During the past year, many thousands of articles and commentaries have been published on almost every imaginable aspect of the SARS-Cov-2 virus and the COVID-19 pandemic it has caused. They have appeared online, in journals, on preprint servers, in newspapers, and on Facebook and Twitter, to say nothing of local electronic bulletin boards. TV news programs continue to feature prominently the latest developments and statistics.

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A just-announced policy change from the newly reinvigorated CDC specifies that persons who may have been exposed to COVID-19 no longer need to quarantine if they've been fully vaccinated within the previous 90 days. (People who aren't vaccinated are still supposed to quarantine for 14 days after they have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19.) The new policy states:

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Over the weekend, the FDA issued an emergency-use authorization for Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine, clearing the path to market for the third coronavirus vaccine. The FDA had previously approved the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid vaccines in record time—mere weeks after their makers submitted results of the clinical studies demonstrating safety and efficacy. When the FDA wants to, it can get desperately needed products expeditiously to those who need them.

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We've all had that one doctor we really didn't like, the one who didn't listen, was brusque, and gave you what turned out to be bad advice, right? You know, the one whose bedside manner was somewhere between Don Rickles and Bill Maher. Well, there's a dirty little secret that most doctors hide: They're people, too. They have that cringe-worthy patient whose name on the schedule ruins their day, the one whose presence requires a deep, calming breath before entering the exam room, the one for whom you tell your assistant to come get you if you don't come up for air in 20 minutes, the one who makes the staff cry.

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Texas grapefruit trees are encased in ice after a winter storm hammered the state with record cold.
(Photo by Dale Murden)

Texas is known for things like violent hurricanes and torrid heat waves, but some parts of the state experienced snow, ice, and sub-zero temperatures this week. Some cities broke century-old records. The cold snap, which according to the U.S. National Weather Service, was caused by an "Arctic outbreak" that originated just above the U.S.-Canada border, and lasted for several days.

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