Kevin Kavanagh, MD

Other nations, such as Sweden and Australia, outperformed the US metrics.

Multiple studies and reports show that masks in schools are effective, safe, and necessary because COVID-19 is not going away.

A new study supports the conclusion that the “brain fog” reported by many who have recovered from mild COVID-19 infection is real and has an anatomical basis.

The virus may have found yet another stable host in the white-tailed deer population.

Dr. Kevin Kavanagh shares his perspective on the new CDC mask guidance.

The research found vaccine efficacy in the prevention of visits to urgent treatment centers and emergency rooms fell from 87% at 2 months, to 66% at 4 months, to 31% at ≥ 5 months.

Former President Trump’s Presidential Federal Advisory Committee for COVID-19 needs to be reestablished under President Biden.

COVID-19 mutations are evading our immunity and at the same time our immunity is waning. Herd immunity to disease and the eradication of SARS-CoV-2 is no longer possible.

Contrary to the “vaccinate and all will be well” narrative, “mild” does not mean just avoiding hospitalization, nor does surviving a COVID-19 acute illness means you have recovered. Vaccines are an important layer of armor but they, in themselves, will not stop COVID-19.

Animal infection sets the stage for an independent evolution of SARS-CoV-2 which, after an extended evolutionary period, can jump back to humans causing disease with an unpredictable infectivity and case fatality rate.

We may need to pivot to the strategy adopted by Singapore, to have voluntarily unvaccinated individuals to pay at least a portion of their care. It is very easy to act irresponsibly when others are funding your safety net.

Infectivity causes more harm and deaths than lethality and in the case of Omicron more than makes up for its somewhat milder infections in immunologically naive individuals.

SARS-CoV-2 causes a system infection and is commonly detected in the heart and brain, exemplified by the loss of smell from brain tissue destruction and loss of cardiac function from myocarditis.

Omicron can significantly avoid immunity created by both prior infections and vaccines, and younger people and people of “African ethnicity” have higher rates of infection with Omicron than with Delta, says a new study.

Even though Omicron may not have as high of a fatality rate, its infectivity being 3 times higher than the Delta variant creates a grave risk to nations. Overstressed health care systems may collapse.

Omicron poses a grave risk to the US health care system. The US has a low rate of vaccination and obtaining boosters, and a relatively large segment of our population is elderly or immunocompromised. A 2-dose mRNA vaccine's immunity appears to rapidly wane and unlike South Africa, many in the US were fully vaccinated very early in the pandemic.

Only a small percentage of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 cases require hospitalization so far, but high infectivity may turn this small percentage into a large number of patients, which will further stress our health care system.

The looming surge from the Omicron variant may well have a lower case-fatality-rate but its high infectivity will further strain our health care system and fill our hospitals.

If the infectivity, lethality, and immune avoidance of the Omicron variant is confirmed, it will be of utmost importance that all who can, become vaccinated. In addition, antiviral medications will become of prime importance.

There is growing evidence that fully vaccinated should be defined as having 3 doses of an mRNA vaccine.

If smallpox reemerges, it could be devastating with its 30% fatality rate and an ability to spread comparable to the Delta variant of COVID-19.

Many believe that super immunity can develop in those who have had SARS-CoV-2 infections and have become vaccinated. Meanwhile, fully vaccinated might mean getting 3 doses, not 2.

As of today, the outlook is very good and the pandemic is on a trajectory of burning out, but there are valid concerns which require that we continue our vigilance and public health strategies.

The term “mild COVID-19” is an oxymoron. The devastating long-term effects of long COVID, along with future emergence of cardiovascular disease in those with minimal initial symptoms, reminds us that all SARS-CoV-2 infections may pose grave dangers to those who contract the virus.

Unlike influenza, SARS-CoV-2 uses ACE2 receptors to infiltrate cells. Similar to HIV, SARS-CoV-2 can silently spread throughout the host’s body and attack almost every organ.

Even if not hospitalized, COVID-19 often produces the most severe infection individuals will experience in their lifetimes and can produce lasting symptoms of fatigue, weakness, brain fog and cardiovascular damage.

Health care workers know all too well the lasting and debilitating effects of long COVID-19. They were one of the first to become vaccinated and are some of the first experiencing breakthrough infections. They are tired, burned out, and many are on the brink of collapse.

Some medical experts say that in this case, inaction is also an action—either the US gives boosters or does not. That decision needs to be based on the best available evidence. Instead, there seems to be a desire to wait another 6 months for pristine randomized controlled studies.

The further away from an infected person you are, the less likely you are to contract the disease. But you are still not safe at 6 feet. The virus is airborne and can spread much further to the back of the classroom.

After the Delta surge subsides, another surge is expected, possibly from the Mu variant. If Mu completely escapes immunity from vaccines and past infections, we must resort to stringent public health strategies.