An ongoing dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases,
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
September 7th, 2020
Relieving the COVID-19 Testing Logjam by Separating the Symptomatic from Asymptomatic
As the days grow shorter and we celebrate Labor Day here in the United States, the end of summer looms awfully near. With that will soon come colder temperatures, more time spent indoors, kids back in school, and the inevitable respiratory virus season. How we address these “viral URIs” in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic […]
August 9th, 2020
Rapid Home Testing for Contagious COVID-19: How to Make It Happen
You know that feeling when you have an aha moment. If you’re not familiar with the phrase, we can’t do better than our friends from Merriam-Webster: aha moment (noun): a moment of sudden realization, inspiration, insight, recognition, or comprehension This is how I felt when research revealed three key findings related to COVID-19 transmission: A small number […]
July 26th, 2020
Time to Amplify Our Voices Calling for Inexpensive Rapid Home Testing for COVID-19
Earlier this month, I highlighted how inexpensive rapid home testing for COVID-19 could get us out of this mess faster than a vaccine. To spare you re-reading the whole thing, here are the main points. Imagine a simple test done on a saliva sample placed on a paper strip. Results back in 15 minutes. Available without a […]
July 5th, 2020
Rapid, Inexpensive Home Testing for COVID-19 May Get Us Out of This Mess Before a Vaccine
As cases of COVID-19 continue to climb to record numbers, it might seem impossible that something is already out there that could dramatically reduce new infections — and even bring us back to some semblance of normal life. I’m not referring to a vaccine. It’s a rapid, inexpensive home test. You’re forgiven for being incredulous. Indeed, you […]
Paul E. Sax, MD
Contributing Editor
NEJM Journal Watch
Infectious Diseases
Biography | Disclosures | Summaries
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