Public Health On Call

Latest Episodes:

231 - COVID-19 and Low-Income, Undocumented Latino Immigrants Jan 12, 2021

Show notes

The Latino immigrant community has been hard hit by COVID—in Baltimore, there are sustained positivity rates of up to 30%. Dr. Kathleen Page, medical director of the Johns Hopkins The Access Partnership, talks with Stephanie Desmon about how undocumented and low-income immigrants are caught in a "perfect storm" with conditions for lots of transmission and few ways to seek help. They also talk about how unchecked transmission anywhere means the pandemic will continue to rage, and the culture of fear that will make it harder to provide vaccines to immigrants.

KEYWORDS: health equity; racial disparity; vaccine hesitancy

230 - COVID-19 Vaccines and the Opportunity to Build Trust Between Health Care Institutions and the Black Community Jan 11, 2021

Show notes

Helping members of the Black community get the information they need in order to trust COVID-19 vaccines is a daunting task. But it's also an opportunity to invest in the health and wellbeing of Black people. Rev. Dr. Terris King, pastor of Liberty Grace Church of God in Baltimore and former Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services minority health director, and Hopkins immunization policy expert Lois Privor-Dumm, talk with Stephanie Desmon about the opportunities the pandemic has brought forth to build bridges between health institutions and the Black community.

KEYWORDS: health equity; racial disparity; health communication

229 COVID-19 Vaccines Q&A: The Two-Dose Strategy, Speeding up Rollouts, and Very Normal Side Effects Jan 08, 2021

Show notes

With a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines, is it a good idea to give people just one dose now and a second dose later when there is more available? How can the process of rolling out vaccines be sped up? What do we know about potential side effects? Which vaccine should I get? Immunologist Dr. Gigi Gronvall from the Center for Health Security talks with Stephanie Desmon to answer these questions and more about COVID-19 vaccines.

KEYWORDS: vaccine hesitancy; herd immunity

228 - Health Commissioner Dr. Monica Bharel on Massachusetts' Unique Approach to COVID-19 Vaccine Rollouts Jan 07, 2021

Show notes

States are rolling out COVID-19 vaccines to "high risk groups" but there's a lot of nuance in how "high risk" is defined. Dr. Monica Bharel, health commissioner of Massachusetts, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the state's unique approach, which includes prioritizing communities impacted by institutional racism and those with disproportionately high numbers of COVID infections. Dr. Bharel also talks about what the state is doing to go beyond just making the vaccine available to support high uptake of vaccination among people who can benefit the most.

KEYWORDS: health equity; racial disparity; health communication

227 Psychological Distress Among Latinos During COVID-19 Jan 06, 2021

Show notes

COVID-19 is having dangerous impacts on mental health in the US with more than 14% of all adults meeting the criteria for serious psychological distress. These numbers are even higher among Latinos with more than 19% of adults experiencing distress. Dr. Margarita Alegria, chief of the Disparities Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Hopkins mental health and policy researcher Dr. Beth McGinty talk with guest host Dr. Colleen Barry about mental health and wellbeing nine months into the pandemic, the factors behind high rates of distress among Latinos, and policies that could make a difference in the months ahead.

KEYWORDS: community mental health; health equity; racial disparity

226 - COVID-19 in Assisted Living Facilities and the Special Challenges with Alzheimer's Disease Jan 05, 2021

Show notes

Assisted living facilities are small, congregate settings that make infection control measures harder to implement. These facilities also care for a large proportion of residents with Alzheimer's disease—a challenge for enforcing guidance like mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing. Dr. Morgan Katz, a Hopkins geriatrician and infectious disease specialist, and Shanna Dell, lead infection control adviser on the outbreak team of the Baltimore City Health Department talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about these challenges and about a new, free course available on Coursera developed to help assisted living facilities to keep their residents safe.

KEYWORDS: mental health; pandemic response; geriatric health

225 - The Challenges With Communicating COVID-19 Prevention Measures Jan 04, 2021

Show notes

Communicating evidence-based COVID-19 prevention measures like mask-wearing and hand washing has been a challenge. What's further complicated buy-in are public health officials and politicians creating policies that are not backed in science like closing parks in Spain or banning the sale of open-toed shoes in South Africa. Science journalist Roxanne Khamsi talks with Stephanie Desmon about the harm of imposing policies that aren't evidence-based. They also discuss the consequences of trying to communicate about a virus with devastating effects that are largely invisible from the public eye.

KEYWORDS: health communication; policy

BONUS: Backstage at Public Health On Call Dec 18, 2020

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What goes into Public Health On Call? Had you ever hosted a podcast before? Who would you most want to interview? Have there been any "oops" moments?

Public Health On Call, which has been downloaded more than 3 million times since March, receives a lot of questions from our dedicated listeners. For this special bonus episode—and our last of 2020—producer Lindsay Smith Rogers asks co-hosts Josh Sharfstein and Stephanie Desmon questions from our curious listeners.

224 - COVID-19 Q&A featuring Drs. Josh Sharfstein and Caitlin Rivers Dec 18, 2020

Show notes

Why do COVID-19 vaccines require two doses? Will I still have to wear a mask and social distance once I get the vaccine? If my friends and I had COVID, can we get together for the holidays? Are people who wear a face covering with their nose exposed at higher risk of getting COVID?

Dr. Josh Sharfstein and Dr. Caitlin Rivers answered frequently asked questions about COVID-19 and vaccines sent to publichealthquestion@jhu.edu.

KEYWORDS: vaccine trial; vaccine authorization; immune response

223 Dr. Michael Osterholm on Rising Cases, Vaccine Rollouts, and Getting Through What is Both "The Best and Worst of Times" in the COVID-19 Pandemic Dec 17, 2020

Show notes

While there's light at the end of the tunnel with the first COVID vaccines being administered to US health care workers, the next few months will be difficult in terms of sickness and loss of life. Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert and part of President-Elect Biden's COVID-19 Advisory Board, talks with Stephanie Desmon about the critical place we're in now, the sacrifices necessary for this "COVID Christmas," and ways to safely get as many people as possible to a time with widespread vaccination and low community transmission of COVID-19.

KEYWORDS: vaccine authorization; health communication; vaccine hesitancy

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