Why common sense isn’t so common CLINICAL MATTERS Throughout the pandemic, there were many instances when scientists and doctors were attacked by a mix of anti-science trolls, anti-vaxxers, and Covid-19 denialists. As authorities and healthcare workers raced to save lives using evidence-based...
Since before Covid-19, infectious diseases experts have been raising the alarm on rising antimicrobial resistance CLINICAL MATTERS DR. EDSEL SALVANA Before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, infectious diseases experts were already raising the alarm on the threat of antimicrobial resistance. In...
An infectious diseases expert believes that another surge in Covid-19 cases is unlikely this coming holiday season. People flock to Ilaya in Binondo, Manila on Jan. 2, 2022. Metro Manila will be under Alert Level 3 starting Jan. 3 until Jan. 15, 2022 due to the rise of COVID-19 cases. (ALI VICOY /...
DR. EDSEL SALVANA CLINICAL MATTERS It is now over two weeks from the lifting of mask mandates indoors. As expected, cases are up by about 43 percent. This is from less than 1,000 cases a day the week before to 1,296 through the week of Nov. 7 to 13. During this period, there were only six new...
Photo from Pixabay/ MANILA BULLETIN The Covid-19 virus is heading towards the “endemic” phase in the Philippines amid the continuing decline in the number of cases, an infectious disease expert said on Tuesday, Nov. 15. “Yung nakikita naman talaga natin dito sa Covid, mukhang nagiging endemic...
Coronavirus vaccines have been prepared for distribution at a vaccination site in Manila on May 18, 2021. (Ali Vicoy/Manila Bulletin) A health expert reminded the public of the importance of Covid-19 vaccination amid the presence of new variants of coronavirus in the country. Covid-19 vaccines can...
Will we need to get vaccines periodically? CLINICAL MATTERS With the seemingly unending emergence of new Covid-19 variants, many people are starting to question whether the pandemic will truly end. Despite an unprecedented vaccination rollout, daily case numbers remain in the thousands and many...
Monkeypox, Centaurus, and the future of the pandemic CLINICAL MATTERS As an infectious diseases doctor, I know the names of hundreds of pathogens that can kill you in many horrible ways. From brain-eating amoeba to a virus that liquefies your internal organs into a bloody mess, to bacteria that eat...
A trip to put Covid-19 in perspective CLINICAL MATTERS I am writing this column on a train just like the one last week, but this time toward the end of our journey on the way from Seward to Anchorage, Alaska. It is 10 p.m. at night, and daylight is still strong. In this part of the world, the sun...
There's no need to panic with every new iteration of Omicron since there is no evidence that it is taking over, an infectious disease expert said on Monday, August 8. A passenger (C) sits inside a tricycle covered with a reminder to wear a mask, part of the Covid-19 health protocols, in Manila on...
Reviewing quarantine, isolation, and why these are still important CLINICAL MATTERS After a very quiet few months following the Omicron wave in January, cases are once again on the rise. Many of us were expecting thousands of cases shortly after elections but this never materialized. Indeed, WHO...
The Department of Health (DOH) said it is gathering evidence on the different dengue vaccines as cases of the mosquito-borne disease continue to increase in the country. DOH Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the government “would always be open to the use of new technology.”...
