Public Health On Call

The pandemic has revealed major deficits in public health infrastructure and a lack of prioritization of prevention efforts: only 3% of all health dollars are spent on prevention. Dr. Ellen J. MacKenzie, dean of the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Dr. Shelley Hearne, director of the School's Center for Public Health Advocacy, talk with guest host Dr. Colleen Barry about how disinvestment in public health has left a system that is at times unable to respond effectively to today's crises. They discuss what's broken and what needs to be fixed – both to better respond to current challenges and to prepare for the future.

New York City's contact tracing program, officially launched on June 1, is one of the largest in the nation. Dr. Jay Varma, the mayor's senior adviser for public health, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the trained workforce of 4,000 people that is now reaching more than 90% of new cases in the city. The program also helps provide services like dog walking and grocery delivery so that people can isolate safely at home. As COVID cases start to climb again in New York, contact tracing and robust testing remain critical aspects of the city's public health response that can help delay or avoid shutdowns. KEYWORDS: pandemic response; policy

In the first of a periodic series on racism and health, Dr. Keshia Pollack Porter, vice dean for faculty and professor in Health Policy and Management, talks with Taylor Porter, a principal at Gamble Montessori High School in Cincinnati with a unique approach to learning that prioritizes the health and well-being of the whole child. Porter talks about COVID-19's impacts on students and families and how the school has responded. Porter also talks about "pandemic #2" of racial injustice and how he has spearheaded efforts to train staff while letting youths lead the conversation. KEYWORDS: student life; health equity; racial disparity

In this episode, Dr. Josh Sharfstein talks with Hopkins researchers who break down three new COVID-19 research papers: Dr. Andrew Redd talks about COVID-19 vaccines and whether they will work in older adults; Dr. Sheree Schwartz talks the about the implications of COVID-19 for pregnancy; and Dr. Denali Boon discusses a preprint paper about the potential use of rapid COVID tests. All three Hopkins faculty are part of the novel coronavirus research consortium, with many summaries of new studies available at http://ncrc.jhsph.edu KEYWORDS: testing methods; vaccine authorization; immune response

The pandemic has elevated many of the risk factors of suicide, including loneliness, grief, economic distress, and a record number of people requesting new access to firearms which are involved in 50% of suicides. Hopkins suicide prevention expert Dr. Holly Wilcox talks with Stephanie Desmon about these risks, what the data are showing so far, and potential solutions. They also discuss the particular risk of youth suicide and interventions. KEYWORDS: community mental health; policy; violence prevention

COVID-19 mortality rates are falling and better treatments are one of the main reasons why. Dr. Arturo Casadevall returns to the podcast to talk with Stephanie Desmon about where we are with different treatments and their successes, ongoing clinical trials, why some treatments are harder than others to produce, and whether we'll continue to see investments in treatments when a vaccine is available. KEYWORDS: COVID-19 therapy; vaccine authorization; immune response

How can we deal with election stress and uncertainty? How should we think about hard decisions like traveling for the holidays? How can we balance the health and safety risks of visiting with friends and family with concerns about mental health and loneliness if we stay home? What can we do to prepare for an overlap of COVID fatigue and seasonal affective disorder? How do we know if we're just feeling down or if it's something more serious? Clinical psychologist Dr. Laura Murray returns to the podcast to answer your mental health questions. KEYWORDS: stress management; child health

As part of our election series, guest host Dr. Colleen Barry talks with Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence about what's at stake for gun policy in this election. They also talk about how 2020 is shaping up to be a grim year for homicides and gun violence, the rise of gun sales and suicides, which gun policies garner majority support and which are more contentious, and how the pandemic's focus on public health prevention methods could impact future gun policy. KEYWORDS: firearms; violence prevention; state government

As part of our election series, Stephanie Desmon talks with Dr. Gerry Anderson, an expert in health policy at Johns Hopkins. They discuss what the election could mean for the coverage of preexisting conditions, Medicaid expansion, and drug pricing. They also talk about a Supreme Court hearing in November that may determine the future of the Affordable Care Act, the similarities and differences between the candidates' views of the ACA, and a fact check on whether insulin really is as cheap as water. KEYWORDS: chronic disease; state government; health equity

As part of our election series, Stephanie Desmon talks with Dr. Tom Burke, the EPA's science advisor during the Obama administration. They discuss this critical moment after huge reversals of environmental gains in the US, how the reputation of science has affected critical policy decisions, and what's at stake for everything from the quality of drinking water to the dangers of forest fires and hurricanes if regulation continues to be relaxed. They also talk about who is impacted the most from climate change regulation in the US and how rollbacks of regulations have made some communities even more susceptible to the harms of COVID-19. KEYWORDS: renewable energy; natural disaster; health equity