Author Archives: jbakerjrblog

Yesterday I offered a somewhat lighthearted attempt to get people to wear masks anytime they are in a public place. Today, I thought I’d give the scientific arguments and an urgent plea to do this simple task. Wearing a mask is the most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It is a respiratoryContinue reading “Universal Masking!”

Very good news today as the New England Journal of Medicine published a confirmatory clinical trial showing the benefit of using the steroid medicine dexamethasone to treat COVID-19 patients. The Recovery Collaborative Group conducted the research as a controlled, but open label trial comparing a number of different medications to treat COVID-19. The study was largeContinue reading “It’s confirmed: Dexamethasone does prevent deaths in COVID-19 patients, but only if they have significant lung disease.”

As if I had predicted it in my blog yesterday, a new paper just published suggested that the immune response to coronaviruses could be very long lasted, as long as 17 years. This peer reviewed publication in the prestigious scientific journal Nature  looked at cellular immune responses in three groups of individuals who had been infected withContinue reading “How long will COVID-19 immunity last? How about 17 years!”

I’m in a particularly unpleasant mood tonight because once again media reports are throwing out the idea that immunity to coronavirus is transient and won’t last long enough to protect the population. This is a recurrent theme that seems to come out almost every week, either based on some single patient whose doctor reports aContinue reading “Immunity does not disappear after COVID-19 infection!”

The Moderna SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (identified as mRNA-1273) has received much notoriety as it was one of the first to begin testing. In addition, there was a fair amount of criticism when several of the company’s senior corporate officers and investors sold stock in the company soon after a rise in the stock’s value due toContinue reading “We finally get to see the data about the Moderna SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.”

Looking at today’s numbers, it is pretty clear what has happened in the nation as a whole and in Florida, Texas, and Arizona. While deaths are now rising in all three states, the infection rate has started to drop in Arizona. Since this was the first state where deaths rose (which has to be aboutContinue reading “A quick update about the southern states where COVID-19 has increased.”

Last night one of my friends gave me a votive candle with Dr. Tony Fauci’s picture on it. She said it was to give me inspiration for my blog. Little did I know that I would be using it so soon.  Anthony S. Fauci, MD is one of the foremost immunologists in the country (heContinue reading “Saint Anthony of Bethesda”

Houston is a new epicenter in COVID-19 infections. While the number of infections in Texas has been increasing progressively, those numbers have overwhelmingly come from a limited number of urban areas with Houston leading the way. There are a number of parallels between what is happening in Houston now and what happened in New YorkContinue reading “What is happening in Houston?”

I’ve received a number of comments lately suggesting that I should weigh in on the failures of various politicians in the COVID-19 response. One also suggested that by not specifically calling out the blunders of the executive branch I was in fact condoning them.  I wish to remind everyone that the focus of this blogContinue reading “Why this blog won’t discuss politics.”