Disease

Yes, You Should Get COVID Vaccine Even if You Were Infected

Many people have a very legitimate question: "Should I get immunized with the coronavirus vaccine if I already had COVID?" The answer is yes.

What do we know about the impact of COVID-19 on the physical health of health care personnel? Precious little. And we know even less about the psychological toll. Here are a few insights.

Bats are unique. For instance, they are the only mammals that can fly. But they also seem to be the mammal that hosts the greatest number of highly virulent viruses that can infect humans. Why?

From Stat, "Health care workers in the UK are seven times likelier to fall ill with severe Covid-19 than the rest of the population, according to a large new study." The statement is factual; it's just without a context. It is far scarier than need be.

Being discharged from the hospital after illness or surgery is only the beginning of recovery. As with many infrequently-spoken moments in healthcare, COVID-19 has revealed the long road to recovery for "long-haulers," those whose symptoms linger for months. As a new study reports, this isn’t a new finding specific to the virus. (Of course, any experienced physician might have told you that already.)

Is President Trump, Rudy Giuliani, or any other individual infected with COVID-19 susceptible to reinfection? While there are a few scattered reports, the real question is how much of our immune response persists. A new study provides updated information.

COVID-19 infections are relentless. In every state, November rates increased over October, more than doubling on average. And these rates are widely dispersed across the nation. Early COVID-19 cases and deaths were associated with local conditions, including residential crowding and household income. More personal factors have since come into play as the pandemic spread and hotspots shifted to the heartland.

Like Dracula rising again from the grave, there's been another round of articles suggesting that based on death counts COVID-19 is not a problem. It's time to try, once again, to put a stake into this misbelief and misunderstanding.

The latest polling by the Pew Research Center shows that 60% of Americans are willing to get vaccinated to guard against COVID-19. That's based on a representative sample of Americans polled after the announcements by both Pfizer and Moderna. Here's a breakdown of who's willing to line up, based upon some demographics.

Reports of an H5N8 influenza virus spreading among birds across the globe understandably have generated concern. However, H5 viruses do not pose a direct threat to the health of the vast majority of humans on the planet, at least not yet.

We've finally had some amazing (and badly needed) news about COVID. Vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are about 95 percent protective against COVID. But perhaps more importantly, according to interim analyses, Moderna's vaccine is 100% protective against severe COVID. This number is not only more impressive but may also be more clinically relevant.