19 Comments

Thank you and have a fun trip! I have a question: what do you think of the Novavax Covid vaccine? I've had the max number of Covid vaccines (so many I lost count--last one in April 2023) and did not have any AB response to the Pfizer vaccine (I got tested for antibodies -- I have a less than stellar immune system at 66). I had Covid in June of 2023 (vaccine helped I am sure but I also took Paxlovid) and did take metformin by the way (GI SE are quite impressive). Thank you!

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Thank you for the timely summary as we head into the fall months. Marty

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Hope you had a good nap! Love my afternoon naps, though the passengers in a car keep interrupting.

I do have a concern about presumption of COVID-19 , even if the test still negative. If you are a at risk person, Influenza is a deadly disease and require a different approach. It would be nice if we have a good dual antigen test (sigh).

Nice tips in this post! Interesting article on hand hygiene.

https://neighbors.columbia.edu/news/are-you-washing-your-hands-correctly-nurse-elaine-larson-answers

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Aug 30Liked by Ryan McCormick, M.D.

Thank you! I hope you have a wonderful vacation - hopefully it's not work related travel.

Tim and I are going on a real vacation at the end of October - a Riverboat Cruise, up the Rhine! So exciting!

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I am very hesitant to get another vaccine (I initially had the Moderna - both shots) and ended up with Covid twice. I don't remember exactly when my problems started - either from the vaccine or the initial Covid, but I now suffer from severe short-term memory loss and have been told it's normal for my age (67). If it was normal aging, wouldn't it come on gradually? This is not the case with me. Even after brain MRI I was told it's the normal aging process.

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I appreciate your blunt description of the Cochrane study.

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I had a nasty "Paxlovid rebound" but was able to get a longer course (10 days). I had an email exchange with Dr David Ho (after seeing him quoted in a Time article) and he seems pretty convinced that 5 days isn't enough.

I'm wondering whether you'd care to speculate as to whether grapefruit might enhance the effect of the ritonavir. (Also does the weird grapefruit aftertaste of the Paxlovid come from the ritonavir and is that more than a coincidence? It seems they act on the same enzyme). Surely it's been long enough that I'm not the first person to wonder about this.

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