Hello, Friends of TVD!
“Americans who are fully vaccinated can go without masks or physical distancing in many cases”, announced the CDC this week, as Spring keeps springing, and the local COVID news continues to improve. Note that as of Friday, both the CA and the San Mateo County Departments of Public Health are still reviewing their position on this, so for now you will continue to see #TeamTVD wearing masks should you be coming in to the office. In continued good news, as of Wednesday, 77% of San Mateo county residents 16 and older have received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. And in even better news, as of this past Thursday, our kids ages 12 – 15 can schedule for Pfizer COVID vaccine at clinics across the country. The best resource at the moment is the state’s MyTurn.ca.gov website. Note San Mateo County residents 12 to 17 years old must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at the vaccination clinic. You can read more about this in Dr. Phillip’s FAQ on “Where Can I Get My Pre-Teens Immunized” below.
Which brings me to the topic of our newsletter. As you all know, we have been publishing the “CV🦠News” on a weekly basis for more than a year. It has been a lot of work, but I like to think (and our web analytics confirm) that it has been a well received and useful effort as we all have weathered the first global pandemic of our lifetimes. But happily the questions and concerns regarding COVID are fewer, and we can finally turn our attention and efforts to sunnier days, so starting this month The Village Doctor newsletter will go out twice a month instead of weekly, and contain non-COVID content as well (!). So please read on, learn, and enjoy, and if you have appreciated our past efforts, please shoot me an email note so I can share with my physician team and media partner. They do deserve a mountain of praise for their work.
Please continue to enjoy our newsletter, and do share with your friends (they can sign up here!).
Eric Weiss, MD, May 14, 2021
NOTE: CV🦠News is a labor of love. If you enjoy reading this, please share widely! Was this forwarded to you by a friend? Please subscribe here.
Tune in for another segment of our interview with Dr. Eric Weiss and Medical Assistant Kimmie Butler! This week, we talk about the characters that best embody their spirit and some fun facts about them that you may not learn anywhere else! You won’t want to miss it!
https://villagedoctor.com/coronavirus-faq/talking-with-tvd/
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the US and worldwide. More people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year in the US than all other cancers combined. One of five Americans will develop skin cancer by the age of 70, and more than 2 people will die of skin cancer in the US every hour. The good news: when detected early, the 5-year survival for the most dangerous skin cancer, melanoma, is 99%. Routine skin cancer screenings can truly mean the difference between life and death… Read more
Jennifer Abrams, MD, May 13, 2021
Earlier this week, the FDA authorized the Pfizer vaccine for 12-15 year olds and today the CDC met and now formally recommends that the vaccine be given to children down to 12 years old, which makes 17 million more American children eligible for the vaccine. Just as in other age groups, the Pfizer vaccine has an emergency use authorization and is not yet FDA approved. This is still great news though, especially as 20% of the new cases in the US are occurring in children under 18 years old. This is mostly due to the fact that so many adults are now vaccinated, but loosened restrictions certainly play a role as well… Read more
Jackie Phillips, MD, May 12, 2021
When the pandemic was at its peak, many people were searching for the golden ticket to reduce their risk of contracting COVID-19. Vitamin D became the new “hot” supplement for its potential to ward off infections. Can vitamin D really protect you from getting COVID-19?
Maybe… Read more
Annie Rubin, MS, RDN, May 11, 2021
HOPE AND GRACE
If you have made it this far, time for a reward, something to lighten your day, and acknowledge the human spirit. Find some escape, or perhaps even inspiration, in this ever-growing collection of works and perspectives gathered from around the world. Please contact me directly if you have come across something that has lifted your heart today. Dr. Eric Weiss
Stanford doctors and engineers working overtime to help India
During the past few weeks, we’ve all watched as the coronavirus surge in India became an intense health crisis. Quiety, behind the scenes, doctors, engineers and others in the Bay Area have been working non-stop to help. For example, Stanford bio-engineer Manu Prakash, Ph. D., and others are contributing to a virtual collaborative called India COVID SOS. “It consists of 300 plus clinicians around the world, some with a footprint in India, engineers, academics, policy makers, logistics folks,” he says. It’s also a burgeoning on-line strike force that’s collecting everything from C-pap machines that can double as ventilators, to open source plans to build equipment. India COVID SOS is actively recruiting supporters and donations.
The Reclaimed Room Highlights Unique Art Made from Recycled Materials
San Francisco’s Building Resources in a nonprofit dedicated to providing reusable building and landscaping materials. Since they had such a large customer base of artists, they’ve taken a creative direction in supporting reuse. They opened the Reclaimed Room to show off art made from objects found there, and have had over 40 exhibits ranging from installations using repurposed saw blades to sculptures crafted from discarded plastic products. “It’s definitely a place to save money and is also a place to save the environment,” says Executive Director Ed Dunn. “And you can see some cool art in the gallery and maybe even buy it.”
Find more information about future exhibit here!
Help others know more about our concierge medicine services by leaving us a review on Google here!
Again, CV🦠News is a labor of love. If you enjoy reading this, please share widely! Was this forwarded to you by a friend? Please subscribe here.
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Yours, in health and resilience,
Eric and the TVD MD team…
