Shahar Madjar, MD
In the last several weeks I have been grappling with a curious question. Why are some people willing to drive hundreds of miles to get vaccinated against Covid-19 while others are adamantly opposed to it? I believe that I have come closer to an answer.
In my mind, this dichotomy of attitudes about the vaccine is rooted in three factors: Truth, Trust and Tribe.
The first factor is truth. The question is ‘What is true and what isn’t?’ Some would claim that the truth is a matter of opinion, of a world-view, and that each of us is entitled to their own opinion, and to their own truth. I may see the truth in one way, and you may see it differently. But for most practical questions, and more specifically for all medical questions, the truth is singular. Think about the following question: Is Covid-19 just as bad as a seasonal flu, or is it more easily transmittable, and more deadly? Or consider another question: are vaccines against Covid-19 safe and effective?
Shahar Madjar, MD
My brother’s second wife, Hannah, was of Moroccan descent. She and my brother, Israel, lived only eight miles away from our home. Their apartment was small and always under construction. Israel, an electrician by profession, completed the electrical wiring within the first year. He then decided to paint the apartment. A big mistake. He divided the walls into many sections, and painted each in a different color. Window frames, doorways, chairs, desks, kitchen cabinets, bed frames, and headboards–he painted each of them in a different color. He cared deeply about straight, perfect lines. Even a small paint smear would send him starting all over again. Hannah lived in a world of brushes and paint buckets. Her home was as colorful as a nightmarish rainbow.
Shahar Madjar, MD
I have told you about the association between erectile dysfunction and coronary artery disease. Erectile dysfunction is the inability to attain or maintain an erection sufficient for sexual performance. And coronary artery disease is the buildup of plaques in the arteries supplying blood to the heart–a process that can lead to chest pain, heart attacks, even sudden death. These conditions share the same risk factors, and are believed to be caused, in most cases, by plaque buildup and narrowing of blood vessels–arteries that supply the penis in the case of erectile dysfunction, and arteries that supply the heart in heart disease. But erectile dysfunction appears earlier than the symptoms of coronary artery disease, making it a suitable warning sign for heart disease–a canary in the coal mine.
Shahar Madjar, MD
A week before Christmas, a 59-year-old housewife lost the tip of her middle finger. The finger belonged to her left, dominant hand. The accident happened while she was posting a Christmas card through a neighbor’s mailbox. The mailbox had a spring-loaded flap that snapped down on the finger as she pushed the envelope through the opening. She instinctively, quickly withdrew her trapped digit. The sharp edge of the mailbox acted as a blade and the finger-tip was amputated. She underwent surgery and was discharged home in time to celebrate Christmas. This incident happened in Nottingham, England, where a mailbox is referred to as ‘letterbox.’ It was later described in the British Journal of Plastic Surgery as the ‘Guillotine Letter Box.’