We are excited to announce the availability of COVID-19 testing in the office. It is a combined influenza A & B and COVID 19 PCR test. This is the test that is currently the most accurate test available and required by the health department to return to school. The test takes ~20-30 minutes so we
Mrs Lewis and I voted today. The first time we have done it prior to the actual election day. Growing up in the 60s and 70s, I have experienced some pretty tumultuous times in my life, but the current state of our country may surpass those decades. Just look at the news, COVID-19 (it is
In the words of my favorite baseball catcher, Yogi Berra, “it’s deja vu all over again.” Well, maybe not quite but if you track COVID statistics, we are seeing a mild uptick in the number of cases in Monroe County. We still hold the distinction of being a county with the second lowest incidence of
We are a month into the school year and we seem to be doing “okay.” We are seeing a rise in new cases in NY, but most are downstate. Monroe County and the surrounding areas continue to have less than a 1% incidence of positive cases. However, we are seeing a large number of children
For many, it is the first week of school. Your child may have attended 1 or more days, they may have experienced their first “virtual” day or may be attending 100% virtually. Some have opted to pursue a formal home school program. Whatever the environment, it has been about 6 months since our schools have
In keeping with the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations to get your flu vaccine before the end of October, we announce our Flu Before Boo Campaign. We have received our first shipment of influenza vaccine and given the obstacles of trying to immunize our patients efficiently, we have started offering influenza vaccine now. (much like
I need your help! The Department of Health and Human Services has just approved an amendment that will allow pharmacists to administer routine vaccines to children 3-18 years. This misguided move is one more way that affects pediatricians’ abilities to best care for our patients. Please contact your congressional representative and our senators Schumer and
With the return to school more certain now, the importance of properly wearing face masks becomes a very important topic. As is true with almost everything about COVID-19, there is a huge amount of “disinformation” out there, even some coming from apparently “reputable” sources. Here is a link to a column by fellow pediatrician, Dr.
The Governor reported new “lows” of hospitalizations, intubations and deaths from COVID-19 today. This is great news since everyone anticipated an increase after “reopening” across NY state. We need to pat ourselves on our backs for accomplishing this. But, we also need to continue to be cautious as we look towards the return to school.
Over the past few weeks, I have received a number of requests for COVID-19 testing for return to college, for patients who have been exposed at outings and are without symptoms, and for a number of other reasons. I have tried to accommodate these requests in the office. However, it turns out that there is
