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. News Mutant Covid: First, as Ian Mackay said: “This isn’t a magic virus. It’s a variant of a respiratory virus. So the measures that protected us from the earlier variants, will protect us from this one. If we weren’t taking sufficient measures before, this variant will be even more likely infect you.” Experts add that there is no immediate concern about the vaccines becoming ineffective from the mutations…but they may need to be modified, just as the influenza vaccine is modified every year. Q&A: from Daily Mail Q&A: Does the mutant strain of coronavirus make you more ill – and will the vaccine still work? WHAT IS THE NEW STRAIN – AND WHAT IS IT CALLED?A strain is a version of a virus that carries particular genetic mutations…which makes it more contagious than…
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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 Racial disparities in O2 monitoring More thorough explanation of pervasiveness of racial bias–even in oximeters–at: bostonreview.net/science-nature-race/amy-moran-thomas-how-popular-medical-device-encodes-racial-bias Here is the medical journal article: ~ ~ ~ Mutations A new mutation appeared in southern England. It does not appear more deadly or resistant to vaccines, but has been spreading more rapidly. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/coronavirus-mutation-britain-lockdown/2020/12/19/fd010eea-4206-11eb-b58b-1623f6267960_story.html? While the talk of mutations is somewhat disturbing, thoughts are currently that a) the vaccines are very effective but might have to have minor changes => b) so may be like the flu vaccine, which needs a slight change in formulation each year ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Fiasco with Pfizer vaccine distribution states told they would receive between 25%-40% fewer vaccine doses than originally projected. . . and Trump blamed Pfizer for not shipping the vaccine…and Pfizer said they were…
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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 Electoral College votes without incident – Joe Biden acknowledged to be President although a few naysayers remain, and Congress has to confirm. ~ ~ ~ Almost 2 billion people depend on health care facilities without basic water services Worldwide, 1 in 4 health care facilities has no water services, 1 in 3 does not have access to hand hygiene where care is provided, 1 in 10 has no sanitation services*, and 1 in 3 does not segregate waste safely. https://worldhealthorganization.cmail20.com/t/ViewEmail/d/45B7725D20DAD4032540EF23F30FEDED/6839E639424B8857E89F0E32AAFB68BF ~ ~ ~ FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee meets Thursday, Dec 17 to review Moderna’s EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) application Materials for this meeting will be available at the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meetings main page. and it will be streamed. https://www.fda.gov/advisory-committees/advisory-committee-calendar/vaccines-and-related-biological-products-advisory-committee-december-17-2020-meeting-announcement Diagnostics: still an incredible, negligent lack of rapid, accurate…
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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: Genes May Hold Key To New Treatments For Covid-19 Infections Exciting work shows why some people become deathly ill and others remain asymptomatic. https://bit.ly/3gHrwz9 News It’s interesting that Allegany and Garrett Counties have the highest Covid-19 rates in Maryland yet we are not designated to receive the Pfizer vax initially. Not surprising, but curious whether it is just ignoring the needs of rural America again. Or perhaps it is related to all the Covid deniers and anti-maskers like this one: ~ ~ ~ And while cases skyrocket all over the country, we have this sort of info suppression: and Rebekah Jones’ (@GeoRebekah) home being raided. Jones said the computers and phone seized from her home by state police Monday could expose her sources in the government to retaliation.(CNN) ~ ~ ~ Interesting perspective…
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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. Chanukah begins tomorrow night at sundown. In that spirit, this seemed apt: News Greatly encouraging results from Pfizer released today. Red = Covid infections in Placebo group; Blue = vaccine group. Darker spots are severe cases. See Drugs section, below for details ~ ~ ~ President-elect Biden brings hope back by naming competent people to important roles: I can’t remember when I’ve seen such rejoicing in #MedTwitter #IDTwitter communities! I wrote about his Covid Task Force picks here, incl Drs. Vivek Murthy, Marcella Nunez-Smith, David Kessler, Celine Gounder, Rick Bright, and more… Diagnostics: still an incredible, negligent last of testing. Drugs: ~ ~ ~ The Art of the Deal guru turned down 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, knowing preliminary data showed good efficacy. Was it because they refused to be part 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. My latest post on Forbes: The People’s Vaccine—Moderna’s Coronavirus Vaccine Was Largely Funded By Taxpayer Dollars https://bit.ly/37xBK14 News Good overview: How key decisions slowed FDA’s review of a Covid-19 vaccine — but also gave it important data …“It takes a few months usually to review these kinds of data, and now this has been shortened to a few weeks,” … ways it could have been further sped up. The first, and biggest, revolves around an FDA decision to require two months of safety data for half the patients in a study before a company asked for authorization. Why is the review of the data taking so long? The FDA takes the raw data that companies provide and reanalyzes them, often picking apart statistical calculations made by manufacturers. This type of analysis, routine for…
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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 More good news about Moderna’s vaccine. See below in Drugs. ~ ~ ~ Change in recs from CDC CDC is cutting quarantine for potential exposure to 10 or seven days, depending on one’s test results and symptoms. If individuals do not develop symptoms, they need only quarantine for 10 days; if they test negative, that period can be reduced to just one week. (This change is not ideal, but is pragmatic decision, hoping more people will comply if the period is shortened.) For the upcoming holiday season, the CDC is recommending people stay home — just as it did before the Thanksgiving holiday. But if people do travel, the guidelines are that individuals should get a coronavirus test one to three days before travel and then three to five days after travel, combined 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. News Outrageous, unscientific, and unsurprising decision from the stacked Supremes, undermining public health during the middle of a pandemic: Supreme Court on 5-4 vote blocks NY Gov. Cuomo from reimposing strict capacity caps on Catholic churches and synagogues that sued. Barrett joins conservative wing in majority; Roberts joins liberals in dissent. ~ ~ ~ Thoughtful perspective from Pope Francis Pope Francis: “… With some exceptions, governments have made great efforts to put the well-being of their people first, acting decisively to protect health and to save lives. The exceptions have been some governments that shrugged off the painful evidence of mounting deaths, with inevitable, grievous consequences. But most governments acted responsibly, imposing strict measures to contain the outbreak. Yet some groups protested, refusing to keep their distance, marching against travel restrictions — as…
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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. Tidbits will likely be a bit shorter and a little less frequent for the next little bit. I have been immersed in it and I need to spend a little more time on self-care, which for me means seeing the spring flowers emerge and digging in the dirt. Pesach is always a bit rough anyway, so I will turn to more nature. Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don’t be shy about that. News Trump has not met with his coronavirus task force in at least 5 months, according to a senior administration official, and rarely reads daily reports prepared for him by task force coordinator Deborah Birx, MD. His administration has largely been ignoring the pandemic, hindering efforts to curtail it before an expected winter surge,according to the Washington Post. ~ ~ ~ Hospitals in half the states are facing a massive staffing…
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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 ‘People are going to die’: Hospitals in half the states are facing a massive staffing shortage as Covid-19 surges STAT By OLIVIA GOLDHILL @OliviaGoldhill NOVEMBER 19, 2020 Hospitals in at least 25 states are critically short of nurses, doctors, and other staff as coronavirus cases surge across the United States, according to the industry’s trade association and a tally conducted by STAT. The situation has gotten so bad that in some places, severely ill patients have been transferred hundreds of miles for an available bed — from Texas to Arizona, and from central Missouri to Iowa. Many of these hospitals spent months building up stockpiles of medical equipment and protective gear in response to Covid-19, but the supplies are of little use without adequate staffing. https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/19/covid19-hospitals-in-half-the-states-facing-massive-staffing-shortage/? ~ ~ ~ China has begun its first prosecution of…
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