Author Howard Weiner

I met with my urologist on March 13 th  to review the pathology report on the 48 tissue samples extracted during my prostate assay conducted on February 27th. I intended to report on the biopsy outcome, but a pandemic got in the way. I don’t have cancer. If you’ve been following my earlier post on this topic ( here ), you might be surprised. I know I was. My PSA score was a 12.5 after steadily climbing since 2016. The radiologist who reviewed my MRI stated cancer was more likely than not. My urologist was convinced as well—because the radiologist said so and my PSA score was a 12.5. So, on February 27 th , I reported to the hospital for an outpatient biopsy. The days between February 27 th  and March 13 th  were unpleasant. I wore a catheter for almost six days. That was ugly. Awaiting to hear that I did indeed have cancer was even worse. During the March 13 th  biopsy review, my urologist scheduled me for another PSA test on June 9 th —not here yet....

I have to be honest. I used to go to work when I had the flu. I never stayed home unless I was really ill—which was seldom. I’d load up on an OTC medication and gut it out on the job. I had ample sick leave, yet I’d infrequently use it. Sick leave was for the really ill people. I never gave any thought to the numbers of people I might have infected. I don’t know if any of them became seriously ill, required hospitalization, or died. I’ve thought about that a lot lately. When I was in K-12, we never stayed home unless we were seriously ill. Flu shots didn’t exist. We had aspirin, Tylenol, and cough medicines. If we were really sick, we might— might —get a Hot Toddy ( here ). My parents weren’t too thrilled about giving us whiskey in any form. Being honest, again, I never realized the connection between my personal liberty and public health authorities who recommended staying home if you were sick with the flu. Then again, I was never ordered by the government to stay at hom...

On Friday, we engaged in what has become a spring ritual for us: We moved from one home in Las Vegas to a second in southern Utah, Cedar City. Why? In all years past, the summer high temperatures in Cedar City can be twenty or more degrees cooler. Summer in Cedar City is hot. It has reached 100 degrees. We do have AC, and we use it. And, Cedar City is a much smaller place with a regional university, a population of 30K, and an agricultural, light industrial economy. The place is cute for days and within a reasonable ride to several national parks with great hiking and sights. There’s a substantial COVID-19 difference as well. YTD, Las Vegas has had 4,411 confirmed infections and 226 deaths. Nevada statewide has had 5,594 confirmed infections and 266 deaths for its 3.08M residents. So, Las Vegas has 79% of the total state infections and 85% of the deaths. By contrast, Cedar City has had 17 confirmed infections, and no one has died. Utah statewide has had 5,317 confirmed inf...

We see the signs of an imminent second pandemic: Reopening Economies. A study recently released by two folks from the Hoover Institution at Stanford University suggest that increased COVID-19 testing is actually lowering the death rate. That’s simply true. Any time you increase the denominator (people who contract COVID-19) while holding the numerator constant (confirmed COVID-19 deaths), you lower the quotient (COVID-19 death rate). And, they argue with a lower quotient (death rate), the less we have to fear AND the more ill-advised the earlier decision to shut down the economy. In other words, we blew it. This argument even calls into question our nation-wide attempts to flatten the curve (COVID-19 infections) by isolation and social distancing. Why bother, so the argument goes, in retrospect the new testing data shows we over reacted. Indeed, even Tucker Carlson now opines that COVID-19 is not deadly. How stupid have we been? When I was in graduate school, we studied re...

This weekend, I saw video taken at a protest march. The protester interviewed complained about government overreach, store closures, and—I kid you not—his inability to get a haircut. Nothing speaks to the encroachment of the Deep State on our liberties than unruly hair. A Story: My father-in-law, Frank, used to complain bitterly about toll roads. As a member of the “Greatest Generation,” he served in WW II, but fervently believed that toll roads were an attack on “Live Free or Die—” the reason why he signed-up to fight the Germans. Had it been my father, I would have told him he was an idiot and explained why. You can do that to your parents. You can’t, however, say that to your in-laws. [Note: Not enough space here to explain why not.] I vividly recall the HIV/AIDS crisis. As long as you didn’t exchange body fluids with an infected person, you weren’t at risk. Violating the social distancing guidelines with a person infected by the Coronavirus can make you ill—this vi...

FDA Research The FDA is sponsoring ongoing human drug trials each with a rigorous research methodology to test the efficacy, recommended dosage, and possible toxicity of chloroquine. These studies do take time to conduct, analyze, and report. We are likely many weeks, if not months, away from the results and recommendations. The Analog of Tamiflu Tamiflu is an influenza antiviral medication. If taken early in the infection, Tamiflu disrupts the flu virus’ replication process, lowers the viral load in the body, and reduces the severity and duration of a patient’s illness. Tamiflu must be taken early in a patient’s illness to have a significant beneficial effect. The same would be true of chloroquine with zinc, if it functions as some believe (but not yet confirmed). Therein is the rub. Remember, some of those infected with the coronavirus are asymptomatic. They may not even know they are ill. Still others suffer only mild symptoms and may confuse their illness with ...

Let’s face it. Public Health centered testing for the coronavirus has been a rolling disaster that is slow to improve in the U.S. Testing may improve with the passage of time although at this rate the value of testing will have disappeared entirely. So, for now we’re flying blind.  No one really knows when the virus landed in the U.S. or how widespread the virus was and is now today. Some of those infected are spreading the coronavirus  without  themselves showing any symptoms. Truth-be-told, if I’m right about my own health, I may have unintentionally spread the coronavirus myself ( here ). Trending Warmer, Hotter HOWEVER, Kinsa Health, a private sector digital thermometer company ( here ), is collecting and reporting body temperature across the country ( here ). I won’t bore you with the details of their data collection and algorithms ( here ).  But the map below reports on counties and regions across the country where body temperature is higher t...