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COVID-19 placed science under attack — here’s how to save it

March 10, 2022

By Dr. Jonathan Baktari, Opinion contributor — As a result of COVID-19, science has been thrust into the center of the toxic culture war surrounding vaccines. One side of the aisle believes that the scientific status quo is beyond questioning. The other believes that personal experience and anecdotes trump peer-reviewed research. 

Both positions are wrong. Scientific dogma can and should be challenged. However, pseudo-science and personal anecdotes are not the way to do it. We do not progress our collective understanding of the world through hearsay and gut feeling; we do it through rigorous scientific inquiry. 

History tells us that no scientific dogma should be beyond skepticism. In the 1960s, the scientists of the day said that stomach ulcers and gastritis were caused by lifestyle issues like stress. In 1982, Dr. Barry Marshall and Dr. Robin Warren looked at the tissues of those with stomach ulcers and noticed there was an unidentified bacteria in virtually all cases.  

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Looking for a Covid test before NYE? Here are a few places you can go

Dec 29, 2021 

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — As Las Vegas prepares to debut 2022, the omicron variant is ripping through the country. Already, some cities like New York and LA have significantly scaled back or canceled their celebratory events.

But here in Las Vegas, all the revelry still has the green light. Large events are still operating under the directive to either require proof of vaccination–or require guests to maks up indoors.

But doctors, like Jonathan Baktari with e7 Health, point out testing ahead of the holiday could give peace of mind.

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Experts weigh in on holiday travel amid threat of omicron, surging covid cases

Dec 22, 2021

Trib Live — Almost two years since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, cases are surging and the threat of another highly contagious variant looms, but projections show people still plan to travel for the holidays.

Nearly 28 million more people will travel this year compared to 2020, according to AAA, and airlines will see a projected 184% increase over last year. That will bring this year’s levels to about 92% of what they were in 2019.

In just Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, more than 770,000 people intend to fly during the holidays, according to AAA, and another 287,000 plan to travel via bus, train or other means of public transport. Just over 11 million people plan to drive to their destination, according to AAA.

Experts weighed in on what people should consider heading into the two-week stretch of gatherings and celebrations.

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What 6 health experts advise for holiday travel amid omicron

Dec 17, 2021

Washington Post — Just weeks since its discovery, the new highly transmissible omicron coronavirus variant is now rapidly spreading in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, omicron’s prevalencejumped sevenfold in a single week, and its case numbers appear to be doubling every two days.

While health experts predicted a winter surge, “it’s higher and faster than anyone anticipated,” says Chris Beyrer, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

As colleges send students home and professional sports cancel games, should people consider changing their holiday travel plans as well? We asked six public health professionals for their advice.

‘Things are changing so quickly’

Daniel Rhoads, section head of microbiology at the Cleveland Clinic, saw that cases were already high in the United States, and “then this week came,” he says. Now he’s dealing with cases doubling, and half of the samples are omicron.

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