Dr. Roger Seheult

COVID-19 — it has been a hot topic for over 18 months now. Most of us have found ourselves affected by the unexpected appearance of this life-threatening virus that has gripped the world. Even after these 18 months, many of us are still struggling to get our lives back on track, and with the constant rise of new variants, the end is far from sight.

The most effective way to deal with the current situation is to learn to live with it. But with so much fake news hitting social media and other channels, it has become increasingly hard to trust these sources. The problem of having “too much information” is a new threat that we are all faced with.

This is why I thought there would be no better time to invite Dr. Roger Seheult to The School of Greatness again. With this episode, I strive to provide a safe place for you all to be aware of how viruses work and spread. Having a few basic facts in place can go a long way in helping you take the necessary steps to prevent COVID from affecting you and those around you more than it already has.

Dr. Roger Seheult is quadruple board-certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care Medicine, and Sleep Medicine through the American Board of Internal Medicine. He was also featured in Forbes magazine for his series of YouTube videos on Coronavirus. In this episode, we will talk about the COVID-19 vaccine, the virus variants, the benefits of a healthy diet, the connection between our mind and body, and much more.

In Part 1 of my discussion with Dr. Roger Seheult, we discussed our diet’s importance in our overall well-being. A good diet can prevent disease and reduce inflammation, and it is something that has become even more essential since the onset of the pandemic — so don’t forget to check it out here. 

Who Is Dr. Roger Seheult?

Dr. Roger Seheult is an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine. He is also an Assistant Clinical Professor at the School of Allied Health Professions, Linda Loma University.

He started teaching in his college days at the University of California, Riverside, where he was a tutor in physics and chemistry, and where he graduated with great distinction with majors in chemistry and biology. Dr. Roger further sharpened his skills teaching the MCAT, DAT, and USMLE for Kaplan Test Prep. He then graduated from Loma Linda University in 2000. He completed a residency in internal medicine, a chief residency at the Riverside County Regional Medical Center, and a pulmonary and critical care fellowship from Loma Linda University.

Dr. Roger is also the co-founder of MedCram, which also has a channel on YouTube that is just shy of 1 million subscribers! Through this medical education company, his mission is to demystify medical concepts for people throughout the world.

Dr. Roger is also a former Director for Intensive Care Services at San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital. Currently, he is a critical care physician, pulmonologist, and sleep physician at Beaver Medical Group in Banning, California. He frequently lectures around the country at conferences and for medical, PA, and RT societies.

I hope that Dr. Roger Seheult’s vast experience, wisdom, and knowledge will help you and your loved ones cope with the ongoing pandemic. One of the most effective ways of dealing with the pandemic, which currently also is our light at the end of the tunnel, is the vaccine, so let’s begin by understanding Dr. Roger’s take on it.

Taking a Vaccine vs. Not Taking a Vaccine: Make Up Your Mind

Dr. Roger started with listing the pros of the vaccines first; as a critical care doctor he has seen the worst of the worst, and he’s passionate about helping our society fight the disease. The virus has indeed ripped families apart, and Dr. Roger has been at the front of witnessing it.

“The problem [of the virus] is its exponential growth, … and there’s very little we can do about it. One of the pro points of a vaccine is that it could potentially reduce the spread [of the virus] and prevent you from getting to that exponential growth. … [With the Delta variant on the rise], even people with vaccines are more likely to contract the virus than before. However, it’s still less likely [than for unvaccinated people] — … that’s another case for getting the vaccine. The vaccine also helps in [preventing one from] getting an infection, … and protects you from getting long COVID, … where the symptoms last for more than 12 weeks.” – Dr. Roger Seheult

That being said, I also wanted to know Dr. Roger’s perspective on not taking a vaccine. I asked him to defend not getting a vaccine and understand if that is actually an option.

“The strongest argument for not getting a vaccine is that we don’t know its long-term effects. There’s a lot of talk about something called the ‘antibody-dependent enhancement,’ which is basically when you have something in your body that makes antibodies to it, but instead of the antibody neutralizing it, which is what they should be doing, the antibodies somehow bind to it and allow it to get inside the cell better. There’s some data to suggest that, in vitro, in a test tube with a Delta variant, there may be antibodies that could do that, but we haven’t seen that in real life.” – Dr. Roger Seheult

Dr. Roger also spoke about evidence suggesting that the Johnson & Johnson vaccines cause thrombosis, a blood clot, in one in a million cases. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have also been shown to cause myocarditis, which is an inflammation in the heart muscles, but again, this too had a chance of happening to one in a million people. The arguments against getting the vaccines are strong, but when the virus is in an exponential growth phase and the hospital beds are flooded, then the vaccine is still the best option.