Public Health On Call

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850 - The History of Birthright Citizenship in the U.S. Feb 12, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

In 1868, the 14th Amendment established birthright citizenship in the United States. In this episode: a look at the court cases, historical events, and people that shaped one of the Constitution's human rights provisions.

Guest:

Martha Jones is a writer, historian and legal scholar, and a professor of history at the SNF Agora Institute.

Host:

Dr. Josh Sharfstein is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a faculty member in health policy, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department.

Show links and related content:

Dred Scott v. Sandford—National Archives
Opinion of the Maryland Court of Appeals, Hughes v. Jackson (1858)—National Constitution Center
United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898)—National Constitution Center
The Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution

Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.

849 - Marion Nestle and Food Politics Feb 10, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

Research has linked America's food system with a host of health problems including obesity and heart disease. Advocate Marion Nestle, a food lover and food advocate, wants to change that. In this episode: how she got interested in the food system, the link between food marketing and diet, her excitement around GLP-1 drugs, and what she'll be watching if RFK Jr. is confirmed as the head of HHS.

Guest:

Marion Nestle is a molecular biologist and public health nutritionist known for her advocacy around a better food system for better health in America.

Host:

Show links and related content:

The Effects of Food Advertisements on Food Intake and Neural Activity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Recent Experimental Studies—Advances in Nutrition
Food Marketing and Labeling—Johns Hopkins Center For a Livable Future
First randomized, controlled study finds ultraprocessed diet leads to weight gain—NIH Clinical Center
GLP-1 drug use cuts grocery spending by 6%, study finds—Fooddive

Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.

848 - Vaccines 101: The Vaccines For Children Program Feb 07, 2025

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About this episode:

Today, in another episode in a series of podcasts exploring vaccine basics from the molecular level to global policy and everything in between: The Vaccines For Children Program is a CDC program that provides recommended vaccines without charge to about half of the nation's children. In this episode: the program's origins in a terrifying measles outbreak, how the program works, and what the evidence shows about its success.

Guest:

Claire Hannan is the executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers, a nonprofit organization that helps state public health agencies operate immunization programs.

Host:

Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Show links and related content:

The Vaccines For Children Program—CDC Website
The $8 Billion Children's Vaccine Fund Kennedy Would Oversee—The New York Times

Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.

847 - Vaccines 101: The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Feb 06, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

Today, in another episode in a series of podcasts exploring vaccine basics from the molecular level to global policy and everything in between: how compensation for most vaccine-related injuries works in the U.S. Serious vaccine injuries are rare, but when they do happen, people can bring their claims to a special court. In today's episode, Judge Gary Golkiewicz, a "special master" of the United States Court of Federal Claims, talks about how the program works, how often it's utilized, and what's needed to help the program improve.

Guest:

Gary Golkiewicz is a litigator and the former Chief Special Master for the United States Court of Federal Claims.

Host:

Show links and related content:

Vaccines 101: The Basics of Vaccines and Vaccination—Public Health On Call (January, 2025)
Vaccines 101: Vaccine Safety Science—Public Health On Call (January, 2025)
The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program—Health Resources & Services Administration
Vaccine Injury Table (pdf)—Health Resources & Services Administration
Vaccine Claims/Office of Special Masters—United States Court of Federal Claims

Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.

846 - Vaccines 101: Vaccine Safety Science Feb 05, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

Today, in the next episode in a series of podcasts exploring vaccine basics: the science of vaccine safety. In this episode, a look at what's unique about vaccine safety compared to the safety of other medical products, and how experts tell the difference between an adverse effect that is "causal" and one that is "coincidental."

Guest:

Dan Salmon is the director of the Johns Hopkins Institute For Vaccine Safety.

Host:

Show links and related content:

Vaccines 101: The Basics of Vaccines and Vaccination—Public Health On Call (January, 2025)
What VAERS Is (And Isn't)—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Let's Talk Shots—The Institute for Vaccine Safety

Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.

845 - Tuberculosis in the U.S. Feb 04, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

A tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas City is one of the largest in recent history. Risk to the general public remains low, but the outbreak itself could be a signal of a seriously strained public health system. In today's episode: an overview of tuberculosis including how it spreads and who is most at risk, and what the Kansas City outbreak means for public health. Also: How the U.S.'s departure from the WHO could impact the fight against the world's leading infectious disease killer.

Guest:

Dr. David Dowdy is an infectious disease epidemiologist, a tuberculosis researcher, and the executive vice dean for academic affairs at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Host:

Show links and related content:

Major tuberculosis outbreak hits Kansas City—Reuters
The Promise of TB Vaccines—International Vaccine Access Center
Why Tuberculosis, An Ancient Disease, Remains a Public Health Threat—Public Health On Call (December, 2023)

Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.

844 - The Changing CDC Website Feb 03, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

On Friday, January 31, a number of important datasets and pages housed on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website became inaccessible. In this episode: Dr. Nirav Shah, a member of the advisory committee to the director of the CDC and co-chair of the advisory committee's data and surveillance workgroup talks about the critical work of the CDC and the value of its data sets, and the questions being asked about what's going on. Note: Dr. Josh Sharfstein, producer and regular podcast host, is also a member of the advisory committee and a co-signer of the letter mentioned in this episode. As always, these podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

Guest:

Dr. Nirav R. Shah is a senior scholar at Stanford University's Clinical Excellence Research Center. He serves as a member of the advisory committee for the Director of the CDC and co-chair of the advisory committee's data and surveillance workgroup.

Host:

Show links and related content:

Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.

843 - The Native Biodata Consortium: Data Sovereignty For Good Jan 30, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

Since the mapping of the human genome in 2003, scientists have sought data from Indigenous and isolated populations. But often that research doesn't translate into better health care for the groups whose biological specimens informed it. In this episode: all about the Native Biodata Consortium, a research organization that collects, stores, and shares data from indigenous environments and communities.

Guest:

Joseph Yracheta, Pūrepecha, is a biomedical researcher and the executive director of the Native Biodata Consortium.

Host:

Show links and related content:

Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx)—The National Institutes of Health
Native Americans Graves Protection and Repatriation Act—National Park Service
Tribal Data Repository—Data for Indigenous Innovations, Interventions and Implementations

Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.

842 - Polio and the Polio Vaccine Jan 29, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

Thanks to vaccines, most people under a certain age have no memory of the devastation and terror caused by the poliovirus. Although widely eliminated, polio still poses a threat in certain countries around the world. Waning vaccination rates in pockets of the U.S. mean some communities are at risk of a resurgence. In this episode: a look back at polio before vaccines, and how technology has evolved—including a discussion about a previous version of the vaccine that did, in rare instances, actually cause paralytic polio.

Guest:

Dr. Bill Moss is the executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Host:

Show links and related content:

How Lagging Vaccination Could Lead to a Polio Resurgence—The New York Times
The Polio Outbreak and What Needs to be Done to Eradicate the Virus Globally—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.

841 - The U.S. & The World Health Organization Jan 28, 2025

Show notes

About this episode:

President Trump's executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the WHO could have lasting implications on the health and wellbeing of the world, and on the American people. In today's episode, the essential roles that the WHO plays both for the U.S. and around the globe, America's imperfect relationship with the institution, and the potential consequences of a U.S. exit.

Guest:

Dr. Judd Walson is an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist, and the chair of the department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Host:

Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, the largest center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Show links and related content:

Reflecting on the US Withdrawal from the World Health Organization—Infection Control Today
What Leaving the WHO Means For the U.S. and the World—Time Magazine

Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.

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