Public Health On Call

Latest Episodes:

281 - The Importance of Genomic Surveillance for COVID-19 Mar 24, 2021

Show notes

Staying on top of the COVID-19 pandemic means understanding the infectiousness, lethality, and spread of variants of SARS-CoV-2. Dr. Jonathan Quick, managing director for pandemic preparedness and prevention at the Rockefeller Foundation, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about a new report with a vision for tracking variants across the United States and the world.

KEYWORDS: viral mutation; testing methods

280 - An Update on Incarcerated People, COVID-19 and Vaccines, and New Insights About Pregnant Inmates Mar 23, 2021

Show notes

Many of the largest clusters of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are in prisons, jails, and detention centers—places that have not been prioritized for vaccine rollouts. New data also shows that there are thousands of people who are pregnant being admitted to these facilities each year. Dr. Chris Beyrer returns to the podcast to give an update on COVID and prisons, and Dr. Carolyn Sufrin talks about the needs of pregnant people behind bars and how this is further complicated because pregnancy is a risk factor for more severe disease from COVID-19.

KEYWORDS: vaccine distribution; decarceration; maternal health

279 - Why Europe's AstraZeneca Situation is Reassuring—COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Update with Dan Salmon Mar 22, 2021

Show notes

Last week, parts of Europe suspended the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine after a few vaccinated individuals reported dangerous blood clots. Johns Hopkins vaccine safety expert Dan Salmon talks with Stephanie Desmon about the situation and why it's reassuring in terms of vaccine safety monitoring, and how these are questions that "can and will be answered by science." Note: This conversation was recorded on March 17. Since then, the European Medicines Agency has concluded that the vaccine's benefits outweigh the risks.

KEYWORDS: vaccine authorization; vaccine trial; vaccine hesitancy

278 - COVID-19 Research Update: Obesity and COVID-19 Mar 19, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, Dr. Josh Sharfstein talks with Hopkins researchers who break down three research papers looking at the relationship between obesity and COVID-19. Lauren Peetluk, a graduate student from Vanderbilt University, talks about a study published early in the pandemic looking at obesity and mortality from COVID-19. Dr. Sabina Haberlen talks about a CDC paper on the relationship between BMI and COVID-19 severity and death. Dr. Nikolas Wada talks about a paper that teases out the relationship between obesity and COVID from other possible factors like diabetes and coronary artery disease. All three researchers are part of the Hopkins novel coronavirus research consortium, with many summaries of new studies available at http://ncrc.jhsph.edu.

KEYWORDS: vaccine distribution; comorbidities

277 - COVID-19 and POTS—Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Mar 18, 2021

Show notes

POTS is a chronic syndrome marked by high blood pressure and dizziness that can be debilitating. It's often diagnosed after patients recover from viruses like strep or mono, and now doctors are seeing patients develop POTS-like symptoms after infection with COVID-19. Dr. Christina Kokorelis and patient Vanessa McMains talk with Stephanie Desmon about POTS and the long-term prognosis for patients suffering from symptoms long after recovering from COVID.

KEYWORDS: chronic disease; long-term symptoms; post-viral syndrome

276 - A COVID-19 Update from a North Dakota Hospital Mar 17, 2021

Show notes

Last fall, the state of North Dakota had the highest COVID-19 rate per capita in the world and Sanford Medical Center in Fargo was nearly overwhelmed with COVID patients from as far away as Montana. Dr. Doug Griffin, Sanford Health vice president and medical officer, talks with Stephanie Desmon about how the hospital got through that crisis and what things are like today, his fears of another surge, and the hope that a robust vaccination plan will keep COVID-19 cases in check.

KEYWORDS: pandemic response; policy; health infrastructure

275 - How a Former Twisted Sister Roadie Is Getting Thousands of People Vaccinated Every Day Mar 16, 2021

Show notes

Baltimore County's mass vaccination sites—called "PODs," which stands for Point of Dispensing—can serve up to 500 patients an hour. The logistics of moving so many people safely through a space are complicated, but Terry Sapp, the public health emergency coordinator for Baltimore County, is drawing on his years of experience setting up venues for the heavy metal rock band Twisted Sister. Sapp talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about crowd control and the human psychology behind successful PODs and, yes, the jokes he hears—"As far as COVID vaccines, we're going to take it...and we want you to take it too."

KEYWORDS: vaccine distribution; pandemic response

274 How the Pandemic Could Help Fix Health Care Post-COVID-19 Mar 15, 2021

Show notes

While COVID-19 showed all the ways the health care and public health systems in the US are broken, the pandemic has also led to innovative problem solving and fixes for the future. Health economist Dr. Melinda Buntin talks with Stephanie Desmon about what went wrong, what went right, what changes she hopes will stay, and what comes next for health care and public health.

KEYWORDS: telemedicine; health infrastructure

273 - "This Is Our Shot": A Digital Campaign to End the Pandemic, One Vaccine At a Time Mar 12, 2021

Show notes

Physicians play a crucial role in educating patients, who have lots of questions about COVID-19 vaccines. Drs. Jay Bhatt and Hussein Lalani are part of a digital campaign called This Is Our Shot that aims to drive out misinformation and elevate personal stories from physicians about getting COVID-19 vaccines. They talk with Stephanie Desmon about their work and how it's "drawing on the very best of humanity" to end the pandemic. You can learn more at www.thisisourshot.info.

KEYWORDS: health communication; vaccine hesitancy; health equity

272 - Understanding the CDC's New COVID-19 Guidance for Vaccinated People Mar 11, 2021

Show notes

This week, the CDC released new guidance for vaccinated people who can resume some lower-risk activities. Dr. Tara Kirk Sell from the Center for Health Security talks with Stephanie Desmon about the impacts of "relaxing the rules," how this might help vaccine uptake, what we might expect next in terms of "Phase 2" guidance, and how we can all help those who are still awaiting their shot(s).

KEYWORDS: vaccine hesitancy; policy; pandemic response

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