dr.ricky online

July 2025
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  • A conversation with vaccine hesitancy

    A conversation with vaccine hesitancy

    Excerpted. 

    [VaccineHesitantFriend]: I completely understand that. We are lucky to be here in the US. And I’m doing my part by not getting the vaccine, so those other countries can have it. Sorry I don’t put anything into my body without fully understanding it, and not going to start now. That’s my personal choice, not a privilege. 

    [me] I’ll be glad to help you understand the vaccines. Please feel free to post questions and I’ll do the underlying research. You may have a legitimate concern that we have missed and I’ll be glad to learn something from it. Scientists from the American Society for Virology have volunteered their time to have online town halls to help explain vaccination. 

    [VHF]: I really appreciate that. And a question I ask a lot of people is why can’t we put all this effort into curing cancer? Or getting rid of child slavery? Just seems interesting to me that all these scientist and government officials group together to cure a disease that other scientists created. Would really love to hear your answer on this. The only answer I ever get is… there’s just too much money being made. 

    [Me] Important distinction: a cure deals with people with a disease, and a vaccine is about preventing the disease in the first place. There’s no evidence that COVID19 was engineered or created by scientists – the genetic sequence of the virus available to the public (as is most of the publications), and we can check for tell tale marks of engineering. They aren’t there. But proving a negative is rather difficult, so as more evidence arises, we can follow up. The mRNA vaccines are actually partly developed to prevent cancer, and it just turns out that COVID-19 is the first wide application of the technology. More applications will come in the future. Note that this attached review is from 2018 – the mRNA vaccines have been in development for a while – https://www.nature.com/articles/nrd.2017.243

    [VHF] Well this is where I part ways from the discussion. It was absolutely made in a lab. And your boy Fauci is a big fat liar. Thanks for the info and the responses. 

    There’s more to say about the question of money and the profit motive, but the issue was never really about vaccination, or the nature of the technology. Once a narrative is threatened, the conversation was shut down.

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  • Podcast: Blindspot

    Podcast: Blindspot

    The Tulsa race massacre was 100 years ago. A podcast explores that story. Blindspot: Tulsa Burning. 

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  • The march of technology

    Apple has come a long way in the area of digital photography. Way in the past, I had a chance to use their first foray into an all digital camera, the Apple QuickTake 200. We marveled at a future that wouldn’t need film, and instant gratification on the images. Little did we know how far we would come. Above is a comparison of with a recent photograph from an iPhone 12 mini – the inset is a photograph taken with the QuickTake. Obviously, the amount of data taken by the iPhone is massively more than the original, but also, the latter is so small, it’s just a component of a phone, the whole of which is smaller than the original QuickTake camera itself — and does so much more. But the digital age also lets us keep archives to do personal digital archeology. 

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  • On feeling safe

    On feeling safe

    On feeling safe

    Recently, I saw an advertisement for a beach volleyball tournament in Texas, a state that is at the moment undergoing a major COVID-19 outbreak. The advertisement made specific mention about keeping participants safe, so I inquired about what specific measures were being taken. The reply I received included the mention that players sign a waiver ostensibly absolving the tournament sponsor from liability — a measure that I noted is the exact opposite of assuring player safety. Paraphrasing the response: “If you don’t feel safe, you don’t have to participate.”

    This has become a standard answer to a lot of activities that are potential infection points – the idea that people need to feel safe. Safety (more accurately, risk) can be objectively measured and quantitated. Feeling safe is a subjective perception that can affect judgment. That answer appealing to the feeling of safety means that the author does not consider the pandemic more than a subjective concern – a figment of imagination.

    The COVID-19 death rate in Texas has doubled: in the last week, on average the virus has killed more than a hundred people every day. The responsible thing to do as proprietors is not just to appeal to a feeling of safety but to actually engage in practices that limit infection. Those are not difficult: air circulation, distancing, frequent hand washing, and masking, and a culture that take them seriously. Community practice is what makes them effective. Then you wouldn’t need the safety net of the waiver.

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  • The blue finger of democracy

    Blue finger of democracy

    In 2005, when elections were restored to Iraq, voters marked their participation by dipping their index finger in blue ink. Texas forbade the use of mail-in ballots for elections beyond a certain set of strictures, so most are forced to vote in person at a time when COVID–19 cases are increasing at an alarming rate in the state. Poll workers heroically dressed in PPE to allow citizens to practice their fundamental right to vote. Physical contact is limited, and each voter is provided a finger condom, and an alcohol wipe to sterilize surfaces. At the very least, one only needs one finger to interact with the voting machine (I’ll note that the machine isn’t easy to reach from a wheelchair).

    Election Day is July 14, 2020 but to avoid the potential crowds spreading the virus, early voting is advisable. Early voting should be accessible from just about any of the precincts. Go vote.

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  • COVID-19 Tests

    COVID-19 Tests

    Coronavirus in Texas
    Snapshot from Texas Tribune tracking of coronavirus testing in Texas.

    Before May 14, 2020, Texas reporting of coronavirus test mixed results from two different kinds of tests: the PCR tests and the antibody tests. The PCR test looks for the presence of the genetic material of SARS-COV-2, it answers the question: “Is the patient infected and contagious?”

    The other kind, the antibody test, looks for the presence of early antibodies in the blood. It answers the question, “Has the patient been infected in the past?” At this time, we do not know if the presence of antibodies confers immunity to the virus. 

    Mixing the two results is highly problematic. It can make it appear that there are fewer infectious individuals, since antibody tests tend to come up negative more, and that inflates the denominator. Part of the reason why Gov Abbott proceeded with Phase 2 in reopening Texas activities is be attributed the increasing rate of detected infections to an increased number tests happening. However, that is not the case – much of this increase is due to mixing of the antibody tests. The rate of PCR tests is almost flat, but the rate of new infected cases continue to rise. 

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  • Thelytoky in the honeybee

    Thelytoky in the honeybee

    A Single Gene Causes Thelytokous Parthenogenesis, the Defining Feature of the Cape Honeybee Apis mellifera capensis, by Yagound et al, 2020

    • That means virgin birth.
    • A single gene controls the switch from sexual to asexual modes of reproduction
    • The scientists used an impressive combination of classical backcrossing and genomic data to pinpoint the gene, and build of model of how virgin birth can happen.
    • And it’s in bees.
    • Just cool science.
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  • Remdesivir Hopes

    Remdesivir Hopes

    • Remdesivir is an experimental antiviral drug made by the company Gilead. Designed to act against the RNA driven RNA polymerase enzyme in RNA viruses, it was initially tested on Ebola.
    • Since coronaviruses are also RNA viruses, Remdesivir is expected to work on them, too.
    • Published in The Lancet: Clinical trial of remdesivir in adults with severe COVID-19
      • Randomized, double-blinded
        • 237 patients
      • Placebo controlled
      • Multi-center
        • 10 hospitals in China
      • Bottom line
        • Any improvement was not statistically significant
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  • Podcast suggestion: Invisible Women

    Podcast suggestion: Invisible Women

    99% Invisible is always a thoughtprovoking podcast on how design affects the world around us – but this episode is particularly important. We take design for granted, and only notice when it doesn’t work explicitly. But in all the subtle ways, design decisions are a product of the culture the designers live in.

     

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  • Podcast suggestion: Tell Me I’m Fat

    Podcast suggestion: Tell Me I’m Fat

    An episode of This American Life called Tell Me I’m Fat.

    It’s riveting and self reflecting of the subtle biases we take for granted, just by judging people’s appearances. It can ruin lives. Please have a listen.

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