COVID19

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 7

This week we look at the quick hits related to Covid science. This information stream is fading, however, I am still finding some important science worth sharing in the literature. We also look at the disease underpinnings from the perspective of Marty Makary. Finally, we finish up with the micronutrient selenium.

 

Enjoy,

Dr. M

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #39 Paul Offit, MD – Latest Information of Vaccines for Covid and Children

Dr. Paul A. Offit is Director of the Vaccine Education Center and professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Offit is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of virology and immunology, and was a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is a member of the Food and Drug Administration Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, a member of the Institute of Medicine and co-editor of the foremost vaccine text, Vaccines.

He is a scientist, a skeptic, a thinker and an individual deeply passionate about children’s health.

This week we sit down again to discuss the latest with Covid, vaccines and children’s health as new data has prompted a new discussion.

I hope that you enjoy my latest conversation with Dr. Offit,

 

Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 1

Covid update #77 with quick hits on vaccines in young adults, POTS or hypotension following Covid 19 as well as obesity and Sars2. Non covid research looking at the brain.

From Nature Communications: “Parkinson’s disease (PD) may start in the gut and spread to the brain. To investigate the role of gut microbiome, we conducted a large-scale study, at high taxonomic resolution, using uniform standardized methods from start to end… Here we show that over 30% of species, genes and pathways tested have altered abundances in PD, depicting a widespread dysbiosis.”

Enjoy,

Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 12 Issue 51

Coronavirus Update 76 plus other stuff
The work around Covid research is fading for me. This is now mostly a highly contagious upper respiratory infection for most. The morbidity has faded to a level where we are seeing very limited disease in children and the hospital data remains completely plateaued. Unless there is a dramatic shift in this virus, we are moving toward a world where Covid will be like the other 4 circulating coronaviruses for most of the United States population save for the high risk individuals as described throughout the pandemic.
Focus remains on self care to boost all immune activity to thwart all infections from all microbes.
Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 12 Issue 47

Covid Newsletter #74. Why are we seeing massive waves of RSV and Influenza A right now? These viruses normally circulate in the winter only. The answer is nuanced, but likely primarily because of the pandemics social distancing and hygiene activity. During the 2020-2022 cycle of Covid fear and mitigation of viral risk, most of us avoided the normal trappings of viral spread. We masked avoiding the viral droplet portal of entry most commonly used. We kept our children semi isolated from other children where most year to year viral transmission events occur. We practiced enhanced hand washing and sanitizing reducing natural viral spread through contact. In essence we stopped the normal propagation of respiratory virus for 2 years. A whole cycle of children between 0 and 2 years old are RSV and flu immune naive leading to a perfect host pool for spread. The 2 to 18 year olds have had a long pause in exposure reducing circulating virus specific antibodies to negligible levels leading to stronger infections and more spread. Anyone who has a child in college (me) has seen infection after infection pound these students this fall. It seems like they are always dealing with a viral illness. Immunity country wide will return in the coming year to these viral illnesses reverting to the old reality of winter predominance.
Quick Covid Hits and other musings –
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 12 Issue 45

Covid Update # 73:
Omicron US strains: as of October 22nd data – variants make up: BA.4.6 is 11%, BA.2.75 is 2%, BF.7 is 7%, BA.5 is 62%, BQ.1 is 9%, BQ1.1 is 7%
BA.5 is losing ground to many new Omicron variant offshoots. BF.7, BQ.1 and BQ1.1 are very interesting as they are apparently more infectious than BA.5. That is amazing.
We look at new PASC Long Covid data as well as the world of vaccine effectiveness. And much more…
Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 12 Issue 43

Coronavirus Update 72 plus other stuff

More data on the current Covid variants and how they are evading our immunity and vaccines. Morbidity and death remain completely reduced over the first 2 years of the pandemic. We tackle these and other topics this week.

Enjoy,

Dr. M