Variants vs. Vaccines
As the pandemic rages on and there is no sign that it is peaking locally, here is an interesting article on what the future holds from the Wall Street Journal. The Covid Race to Watch: Vaccines vs. Variants Omicron…
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Upgrading Your Mask 2
The most effective masks for preventing Covid 19 are the N95 masks. As you may have read, they may be hard to find and there are reports of counterfeiting. I saw this guide from the New York Times that had…
Covid 19 Immunizations for the Immunocompromised
For people who are immunocompromised, their primary series is 3 vaccinations. 5 months after the last dose they should get a booster dose per the CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/immuno.html Additional Primary Shot and Booster Shot for Some Immunocompromised People After completing the…
Covid 19 Testing
When it comes to nasal swabs, it is better to give than to receive. The hundreds of patients that I have swabbed should be grateful that I have been on both ends of the swab. It does change your perspective. …
Covid 19 Update
By my calendar it looks like the local Omicron surge started the week of December 20th. It has not peaked yet that I can tell. The good news is that most of the cases that I have seen in boosted…
Outpatient Treatment of Covid 19, the Latest
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) COVID-19 Treatment Panel has released recommendations that include an order of preference for which therapeutics to use to treat nonhospitalized patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk of severe disease…
Can Alcohol Prevent Covid 19?
No. At least not directly. As we have learned, we have to immunize the world to keep ourselves safe from new variants. The mRNA vaccines are not good candidates given their storage and transportation requirements. A couple of Texas researchers…
Time to Upgrade Your Mask
This is a very timely article for the Wall Street Journal. The last sentence is the critical one. click on the link to see the graphics displayed better.https://www.wsj.com/articles/cloth-face-mask-omicron-11640984082?st=d1mx7yt67b3pdzp&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink Why Cloth Masks Might Not Be Enough as Omicron Spreads With the…
Optimism from an Infectious Disease Specialist
Despite information from the Texas Department Health Services that certain San Antonio pharmacies were to be given the new anti-Covid medications Paxlovid and Molnupirivir calls to them today revealed that they were clueless about when they would receive them. Later,…
Outpatient Treatment of Covid 19 the Latest
FROM THE TEXAS MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: As COVID-19 cases surge across the country, five regional infusion centers in Texas have exhausted their supply of sotrovimab, the only monoclonal antibody treatment effective against the omicron variant, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) announced Monday. But…