I just got my COVID booster! I'm quite happy about this but it was a rather strange experience. Here's why.
COVID vaccine
ABC News really pulled a stinker when it published an online article entitled "Over 100 fully vaccinated people contract COVID-19 in Washington state, officials say." Sounds scary, right? No. The results paint a very different picture. Cheap scare tactics are the last thing we need right now.
According to Sen. Rand Paul – an ophthalmologist, not an infectious disease specialist – natural immunity is better. While not being an infectious disease expert myself, I at least know enough to fact-check before speaking. So the answer, as is frequently the case, is: it depends.
CDC policymaking is coming up short, according to Henry Miller, M.D., and John J. Cohrssen. The agency continues to relegate policymaking to value judgments instead of hard data.
Safety data based on more than 17 million Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccinations was just published in a JAMA online article. How safe were they? Very.
I just scored shot #2. It wasn't as pleasant as shot #1. And there were few surprises.
There are five criteria to consider before deciding if a vaccine should be mandatory. So far, COVID vaccines only satisfy two of them, which is why they should not be mandatory.
Trying to get the COVID vaccine into people based on the highest medical risk sounds like a no-brainer. But it's nothing of the sort. Here's why.
New Jersey health officials' interpretation of CDC guidance is going to put smokers ahead of nonsmokers in the COVID vaccination program. Crazy? We think so.
So far, the rollout of the COVID vaccine has been an embarrassing mess. There are different rules at different distribution locations, and sometimes they seem to change randomly. And to complicate matters, we're learning about unused, leftover doses. So who gets them? Or do they get thrown out?
Vaccinations are finally here but it could be well into 2021 until we reach herd immunity. What to do in the meantime? Dr. Henry Miller argues that this is precisely the right time to try to "flatten the curve" again. Miller also argues that doing so is essential to economical health, not contrary to it.
Just how effective is the Pfizer vaccine? Turns out that in addition to being very effective, the onset of protection is quick - a therapeutic two-fer.