HIV and ID Observations

November 29th, 2020

Great Questions from Our Course, Infectious Diseases in Primary Care — Plus Bonus Podcast

Going to take a partial break from all things COVID-19 today and recap some of the terrific questions we received in our course, Infectious Diseases in Primary Care. Not surprisingly, there were plenty of COVID-19 questions but also the usual mix of practical queries from everyday practice. Front-line clinicians doing office-based practice attend this course, and every […]

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November 24th, 2020

Some ID Things to Be Grateful for This Holiday Season — 2020 (!) Edition

“Grateful?” some might wonder. “He must be out of his mind.” But even in the cursed year that began shortly after the first report of the disease now known as COVID-19 on (almost) New Year’s Eve, we can still find some things to praise, and to offer our gratitude. Or at the very least, acknowledge that […]

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November 18th, 2020

Just Another Urgent Plea from Your Friendly ID Doctor for Risk Mitigation as the Holiday Season Approaches

There’s lots in the press about how to have safe holiday gatherings in 2020 as cases of COVID-19 increase pretty much everywhere in this country. How about this simple strategy? Celebrate only with the people you live with already. Bingo. That way Thanksgiving will be no riskier than your daily meals together. End of advice column, right? The problem […]

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November 15th, 2020

Bamlanivimab for COVID-19 — Hard to Pronounce, Even Harder to Give

The latest COVID-19 treatment made available under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) is bamlanivimab, a monoclonal antibody developed by Eli Lilly. For now, its use will be limited to outpatients who are at high risk for severe disease and/or hospitalization. This EUA is based on the results of the phase 2 BLAZE-1 study, in which the treatment […]

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November 10th, 2020

Promising COVID-19 Vaccine Results and Progress on HIV Prevention — All in One Great Day

Monday, November 9, in the bedeviled year 2020, was an astounding day for research on prevention of infectious diseases — really unprecedented. First — we awoke to hear that the Pfizer-BioNTech experimental COVID-19 vaccine was “90% effective” in preventing the disease after the second (of two) doses. This was a planned interim analysis, taking place after 94 […]

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November 1st, 2020

A Series of Disappointing Results of Immune-Based Therapies for COVID-19

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for immune-based therapies for COVID-19. We know that immune modulation in this disease, especially in its most severe manifestations, can improve outcomes. Favorable results from the RECOVERY study of dexamethasone have made it the standard of care for most hospitalized patients who require oxygen. And we also know that our […]

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October 25th, 2020

(Not) Attending Professional Meetings in the COVID-19 Era

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), our professional society, held its annual meeting this week, IDWeek. As usual, I registered for and attended the meeting. Of course I should have written “attended” the meeting, as instead of having an in-person meeting in Philadelphia (the original planned venue), it was entirely done online. Another “virtual” meeting […]

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October 18th, 2020

Does Remdesivir Actually Work?

Quick answer — it’s complicated. Let’s start with a clinical anecdote — rightfully considered the weakest form of evidence, yet paradoxically holding great power over us because we’re imperfect humans. It’s the way we’re wired. In April, a patient of mine with stable HIV came into the hospital with COVID-19 pneumonia. (Certain details changed for privacy.) She works […]

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October 4th, 2020

Does the White House Outbreak Invalidate the Strategy of Frequent Testing for COVID-19 Control?

As I’ve written here many times, I’m hopeful that frequent, inexpensive, rapid home testing for COVID-19 will help us climb out of this pandemic mess. Let’s name it the Mina Frequent Testing Plan, after my indefatigable colleague Dr. Michael Mina who has championed it for months — most recently in a perspective published in the New […]

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September 27th, 2020

Humbled — But Still Hopeful

When Dr. Anthony Fauci joined us earlier this month for a virtual medical grand rounds, several of my colleagues participated. At the end, each was asked to comment about what they had learned so far from the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Michael Klompas, our brilliant hospital epidemiologist, wisely answered: Humility. His answer resonated strongly again, because this week […]

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