COVID-19 vaccinations are underway, a crucial step in the evolving effort to curb the spread and lethality of the global pandemic.
SIU Medicine wants our patients and the public to have confidence in the process. We encourage questions about your concerns and how to best protect against the virus. Sharing information will help the community stay safer and better informed.
Some patients may bristle at the suggestion of a doctor’s visit through a video screen, but not Sergio “Satch” Pecori. When his SIU Medicine cardiologist, Dr. Abhishek Kulkarni, suggested a televisit to review test results from a recent procedure, there was no hesitation.
Hand washing and hand hygiene have become big news since the COVID-19 pandemic—and with good reason! It’s been known since the mid-1800s that hand washing is important for preventing the spread of germs and reducing the rates of infection from communicable diseases. But it may surprise you to know that medical professionals in the United States didn't have any formal hand hygiene guidelines until the 1980s!
As the Holidays approach, our thoughts are of celebration, friends and family, and the usual question of what to serve? We carefully choose our gathering site, festive decor and mouthwatering menu; but this year, it is all a little less comfortable, a little less traditional.
A year ago few would have predicted we'd be spending the 2020 holiday season deep in the midst of a pandemic, yet here we are. Fortunately, this doesn't mean we can't find ways to enjoy the holidays with our loved ones.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a stressful time for us all—and especially for anyone who has seen or will see a loved one fall ill. And while most people who contract COVID-19 experience only mild symptoms (if any), the condition can become more serious for some individuals. To promote a speedy recovery and ensure your loved one gets additional medical care as soon as necessary, it's important to offer supportive care while you both self-quarantine at home.
Finding out you have COVID-19 can be an unsettling experience that can add to fear, confusion, and anxiety to physical symptoms. To make things more challenging, the required period of quarantine can add feelings of stress, social isolation, and loneliness. Individuals may worry about whether they unknowingly exposed other people to the virus, or simply feel stigmatized after testing positive.
