COVID-19 updates: Boosters and variants
As we enter a new era of the COVID-19 pandemic, the benefits of a vaccine booster at this time remain uncertain. The mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) usually result in creating high antibody titers for at least six months in immunocompetent hosts. After that, it appears that the antibody titer may start to wane. However, […]
Name-calling
Since the dawn of time, once humans acquired the gift of speech, they have felt the need to name everything and everyone in their immediate world. While doing research for an Osher course I am teaching on ancient historians, I learned that the Romans used three names for most people. The first was the praenomen […]
Vigilance
When I was a child, my summers were spent in a magical land by the sea in the care of my grandmother and uncle. At that time, the city was known as Bombay, and we lived in a flat in a seaside suburb of Old Bombay. The sun beat down hard on the stone and […]
COVID-19 Vaccines: What Can You Ask? What Can You Require? What Can You Disclose?
As we emerge from the worst pandemic in a century, businesses and employers are struggling with issues involving the rapidly developed vaccines that have begun to sharply curb the spread of COVID-19. These vaccines, offered by Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, have been granted emergency use authorizations (EUAs) from the Food and Drug Administration […]
Sartorial choices
“The dress code is at least business casual. Make sure that your earrings aren’t too big, and your makeup is not too loud.” These were the instructions I received from a young production assistant during a mandatory audio-visual check. I was presenting as an expert at a virtual national medical conference – and I was […]
Medical practices face liability for COVID Accelerated and Advance Payments and PPP loan fraud enfor
Introduction The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced last month that it will begin recovering payments from all Medicare providers and suppliers who requested and received COVID-19 Accelerated and Advanced Payments (CAAPs) from CMS during the COVID Public Health Emergency (PHE). Those repayments could have begun as early as March 30, 2021, depending […]
Dr. Seuss cancelled – who’s next?
In a moment of cynical excess a few months ago, I speculated that Shakespeare and Dr. Seuss would be the next victims of the cancellation/bowdlerizing culture. Then, like millions of parents and grandparents worldwide, I was shocked and disappointed when Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced that it would cease publication of six of his picture books […]
Take a hike
Last summer, in the throes of pandemic angst, I asked my good friend (an endocrinologist who radiates calm, love and compassion) how she was keeping her sanity and balance. Her answer astonished me because it was unexpected – I always pictured her as more of a town mouse rather than a country mouse, like myself. […]
So, you want to be a doctor?
My father, a salesman, liked to tell this joke to his customers: At the inauguration of a U.S. president, a man in the audience turns to the man next to him and starts a conversation: “You see the man up there?” “Yes, that’s the next president.” “Well, he is my son!” “You must be very […]
Noise
“Oh, the Noise! Oh, the Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise!” – Dr. Seuss, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” 1957 “Before the Industrial Revolution, the principle sources of noise were thunder, church bells, and cannon fire.” – New York Times, Jan. 1, 2021 We are surrounded by noise. Noise can rob us of sleep; it can hinder […]