Vaccine Inequality & International Vaccine Diplomacy; What is The Solution?

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In the past months with Covid-19 vaccines available in many countries, implementation programs are rolling out across the globe. The effectiveness of such programs is very important in curbing further spread of the pandemic. Vaccines will be key in reducing unnecessary loss of life and ushering us into a new normal way of life. In the US though, those who were most affected by the pandemic are lagging behind in access to vaccines. The infographic below from a publication by the Kaiser Family FRead More…

Did We Defend and Protect The Lives of The Most Vulnerable Among Us?

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In the past one year we have lost more than half a million Americans to Covid-19. My worst estimate in March 2020 was a quarter of a million in a year. At that time I was very confident we would not even get close to it. So maybe I was wrong on the virus!! I did not really understand how effective the virus was at spreading. On deeper introspection, I realize that my miscalculation was not with the virus but our behavior, policies, and public health infrastructure. Sanjay Gupta interviewed the Read More…

How Good Are We At Comparing Vaccine Efficacy?

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Different countries have so far approved more than 6 Covid-19 vaccines mostly by Emergency Use Authorizations. With this development a few questions keep popping up. One such question is on how the vaccines stack up against each other. Last week, a friend that I had not spoken to in ages called. After talking to her I realized I had not followed my own advice to physically distance rather than socially distance. My old colleague needed advice for a friend on vaccination. A close friend of hers Read More…

AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccines and Blood Clots: Is There Any Cause For Concern?

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The side effect of a vaccine becomes significant if that complication’s occurrence is higher than pertains in the general population.Let’s take Bell’s Palsy, aka partial facial paralysis, as an example. In the general population, it has an incidence of 15 – 30 per 100,000 people. Among those who received the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines in their Phase III trials, the incidence was 17.7 per 100,000. Thus one can infer that those vaccines do not lead to a higher incidence of Bell’s Palsy. This briRead More…

Where Are We Going As A Nation? Are We on The Path To Freedom or Reeling Down the Ravine To Anarchy?

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On January 6th, 2021 a mob of mostly white Americans stormed the US Capitol attempting to overturn the 2020 election results. These individuals sought to prevent the certification of the results and the inauguration of President Biden. The desired outcome of these rebels was to usher in another 4 years of the Trump Presidency. Seeing the events unfold on TV that day totally derailed the rest of my day. I lost my focus and could no longer concentrate. As one who emigrated to this country in 200Read More…

What Are Our Healthcare Workers Who Have Completed Their Vaccines Are Saying?

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This post is my attempt to bring the vaccine experience to a larger audience. To do this I polled about 500 vaccine recipients over about 24 days. A prior survey that I conducted suggested that many individuals were taking a wait-and-see attitude with Covid-19 vaccinations. This is not surprising to me; in my experience every community has individuals who like to take their time to adopt new ideas. The fact that our current vaccines use a new technology may be aggravating this situation. SomeRead More…

“Black Don’t Crack!!” Is This Really True?

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The saying goes “Black don’t crack!” Is this really true? I believe this saying not because I am black but because I have enough proof to support it. One of my high school classmates whose name I would not reveal just turned 50 years; the last time I saw him about 2 years ago he could have passed for a 30 year old. When it comes to the ladies, the least said the better. In that group though I will always exercise the greatest caution on account of the popularity of Botox. I am not saying the meRead More…

What Is The Neutralizing Antibody Response After The 1st Vaccine Shot in Those With Prior Infection?

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Interestingly, two pre-prints were released this week that looked at the same issue. These papers were a comparison of the immune response to the first shot of an mRNA vaccine between those who have had COVID-19 already and have IgG antibodies versus those who have not had the disease yet and thus have no antibodies. These papers answer a very important question; “What happens if I get a shot after having Covid-19 infection?” The Saadat et al, 2021 Study The first one is from the UniversRead More…

Is It True Unarmed Blacks Are More Likely to Be Killed in Police Encounters?

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Over the years the United States has been a country known for racially motivated violence. This issue has moved into the forefront of the political discourse in the past few years. In 2020 George Floyd’s death with videos of Derek Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck on social media sparked protests nation-wide. Many believe these protests along with the poor handling of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led to Trump’s loss in 2020. The issue of police violence against minorities especially blacks is howeRead More…

I Am Pregnant; Is It Safe To Get The Covid-19 Vaccine?

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As America continues to roll out vaccines across the country many questions are coming up. With the limited experience with our current vaccines some of these questions do not have easy answers. One such question is; “Is Covid-19 vaccine safe for pregnant women?” Answers to questions like this are usually answered by having trials that focus on answering them. In the area of pregnancy though, this has never been a simple matter. Concerns for adverse fetal outcomes unfortunately makes it diffRead More…

Holding on to The Dream of Martin Luther King Jr.

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On April 4th, 1968, 52 years ago Martin Luther King Jr., was shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis TN. The official record has James Earl Ray as the shooter. Ray was a segregationist supporter of George Wallace, an Alabama governor, who was an ardent white supremacist. Asa Carter a Ku Klux Khan leader wrote Wallace’s inaugural speech. The speech read; “In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the Read More…

What Are Our Covid-19 Vaccine Pioneers Saying?

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As at January 10th, 2021 the death toll from Covid-19 was about 1.9 million globally and 372,522 in the United States. This is almost as many Americans as died in World War II. In the past week we have hit record numbers of Covid-19 deaths. Total deaths on January 7th was 4.033, more deaths than in any other day since the pandemic hit. Hospitalizations are at an all time high. This is no surprise to anyone who has been keeping track of this pandemic. Even with good vaccine implementation this cRead More…

Long Term Safety of The SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccines; How Worried Should You be?

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US Response To Vaccine Implementation As public health authorities in the US roll out the Covid-19 vaccination program many issues beyond immunization logistics are beginning to surface. A recent survey of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) by the National Association of Health Care Assistants had concerning results. In this survey 72% of CNAs surveyed did not want to take the vaccine. One CNA interviewed said she did not want to be a guinea pig! Since the vaccines were approved, I haveRead More…

The Elusive RN From Nashville With Bell’s Palsy From Covid-19 Vaccine

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There is an anti-COVID vaccine video making the rounds on SM. It stars a black lady called Khalilah Mitchell who claims she works as a registered nurse in Nashvillee, TN. According to her heart wrenching account, she got a shot of a COVID vaccine and developed Bell’s Palsy or one-sided facial paralysis 3 days later. She goes on to blame the vaccine for the paralysis and exhorts all not to take it. Though the video has been banned by the big boys, it is still making the rounds on Whatsapp. Read More…

SARS-CoV-2 Variants: What Are The Implications for Pandemic Control

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Covid-19 What’s going on in the World: 81,126,416 cases worldwide since the start of the epidemic, with 1,771,407 deaths. It is likely we will, despite starting vaccinations, see another increase after Christmas get-togethers, and likely a spike after New Years as well. US: 19,126,416 cases. 341,138 deaths. The new SARS-CoV-2 variant which was initially identified in England, and is now called the 2020 Kent variant. Now detected in Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden,Read More…

Were The Covid-19 mRNA Vaccines Developed Too Quickly, & Can They Change our Genetic Code?

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Brief History of mRNA Vaccines The first published human trial of an mRNA vaccines was of a rabies vaccine. CureVac a Dutch Company specializing in mRNA vaccines and scientists at the University of Tübingen developed this vaccine. The human trials followed many pre-clinical studies in lab animals. The scientists were trying to develop a vaccine platform which will enable cheap and rapid vaccine development. The mRNA vaccine field was developed to address novel viral pandemic like what we aRead More…

Attitudes Towards The Covid-19 Vaccine, Is This The End or A New Beginning?

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About a year ago our world was upended when it became clear the respiratory virus spreading through China was not going to be contained locally. China dragged its feet trying to figure out how to handle the messaging around the growing epidemic. By the time China reported this to the WHO the virus had already left its shores. By February there were cases in many countries in Europe and the US. The first reported US case was a 35 year old Washington State resident who presented at an urgent Read More…

Facts About Immunization You Did Not Learn From Medical School Immunology

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The Boston Smallpox Epidemic For many centuries’ smallpox was the scourge of humanity. It decimated human populations and in the New World wreaked havoc among Native Americans with the influx of European settlers. Without prior exposure to the virus Native Americans were especially vulnerable to this virus. In 1721 smallpox was sweeping through the city of Boston. Those with any memory of previous epidemics, would tell you this was the worst epidemic in their lifetime. A man named OnesRead More…

How is America Going to Respond To A SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine?

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After almost 10 months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel. There are several SARS-CoV-2 vaccines on the horizon, with two approaching FDA approval. As at today December 6th 2020 there are 66,685,047 cases confirmed globally and 1.5 million deaths. In the US total cases count stands at 14,590,894 with 281,212 deaths. To put this in better perspective the current US death toll is at par with the whole city of Newark, NJ (population estimate 284,242Read More…

He Got 70 Million Votes

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So what drove the ascent of Donald J. Trump? I have teased out six main reasons why some 63 million Americans voted for him in 2016. Approximately 70 million did this time around. Despite every failing, he got 70 million votes! Diana C. Mutz, in her 2018 paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, pointed out the most crucial reason – cultural anxiety. Daniel Cox and his group came to the same conclusion in their Public Religion Research Institute survey of more than 3,000 Read More…

Individual Freedom & Negrophobia In The Land of The Free and Home of the Brave

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My five year old son has a mortal fear of spiders and has elected me as the spider assassin-in-chief. I have however failed terribly in this assigned duty. Our conversation on this problem usually goes like this. “Daddy, there is a spider in my room!” I will go into his room. There is usually a small spider in some corner that he wants me to kill. “Well, what do you want me to do?” “I want you to kill it!” He usually has this incredulous look on his face as if wondering why that question was Read More…

Maceo Snipes he voted for freedom and posterity

A Vote For Maceo Snipes, A Vote For Posterity!

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Have you ever wondered why there are so many Civil Rights Acts in the United States? There is the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (CRA) then there is CRA 1870 and 1871! Subsequent acts were passed in 1875, 1957, 1960 and in the 1960s came the big ones CRA 1964 and 1968! In 1965 they had to pass the Voting Rights Act which was not made permanent but had to be renewed ever so often! Our vote cannot be taken for granted, vote for freedom and posterity It’s like members of the privileged Caste see frRead More…

“I am the Only one Who Can Fix it”: Did he Really Fix it?

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As we get closer to November 3rd I keep looking at the steady approval of Trump’s handling of the economy. Over the course of his first year Trumps approval for his handling of the US economy has never gone below 40%. His overall approval when compared to his most recent predecessor does suggest that his approval ratings trailed Obama’s. He is however not very far below in approvals when we compare them towards the end of their first terms. Approval ratings though do not always tell the cRead More…

Make Coroners Great Again! A Campaign Speech

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Despite its faults, the United States remains by far the greatest and most powerful democracy the world has ever known! That I a mere Shithole has the opportunity to stand for county coroner on the Republican ticket is a testament to America’s greatness! I stand on the Republican ticket because I am a true “American patriot.” My opponent on the other hand is a democrat, a communist who will play into the hands of communist China and make the very paper that we print our death certificaRead More…

Did Columbus Really Discover the New World?

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Columbus was definitely a man of vision and courage. He sought to prove Galileo’s theory of a round earth by sailing west to get to the Far East. This venture led to his most memorable life achievement. Today I ask the question “did Columbus really discover the New World?” This is a question that has become relevant today as many raise questions around the legacy of Christopher Columbus. Very little is known about Columbus’ background, he is believed to have been born in Genoa, Italy in 1451Read More…