By now, we’ve all heard that the development of a COVID vaccine is moving along at a much faster pace than normal. And this frightens some folks. The catchphrase for this program, Operation Warp Speed, isn’t helping. We envision our vaccine development process hurtling through the uncharted space of a science fiction movie – not … Read more
The last nine months have been a real rollercoaster ride. And not the kind where you’re full of nervous anticipation, exhilaration felt at every turn, twist and drop; the kind where, at the end, you think “Holy Crap! I want to do that again!”. Nope. This COVID19 rollercoaster ride has been more like the poop … Read more
Return to Phase 1 – a step back or a move forward? Well, in the last couple of weeks I have had a patient die of COVID19. I have had patients tell me stories of their entire family, including elderly grandparents, coming down with COVID19. I have heard of weddings missed and new babies not … Read more
As the world races to find a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 so that we can return to normal life (whatever that new normal will be), you can bet your you-know-what that the anti-vaxxers are going to come out of the woodwork. In fact, they already have. Many have joined forces with the “COVID19 hoax” gang and … Read more
Making sense of COVID19 test results is no easy task. To do it, we’ll need to dive into statistics. I have delayed getting this blogpost out because, like many others of you out there, statistics was one of my least favorite subjects in school and I have been fighting with my inner procrastinator on this … Read more
Lately I’ve read some commentary on social media (I’ll paraphrase) stating that, “scientists are constantly changing their minds about the Coronavirus and contradicting themselves. They don’t really know what they’re talking about.” Ok, people… Let’s talk about science and COVID19. As my dear friend Nancy would say, “Here’s the scoop of the deal.” It’s all … Read more
The process by which we make decisions is suffused with emotion. We can’t escape it. We are genetically programmed to behave in an emotional, instinctive manner. It is what helped us survive as a species. When our early human ancestors were confronted with a threat, say a charging lion, they didn’t stop to contemplate the … Read more
Most of my recent posts have been very educational in nature – reviewing medical terminology, exploring concepts in statistics, etc. Well, today I am taking off my teacher hat. But before I do, did you know that the word “Doctor” comes from the Latin “Docere” which means “to teach”? I guess taking off that hat … Read more
Recently, it occurred to me that “social distancing” may be too nebulous of a term. Mostly it occurred to me because my friend Janelle told me it was too nebulous. So, I guess it occurred to Janelle. But then it occurred to me that she is absolutely right! So, there you go. Obviously, some people … Read more
All 50 states are reporting cases of the novel Coronavirus. It’s a COVID-19 world now. Is this our new normal? More people are getting tested (though still not enough). The numbers of cases of COVID-19 are surging, and so are deaths from this frightening illness. Every day we read some new headline about risk factors, … Read more