First, I wanted to thank everyone who expressed concern after my Last Post outlining how I got infected with COVID-19. I want you to know that I’m doing very well. Being 10 days out from symptoms and diagnosis, and viral antigen negative, I’ve now returned to my normal activities. Several important things happened this week.Continue reading “New COVID updates 4-29-2022”
Author Archives: jbakerjrblog
I get COVID
After more than two years of precautions and developing techniques to avoid COVID-19 infection, an Easter weekend trip to Washington, DC to see my daughter seemed like a pretty safe proposition. The travel mask mandate was still in effect, and I wore an N95 mask the entire time I was traveling and in hotels andContinue reading “I get COVID”
Discussion on the new wave of COVID-19 infections on Flashpoint tomorrow May 15th at 10:00 AM
To loyal readers of pandemicpondering.com. Tomorrow, I discuss the current increase of COVID-19 infections and how to manage our response to this situation. The conversation will take place at 10:00AM EDT on Flashpoint with Devin Scillian on WDIV (channel 4) in Detroit. This dialogue is particularly important since the immunological landscape has changed and mayContinue reading “Discussion on the new wave of COVID-19 infections on Flashpoint tomorrow May 15th at 10:00 AM”
Why we aren’t seeing a surge in severe COVID-19 infections?
CDC surveillance data now show that over 85% of all COVID-19 infections in the United States appear to be due to the BA.2 virus variant, with Omicron BA.1 making up the rest. While there are some increases in U.S. infections in pockets of the country, there certainly has not been a major increase in infections,Continue reading “Why we aren’t seeing a surge in severe COVID-19 infections?”
Musings on the 4th dose (second booster) mRNA COVID-19 vaccine
What follows is not medical advice; you should contact your doctor for that. It also does not represent an opinion from Michigan Medicine. But, since many people are confused about the “second booster” or 4th overall mRNA vaccine shot, this is my take. I have been reluctant to weigh in on the need for aContinue reading “Musings on the 4th dose (second booster) mRNA COVID-19 vaccine”
The next surge? It won’t happen right now despite the debate about the BA.2 “sub-variant”.
There has been quite a bit of discussion in the press about the most recent SARS-CoV-2 virus. U.S. public health officials are (for once!) being circumspect in their comments about the risk and have not called for reinforcement in public health restrictions. Importantly, there have been no increases in the number of cases or hospitalizationsContinue reading “The next surge? It won’t happen right now despite the debate about the BA.2 “sub-variant”.”
BA.2 and Pfizer’s fourth booster shot
Two things have been buzzing this week, and both are confusing. Multiple people have been trumpeting the fact that there has been an uptick in COVID infections in certain European countries over the past three weeks. They attribute this to the presence of a variant of Omicron called BA.2. This variant has been reported toContinue reading “BA.2 and Pfizer’s fourth booster shot”
Why do elderly people have a higher likelihood of dying from COVID-19?
One of the most fascinating and heart wrenching outcomes of this pandemic is the almost random way that some individuals become horribly ill from COVID-19. In younger people, it was clear early on that some had genetic errors in their immune systems that made them susceptible to more severe infection with COVID-19. These genetic errorsContinue reading “Why do elderly people have a higher likelihood of dying from COVID-19?”
Three important updates.
The FDA rejects Pfizer’s application for vaccinating children under 5. After an initial review, the FDA asked Pfizer to withdraw its application for approval to vaccinate children between the ages of six months and five years. Pfizer agreed with the request. The safety data was preliminary, and the lower vaccine dose used in the trialContinue reading “Three important updates.”
Canada vs. the US on COVID-19! See the discussion on Flashpoint tomorrow February 20th at 10:00 AM
To loyal readers of pandemicpondering.com. The recent trucker’s protest has sparked interest in the Canadian COVID-19 response. From a medical perspective, the two countries have very similar citizen health demographics, but Canada has had only 1/3 as many per capita deaths than the US (and only 30,000 total). This number is startling compared to theContinue reading “Canada vs. the US on COVID-19! See the discussion on Flashpoint tomorrow February 20th at 10:00 AM”
Pandemic Pondering 