Billie Wickstrom of Locumpedia was kind enough to interview me for this interesting article regarding how physicians approach the question of COVID-19 mandatory vaccination. It's a well-written concise summary. Your comments are appreciated! #COVID19 #vaccination #vaccinationhesitancy #medicalsociety #COVID #healthcaregroups #CDC

Many thanks to Kevin Pho, MD, from KevinMD.com, for inviting me to discuss my essay, "An unexpected COVID-19 vaccine side effect." Over the years, I've written several articles for KevinMD.com, but this is the first time I've had an opportunity to speak with Kevin on his podcast. Maybe it had something to do with my article getting 38,000 shares! During the interview, Kevin brought me through my own experience of COVID-19 vaccination. Initially, I suffered trepidation regardi

Introduction Many thanks to Jennifer Frontera, MD, Professor of Neurology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, for discussing the new Neuro Databank-Biobank for COVID-19 with me on the latest episode of "The Art of Medicine with Dr. Andrew Wilner." Dr. Frontera is a neurocritical care specialist and has been caring for COVID-19 patients in New York City since the start of the pandemic. She has contributed to several important research publications on this t

I'm amazed that it's still necessary to express a strong opinion regarding the importance of vaccination. As if the fact that more than 2,000 people die every day in the US from COVID-19 infection isn't sufficient argument to get vaccinated, here's a sad tale from my own city. A 37 year old physician, newly married, died from a delayed immune response to COVID. This type of reaction is much more common in children but has been reported in a couple-dozen adults. All the more

Last week I published a story on KevinMD. I have written for KevinMD a few times. My previous article, "Life Hacks from a 9-month old infant," summarized the wisdom I had gained from my baby son, Jack. The article garnered 159 shares, which I was pleased to see. Everyone likes babies! My experience with the COVID-19 vaccination, "An unexpected COVID-19 vaccine side effect," clearly resonated with the audience. It has been shared 25,000 times! Even my hospital, Regional One H

In Episode #25 of The Art of Medicine with Dr. Andrew Wilner, I had the pleasure of speaking with Maureen Czick, MD. Dr. Czick is a locum tenens anesthesiologist and author of an intriguing publication that explores the role of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in the pathophysiology of COVID-19 (Czick et al. 2020). Dr. Czick shared how locum tenens returned “agency” to her life, which allowed her to spend more time with her family and pursue other interests, such as writin

Please check out this detailed Medscape interview with Dr. Maureen Czick based on her recent scientific publication about the role of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in COVID-19. It's a thought-provoking and stimulating paper. The article has received excellent feedback so far. Your comments are encouraged! #COVID-19 #reninangiotensinsystem #reninangiotensin #pathophysiology #SARS-CoV2

In addition to the various neurologic effects of COVID-19 that we are still striving to understand, there is the question of the virus' impact on people who already have a neurologic disorder such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, or multiple sclerosis (MS). I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Stephen Krieger on the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on people with MS for ReachMD.com. Dr. Krieger is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple S

My long-time editor, Bret Stetka, MD, at Medscape.com, asked me to write about the effects of COVID-19 on the nervous system. There have been many recent reports of neurological symptoms associated with COVID-19, but the critical question remains whether the virus directly targets neurons or whether neurological symptoms result from indirect injury. Rabies virus, for example, directly infects the nervous system with 100% mortality. If SARS-CoV-2 does attack the brain directly

Chad Saley from CompHealth asked me to talk about COVID-19. Although I'm not an expert, I told him how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected my hospital here in Memphis, Tennessee. For example, everyone entering the hospital, including staff, is screened with a questionnaire and with a thermometer for fever. Visitation was initially reduced and has now been essentially eliminated. Another significant change is the incorporation of telemedicine into our work for inpatient consult

In Episode #4 of “The Art of Medicine with Dr. Andrew Wilner” podcast, Rabbi Jeremy Simons and I discussed the role of the hospital chaplain in modern medical care and the importance of spiritual healing. While in rabbinical school, Rabbi Simons, Assistant Rabbi at Temple Israel in Memphis, TN, received extensive training to comfort people afflicted with illness, whether they are Jewish or not. We examined the value of spiritual healing and how difficult it is to measure. The