Politics, Science, and Other Assorted Musings
I love helping people understand issues and look at them from a different perspective. In this blog, I hope I can offer you some new insights—bridging the gap between basic science and your medicine chest—as I am still a practicing physician, as well as having had broad clinical research experience. I'm interested in developing new medicines and treatments, as well as caring for patients—and explaining these topics for you.
As medicine has evolved, so have my interests. I have also become increasingly interested in health disparities, social justice issues, and ethics. I invite you to join me as we explore a variety of territories. I hope that reading these posts will encourage you to learn, engage, and above all, work for the forces of good.
If there are topics you'd like to see me cover, please let me know—I welcome your input as to what you would like us to discuss in this column.
Coronavirus - COVID19
Please note that I will be posting Coronavirus Tidbits of news here. You can sign up for updates by clicking the box at the right and subscribe to Covid, Politics, and Science. All Covid posts will go here, and I will upload back issues as I have time. Please share w friends. Thanks!
I’m going to have a reference file here for articles I have found particularly worthwhile, and will update this here as we learn new information. Click on the COVID-19 Resources, below, to expand that.
If you see something terrific, please share. We’re all in this together.
Quick links News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty Announcements: First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I’m getting. Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don’t be shy about that. New posts: Run Into a Rabid Animal? What to Know https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/971878 ~ ~ ~ Nontuberculous (Atypical) Mycobacterial Lung Disease Challenging to Treat https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/971985 ~ ~ ~ The Gridiron Club Dinner Was a Predictable Superspreader Event https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/972051 ~ ~ ~ What’s Causing A Sudden Outbreak Of Hepatitis In Kids In Europe And The US?’ https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2022/04/16/whats-causing-a-sudden-outbreak-of-hepatitis-in-kids-in-europe-and-the-us/?sh=1f4e89de1e4a News The 7-day average of new daily COVID-19 cases is 33,691, with 513 daily deaths, according to the New York Times tracker. Daily case counts are up 22% in the past 2 weeks. ~ ~ ~ Going into the holiday weekend… ~ ~ ~ New York reports on emergence of Omicron subvariants The New York State Department of Health today announced the emergence of two Omicron subvariants in New York State, BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1. Both variants are sub-lineages of BA.2, which now…
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Quick links News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty Announcements: First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I’m getting. Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don’t be shy about that. New posts: ~ ~ ~ On the Receiving End of Care https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/971420 News ~ ~ ~ Why the WHO took two years to say COVID is airborne Early in the pandemic, the World Health Organization stated that SARS-CoV-2 was not transmitted through the air. That mistake and the prolonged process of correcting it sowed confusion and raises questions about what will happen in the next pandemic. As 2021 drew to a close, the highly contagious Omicron variant of the pandemic virus was racing around the globe, forcing governments to take drastic actions once again. The Netherlands ordered most businesses to close on 19 December, Ireland set curfews and many countries imposed travel bans in the hope of taming the tsunami of COVID-19 cases filling hospitals. Amid the wave of desperate news around the…
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Quick links News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty Announcements: First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I’m getting. Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don’t be shy about that. New posts: Blood Collection Tube Shortages Continue – “Routine” Labs Should Be Limited https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2022/03/28/blood-collection-tube-shortages-continueroutine-labs-should-be-limited/ ~ ~ ~ Can Higher Dose Primaquine Shorten Malaria Treatment? https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/971313 News: Heart problems much more likely with COVID infection than vaccine Myocarditis or pericarditis are much more likely to follow infection with SARS-CoV2 compared with COVID-19 vaccinations, according to research published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The study was based on electronic health records from 40 US health care systems from Jan 1, 2021, through Jan 31, 2022, and heart conditions following COVID-19 infections among stratified age groups (5 to 11, 12 to 17, 18 to 29, and ≥30 years). The rates were compared to documented cases of cardiac conditions following one or two doses of mRNA vaccines. Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis is…
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Quick links News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty Announcements: First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I’m getting. Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don’t be shy about that. News Better Collection, Better Data The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to improve how it collects and analyzes data, Politico reports. It adds that in a letter to CDC employees, Director Rochelle Walensky urged them to help with the “success of the Data Modernization Initiative” The agency, Politico notes, suffered from data gaps that hindered its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDC relies on state and local health departments to collect and provide it with lab and hospital records, but as Politico points out, local health departments are typically underfunded and many have not updated their data collection methods – some, it says, rely on labs to fax their results. . . https://www.genomeweb.com/scan/better-collection-better-data? ~ ~ ~ Experts worry about how US will see next COVID surge coming As coronavirus…
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Quick links News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty Announcements: First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I’m getting. Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don’t be shy about that. New Posts: Aerosolized Hydrogen Peroxide Can Significantly Reduce C. difficile Infections https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/970559 ~ ~ ~ Politicians Overrule Board of Health’s Medical Officer https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/970093 News China, Hong Kong cases climb In global COVID news, China today reported 4,130 new cases today, 1,742 listed as asymptomatic, with the more transmissible Omicron variant pushing cases to 2-year highs. More than half of today’s new cases were from Jilin province, one of the handful of locations that are under lockdown. At a briefing today, Chinese officials emphasized that the country must learn Hong Kong’s painful lesson about deaths in vulnerable people by ensuring that older people are vaccinated, according to Reuters. Currently, only 19.7% of Chinese seniors have been boosted, and only 50.7% are fully vaccinated. [and this is w less-effective Sinovac] Meanwhile, Hong Kong today reported 20,082 new cases, along with…
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Quick links News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty Announcements: First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I’m getting. Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don’t be shy about that. New post: Another CDC Study Supports Masks In Schools. So Why Are We Dropping Masks Rather Than Caring For Vulnerable People? https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2022/03/10/another-cdc-study-supports-masks-in-schools-so-why-are-we-dropping-masks-rather-than-caring-for-vulnerable-people/?sh=33a77d475f4b CLOVER Trial Shows Mixed Results There’s mixed news from Pfizer on results from their CLOVER trial (CLOstridium difficile Vaccine Efficacy TRial), a phase 3 study involving 17,500 adults aged 50 and older that evaluated their candidate vaccine (PF-06425090) against Clostridioides difficile (C diff) for the prevention of C diff infection (CDI). The bad news is that the trial didn’t meet its efficacy endpoint – a reduction in the incidence of the first primary case of CDI. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/969900 News ~ ~ ~ Surges continue in Omicron hot spots BA.2 is increasing in elderly in UK. Germany, New Zealand, China, and esp Hong Kong are hotspots. [I suspect that we will see a…
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Quick links News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty Announcements: First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I’m getting. Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don’t be shy about that. New Post: CDC’s New Mask Guidelines For Covid-19 Throw Vulnerable People Under The Bus https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2022/02/28/cdcs-new-mask-guidelines-for-covid-19-throw-vulnerable-people-under-the-bus/?sh=6395435c1573 News New National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan The White House March 2, 2022 https://www.whitehouse.gov/covidplan/ The President’s National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan focuses on four key goals: Protect Against and Treat Covid-19 Prepare for New Variants Prevent Economic and Educational Shutdowns Continue to Vaccinate the World ~ ~ ~ Masking still ‘important layer of protection’ for children: AAP In light of new masking recommendations from the CDC, the AAP has updated its own masking guidance but says that masking is still an “important layer of protection” for children. The updates come less than a week after the CDC released new COVID-19 guidance indicating that most Americans live in areas where they can go maskless, and nearly a month after the Democratic governors of…
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Quick links News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty Announcements: First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I’m getting. Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don’t be shy about that. New Post: Can Phages Help Where Antibiotics Have Failed? This is a full feature and explainer on the current status of phage therapy for antibiotic resistance. I know registering for Medscape is a nuisance–they just want an email and name. Feel free to use a burner account, or unsubscribe after. Medscape does have good content, overall. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/969001 News Omicron: WHO says Omicron subvariant BA.2 is not more virulent https://blognamic.com/who-says-omicron-subvariant-is-not-more-virulent-science/ ~ ~ ~ BA.2 Slowly (so far) increasing in US (unlike rapid growth overseas) BA.2 has now been found from coast to coast and accounts for an estimated 3.9% all new infections nationally, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It appears to be doubling fast. “If it doubles again to 8%, that means we’re into the exponential growth phase and we…
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Quick links News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty Announcements: First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I’m getting. Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don’t be shy about that. New Post: New Nanosensor Assay Detects Viruses Like SARS-Cov-2 and Ebola https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/968479 ~ ~ ~ Recommended reads: ~ ~ ~ The Moral Danger of Declaring the Pandemic Over Too Soon Gregg Gonsalves- https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/17/opinion/aids-pandemic-covid.html News Omicron: Rumblings suggest the CDC may relax its indoor masking guidelines for states as early as next week, basing the recommendations on a new formula that includes severe cases. (NBC News) Only 28% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated and received a booster dose, according to a CNN analysis, and new vaccinations have hit an all-time low. (CNN) ~ ~ ~ We still don’t know enough about BA2 to make any great predictions, let alone the fear-mongering that EFD and others like to flame. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Other news: Challenge Trial Shows People With COVID Shed Virus After Just 2 Days…
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Quick links News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty Announcements: First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I’m getting. Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don’t be shy about that. New posts: Bans On Mask Mandates To Protect Against Covid Endanger Students With Disabilities https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2022/02/06/bans-on-mask-mandates-to-protect-against-covid-endanger-students-with-disabilities/?sh=67b5d02d6d2f News Omicron news: A coronavirus variant once helped the global pork industry. Could one protect us? A killer pig virus vanished when a tamer mutant evolved-a provocative, but not perfect, parallel with Omicron Science 4 FEB 2022 BYJON COHEN Long before COVID-19 became a household word-in 1946, to be precise-veterinary researchers at Purdue University reported that something invading the guts of young pigs was causing diarrhea, vomiting, and weight loss, ultimately killing most of them. The scientists did not know the cause of the sickness, which devastated U.S. pig farms, but they could trigger the disease by feeding ground-up bits of a sick pig’s guts to healthy piglets. This pig farmers’ nightmare, in time, proved to be a coronavirus, which…
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