Khalid Simply Says

As the acute phase of the novel coronavirus pandemics starts to ebb, the discussion is moving towards vaccines and how can we protect the populace from another wave in the fall or the next spring It seems clear that to fight off the virus, and prevent another public health crisis, most if not all of us must have immunity (herd immunity).We will develop the immunity either by having been infected and recovered, or by having received a vaccine.   This reality is the force behind the rush to develop a vaccine sooner than later. Whereas you, I and our elected officials would like to have an effective vaccine available for everyone who wants it, tomorrow, it just cannot happen that fast. For an effective, safe, commercially available vaccine in hundreds of millions of doses (or billions of doses for the whole world), there are many known and un-foreseen challenges. I have discussed the basics about vaccines in a previous blog and will skip them here. One of the challe...

Scores of animal studies followed by human clinical trials have proven that intermittent fasting not only helps lose weight, it also modifies and improves our glucose regulation, increases stress resistance, and suppresses inflammation and prolongs life. Muslims all over the world are close to the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. From the religious perspective, Muslims are commanded to fast just as believers in the past were ordained to do. The following two verses from The Quran are illustrative: Oh, you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may learn piety and God consciousness” [Quran,2:183] “The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was revealed The Quran, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast; and whoever is ill or on a journey – then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for yo...

As COVID-19 illness spreads, the authorities are pressing all buttons to stop the spread, treat those who are infected, save lives and develop strategies to prevent future spread of the virus. All of these steps are essential in fighting the pandemic. On the treatment front, we at least have one anti-viral drug that has been given the green light by the FDA. Over the next coming weeks and months, the drug remdesivir will be supplied to many hospitals treating severe cases of COVID-19. Another treatment is being tested is the convalescent plasma. Since thousands of people have recovered from the coronavirus infection, they can be the source of this plasma. What is convalescent plasma? Our blood has cells that float in a liquid medium called plasma. It has everything in it like water, proteins, sugar, nutrients, enzymes, and hormones to name a few. These materials are transported from one place in the body to the destination organs by the powerful pump, the heart. Ou...

Checking our temperature has become an essential ritual in this era of COVID-19 pandemic. No one used to care if I had fever, but now fever rules the world. Now everyone wants to know if I have fever. If I do, not only will I be denied entry to a school, office, restaurant, airplane, or a train, but I will most likely be quarantined. So, when the Wall Street Journal published an article on the subject, it gave me the idea to write about fever and thermometers. Heat in the body is produced by metabolic activity, mostly in the muscles and the liver. It is the responsibility of the temperature regulatory center, which is in the brain (the hypothalamus) to maintain a steady temperature. Excessive heat is removed through the skin and our breath. The normal core body temperature is generally defined as 98.6 ºF (37ºC). The body temperature does fluctuate between men and women, time of the day, environmental exposure, clothing, and many other factors. Fever, an elevation in core body...