Coronavirus (COVID-19) Q&A

Genetic variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are emerging but so far do not seem to have caused breakthrough infections in people with previous infection or in those who have been vaccinated. John P. Moore, PhD, of Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York, joins JAMA's Q&A series for an update on the latest variants and what you need to know. Recorded March 4, 2021. Related Article: Approaches for Optimal Use of Different COVID-19 Vaccines

Interview with Christopher J.L. Murray, MD, DPhil, author of The Potential Future of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Will SARS-CoV-2 Become a Recurrent Seasonal Infection? Related Article(s): The Potential Future of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Nancy E. Messonnier, MD is director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and leads the CDC's efforts on COVID-19 vaccination. She joins JAMA's Q&A series to discuss the agency's response to emerging coronavirus variants, the FDA advisory hearings on the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and other agency activities and priorities related to COVID-19 control. Recorded February 26, 2021. Related Content: Genetic Variants of SARS-CoV-2—What Do They Mean? Coronavirus Vaccine Update From the CDC With Nancy E. Messonnier, MD SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines and the Growing Threat of Viral Variants Experts Discuss COVID-19—Vaccine Doses, Virus Variants, and More Emergence of a Novel SARS-CoV-2 Variant in Southern California SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern in the United States Pregnant People Getting Mixed Messages About COVID-19 Vaccines The Johnson & Johnson Vaccine for COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 Viral Variants—Tackling a Moving Target Vaccine Distribution—Equity Left Behind? Taking Vaccine to Where the Virus Is—Equity and Effectiveness in Coronavirus Vaccinations?

Interview with James C. Robinson, PhD, author of Funding of Pharmaceutical Innovation During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are the first of many being tested for widespread use. Buddy Creech, MD, MPH, director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, reviews these and other vaccines likely to become available, including products that use inactivated, protein subunit, and viral vector immunization strategies. Related Article(s): SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines

The CDC coordinated a massive effort to immunize nearly all nursing home and long-term care facility residents in the US against COVID-19 infection in the month after vaccine approval. Ruth Link-Gelles, PhD, MPH, CDC staff epidemiologist and Lieutenant Commander of the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, describes how. Related Article(s): First-Dose COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Skilled Nursing Facility Residents and Staff Nursing Homes' Next Test—Vaccinating Workers Against COVID-19

Researchers Investigate What COVID-19 Does to the Heart; "Important Conversations" Are Needed to Explain the Nocebo Effect; Therapists Donate Their Time to Counsel Distressed Health Care Workers Related Article: Researchers Investigate What COVID-19 Does to the Heart "Important Conversations" Are Needed to Explain the Nocebo Effect Therapists Donate Their Time to Counsel Distressed Health Care Workers

CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, returns to JAMA's Q&A series to discuss the agency's response to emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, implications for the planned vaccine mobilization strategy, the upcoming Johnson & Johnson vaccine FDA advisory hearings, strategies for reopening K-12 schools, and other agency activities and priorities related to COVID-19 control. Recorded February 17, 2021. Related Article(s): Coronavirus Update With CDC Director Rochelle Walensky - February 17, 2021 SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern in the United States—Challenges and Opportunities SARS-CoV-2 Viral Variants—Tackling a Moving Target

Paul A. Offit, MD, of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia returns to JAMA's Q&A series to provide an update on the emergence of COVID-19 variants and their implications for vaccine development, including the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, scheduled for a US Food and Drug Administration VRBPAC hearing on February 26, 2021. Recorded February 11, 2021. Related Article: SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines and the Growing Threat of Viral Variants

As US vaccine distribution expands to include younger healthier populations, questions about vaccine safety in women of childbearing age have become more urgent. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center's Catherine Y. Spong, MD, and Emory University School of Medicine's Denise J. Jamieson, MD, MPH, both eminent obstetrician/gynecologists, join JAMA's Q&A series to discuss the safety of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in pregnant and nursing mothers, and in individuals trying to get pregnant. Recorded February 8, 2021. Related Articles: Pregnancy, Postpartum Care, and COVID-19 Vaccination in 2021 COVID-19 Vaccination in Pregnant and Lactating Women Involving Pregnant Individuals in Clinical Research on COVID-19 Vaccines

Natural experiments comparing coronavirus spread on ships and in hair salons with vs without face masks point to the importance of wearing masks for curbing SARS-CoV-2 spread. John T. Brooks, MD, chief medical officer of the CDC's COVID-19 response team, reviews recently published epidemiologic data that reinforce the role of mask use for pandemic control. Related Article: Effectiveness of Mask Wearing to Control Community Spread of SARS-CoV-2

Interview with Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, author of Mandating COVID-19 Vaccines

2021 has brought news of emerging SARS-CoV-2 genetic variants that increase transmissibility. Will they diminish vaccine efficacy and lead us to lose pandemic control? University of Michigan's Adam Lauring, MD, PhD, a molecular virologist who uses evolutionary theory to study viral transmission and pathogenesis, joins JAMA's Q&A series to explain the variants and what they mean for public health. Recorded February 4, 2021. Related Article(s): Genetic Variants of SARS-CoV-2—What Do They Mean?

NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, MD, returns to JAMA's Q&A series to discuss Shifts in the US pandemic response under the Biden administration Emerging genetic variants and implications for vaccine efficacy Prospects for new vaccine approvals and more. Related Article: Preventing the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 With Masks and Other "Low-tech" Interventions

Interview with Kristin M. Holland, PhD, MPH, author of Trends in US Emergency Department Visits for Mental Health, Overdose, and Violence Outcomes Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Peter Piot, MD, PhD, director of The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is a legend in global health, having been involved in identification of HIV and Ebola virus in Africa. He was founding executive director of UNAIDS and Under Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1995 to 2008. He joins JAMA's Q&A series to discuss the global public health response to COVID-19 past, present, and future. Recorded January 28, 2021. Related Article(s): The Challenges Ahead With Monoclonal Antibodies

Interview with Donald C. Goff, MD, author of Association of Psychiatric Disorders With Mortality Among Patients With COVID-19

Ethnic and racial minorities have been particularly hard hit with COVID-19 in some communities. Mitchell Katz, MD, president and chief executive officer of New York City Health + Hospitals, and former Los Angeles County health agency director, discusses this problem and what has been learned from COVID-19 that can help resolve the general problem of health care disparities. Related Article: Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Related to COVID-19

Incoming Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, returns to JAMA's Q&A series to discuss her vision and priorities for the agency and changes in its pandemic response strategies, when she takes the reins on January 20. Recorded January 19, 2021. Related Article(s): All-Cause Excess Mortality and COVID-19–Related Mortality Among US Adults Aged 25-44 Years, March-July 2020

To get more vaccine to more people more efficiently, UCSF School of Medicine's Robert M. Wachter, MD, recently urged giving a single dose now and deferring the second dose until more vaccine is available. Paul A. Offit, MD, of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, disagrees. The two discuss the pros and the cons of the plan and alternative responses to road bumps in the US vaccine rollout, on JAMA's live Q&A series. Recorded January 19, 2021. Related Article: Developing a SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine at Warp Speed

Editor in Chief Fred Rivara and Deputy Editor Steve Fihn discuss research published in JAMA Network Open in January 2021 Related Article: Association of Intensive Care Unit Patient Load and Demand With Mortality Rates in US Department of Veterans Affairs Hospitals During the COVID-19 Pandemic SARS-CoV-2 Transmission From People Without COVID-19 Symptoms Intensive Care Unit Strain and Mortality Risk Among Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19—There Is No "Me" in COVID

Mitchell Katz, MD, president and chief executive officer of New York City Health + Hospitals, and former Los Angeles County health agency director, discusses causes, similarities, and differences between the spike of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the 2 cities. Related Article: Modernize Medical Licensing, and Credentialing, Too—Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted scientists to use adaptive research designs to evaluate potential treatments simultaneously and efficiently, increasing the likelihood that patients will receive treatments most likely to be effective for them. Lennie Derde, MD, of University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands and JAMA Associate Editor Christopher W. Seymour, MD, of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center join JAMA's Q&A series to discuss the latest in critical care management of COVID-19 patients and emerging treatment strategies and therapies. Recorded January 13, 2021. Related Article(s): Sensible Medicine-Optimizing the Trade-off Between Learning and Doing in a Pandemic

Arnold S. Monto, MD, chaired the US Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) meetings in December that led to Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. He joins JAMA's Q&A series from the University of Michigan School of Public Health to discuss experience to date with the 2 products and what's next in vaccine development. Recorded January 11, 2021. Related Article(s): Experts Discuss COVID-19: Vaccine Allocation, Placebo Groups, and More

Interview with Samyukta Mullangi, MD, MBA, author of The COVID-19 Pandemic—An Opportune Time to Update Medical Licensing; also with Mitchell H. Katz, MD, chief executive officer of New York City Health and Hospitals and author of Modernize Medical Licensing, and Credentialing, Too—Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic

Aaloke Mody, MD, joins JAMA Network Open Digital Media Editor, Seth Trueger, MD, MPH, to discuss a cross-sectional study that uses Lorenz curves as a metric for quantifying racial inequities in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing. Read the article here: https://ja.ma/2MOMjWG. JNO Live is a weekly broadcast featuring conversations about the latest research being published in JAMA Network Open. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for details on the next broadcast.

Gregory Armstrong, MD, director of the Advanced Molecular Detection Program for the CDC, explains what is currently known about the new mutations of SARS-CoV-2. Related Article(s): Genetic Variants of SARS-CoV-2—What Do They Mean?

Tom Shimabukuro, MD, MPH, MBA, and Sara Mbaeyi, MD, MPH, from the CDC discuss rare allergic complications in patients who received the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine between December 14-23, 2020.

Adam Lauring, MD, PhD, from the University of Michigan Division of Infectious Diseases, an expert on the evolutionary biology of RNA viruses, explains the new genetic variants recently found in SARS-CoV-2 and their importance. Related Article(s): Genetic Variants of SARS-CoV-2—What Do They Mean?

Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz, PhD, MPH, joins JAMA Network Open Digital Media Editor, Seth Trueger, MD, MPH, to discuss a survey study describing individuals' concerns regarding violence in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, experiences of pandemic-related unfair treatment, prevalence of and reasons for firearm acquisition, and changes in firearm storage practices due to the pandemic. Read the article here: https://ja.ma/2X7lC1x. JNO Live is a weekly broadcast featuring conversations about the latest research being published in JAMA Network Open. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for details on the next broadcast.

Communication science expert Brian Southwell, PhD, recently launched a training workshop at the Duke University School of Medicine to address a major clinical problem: What should physicians do when patients are misinformed about their health? It's one of only a few such programs in the nation. Southwell, a scholar with the medical school's Social Science Research Institute and a senior director at the independent, nonprofit research institute RTI International, chatted with JAMA Medical News Associate Managing Editor Jennifer Abbasi about the viral spread of false health information and malicious disinformation campaigns, why we're vulnerable to falling for them, and how time-pressed physicians can deal with all the noise. Related Article(s): COVID-19 Conspiracies and Beyond: How Physicians Can Deal With Patients' Misinformation

Elderly persons and residents of nursing homes have been the hardest hit in the COVID-19 pandemic. Harvard geriatrician Sharon Inouye, MD, discusses the effect COVID-19 has had on nursing homes and what should be done about it. Related Article: Association of Nursing Home Ratings on Health Inspections, Quality of Care, and Nurse Staffing With COVID-19 Cases

Emily A. Largent, JD, PhD, RN, joins JAMA Network Open Digital Media Editor, Seth Trueger, MD, MPH, to discuss a survey study assessing the acceptability of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine mandates among members of the US public. Read the article here: https://ja.ma/3nGKAQP. JNO Live is a weekly broadcast featuring conversations about the latest research being published in JAMA Network Open. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for details on the next broadcast.

With coronavirus vaccines now available, what are the timeline and prospects for "herd immunity" and return to a new normal? Marc Lipsitch, DPhil, of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health returns to JAMA's Q&A series with Paul D. Biddinger, MD, director of Massachusetts General Hospital's Center for Disaster Medicine, to discuss. Recorded December 17, 2020. Related Article: The Ethics of Continuing Placebo in SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Trials

Peter W. Marks, MD, PhD, and Stephen M. Hahn, MD, return to JAMA's Q&A series to discuss the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines: the data, the weekend's EUA designation (Pfizer/BioNTech), and the process for future full licensure and postmarketing safety surveillance. Dr Marks directs the US FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). Dr Hahn is commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration. Recorded December 14, 2020. Related Article(s): Behaviorally Informed Strategies for a National COVID-19 Vaccine Promotion Program

Ala Stanford, MD, founder of Philadelphia's Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, talks with JAMA Medical News Staff Writer Mary Chris Jaklevic about her work to establish COVID-19 testing sites for the city's Black residents. Related Article: Surgeon Fills COVID-19 Testing Gap in Philadelphia's Black Neighborhoods

Anthony S. Fauci, MD, returns to JAMA's Q&A series to discuss the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines: the public data, deliberations at Thursday's FDA Advisory Committee meeting, and prospects for an agency Emergency Use Authorization designation, licensure, and rollout. Recorded December 11, 2020. Related Article(s): Coronavirus Infections—More Than Just the Common Cold

Hannah Wunsch, MD, MSc, joins JAMA Network Open Digital Media Editor, Seth Trueger, MD, MPH, to discuss a cohort study comparing the New York State Ventilator Allocation Guideline with the original triage criteria proposed by White and Lo to determine which and how many admissions to US intensive care units are identified as having the lowest priority for ventilator allocation. Read the article here: https://ja.ma/37k0sTE. Watch the JAMA Coronavirus Q&A with Douglas B. White, MD, MAS from March 27, 2020: https://edhub.ama-assn.org/jn-learning/video-player/18365657 JNO Live is a weekly broadcast featuring conversations about the latest research being published in JAMA Network Open. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for details on the next broadcast.

JAMA Fishbein Fellow Kristin Walter, MD, interviews Craig Garfield, MD, and Richard Weissbourd, EdD, about parental relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic. Related Article: Considerations for Young Children and Those With Special Needs as COVID-19 Continues

The COVID Tracking Project, launched by The Atlantic, collects and publishes data required to understand the COVID-19 outbreak in the US, including data on race and ethnicity needed to understand health inequities in the outbreak. Atlantic Monthly journalists Alexis C. Madrigal and Erin Kissane join JAMA's Q&A series to describe the project and their experience developing a database for fact-based health reporting on the pandemic. Recorded December 10, 2020.

Lockdowns resulting from COVID-19 have had a devastating effect on everyone's personal lives and the economy. What factors in people's daily lives are most associated with SARS-CoV-2 transmission between people? Manish Patel, MD, team lead of the CDC's Influenza Prevention & Control Team, discusses a study they conducted examining what sorts of activities might be associated with COVID-19 disease transmission. Related Article(s): Community Outbreak Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Among Bus Riders in Eastern China

Ellen H. Lee, MD, joins JAMA Network Open Digital Media Editor, Seth Trueger, MD, MPH, to discuss a cohort study describing the distribution of race/ethnicity among cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)–associated multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children reported to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Read the article here: https://ja.ma/37vCJ1K. JNO Live is a weekly broadcast featuring conversations about the latest research being published in JAMA Network Open. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for details on the next broadcast.

Closing businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating consequences for individuals and the economy in general. Proper air handling combined with the use of masks and physical distancing can greatly improve the safety of indoor spaces. Joseph Allen, DSc, MPH, assistant professor of exposure assessment science at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Andrew Ibrahim, MD, assistant professor of surgery and architecture and urban planning at the University of Michigan, discuss air conditioning standards that can substantially reduce the risk of disease transmission in indoor spaces. Related Article(s): Turbulent Gas Clouds and Respiratory Pathogen Emissions

With the Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines reportedly under review at the US FDA for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), Paul A. Offit, MD, of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, returns to JAMA's Q&A series to provide an update on what to expect, prospects for vaccine rollout and distribution in the coming months, and ongoing safety surveillance. Recorded December 2, 2020. Related Article: Developing a SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine at Warp Speed

Yale Sterling Professor Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, PhD, returns to JAMA's Q&A series to discuss the surge in US cases and other recent pandemic developments. Dr Christakis is author of the recently published book "Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live." Recorded November 23, 2020.

Maura Kennedy, MD, MPH, joins JAMA Network Open Digital Media Editor, Seth Trueger, MD, MPH, to discuss a cohort study examining how frequently older adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) present to the emergency department with delirium and their associated hospital outcomes. Read the article here: https://ja.ma/3q5h74S. JNO Live is a weekly broadcast featuring conversations about the latest research being published in JAMA Network Open. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for details on the next broadcast.

In the midst of rising COVID-19 case rates globally, Derek C. Angus, MD, MPH, and Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, return to JAMA's Q&A series to update viewers on developments in the pandemic and the critical care management of COVID-19 patients. Dr Angus is Chief Health Care Innovation Officer at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, professor and chair of Critical Care Medicine, and a senior JAMA editor. Dr Walensky is Chief of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School. Recorded November 19, 2020. Related Article(s): Optimizing the Trade-off Between Learning and Doing in a Pandemic

Interview with Ipsit V. Vahia, MD, author of Older Adults and the Mental Health Effects of COVID-19 Related Article(s): Older Adults and the Mental Health Effects of COVID-19

Ngozi O. Ezike, MD, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, discusses state and regional management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recorded November 9, 2020. Related Article(s): Universal Masking in the United States

Would letting coronavirus infect the broad US and global population be a safe and effective means of ending the COVID-19 pandemic? Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, of Stanford University's Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research is a signatory of the "Great Barrington Declaration," which proposes to "allow those at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk." Marc Lipsitch, PhD, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, a signatory of the "John Snow Memorandum," which refutes the argument, responds. Related Article: Herd Immunity and Implications for SARS-CoV-2 Control