Public Health On Call

Although COVID-19 does not appear to infect children at the same rate as adults, there are significant indirect impacts on kids from the pandemic. Baltimore pediatrician Dr. Megan Tschudy talks with Stephanie Desmon about the "profound disruption" of the pandemic and its impacts on vaccinations, regular check-ups, and other aspects of children's physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos spends 12-16 hour days attending to COVID-19 patients in the ICU at Johns Hopkins Hospital. When he's not at the hospital, he's on duty in the community working with faith based organizations, schools, and housing units to help leaders protect their community members from getting sick. Galiatsatos talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about these dual roles of being on both the last and first lines of defense—caring for patients in the ICU and helping to prevent them from getting there in the first place.

How can I convince my family and friends to follow social distancing guidelines? How can I stay informed without becoming overwhelmed? How can I help family members if I can't be near them? What does resilience look like in this new normal? On this week's Q&A, Laura Murray, a clinical psychologist and senior scientist at the Bloomberg School of Public Health addresses listener's mental health questions with Stephanie Desmon. Note: This podcast is also available as a video at youtube.com/johnshopkinssph

The global health community has worked for years to lower rates of maternal and child mortality in low- and middle-income countries. But while the world focuses on the number of deaths from COVID-19, estimates of indirect mortality due to disruptions in health systems cannot be ignored. Tim Roberton, an assistant scientist in International Health, talks with guest host Sara Bennett, a professor in International Health, about a paper he co-authored that estimates there could be a 45% increase in child mortality and a 38% increase in maternal mortality in severe scenarios where care is disrupted due to COVID-19. One way to head off these numbers is to categorize care by prioritizing only emergency care that cannot be delivered in any other way.

Dr. Arturo Casadevall—head of the convalescent plasma research project at Johns Hopkins—talks through the WHO's recent statement that there's no evidence of COVID-19 infection leading to short- or long-term immunity. Casadevall and Dr. Josh Sharfstein also discuss how COVID-19 is not like HIV or pneumonia, and what we currently know about new strains of the novel coronavirus.

The intensive care unit can be stressful for all patients but those with COVID-19 face unique challenges when it comes to mental and cognitive health. Clinical psychologist Dr. Megan Hosey of the Johns Hopkins Hospital ICU talks with Stephanie Desmon about ICU delirium, COVID-19 stigma, and what longer term prognosis could look like for patients inside and after the ICU.

Schools are scrambling to figure out education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Matt Hornbeck, principal of the top-rated Hampstead Hill Academy—a Pre-k-8 public school in southeast Baltimore city—says instruction is only part of the challenge: technology gaps, trying to reach vulnerable students, and the trauma of a sudden separation from friends and teachers are unprecedented issues to address. Hornbeck talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how Hampstead Hill is trying to take care of its school community, and how they're preparing for the next period of uncertainty.

Homelessness is already a public health emergency in the US. COVID-19 now adds to the unique challenges facing individuals without homes. So how are the homeless and their caregivers responding? Kevin Lindamood and Dr. Adrienne Trustman of Baltimore's Health Care for the Homeless, and Barbara DiPietro of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about homelessness amid a pandemic.

What makes this virus different from hundreds of other similar viruses? What happens if parents don't take their children for routine immunizations? Does prone body positioning help ICU patients? Does coronavirus spread best in wet or dry environments? What are randomized control trials and why is everyone talking about them? Is it possible to give someone a tattoo from six feet away? Lauren Sauer, director of Operations with the Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR) and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine, addresses questions submitted to publichealthquestion@jhu.edu

In March, Johns Hopkins Hospital began making its own COVID-19 tests. The lab now has the capacity to run 600 tests per day, but is limited by shortages in the supply of reagents: the chemicals needed to process the tests. Dr. Karen Carroll, director of the Division of Medical Microbiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about what it takes to develop a working COVID-19 test, why labs across the US are struggling with shortages, and what needs to happen to fix access to testing.