Dr. Michael Koren joins Kevin Geddings to discuss the current state of COVID vaccines and research. The cardiologist weighs the real risks and benefits of COVID vaccines, focusing on who may need protection the most and who might be able to skip this year's booster. Dr. Koren also talks about the new prescription mandate for COVID vaccines, and how joining a clinical trial may help some people clear that burden more easily.
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to the MedEvidence! radio
show, hosted by Kevin Geddings of WSOS St. Augustine Radio and powered by ENCORE research group.
Each Monday Morning Dr. Michael Koren calls in to bring you the latest medical updates and insightful discussions. MedEvidence! is where we help you navigate thereal truth behind medical
research.
Both the clinical and researchperspective.
(00:21):
So set back, relax, and getready to learn about the truth
behind the data, medicine andhealthcare.
This is MedEvidence!
Kevin Geddings (00:31):
Dr. Michael Koren joining me live on the
studio line.
He is a medical doctor, acardiologist, research
scientist, and of course runs ashow with ENCORE Research Group.
We wanted to talk a little bitabout the COVID vaccine.
We've just anecdotally hadfolks, you know, the clients at
the radio station who have comedown with COVID over the last
several weeks, off and ondealing with that.
Is COVID still very much alivein our society, right?
Dr. Michael Koren (00:54):
Oh, it's still out there.
There's no question about that.
And some people get really,really sick.
The strain isn't killing peoplethe way it did back in 2020,
but people can still behospitalized or get really ill,
particularly if you're avulnerable population person.
And I know you and I want totalk a little bit more about
that because a lot of themisconceptions around who should
(01:17):
get the booster are related toI the proper identification of
people who are truly at risk.
Kevin Geddings (01:23):
Yeah.
Well, we've had uh confusingmessages, right?
Obviously, uh, if you'resomebody who's dealing with
heart issues or other sort ofchronic health conditions, you
really should get a COVIDbooster, right, Doctor?
Dr. Michael Koren (01:34):
Absolutely.
Everything in medicine, Kevin,is a risk-benefit ratio.
Taking an aspirin is arisk-benefit ratio.
Drinking water is arisk-benefit ratio.
I I've seen people have gottentoxic from drinking too much
water thinking it's helpingthem.
So everything that we take intoour bodies has a risk-benefit
ratio, and the COVID-19 boosteris no different.
(01:57):
So for folks who are at highrisk, older people, say over the
age of 55, people who havepre-existing conditions such as
diabetes or heart failure orCOPD, those folks should
certainly get a booster.
And people who are at low riskmaybe don't need one.
So if you're a healthy18-year-old person, even if the
CDC suggests that it's a goodidea, I would say maybe not.
(02:19):
You're probably not going toreally get any major benefit
because if you get sick fromCOVID-19, you probably won't be
too sick.
There'll be a relatively mildillness.
You'll recover from if you wereyou will recover after a few
days and move on with your life.
But yeah, again, some18-year-olds get some chronic
COVID issues and they have tomake that decision with their
physicians.
But on average, that personwill do fine without the
(02:42):
booster.
And this is unfortunately notwhere the public debate has
gone.
It's either it's all good orit's all bad.
But in fact, there's a nuancehere, a very important nuance.
So if you're at high risk, youshould get the booster, or if
you have a high transmissionrisk to somebody who is
vulnerable, you should probablyget the booster.
So you know if you're a25-year-old healthy person, but
(03:03):
you're taking care of an80-year-old chronically ill
grandparent, well, the boostermay be a good idea for you.
Kevin Geddings (03:09):
Right.
I guess flipping it on its heada little bit, say you're 35,
38-year-old and you get theCOVID booster.
What's worst case?
I mean, what why the addedlevel of, you know, let's face
it, uh, additional hurdles togetting a COVID vaccine that
seems to be put in place by somegovernment officials.
I mean, is there really a risk,a downside risk?
Dr. Michael Koren (03:28):
Yeah, and and that's a great question.
So there is a very smalllikelihood of getting a
complication.
The most serious complicationthat people talk about is
getting inflammation of yourheart.
It happens very infrequently,about one in forty thousand, but
it does happen.
So this gets into the whole,again, risk-benefit uh
(03:49):
discussion.
If you're young and healthy andnot going to get that much
benefit, do you want to take aone in forty thousand risk of
developing cardiac inflammation?
So that that's an example whythe the CDC is now officially
recommending a prescription.
This is actually all coming, ofcourse, from the the uh the
(04:10):
Department of Health and HumanServices, HHS, and these other
government uh governmentorganizations such as the FDA
and the CDC report to HHS.
So this is coming from uh RFKJr.
and the team there that thenoversees CDC and FDA, which has
(04:30):
other leadership that may notagree with the edicts of Robert
F.
Kennedy Jr., but of coursethat's the way the government
works.
So currently, if you want toget a COVID-19 booster, you need
a prescription, a doctor'sprescription, which leads to
where research fits in.
Kevin Geddings (04:48):
Yep.
Yeah, and there's greatopportunities there for you to
participate and leading edge,you know, clinical research and
I guess benefit from a COVIDbooster, but be a part of a
research project where yourhealth is going to be constantly
monitored, right?
Dr. Michael Koren (05:02):
Absolutely.
So we're doing vaccine studiesas we speak.
Not all sites are doingCOVID-19 vaccine, but we're
working in the flu and other inother areas where vaccines are
very, very effective.
But what we can do for ourpatients is we can give you a
prescription for things thatwe're not addressing directly.
(05:23):
So, for example, if you're in aflu study, there will be a rule
in the study that the COVID-19vaccine for that particular year
will be at a different datethan when you actually get your
flu vaccine.
So our our doctors are morethan happy to give you that
vaccine prescription forCOVID-19 so that it's
coordinated with your fluvaccine or your RSV vaccine or
(05:46):
whatever the case may be.
So this is an example of we'rehelping you deal with a hurdle
in the healthcare system andalso coordinating your care.
And Dr.
(06:29):
Koren, for information about,you know, COVID and all sorts of
other health issues, we've gota great resource for them,
right, at MedEvidence.com.
Absolutely.
MedEvidence is a wonderfulobjective resource where people
glean insights by watching twodoctors speak to each other.
Two knowledgeable people willactually talk about all sides of
(06:49):
the issue.
Of course, we have a veryfamous interview on Med
Evidence! with Dr.
Tony Fauci, who's actually hislast public podcast or interview
before he got his get out ofjail free card from Joe Biden.
So a lot of people find thatparticularly interesting where
uh Dr.
Fauci and I talk about thingsthat went right and things that
went wrong with the wholepreparation for COVID and the
(07:11):
response to COVID.
So I think people find thatinteresting.
But we also have just verypractical things.
So people can understand how todeal with migraine headaches or
how to deal with certain uhtypes of acne, or whatever the
case may be.
It's it's pretty diverse theareas that we touch.
(07:32):
But people find it to be arefreshing way of getting
information without bias.
We're just out there tellingyou what we know, what we don't
know, and how we think about thestuff that we don't know.
Kevin Geddings (07:42):
That's right.
Well, once again, it's a greatresource.
Go to medevidence.com.
That's medevidence.com.
Dr.
Michael Koren, thank you foryour time this morning, and
we'll talk with you again onMonday, okay?
Dr. Michael Koren (07:53):
Always a pleasure.
Have a great week.
Announcer (07:55):
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