Omicron is Here
As I mentioned on my post of November 29th, I felt the Omicron variant of Covid 19 was already here. This was confirmed yesterday when it was found on two patients. One test was taken on November 27th and the…
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Home Testing for Covid 19
Today the CDC released new guidelines on home testing for Covid 19. Due to the low sensitivity of the tests in asymptomatic individuals they had previously recommended limiting their use to symptomatic individuals. Now with the surge of the Delta…
Outpatient Treatment of Covid 19
Here are three things about the outpatient treatment of Covid 19. The first is the latest from this week’s New England Journal of Medicine about the efficacy of treating Covid 19 with the monoclonal antibody combination, Regen-Cov. The second is…
Omicron Variant Testing
The photo above is of mothers and children lined up for a polio vaccine trial in 1954. A vaccine was approved in 1961. People lined up to get their children vaccinated. Everyone knew someone who had been affected by this…
Covid 19 Update
Omicron is breaking news, but it really shouldn’t come as a surprise and it is probably already here. I think that South Africa is probably doing a better job of genetic sequencing than we are to identify variants. The first…
Got an Arm? Get a Booster!
As predicted, Covid 19 Booster Update – Mark Thornton (personalphysicianmd.com) , the FDA and CDC have broadened the recommendation for who may receive a booster. CDC Recommends Booster Dose for All Adults Who Receive Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 Vaccines The…
Covid 19 Vaccine Effectiveness in Texas
Here is some interesting news on the effectiveness of Covid 19 vaccine based on Texas Department of Health Services data. Texas physicians have strongly encouraged patients to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and a new report from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS)…
Covid 19 Booster Update
Here are some handy facts from the Texas Medical Association on Covid 19 boosters. The recommendations for who qualifies for a booster are as of today. It is my belief that the FDA/CDC/ACIP will open this up soon to all…
Local Covid 19 Update
Numbers are down and that’s a good thing. Bexar County is ahead of the Texas average vaccination rates. Judging by people’s behavior, they think the pandemic is over. Every time we have thought that in the past, numbers have surged.…
Cancer and Covid 19
During the pandemic, people deferred medical care. We’ve all heard about how the number of patients hospitalized for heart attacks plummeted. The rates of people having heart attacks didn’t decline, just those hospitalized. Many people died of Covid-19 indirectly by…