Fired COVID Whistleblower Will Take His Case to Trial With New Lawyers
Ming Lin, MD, the emergency physician who was fired early in the COVID pandemic for airing alleged safety concerns, has hired new lawyers to take his case to trial. After parting ways with lawyers working for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) because he didn’t want to settle his case as they recommended, Lin selected […]
What Do We Know About the EU.1.1 COVID Variant?
The CDC is tracking a handful of new COVID variants, including the EU.1.1 variant, which now makes up an estimated 1.7% of U.S. COVID cases. EU.1.1 is an XBB sublineage related to the XBB.1.5 variant that currently accounts for an estimated 27% of COVID cases in the country. So how worrisome is this variant? Experts […]
Next COVID Vaccine Should Only Target XBB Strains, FDA Staff Says
The next COVID vaccines should exclude the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 and exclusively target the Omicron XBB subvariants, according to FDA staff members. They unveiled their recommendation in a briefing document ahead of Thursday’s meeting of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), stating that “the totality of available evidence suggests that […]
Catching the Optimal Amount of Z’s May Be Protective Against Long COVID
Healthy sleep behaviors before and during the pandemic may be protective against long COVID, a prospective cohort study suggested. Of nearly 2,000 women from the Nurses’ Health Study II who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection, those with the most healthy prepandemic sleep score had a 30% lower risk of developing long COVID compared with those […]
Addressing Burnout in an Invisible Part of the Health Workforce
Much has been written about the burnout of frontline health workers during the COVID pandemic and what must be done to help them. But what about public health workers — those operating behind the scenes who are also navigating long hours and increased stress? Helping those workers is the idea behind the Public Health-Hope, Equity, […]
Sleep Apnea Patients Prone to Higher Long COVID Risk
Preexisting obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was associated with up to a 75% increased risk of long COVID in adults, an analysis from the NIH RECOVER collaboration found. Unadjusted odds of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) were significantly higher for adult and pediatric patients with a prepandemic OSA diagnosis, according to electronic health record (EHR) data […]
COVID and Heart Attack in the Young; No Vax for Fungal Infections; Wilderness Trauma
Note that some links may require subscriptions. A possible link between COVID and a spike in heart attacks among young people. (Today) Despite a growing prevalence of fungal infections, vaccine development continues to lag. (NBC News) After a mandatory evacuation, residents of East Palestine, Ohio, were allowed to return home Thursday following a train derailment […]
Opinion | Should I Debate the Fringe?
Recently, I was asked to debate some people who I would categorize as “COVID misinformation celebrities” in a rather large public forum online. This is a classic dilemma for someone like me. I treat real patients. I do real research. I am faculty at a real (and prestigious) medical school. Should I engage and debunk […]
Opinion | I’m a Doctor and I’ve Been Sober for a Year
My first COVID vacation last year was spectacular, except that I barely remember 3 days of it because I was drinking to the point of amnesia. I am a physician from a multigenerational family of alcoholics, and I never wanted to struggle with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Instead, I discovered that I could avoid feelings […]
Model Predicts COVID Deaths Will Flatline This Winter
The U.S. probably won’t see a major surge in COVID deaths this winter, according to new models from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in Seattle. By Feb. 1, 2023, daily deaths are projected to be at a high point of 335, which pales in comparison to the […]