Dr. Baxter's Blog

What is Ivermectin? Before Ivermectin was used as proof of idiocy or as an excuse not to vaccinate, we in pediatric emergency used it often. For pinworms. Or roundworms. It’s even been marketed as a single dose treatment for lice, hooray! But the rapid adoption for uses other than intended – and by this I mean a cultural flag to wave, not medical – reveals three conceptual errors in modern medicine. The biggest error comes from institutions misrepresenting science. The biggest error comes from institutions misrepresenting science. The CDC and WHO understandably demand complete certainty of facts before science goes up on their websites. When there is time to convene expert panels, and when iterative slight changes are made, this is fine. But that’s not science. Science can always change, constantly iterates, and sometimes flips on a dime. (Peanut Bambas snacks for allergy prevention, anyone?) By only allowing monolithic TRUTH on their websites, these institutions instilled a lack of respect for nuance and nimbleness. In contrast, the NIH has been majestic at synopsizing currently known COVID treatment possibilities. Hopefully, other institutions can learn. At the onset of SARS-CoV-2, many smart people pointed out that repurposing drugs was way cheaper than

Cases are low right now, but what should we expect going forward? About 50% of eligible adults are vaccinated. Last winter, we found that 48 degrees is the temperature at which COVID survives the air, so we have time until the weather gets that cold. In schools, only the people with organ transplants are not responding well to the vaccine, all other teachers can get vaccinated. And testing of vaccines on younger kids is showing 100% effectiveness. What else is going to happen in the fall? Vaccines are showing to be effective against the variants. The way mRNA vaccines work, they are going to be able to latch on and identify any variations in the spike protein on the coronavirus. What should we be doing now? Transmissibility changes drastically depending on the season. Right now we should start to increase ventilation in our spaces. We need to get aggressive about using UV light in ventilation. Replace old units so that air is circulating correctly. Currently, we only have half our population vaccinated. We need to figure out what’s going to happen going forward when vaccines are no longer subsidized. We need to figure out our game plan for boosters. Now

Data on needle fear has been available for some time and experts like Dr. Baxter have been speaking about it but there’s been no response from policymakers. Dr. Baxter makes the case for why needle fear needs to be taken more seriously. Vaccines for kids 12+ are starting soon, and mandates are coming down, but needle pain is absent in the approaches. We went to a pharmacy to support vaccinations by addressing needle fear. We talked about FDA approval, differences in mRNA vaccines, and the science behind vaccinations. But we also brought chairs and tools like Buzzy to help make the process easier. There were 10 people that came because they wanted a handling of needle fear and pain. Only one person came asking about the science. The 10 who had their fears addressed got vaccinated, and the one had the science explained was not. Elsewhere in the world, addressing needle fear is a regular part of healthcare. Here in the US it is stigmatized with shame. We know that addressing needle fear works and that addressing vaccine skepticism is far less effective. It is more efficient to decrease some fear, or minimize some of the people who don’t come