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Articles by Michael D. Cohen, MD

Monkeypox: A Global Health Emergency

by Michael D. Cohen MD

The World Health Organization has designated monkeypox a global health emergency because it has suddenly and unexpectedly spread around the world via new modes of transmission that are not understood. It is an emergency because it is still spreading. But the numbers of people infected ...

Pandemic Medical Update: The Delta Surge

by Michael D. Cohen MD

The U.S. is experiencing the worst increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths since last winter. As I write in mid-August there are more than 150,000 new cases per day and over 1,000 daily deaths nationally. Over 95% of hospitalizations and deaths are among people ...

Medical Update: COVID is Not Over

Worldwide Pandemic

As I write this in mid-July the pandemic has again changed direction and cases are rising throughout the world. Deadly surges are beginning or continuing in Africa, Latin America and South Asia. Indonesia is having their worst pandemic yet. New estimates suggest that ...

Course of the Covid Pandemic

Pandemic Medical Update

Course of the Pandemic

Some of the worst surges of the pandemic are occurring in Brazil, India, and Uruguay. The surges seem to be driven in part by bad policies, like relaxing restrictions too soon. The surges also appear to be driven by variants of ...

Pandemic Medical Update: Vaccines, Variants and More

Course of the Pandemic

The United States has lately stabilized at around 60,000 new infections per day. This is not good, as daily infections need to go down much further before control of the pandemic can be achieved. At least deaths and hospitalizations have continued ...

Pandemic Medical Update: “Herd Immunity” at Prisons?

Course of the Pandemic

Declining numbers of infections, hospitalizations and deaths: After the peak in mid-January at about 220,00 cases per day, infections have been declining in the United States. In mid-March, infections appeared to be stabilizing at about 60,000 per day, a level similar ...

COVID Pandemic: Medical Update

New variants of the coronavirus

February saw numerous reports about mutations and new variants of the pandemic coronavirus. A variant called B.1.1.7 was first identified in England (UK) last fall. B.1.1.7 spreads among people more easily (is more infectious) and may also cause serious illness ...

Pandemic Update: News on Vaccines and Prison and Jail Staffing

All preventive measures undertaken by individuals to protect themselves and ...

Pandemic Medical Update: The Latest on Vaccines and Prisoners