Masks, Contagion and Getting Back to Work It is hard to believe that August is around the corner, marking the 6th month that we have spent in the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, we are not where we hoped we would be, with many states continuing to see rising in case counts, hospitalizations, and deaths. We are … Read more Cassie and Len Calabrese’s COVID-19 Corner: Issue #12

The Yin and Yang of COVID-19 Clinical Trials Well, it looks like we are flattening the curve! Unfortunately, it’s the wrong curve which is the exponential increase in COVID-19 clinical trials.  By our assessment, as of this past weekend, there are a mere 2,653 trials on COVID-19 registered on www.clinincaltrials.gov, a figure not palpably different … Read more Cassie and Len Calabrese’s COVID-19 Corner: Issue #11

“History is merely a list of surprises that should prepare us for future surprises.” - Kurt Vonnegut At this point in the pandemic, Cassie and I think it’s time to hit the reset button. This column is clearly not designed to be a comprehensive summary of what is going on in the COVID-19 world but … Read more Cassie and Len Calabrese’s COVID-19 Corner: Issue #10

Well, our COVID-19 Corner must be working as many states and municipalities are getting on the mask wagon. We have labeled it the “Save the economy and save your grandmother” initiative. Let’s keep it up. Maybe POTUS will start reading our Corner in his briefing? You never know. Recently many states in the US have … Read more Cassie and Len Calabrese’s COVID-19 Corner: Issue #9

The New York Times Journal of Medicine This week, given that we are now entering the dog days of summer, we focus on two stories and more importantly we take this opportunity to discuss how we in medicine are filtering, receiving, and appraising medical scientific data on COVID-19. The story is part tongue-in-cheek, but truth … Read more Cassie and Len Calabrese’s COVID-19 Corner: Issue #8

Mutual pick: DEXAMETHASONE for COVID-19 – Ready for Prime Time For over a week the medical world has reeled after being assailed by a press release from the UK telling us a study from Oxford (part of the massive national RECOVERY trial, a five-arm investigation designed to identify treatments that may be beneficial for people … Read more Cassie and Len Calabrese’s COVID-19 Corner: Issue #7

Sorting out asymptomatic/pauci-symptomatic transmission and the importance of masks in the office and in life This week we would like to bring your attention to a couple of articles published on the asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. We think this is a really important concept and reinforces the high importance of continuing to wear masks and social … Read more Cassie and Len Calabrese’s COVID-19 Corner: Issue #6

This week in addition to our ‘picks’, I want to remind all United Rheumatology members to feel free to reach out to me or Cassie (or both) for challenging issues that COVID may have brought to your practice or your lives that we may be able to assist you with. We clearly don’t have all … Read more Cassie and Len Calabrese’s COVID-19 Corner: Issue #5