Public Health On Call

As part of a pre-election series, Stephanie Desmon talks with Dr. Paul Spiegel, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, and Katherine Narvaez, a Hopkins student and researcher and DACA recipient from Guatemala. They talk about Narvaez's experience as a "Dreamer" and what's at stake for her and other families who are at risk of separation and deportation. They also discuss the current administration's policies and erosion of pathways to citizenship, how migrants and refugees contribute to the US's economy, and how COVID-19 opened the door for much stricter immigration policies. KEYWORDS: migration; policy; misinformation

What do we know about reinfection? Can adults get the rare inflammatory syndrome that was infecting some children? If guidelines say "close contact" is being within six feet of someone for 15 minutes, is it OK to be close to someone for less time? If someone quarantines for 14 days with no symptoms, do they need a test to be "clear"? If my child is sent home from school after possibly being exposed, do I have to quarantine too? Can waxing your nose hair put you at risk of COVID-19? Dr. Amesh Adalja and Dr. Josh Sharfstein answer more of your COVID-19 questions sent to publichealthquestion@jhu.edu KEYWORDS: antibodies; child health; testing methods

With the possibility of a spike in COVID-19 cases this fall and winter, doctors, nurses, and medical staff may be coming in feeling already depleted from an uncontrolled pandemic. Guest host Dan Gorenstein of the Tradeoffs podcast talks with Dr. Albert Wu, co-director of RISE—Resilience in Stressful Events—which provides emotional support to health system staff. Gorenstein and Wu talk about why health care workers may have low reserves right now, how COVID may be changing perceived stigma around mental health support for frontline workers and what institutions can do to ensure the well-being and resilience of all staff. KEYWORDS: burnout; stress management

Today's episode is audio from a webcast recorded on October 15 with Dr. Anthony Fauci and Bloomberg School dean Dr. Ellen MacKenzie as part of the inaugural Johns Hopkins Health Policy Forum. They discuss Fauci's background with the HIV/AIDS epidemic and parallels to COVID-19, the state of the U.S. coronavirus response, and how implementing better controls doesn't necessarily mean brutal lockdowns. Fauci also talks about how we as individuals have an obligation to protect ourselves as well as others to get the pandemic under control.

Early on, Israel surfaced as a pandemic success story when strict lockdowns kept case counts low. The country returned to something close to normal, reopening businesses and schools and resuming gatherings and activities. But the optimism was short-lived, and Israel had to go into a second lockdown when COVID-19 started spreading uncontrolled across the country. Dana Schleifer, director of the impact team in Tel Aviv working on complex city challenges, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the second lockdown and what may happen next. KEYWORDS: pandemic response; policy; contact tracing

This fall, Cornell University invited all students back to campus. Out of roughly 28,000 people on campus including students, faculty and staff, the school has seen only 100 positive tests. Provost Dr. Michael Kotlikoff talks with Stephanie Desmon about Cornell's success which includes robust testing in an on-site lab, contact tracing, and a strategy called "adaptive testing" where tracers work to identify how people who test positive may have been exposed and then test those people and their contacts to break potential transmission chains before they start. KEYWORDS: student life; college; testing methods

This week, senior White House officials embraced the Great Barrington Declaration, a statement funded by a libertarian think tank that calls for an end to most COVID-19 response measures. In this two-part bonus episode, Dr. Josh Sharfstein talks with epidemiologists Dr. David Dowdy and Dr. Amber D'Souza about the harm this strategy would cause. Part two is an excerpt from Sharfstein's conversation with immunologist Dr. Gigi Gronvall, who crunches the numbers and looks at key players behind the declaration.

Why is it so important for African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, and other members of racial and ethnic minority groups to participate in COVID-19 vaccine trials? Why is recruitment difficult? How can long standing mistrust of the medical community be mended? What needs to happen to battle myths and inconsistencies that undermine participation? Dr. Lisa Cooper, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity, returns to the podcast with Dr. Josh Sharfstein to answer these and more questions about diversity in COVID-19 vaccines clinical trials. KEYWORDS: vaccine authorization; racial disparity; misinformation

Halloween is approaching, followed by Thanksgiving and the winter holidays. What should parents and families be thinking about? Elizabeth Stuart and Keri Althoff return to the podcast to talk with Stephanie Desmon about how COVID-19 will impact the holidays and may move life indoors as the weather cools off. They discuss how to make celebrations special, how to think about travel and hosting, and how to plan for the unexpected. KEYWORDS: social distancing; child health

In the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, safety and speed are critical for developing an effective vaccine which means finding lots of volunteers for clinical trials. Georgia Lewis signed up for the Pfizer clinical trial and has received two doses of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine. Lewis, a pediatric nurse practitioner, talks with Stephanie Desmon about why she volunteered, her experience with this and another clinical trial she participated in, and why her involvement is helping her communicate about the efficacy and safety of vaccines to her patients and their parents. KEYWORDS: vaccine authorization; vaccine trial; herd immunity