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Managing Health Expectations
A Hospitalist Sifts Through Disinformation
I'm Dr. Joseph Thomas. I am an M.D. and I work as a hospitalist in Western New York. I started writing long-form status updates on Facebook to sort through all the disinformation that was being bandied about regarding COVID-19, and I forgot how much I like regularly writing, even if it's not so much creative as it is driven by exasperation.
I still write about COVID sometimes (get your vaccine!), but now I talk more broadly about public health and reproductive justice.
I don’t always write regularly because of my work schedule, but when I don’t you can find other content on my social media (@DocWithBowtie on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, and Threads)!
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COVID-19: Let's Talk Mandates (For Healthcare Workers and, Frankly, Anyone Going Out In Public)
Vaccine mandates are the latest discussion to dominate the news cycle. Local to me, the Buffalo Bills and Sabres both announced that...
Dr. Bow Tie
Sep 26, 20218 min read
Reflections on 9/11/2001
Math class. 7th grade pre-algebra (or algebra?) to be (semi-) exact. But no math was done that day, because we were all watching with...
Dr. Bow Tie
Sep 14, 20212 min read
You're Making Me Talk About Ivermectin. And Joe Rogan.
*Sigh*...Joe Rogan has COVID-19. He announced it on Twitter on September 1st, mere months after he ignored what physicians and scientists...
Dr. Bow Tie
Sep 5, 20216 min read
In Which A Virus Has More Reproductive Rights Than A Person With A Uterus
It is an unpleasant coincidence that less than 3 weeks ago I discussed how irritatingly wrong it was to misappropriate "my body, my...
Dr. Bow Tie
Sep 3, 20213 min read
Masks in Schools (With Some Help From Dr. Chang)
Both my hometown in northwestern Pennsylvania and my current city in Western New York have entered "high-transmission" levels of spread...
Dr. Bow Tie
Sep 1, 20217 min read
To People Who Claim "mY bOdY, mY cHoIcE" When Faced With Vaccine Requirements
A follow-up to my previous post about how vaccine requirements are not oppression or discrimination: STOP trying to appropriate “my body,...
Dr. Bow Tie
Aug 15, 20211 min read
COVID-19: What This Is Not
The Delta Variant continues to surge across the United States. Areas that were bad before are worse now, and areas that were doing "okay"...
Dr. Bow Tie
Aug 11, 20218 min read
COVID-19: #MASKSUP Again
Welp. The fourth wave is here, it is already bad, and has the potential to get much worse. On Tuesday the CDC announced that everyone,...
Dr. Bow Tie
Jul 29, 20214 min read
COVID-19: The Disease of Disinformation (Or: My Greatest Hits, Remastered)
In my last post, I discussed how dangerous the Delta Variant is and how much it's spreading (currently on the rise in EVERY STATE and...
Dr. Bow Tie
Jul 20, 20219 min read
COVID-19: Catching Up As We Fall Behind (Delta Variant, Potential Boosters)
It's been a minute since I wrote one of these. Work has been pretty crazy lately, as I took on more (voluntary) shifts that left me less...
Dr. Bow Tie
Jul 11, 20216 min read
COVID-19 and Vaccines: Masking Guidelines Update, Additional Points from a Pediatrics View on MIS-C
One of the best things about being in scientific circles and having come through premedical and medical training is that I have the...
Dr. Bow Tie
Jun 6, 20215 min read
COVID-19 and Vaccines: Masking Guidelines Update
MASKING REQUIREMENTS UPDATE: New York State waited until a Friday evening to announce that on Monday they're changing masking...
Dr. Bow Tie
Jun 6, 20213 min read
COVID-19 AND VACCINES: Moderna+SM-102, Magnets, and Myocarditis
Today we're going to talk about two myths that have making the rounds, as well as a concern that has risen with the vaccines (but is...
Dr. Bow Tie
May 28, 20214 min read
New CDC Recommendations (And Subsequent NYS Regulations) Regarding Kids at Daycare/Summer Camp
New York State just updated its rules to indicate that, based on new CDC guidance, kids in daycare and summer camp programs, for whom...
Dr. Bow Tie
May 21, 20214 min read
COVID-19 and Vaccinations: New CDC Recommendations (Originally on FB May 14, 2021)
So the CDC says that fully-vaccinated people can stop wearing masks indoors and outdoors. Great! Here’s the thing. Less than 40% of the...
Dr. Bow Tie
May 19, 20212 min read
COVID-19 and Vaccines: Pre-teens and Teens!
Today the news has come out that the Food & Drug Administration has expanded the Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer vaccine to...
Dr. Bow Tie
May 11, 20216 min read
COVID-19 AND VACCINEs: Young/Healthy, Prev COVID, Length of Protection, Shedding, "Stanford", J/J&J
Time for a round-up of some vaccine myths circulating. Let's smash some disinformation: "I AM YOUNG AND HEALTHY, I DON'T NEED THIS...
Dr. Bow Tie
Apr 26, 20215 min read
COVID-19 AND VACCINES: BLOOD CLOTS, PAUSES, AND WHY YOU SHOULD STILL GET VACCINATED
It's been over a month since I've posted. This is mostly because I've been putting in a lot of hours at work, but also because for the...
Dr. Bow Tie
Apr 13, 20214 min read
COVID-19: THE NEAR FUTURE
This weekend I drove down to my hometown and hugged my parents for the first time in a year, because my mother is finally two weeks...
Dr. Bow Tie
Mar 29, 20213 min read
COVID-19 AND VACCINES, Part V: New Guidelines and Misleading Headlines. See Also: HOPE
At long last...some good news! We've passed the one-year mark, both for the pandemic itself and of me writing these essays. I have not...
Dr. Bow Tie
Mar 12, 20214 min read
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