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The end of COVID could mean a huge loss of health insurance
If there has been a silver lining to this terrible COVID-19 pandemic, it is that the rate of Americans without health insurance dropped to a near-historic low, in response to various federal initiatives connected to the government-declared public health emergency. Now, as the pandemic’s acute phase seemingly draws to an end, millions of low-income and […]
Polio, Chickenpox, Measles, now COVID. What history teaches about vaccines and school
The rapid spread of omicron across the nation — and the finding that vaccines continue to provide strong protection against severe disease — brings COVID-19 one step closer, perhaps, to truly earning its place on the list of diseases that have been tamed by vaccines. These include polio, measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox, all of […]
I was a teenage rifle owner, then an ER doc. Assault weapons shouldn’t count as ‘guns’
Many who know me might be shocked by this: I shot my first pistol when I was 8 or 9, taught by my father, a physician, aiming at targets in our basement. At summer camp, I loved riflery the way some kids loved art. Staring through the sight, down the barrel, I proved an excellent […]
Analysis: How the U.S. invested in the War on Terrorism at the cost of public health
Here’s one big takeaway from our country’s disastrous 2020 covid response: For 20 years, we’ve lavished attention and money on fighting human terrorism and forgot that the terrorism of nature is equally deadly, deserving equal preparation. Today, with more than 545,000 U.S. covid deaths, I hope we’ve learned the huge cost of allowing our public […]
With demand exceeding supply, people are jumping the vaccine line
The Biden administration’s much-needed national strategy to end the covid-19 pandemic includes plans to remedy the chaotic vaccination effort with “more people, more places, more supply.” The Federal Emergency Management Agency will open more vaccination sites, the government will buy more doses, and more people will be immunized. Still, by all estimates, the demand for […]