As the CDC and Trump Administration officials struggle to get on top of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the House Committee on Oversight and Reform yesterday that the impact of the virus “will get worse before it gets better.” “I can say we will see more cases,”...

Much has happened in the last 24 hours regarding the Coronavirus (Covid-19) which is expanding throughout the United States and Europe. Here’s what we know. The World Health Organization (W.H.O.), a specialized agency of the United Nations concerned with public health throughout the world, declared the Coronavirus a pandemic, a disease epidemic that has spread across a large region. In...

That’s how many doses of oxycodone, hydromorphone, fentanyl and other opioids Virginia Dr. Joel Smithers illegally dispensed to patients over a two year period. In a press release from the Department of Justice in the Western State of Virginia (May 9), “…Smithers, a Martinsville-based doctor, was found guilty today of 861 federal drug charges at the conclusion of a nine-day...

It’s safe to say that, at one time or other, most teens rebel against their parents. For Ethan Lindenberger that rebellion took an unexpected turn. When Lindenberger became a legal adult at 18, he chose to get the necessary vaccinations that his parents had avoided. “I had grown up with my mom being very staunch and open about her position...

The lack of trust in institutions vital to our health, welfare and security continues to grow in the age of Trump. I have written about the serious threat to both children and communities when parents willingly deny vaccinations for their children. Nonetheless, the risk has grown more dangerous. The New York Times Editorial Board writes (Jan. 19) that “The World...

Sometimes we get so caught up in the brush-fire of the moment that we forget about what’s really important – the people around us who contribute to our lives in special ways. I’ve been lucky to not only have met but developed deep friendships with many people through my work; people who demonstrated, through moments in their lives, the courage,...

There’s a scene early in the film, Jerry Maguire, about a sports agent, that ultimately causes the central character to pivot from sales B.S. to honest concern. It happens when the fast-talking Maguire learns that his hockey-player client is sent to the hospital after yet another punishing concussion. The agent arrives in the room just as the doctor is checking...

Charlie Gard is only 11 months old, but his short life has stirred a controversy concerning the ethical limits of medicine. Charlie has a rare, genetic and incurable disease that has now involved doctors, three British courts, the European Court of Human Rights, as well as hundreds of thousands of petitioners, including Pope Francis and President Trump. The bottom line...

This is what happens when poor information and irrational fear trumps verified medical science. “The young mother,” The Washington Post reports (May 5), “started getting advice early on from friends in the close-knit Somali immigrant community here. Don’t let your children get the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella — it causes autism, they said. “Suaado Salah listened. And this...

Washington, D.C. – In a stunning announcement on the steps of the Capitol today, scientists from four leading research centers believe they have found a direct link between the ethics scandals of the last five years – perhaps going back as far as five decades – and a chemical imbalance in the brain. The new disease, which scientists are calling...