Public Health On Call

If bats are immune to the novel coronavirus, can we learn something to help fight the virus in humans? How can I tell if my cough is spring allergies or COVID-19? Is it too soon for businesses like barber shops and salons to reopen? Can the virus crawl or be blown by the wind into your nose? Why are some people asymptomatic? Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security addresses questions submitted to publichealthquestion@jhu.edu

Most schools closed suddenly and have had to scramble to stand up online learning or other solutions to continue instruction in the midst of the pandemic. Further complicating the response is the fact that no one knows how long this will last. Dr. Annette Anderson of the Johns Hopkins School of Education talks to Stephanie Desmon about the Digital Divide, how schools are trying to prevent a "COVID slide,"—the fear that learning can be lost over long breaks. They also discuss the burden on parents, and how some districts are stepping up to address disruptions to vital services like food and mental health support for students and their families. Learn more: jhsph.edu/covid-19

Much of our world was suddenly postponed, canceled, or shuttered in the last month or so. There's now an opportunity to be more thoughtful about reopening. There are risks either way: wait too long and there are consequences for health, safety, and the economy. Open too soon, and viral transmission may ramp up and out of control. Dr. Caitlin Rivers of the Center for Health Security is coauthor of a recent report geared towards governors considering how to reopen non-essential businesses. She talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the basic principles behind deciding when to reopen bars, gyms, salons, and other nonessential businesses. Learn more: jhsph.edu/covid-19

The challenges presented by the pandemic are giving rise to a pipeline of research proposals focused on COVID-19. Julie Messersmith and Denis Wirtz are leading Johns Hopkins University's multidisciplinary research projects to develop better detection and protection tools and treatments for COVID-19 patients. They talk to Stephanie Desmon about how engineers, public health specialists, and medical doctors are teaming up to develop better testing and treatment solutions on incredibly fast-tracked timelines. Learn more: jhsph.edu/covid-19

Colleges and universities are already starting to think about what it would take to reopen for the fall semester. But bringing back students, faculty, and staff—and welcoming the class of 2024—will require a complete rethinking of campus life. Dr. Preeti Malani, chief health officer of the University of Michigan, talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how she's considering the health and safety of 50,000 students plus faculty and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more: jhsph.edu/covid-19

Drawn from a webcast series "The Politics and Policy of COVID-19," a product of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation SNF Agora Institute. This episode focuses on the comparitive responses of different countries and political systems to the pandemic. Featuring Anne Applebaum, SNF Agora Senior fellow; Ho-fung Hung, professor and chair of the department of Sociology at Johns Hopkins; and Dr. Josh Sharfstein; and moderated by Hahrie Han, director of SNF Agora Institute.

Does the virus cause male sterility? Are false negatives a problem with COVID tests? Is there a connection between how much virus you're exposed to and how serious the illness is? Should people on immunosuppressive drugs stop taking them? Does the virus "reactivate?" Can people really become immune? Why are there so many more cases in the northern hemisphere? Why will a COVID-19 vaccine take so long when we come up with a new flu vaccine every year? Tom Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, answers a grab bag of listener questions. Learn more: jhsph.edu/covid-19

Bare shelves in grocery stores feed pandemic anxiety but Roni Neff, an expert on food systems and public health at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, says this is not the biggest concern. Neff talks to Stephanie Desmon about how our robust food industry depends largely upon keeping its workers safe and well, how a pandemic completely shifts the model of emergency food access, and what's being done to address these unique challenges to ensure everyone is fed. Learn more about CLF's COVID-19 response: https://clf.jhsph.edu/projects/clf-and-food-systems-response-covid-19 (This episode was recorded on March 30, 2020)

Contact tracing is a core tool of public health. Now, it could be a way to reopen the world. Crystal Watson of the Center for Health Security is the lead author of a recent report with a national plan to scale up our capability to conduct contact tracing. Watson talks to Stephanie Desmon about what contact tracing entails, how technology could help, how to approach privacy concerns, and why the plan could help employ thousands of people with some basic training. Learn more: jhsph.edu/covid-19

Poor health care, lacking infrastructure, and generational poverty combine to make Native Americans especially vulnerable to COVID-19. With previous infectious respiratory illnesses like H1N1, mortality rates were sometimes four to five times higher than US averages among tribal communities. Allison Barlow, director of the Center for American Indian Health, talks to Stephanie Desmon about COVID-19's particular threats to Native Americans, what's being done to help mount a "culturally informed" response, and how the virus is "revealing the cracks in our systems." Learn more: jhsph.edu/covid-19