominees locked up for quite a while, I didn’t even know that the Democratic convention was going on until I saw a report about it after the…
Category: Infectious disease
To better take care of patients, we need to take care of ourselves
We all know by now that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed our world altogether. There is no question that stressors in our lives are more than ever before. This year’s Fall will be the most dangerous of Falls. So what does it mean for the physici…
Is the FDA too slow to handle the pandemic?
The FDA plays a critical role in our nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It helps decide which medicines are safe and effective to treat the disease. It evaluates the accuracy and reliability of laboratory tests. And it will play a central role…
How a professional lacrosse league created a COVID-free tournament
In 2019, the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) entered the world’s stage, taking with it more than 100 of the greatest pro lacrosse players in the world from the Major League Lacrosse. The new league launched a tour-based model, offered higher player compe…
Masks are an effigy of American technocratic incompetence
Seven weeks before President Trump declared COVID-19 a federal emergency heralding the economic lockdown, Jesse’s customers began cutting their orders. Jesse sells garments and cotton, imported predominantly from India, to wholesalers and retaile…
How masks are like your underwear
1. Both masks and underwear exist to contain badness. Neither works 100 percent, but they’ll curb the worst of the spill. 2. Don’t borrow someone else’s, no matter how cool they look. 3. Keep them on around strangers, unless you’ve both been tested. 4….
A COVID-19 vaccine: 5 things that could go wrong
According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, a coronavirus vaccine could be ready for distribution within months. “We feel cautiously optimistic that we will have a vaccine by the end of this year, and as we go into 2021,…
Incremental risk amid COVID-19 re-openings: What do we value most?
Julian (his real name) has been extremely careful for many months, working from home, foregoing seeing friends, and avoiding stores. But his new puppy Rufus requires “socialization,” so by his own admission, he is being less careful as he/the dog inter…
Could antigen testing be the key to safely reopening the nation?
COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on every aspect of life. With over 5 million cases and 167 thousand deaths in the United States, COVID-19 has caused the nation to shut down. During the pandemic, social distancing and masks have been crucial in controlling t…
The COVID-19 pandemic is changing end-of-life care. We’re not ready.
The last thing Jessica said to John, her fiancé of 10 years, was, “I love you” before he drove to work. Hours later, after suddenly experiencing a cardiac arrest at the office, he was in an ICU bed attached to a ventilator. He was pale and unresponsive…
