HIV and ID Observations

September 22nd, 2021

What I’ve Been Busy Doing, Besides Seeing Patients — and Bonus Animal-Related Infection Podcast

Long-time readers of this site (and I thank you deeply for that) might have noticed a lengthier gap than usual between today’s post and the previously published one. Nearly three weeks! Wow! What on Earth is he doing? He must be really busy. That or just lazy. In order to reassure you that the former is a […]

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September 3rd, 2021

No, COVID-19 in Anti-Vaxxers Does Not Make Me Happy

High-profile people who deny the seriousness of COVID-19, or strongly oppose vaccination, also contract — and sometimes succumb — to the disease. Surprise, surprise. The list is long, but recently has included a group of well known conservative radio hosts. Broadcaster Marc Bernier from Daytona Beach, Florida, died of COVID-19 recently. Bernier called himself “Mr. Anti-Vax”, so it […]

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August 2nd, 2021

Provincetown July Celebration a Challenging Stress Test for the COVID-19 Vaccines

When the complete history of the COVID-19 pandemic is eventually written — and boy oh boy, can’t wait for that — certain events will feature prominently as sites of notable outbreaks. The Diamond Princess cruise ship The Biogen Leadership conference The Skagit Valley Chorale practice The Sturgis motorcycle rally The Amy Coney Barrett White House reception And now: The Provincetown Independence Week celebration […]

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July 1st, 2021

Five Reasons Why ID Doctors Are the Paperwork Champs

As they often do, the inquisitive folks over at Medscape polled doctors around the country on various topics. This one hit home: We're #1! https://t.co/4peKM1frWx pic.twitter.com/wwCrcXBrVI — Paul Sax (@PaulSaxMD) June 17, 2021 Say what you will about Medscape’s methodology, or representativeness, or need for statistical analysis. But we’re clearly #1 in the Paperwork and Administration category — and […]

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June 14th, 2021

The Time for Hospitals to Require COVID-19 Vaccination Among Employees Is Now

Imagine you work at a hospital. Patients come and go, admitted through the emergency room, or electively for surgery. Or they arrive for the day — maybe it’s an outpatient visit, or to receive chemotherapy or an infusion of biologic agents, or to undergo various imaging and other tests. Some of them, of course, have weakened immune […]

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May 25th, 2021

Yes, the Yankees Had a COVID-19 Outbreak Even Though They’re Vaccinated — Here’s Why

Hey Paul, aren’t you going to write something about the Yankees and their COVID-19 outbreak? How did this happen, aren’t they vaccinated? So asked several of my friends, family members, and colleagues — understandably. I’ve never been shy about my unabashed obsession with baseball, nor my lifelong fandom of this particular much-reviled professional team, though it […]

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May 17th, 2021

CDC’s Surprise Mask Policy — and What It Means Right Now for Me

Anyone else out there blindsided by the CDC’s announcement last week about masks?  Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing … Jeepers, that was fast. Less than a month ago, I was having a conversation with my dog Louie about outdoor mask mandates, wondering when our town would drop this […]

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May 10th, 2021

Goodbye, Physician’s First Watch — We’re Really Going to Miss You

One of the great joys of life is working with great people, and for me, this includes frequent interactions with several skillful medical editors. They scan these posts for typos and awkward sentences, and warn me when I inadvertently include a copyrighted image or an inappropriate video. They also worked, until recently, for Physician’s First Watch, […]

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May 3rd, 2021

Some Colleges Require COVID-19 Vaccination — Why Don’t They All?

Each time a college announces that it requires that students be immunized for COVID-19 to attend in-person classes or to live on campus, I do a little cheer. Sometimes it’s accompanied by a happy dance — especially when it’s right in my neighborhood. Why? Because ever since the pandemic started, carefully done epidemiologic studies consistently show […]

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April 19th, 2021

Is It Time to Eliminate Outdoor Mask Mandates?

I do the morning dog walk in our house. And every day, I put on a mask before going out, just as I have since March of last year. As the data accumulate on the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, it’s definitely time to ask this question — why am I still doing this? After all, it’s […]

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