In June, an advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended that the next round of Covid-19 boosters be targeted against the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant. Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax will use the same platforms to manufacture the new boosters...
What Could Go Wrong? Starting January 5, 2023, all travelers from China, Hong Kong, and Macau must have proof of a negative PCR COVID test to enter the US, even if they pass through other international airports. It won’t shield the US from Chinese COVID, but it will...
5 reasons why PAXLOVID got a bad rap Summary: It works against all known strains of COVID-19. It reduces the incidence of Long Covid. The components have been used safely for years, and the medication interactions are manageable. Paxlovid should be started within the...
Covid-19 Remains a Dangerous Illness This year the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) expects 125,000 Americans will have died from Covid 19 in 2022. 1 out of 8 people dying is under the age of 65. The risk of dying is 20 times higher in the unvaccinated than in those...
The annual influenza epidemic begins in the southern hemisphere and works its way north. It enters the USA in the southern and western states. The CDC uses reports from Australia to monitor the type and severity of each year’s incursion in the southern hemisphere....
Time to Dig Out the Masks A family of three Covid–19 Omicron variants – the BA.5 family – (BA.4. BA.5. and BA1.12.1)) are burning their way through the US population. BA.5 went from 1% of all infections in May to 21% in June. They are changing the rules...
When is the next wave coming? It‘s already here. It‘s Long Haul. The first wave of Covid was horrific. Patients jammed hallways, unable to breathe, hospitals ran out of ventilators, and doctors, nurses, and first responders died with their patients. Workers placed...
You are either Working for the Virus or Working for Your Fellow Man Explanations why people don’t get vaccinated have as much to do with the bias of the reporter as the data available. For instance, Black and Hispanic minority groups were labeled “hesitant.” The plain...
Main Image credit: Sumanley xulx from Pixabay Dear John, It has been three weeks since the first report of the omicron variant. The newspapers are filled with headlines with contradictory information. If you feel confused, you are not alone. What should one do about...
Delta is Hunting You and Your Children Ins and Outs of Booster Shots Winter is coming. People will spend more time indoors, and the opportunity to spread Covid-19 is greater. Among the unvaccinated, the Delta variant is turning this into a massacre. Vaccination is...
By Dr. James Katz, MD, MPH The Delta variant of COVID-19 is the fourth major mutation of the pandemic. It has modified spike proteins which attach more efficiently to human cells than the original COVID-19. Its genetic programming is more potent — infected cells...
By Dr. James Katz, MD, MPH A very pleasant bubbe (grandmother) came to the Moderna vaccination clinic in Newton for her first of two shots. She was concerned side effects from her second dose of the Moderna vaccine, scheduled for March 25, might interfere with her...
