July 21, 2021 — People are dying again. Deaths from COVID-19 are rising in the U.S. for the first time in months. This follows an upward trend in COVID cases that began in early July. Hospitalizations started rising soon after that. And all of this is happening most in places where vaccination rates are low and among people who […]
July 9, 2021 — Familiarity can breed contempt or it can bring comfort. A new position statement about COVID-19 vaccines from the Obesity Society brings us comfort. In fact, the more we learn about these COVID vaccines, the more we like. They work well – even in people with obesity and other risk factors. What’s more, the effect on […]
March 23, 2021 — Bias comes in many forms. People express bias when they hold to a partial perspective about a person, group, thing, or idea. With bias comes the refusal to consider different points of view. Feelings, not facts, drive our biases and we all have them. On the subject of COVID-19, vaccines, and vitamins, this is especially […]
March 19, 2021 — BMI stinks. That’s the lead on a lot of stories about how to get a COVID-19 vaccine appointment right now. This is a perfect example of mixed messaging. But it also reflects our very mixed feelings about this measure that’s now almost two centuries old. A BMI of 30 is the threshold for a population-based […]
March 10, 2021 — The scramble for COVID-19 vaccination is clearly messy. For one thing, people who need it most have found it hard to get. And then we have others, with sharp elbows and privilege, who want to be at the front of the line. To claim priority that public health guidelines don’t grant them. So when you […]
February 27, 2021 — Power and privilege serves itself first. So a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines can bring forth an ugly dimension of humanity. Sharp elbows come out as some people try to put themselves first. But in other situations, we see a sharp contrast. We see people reaching out to help others who need vaccines urgently. The […]
February 25, 2021 — Yesterday, FDA released a detailed analysis of all the available data on a third COVID-19 vaccine up for approval in the U.S. Tomorrow, an independent advisory committee will meet to review this vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. But it already looks like it is heading for approval. For one thing, FDA reviewers concluded the vaccine […]
February 17, 2021 — Misinformation about COVID-19 spreads so fast that real information has a hard time keeping up. But what we face now is extra hard, because two other difficult subjects are in the mix – obesity and vaccines. So naturally, we’re seeing a mess in messaging about COVID-19 vaccines and obesity. As a matter of fact, the […]
August 27, 2020 — When it comes to clickbait, enough is too much. The CNN headline on the right proclaims both truth and fiction. It’s true enough that obesity increases the risk of complications from COVID-19. But suggesting that a “study finds” obesity damages the efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine is false and misleading. This is nothing but obesity […]
August 7, 2020 — Sarah Varney at the Kaiser Health News has a gift for us. A hypothetical concern about a hypothetical vaccine that hypothetically works – unless you have obesity. Our world’s “salvation hinges on a vaccine,” she says. But “the obese” are going to screw it up. They “could undermine the effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine.” We […]
