Politics, Science, and Other Assorted Musings
I love helping people understand issues and look at them from a different perspective. In this blog, I hope I can offer you some new insights—bridging the gap between basic science and your medicine chest—as I am still a practicing physician, as well as having had broad clinical research experience. I'm interested in developing new medicines and treatments, as well as caring for patients—and explaining these topics for you.
As medicine has evolved, so have my interests. I have also become increasingly interested in health disparities, social justice issues, and ethics. I invite you to join me as we explore a variety of territories. I hope that reading these posts will encourage you to learn, engage, and above all, work for the forces of good.
If there are topics you'd like to see me cover, please let me know—I welcome your input as to what you would like us to discuss in this column.
Coronavirus - COVID19
Please note that I will be posting Coronavirus Tidbits of news here. You can sign up for updates by clicking the box at the right and subscribe to Covid, Politics, and Science. All Covid posts will go here, and I will upload back issues as I have time. Please share w friends. Thanks!
I’m going to have a reference file here for articles I have found particularly worthwhile, and will update this here as we learn new information. Click on the COVID-19 Resources, below, to expand that.
If you see something terrific, please share. We’re all in this together.
News Wondering if you should seek care for suspected COVID-19? Apple and CDC have a new app and symptom checker with a decision tool. https://www.apple.com/covid19 When can we stop the social distancing? We can’t…at least until there is widespread testing. Then you could monitor and slowly loosen restrictions in selected areas. “To consider letting off on social distancing will require sharp decline in cases, widely available rapid diagnostics wherever pts get clinical care, the right PPE available to all HCWS who need it, safe and good hospital capacity to deal with all pts with COVID.” Tom Inglesby, Johns Hopkins Here’s a thread by Scott Gottlieb that explains more: Our path to safety rests on massive support for our healthcare system to care for sick, and forceful steps by local leaders to break chains of transmission and quell epidemic spread. If we’re smart and aggressive across nation, cases nationally could peak by late April. Then what’s next? We’ll be able to transition away from population based tactics aimed at keeping people at home, to more case based interventions that target people with disease. But we’ll need new public health tools, technology, and tactics to make this transition work…more at https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1243333347012751361.html ~~~…
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News: This is very exciting to me and the best news of the day. I met David Fajgenbaum at a conference to launch CURE ID, the Drug Repurposing program I’ve been excited about. Go watch this video, starting at ~3:42:14 of his remarkable story. He’s translated that drive into #COVID19 research now and his team has done remarkable work extracting data in just 6 days! Also go watch ~31:40” for a 10 minute talk from Shira Strongin (I’ve written about her and rare diseases before) on her life before and after a repurposed Hail Mary drug for her rare disease. I’ve been excited about drug repurposing for years for its potential to treat nearly untreatable infections (many of them “Neglected Tropical Diseases” (NTDs) and antibiotic resistant infections. And proud mama moment–daughter is the project lead for this. ~ ~ ~ One of today’s WTH??? While health care workers are using garbage bags for PPE, the Government has 1.5 million expired #N95 masks sitting in an Indiana warehouse and won’t share w hospitals #COVID19 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/coronavirus-government-mask-stockpile/2020/03/26/89d729c8-6f5b-11ea-96a0-df4c5d9284af_story.html #PPE #CBP ~ ~ ~ This is a must watch video: PSA Safe Grocery Shopping in COVID-19 Pandemic – Dr. Jeffrey VanWingen does a terrific job showing how to handle…
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Coronavirus Tidbits # 17 3/23-24/20 News I wrote a new post; I hope you will check it out here. Immigrant Detainees Are Sitting On A COVID-19 Time Bomb – First Infection Reported Mutating? The coronavirus is not mutating significantly according to scientists who are closely studying the novel pathogen’s genetic code. That relative stability suggests the virus is less likely to become more or less dangerous as it spreads, and represents encouraging news for researchers hoping to create a long-lasting vaccine. https://wapo.st/3aj046V https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/health/coronavirus-sars-cov-2-structure/ ~ ~ ~ At a time when we desperately need more doctors… “The status of more than 4,200 foreign doctors who were chosen to do medical residencies in American teaching hospitals — hospitals that will desperately need their help to cope with Covid-19 — is in doubt because the State Department has temporarily stopped issuing the visas (J1 visas) most of them would need to enter the country, according to a group that sponsors international medical graduates. Drugs/Treatments: New York will be the first state to test using antibody-rich plasma from recovered coronavirus patients in people who are ill. The treatment, known as convalescent plasma, could provide “passive immunity.” This is still several weeks away. For respiratory problems: The…
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With the help of the two Michael Stones, my website, https://www.drjudystone.com/politics-science-and-other-assorted-musings/, will be much more useful. It now has Google site search. Thanks, guys! (No idea what just happened w formatting here) News Health officials in hard-hit areas of the U.S. have a new message on coronavirus: Don’t get tested ~ ~ ~ STAY HOME! or physically away from others “One of the things that terrifies me now is, as this is spread in the west is, there’s this sense of invulnerability among millennials.” Millennials aren’t taking the coronavirus seriously, warns WHO’s Dr. Bruce Aylward https://ti.me/3bgRJ3Y by Sara Paglia photo Carlos Del Rio Doctors are desperate and dying now in NYC. Tell everyone to stay home and protect them and others. ALERT – Call your Congress people: The Justice Department has quietly asked Congress for the ability to ask chief judges to detain people indefinitely without trial during emergencies — part of a push for new powers that comes as the coronavirus spreads through the United States. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/21/doj-coronavirus-emergency-powers-140023 Cases: Interesting Dataviz—watch the spread of Coronavirus across the country: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/21/us/coronavirus-us-cases-spread.html Symptoms: Besides loss of smell, which I reported in Forbes, now: COVID-19 may cause ocular (eye) signs and symptoms,…
Read MoreUpdated today’s post on loss of smell: UK ENTs now say if you develop that symptom, you should self-isolate. First US immigration agency employees test positive for coronavirus A staff member at the Elizabeth, New Jersey, facility and one other at an undisclosed location has been confirmed https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/19/coronavirus-us-immigration-detention-center Op-Ed: Asian countries that have been successful in containing the virus without locking down society, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan, routinely use masks. As of March 17, the three countries together had fewer than 1,000 cases of the coronavirus — despite having close connections to China’s Hubei province, So what needs to be done here in the United States? Cover your face. Nonmedical masks should be worn by everyone going outside. Inexpensive cloth masks are available for purchase online. Alternatively, scarves, bandana-style neck gaiters, and other similar face coverings can work effectively. Masks should be placed over the mouth and nose and removed carefully, without touching the outside surface, and cloth masks should be washed frequently. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/19/opinion/guidance-against-wearing-masks-coronavirus-is-wrong-you-should-cover-your-face/?p1=Article_Feed_ContentQuery Diagnostics: New rapid test, but not yet validated by FDA http://outbreaknewstoday.com/coronavirus-testing-georgia-researchers-develop-2-hour-test-11076/ Drugs: Small study, not randomized, but combination of #hydroxychloroquine + #azithromycin was more effective at clearing #SARSCoV2 than hydroxychloroquine alone https://www.mediterranee-infection.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Hydroxychloroquine_final_DOI_IJAA.pdf Epidemiology/Infection control: What have other countries done successfully? Singapore,…
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My new post @Forbes: An Unexpected Loss Of Smell And Taste In Coronavirus Patients https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2020/03/20/theres-an-unexpected-loss-of-smell-and-taste-in-coronavirus-patients/#4a59103f5101 Epidemiology: From Stanford ER: Of the 562 patients, 127 (22.6%) were positive for other viruses. (24.5% if we use 181+336 = 517 as denominator). Of the 49 positive SARS-COV-2 results, 11 (22.4%) also had a co-infection. Of the 127 positive for other viruses, 11 (8.66%) had a SARS-COV-2 co-infection. These co-infection rate are much higher than previously reported rates. Good explainer on incubation and infectious periods by Ian Mackay, Australian virologist https://virologydownunder.com/politically-infectious-period/ Coronavirus is running so rampant in Colorado’s mountains residents, visitors should “minimize all contact with other people” https://coloradosun.com/2020/03/15/coronavirus-colorado-mountains/ Our health department reports no cases…but refuses to say how many have been tested. https://www.times-news.com/coronavirus/health-department-no-confirmed-covid–cases-in-allegany-county/article_8da0f816-69e0-11ea-8403-ef41c28159a6.html Health care workers: In Italy 9% of all infections are among medical personnel. In Lombardy alone, 20% of providers were infected. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30627-9/fulltext For medical staff: As a MICU pharmacist taking care of COVID patients, one strategy I’ve implemented to minimize the number of times a nurse needs to enter the room (thus saving PPE) is to consolidate and bundle all medication due times. For example… 1/5 Most patients often receive medications no more than QID or every 6 hours (now…
Read MoreFor the past couple of weeks, I’ve been sending out almost daily news “tidbits” to friends and colleagues. I have been asked to share more broadly, so will post here as well. I will post back issues as I have time. This will enable you to share more readily with friends or on social media, if you find the news and tips helpful. Basically, I obsess and read about this all day so you don’t have to, and send you information from sources I feel are most reliable. I am trying to figure out a way to tag individual topics. In the meantime, apparently best to Enter site: www.drjudystone.com/politics-science-and-other-assorted-musings/ and then your specific search term into the search box.* Good news: Smart move: Medicare to cover virtual doctor visits CMS is urging states to expand telehealth services for low-income people in their Medicaid programs. Problem is that many states, esp in the south, refused to expand Medicaid, so a lot of people—the working poor—still won’t be covered. Testing: Ontario’s Public Health Lab at @PublicHealthON has tested more people for Coronavirus than the *entire* US lab system. Epidemiology: Bad news: We are not talking about 2 months and back to normal….
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