Op-eds

The New Science of Aging Can Predict Your Future Op-Ed

The New Science of Aging Can Predict Your Future

The dream of reversing aging has captivated humans for centuries, and today science is closer than ever before to achieving that goal. Which is to…

Eric TopolApril 21, 2025

The Robot Doctor Will See You Now Op-Ed

The Robot Doctor Will See You Now

The rapid rise in artificial intelligence has created intense discussions in many industries over what kind of role these tools can and should play —…

Eric TopolFebruary 2, 2025

The U.S. is facing the biggest COVID wave since Omicron. Why are we still playing make-believe? Op-Ed

The U.S. is facing the biggest COVID wave since Omicron. Why are we still playing make-believe?

The pandemic is far from over, as evidenced by the rapid rise to global dominance of the JN.1 variant of SARS-CoV-2. This variant is a derivative…

Eric TopolJanuary 4, 2024

Doctors, Get Ready for Your AI Assistants Op-Ed

Doctors, Get Ready for Your AI Assistants

In 2023, radiologists in hospitals around the world will increasingly use medical images—which include x-rays and CT, MRI, and PET scans—that have been first read and…

Eric TopolJanuary 28, 2023

The coronavirus is speaking. It’s saying it’s not done with us. Op-Ed

The coronavirus is speaking. It’s saying it’s not done with us.

There’s no sugar-coating it: The world has let its guard down on covid-19. And the virus’s latest dominant form, XBB.1.5, makes clear that we’re doing…

Eric TopolJanuary 8, 2023

No, Mr. President, the pandemic isn’t over HomepageOp-Ed

No, Mr. President, the pandemic isn’t over

On “60 Minutes” on Sunday, President Biden declared “the pandemic is over.” Well into our third year of battling COVID-19, we all wish that were…

Eric TopolSeptember 19, 2022

We’re starting to understand long COVID. Next we can fight it Op-Ed

We’re starting to understand long COVID. Next we can fight it

We’ve been chasing the coronavirus since the pandemic began with vaccines and drugs, never getting ahead of it. In fact, well into its third year,…

Eric TopolAugust 21, 2022

‘Living with Covid’ should be countered by containing the virus once and for all HomepageOp-Ed

‘Living with Covid’ should be countered by containing the virus once and for all

Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidelines for the Covid pandemic, heralding “a new strategy pivots from wide approach to a…

Eric TopolAugust 15, 2022

Operation Nasal Vaccine—Lightning speed to counter COVID-19 HomepageOp-Ed

Operation Nasal Vaccine—Lightning speed to counter COVID-19

Just 10 months after the initial genome sequencing of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, two mRNA vaccines were demonstrated to provide…

Eric TopolJuly 21, 2022

New COVID variants like BA.5 are dominating us — we can do more to prevent this HomepageOp-Ed

New COVID variants like BA.5 are dominating us — we can do more to prevent this

It takes a lot for a COVID-19 variant to become dominant throughout most of the world. It has happened only three previous times (Alpha, Delta,…

Eric TopolJuly 12, 2022

We need a definitive exit from our Covid-19 pandemic. Here’s the roadmap HomepageOp-Ed

We need a definitive exit from our Covid-19 pandemic. Here’s the roadmap

As the virus accelerates its evolution, the humans capitulate. For two and a half years, Covid-19 has been outrunning our response, getting more and more…

Eric TopolMay 16, 2022

COVID vaccines need to be evolving much faster HomepageOp-Ed

COVID vaccines need to be evolving much faster

The virus that brought us COVID-19 is now going through accelerated evolution. Our vaccines must do the same. The Omicron wave was by far the…

Eric TopolMay 4, 2022

Once again, America is in denial about signs of a fresh Covid wave HomepageOp-Ed

Once again, America is in denial about signs of a fresh Covid wave

When it comes to Covid, the United States specializes in denialism. Deny the human-to-human transmission of the virus when China’s first cases were publicized in…

Eric TopolMarch 16, 2022

What do we know about Covid’s impact on the brain? HomepageOp-Ed

What do we know about Covid’s impact on the brain?

One of the most important studies in the pandemic – studying the potential impact of Covid on the brain – was just published. The major findings…

Eric TopolMarch 9, 2022

The pandemic isn’t over. Omicron won’t be the last coronavirus variant to haunt us. HomepageOp-Ed

The pandemic isn’t over. Omicron won’t be the last coronavirus variant to haunt us.

American COVID-19 pandemic with fewer than 12,000 new cases a day and a total of 15,000 patients in the hospital. There was a declaration of independence from the…

Eric TopolFebruary 21, 2022

Why one-shot after a Covid-19 infection should suffice to be considered fully-vaxxe. HomepageOp-Ed

Why one-shot after a Covid-19 infection should suffice to be considered fully-vaxxe.

The term ‘fully vaccinated’ needs to be redefined. It’s time for the United States and the CDC to see natural immunity as a partial path…

Eric TopolFebruary 20, 2022

It’s not too late Op-Ed

It’s not too late

As the Biden administration took office last January, with the pandemic peaking at more than 130,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States, there were high…

Eric TopolJanuary 18, 2022

Pandemic fatigue has Americans glossing over Omicron. But we can’t give up. HomepageOp-Ed

Pandemic fatigue has Americans glossing over Omicron. But we can’t give up.

The holidays should be a time for getting together with friends and family, but instead we have a double dose of coronavirus strains — Delta…

Eric TopolDecember 16, 2021

We can prevail over Omicron. We just need to use the tools we have. HomepageOp-Ed

We can prevail over Omicron. We just need to use the tools we have.

Masks, vaccines, boosters, rapid tests and anti-Covid pills will all be essential in the months ahead. ast week, we learned from virus sequencing and rapid…

Eric TopolDecember 1, 2021

Covid cases are surging in Europe. America is in denial about what lies in store for it HomepageOp-Ed

Covid cases are surging in Europe. America is in denial about what lies in store for it

The US thinks it will be ‘immune’ to what is happening in Europe. That’s wishful thinking. It’s deja vu, yet again. The pandemic first hit…

Eric TopolNovember 12, 2021