Category: Covid-19

  • My Definitive Journey Revisited

    My Definitive Journey Revisited

    A couple of days ago, I got my retirement gift from The University of Iowa. It’s a about a year and a half late because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but it’s welcome nonetheless. Normally there is an Annual Faculty Retirement Dinner, but it had to be cancelled. It’s a stunningly beautiful engraved crystal bowl with…

  • CDC Identifies Omicron as Covid-19 Variant of Concern

    CDC Identifies Omicron as Covid-19 Variant of Concern

    I’ve been seeing news items about the Omicron variant of Covid-19. The CDC only yesterday announced that it is now a Variant of Concern. Other CDC comments are here in a news release. There’s not a lot of solid information yet about how dangerous it is. Most of what I see on the internet are…

  • Great YouTube Q&A on Covid-19 Vaccine for Children Ages 5-11: It’s better than a stick in the nose!

    Great YouTube Q&A on Covid-19 Vaccine for Children Ages 5-11: It’s better than a stick in the nose!

    There was a great live stream YouTube Q&A presentation today on the Covid-19 vaccine for kids ages 5-11 through the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital this afternoon at 2:15 and it ran for about 30 minutes (scrub the play button forward to about a minute to start the recorded video). There were excellent…

  • CDC Recommends COVID-19 Vaccine for Children Ages 5-11

    CDC Recommends COVID-19 Vaccine for Children Ages 5-11

    Following the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) vote yesterday recommending the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11, CDC formally announced agreement with the committee’s decision after the meeting.

  • What You See is Not Always What You Get

    What You See is Not Always What You Get

    A couple of days ago I thought of Gary Larson’s Far Side cartoon, the one with the toggle switch in a passenger airplane cabin seat with the message “Wings Stay On; Wings Fall Off.” I googled it just for fun and found that it spawned a lot of web articles obviously trying to reassure the…

  • CDC Advisory Committee Meeting Today on COVID-19 Vaccine for Children Ages 5-11

    CDC Advisory Committee Meeting Today on COVID-19 Vaccine for Children Ages 5-11

    Today the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) had the meeting today to discuss the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 years of age. Presentation slides are here. The Policy Question to be voted on for today is: “Should vaccination with Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (2-doses, 10µg, IM) be recommended for children 5–11 years of…

  • CDC Advisory Committee Meeting November 2nd on Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccine for Children Ages 5-11

    CDC Advisory Committee Meeting November 2nd on Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccine for Children Ages 5-11

    The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) have scheduled a meeting for November 2, 2021 from 10 AM-5 PM, ET to discuss the Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11. This follows the FDA authorization for the vaccine in this age group, which was announced today on their web site.

  • Two Way Street Between Medicine and Psychiatry in Covid-19

    Two Way Street Between Medicine and Psychiatry in Covid-19

    I just found out that, as of the middle of this month, a new category, mental health disorders, has been added to the CDC list of medical conditions associated with higher risk for severe Covid-19 disease and thus, qualifies those in the category for receiving the COVID-19 vaccines . It makes sense. Mood, anxiety, and…

  • Public Notice of Gratitude to FDA & CDC Advisory Committees

    Public Notice of Gratitude to FDA & CDC Advisory Committees

    I have watched a few YouTube presentations by the CDC and FDA Advisory Committees in the last few weeks. I’m very impressed with the professionalism, sincerity, civility, and dedication of the members of both organizations. The most recent FDA meeting on the extension of the EUA for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5-11…

  • FDA Advisory Committee Meeting Today on Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine for Children Ages 5-11

    FDA Advisory Committee Meeting Today on Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine for Children Ages 5-11

    The meeting will go from 7:30 AM-5:00 PM, ET, and the Voting Question will be: “Based on the totality of scientific evidence available, do the benefits of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine when administered as a 2-dose series (10 µg each dose, 3 weeks apart) outweigh its risks for use in children 5-11 years of…