Public Health On Call

On Indigenous Peoples' Day, Dr. Donald Warne, the new co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health and a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the challenges and opportunities for the health of the world's indigenous populations. They also discuss the expansive work of the Center, and the hope that greater understanding of indigenous health will bring a broad range of benefits to the world.

The Biden administration's action plan for responding to long COVID is a good start, but much more is required to truly address the impacts of this "mass disabling event" on health, safety, and the economy. Journalist Ryan Prior and inaugural White House Director for Disability Policy Kim Knackstedt talk with Stephanie Desmon about what is included in the nation's long COVID plan, what was left out, and how the plan could pave the way for responding to other chronic illnesses.

Social media has long been criticized for its role in perpetuating dangerous misinformation. Dr. Garth Graham, the director and global head of healthcare and public health at Google and YouTube, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how this came to a head during the pandemic and how he sees the opportunity for social media channels to be leaders in the evolution of science and public health communications.

Who should get a bivalent booster? How effective are they? How should people space out shots after infection, original strain boosters, and a host of other combinations of immunity and exposure? Can you get a bivalent booster and a flu shot at the same time and are there any benefits to spacing them out? How long did it take for us to get these boosters, and what's the hope for longer-term immunity? Virologist Dr. Andy Pekosz talks with Stephanie Desmon about bivalents and answers listener questions sent to [email protected].

Pandemic disruptions led to serious learning loss in K-12 education, and new research shows just how serious. Peggy Carr, the commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, talks with Stephanie Desmon about what the data shows in terms of student performance, why these historic declines will have impacts for years to come, and what can be done to start closing the gaps.

A 2019 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine lays out irrefutable evidence that medications like methadone can save lives when used for opioid use disorder, but decades of policy rooted in racism and stigma keeps methadone largely out of reach for those who need it. Alan Leshner, CEO emeritus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and chair of the planning committee for the report talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about these policies and why this is a moment of opportunity to enact major reform in the methadone system and address the opioid epidemic. Read the full report here.

Malaria, a mosquito-borne infection, affects some 228 million people globally each year, killing over 400,000 of them—primarily children under the age of 5. In part two of a miniseries, Thomas Locke, host of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute podcast "Malaria Minute" looks back at 1955 when the WHO launched its "Global Malaria Eradication Programme" that was expected to end malaria worldwide in five years. What went wrong, and where are we now in terms of efforts to fight back against one of the world's most entrenched diseases? You can learn more about groundbreaking malaria research at malaria.jhsph.edu.

How effective have federal vaccine mandates for COVID-19 been? Will litigation impact other vaccine requirements, such as those for school attendance? What might happen during future pandemics? Michelle Mello, a professor of law and public policy at Stanford, talks with Stephanie Desmon about the mixed success of COVID vaccine mandates.

Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security returns to the podcast to talk with Josh Sharfstein about the current state of COVID. They discuss the pandemic situation in the US and around the world, and how they are managing their own lives at a moment when it seems like most people are ready to move on.

Malaria, a mosquito-borne infection, affects some 228 million people globally each year, killing over 400,000 of them—primarily children under the age of 5. In part one of a miniseries, Thomas Locke, host of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute podcast "Malaria Minute," breaks down the parasite's unique lifecycle which allows it to adapt rapidly to drugs and to our immune system's efforts to fight it off. You can learn more about groundbreaking malaria research.

Hearing loss affects two-thirds of people over age 70 and is the single largest modifiable risk factor for dementia and other health problems later in life. Frank Lin, director of the Cochlear Center for Hearing & Public Health at Johns Hopkins, talks with Stephanie Desmon about the links between hearing loss and dementia, why the new approval means hearing aids will be better, cheaper, and far more available, and how to find your own "hearing number."

Undocumented individuals often can't or are afraid to seek health care due to a lack of insurance or fears that services could interfere with their immigration status. Luvia Quiñones, senior director of health policy at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and Mervin Dino, who runs a safety net health care program at Advocate Aurora Health in Chicago, talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about advocacy efforts to expand health care access to undocumented immigrants, how providers should consider making services more welcoming for this population, and how COVID-19 became a case study in the importance of extending care to all.

Dr. Mauda Monger is a lifelong resident of Jackson, Mississippi. She is also a community advocate and public health professional. She talks with Dr. Sharfstein about how the water crisis is the most visible sign of a profound decline in her hometown and perhaps could help bring about a brighter future. Dr. Monger runs an initiative for young women of color in Jackson called the S-H-E Project. Learn more

Unhealthy, fast, and cheap foods are often marketed to Black Americans who suffer from higher rates of obesity and other non-communicable health problems. Dr. Shiriki Kumanyika, a research professor at Drexel University and the founder of the Council of Black Health, talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about Operation Good Food and Beverages, a project supported by the Bloomberg American Health Initiative, which advocates for better food policies and encourages youth to embrace healthy eating as a radical act. Learn more.

Former CMS Director Andy Slavitt has achieved major wins for health in the private and public sectors. Slavitt talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about lessons learned from the ACA and COVID-19 responses, whether or not our government is up to the major health challenges of today, and why public health "gets recognized in years and decades, not days and weeks." Also - we want to hear from you!

Historic rainfall in Jackson, Mississippi overwhelmed the already fragile water system leaving thousands of residents without water weeks later. Dr. Richard Mizelle, an environmental historian at the University of Houston, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the crisis that was decades in the making, who is most at risk without clean water, and how environmental racism poses deadly threats to communities across the US. Also - We want to hear from you!

Since the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade, many states have passed restrictive, confusing, and sometimes contradictory laws impacting health care. Dr. Jack Resneck, Jr, the new president of the American Medical Association talks with Stephanie Desmon about the challenges physicians are facing when making critical decisions with patients about often lifesaving health care, the threat of a "mass exodus" of practitioners from states with more restrictive laws, and who ultimately pays the highest price for the "egregious allowance of government in the exam room." We want to hear from you!

The Inflation Reduction Act contains some major changes for both Medicare and drug pricing with the potential to save Americans billions of dollars in drug costs. Hopkins health policy expert Jerry Anderson, who has spent decades working on Medicare issues, talks with Stephanie Desmon about the changes, why they took so long, and what still needs to be worked out. Also - we want to hear from you! PublicHealth.jhu.edu/PublicHealthOnCall/Survey

Throughout COVID-19, the FDA has been among many government agencies charged with communicating lifesaving information. Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how the politicization of the pandemic raised the stakes for the FDA and how the agency is learning to adapt in an age of rampant misinformation. They also discuss the FDA's consideration of bivalent vaccines for authorization and what's next for the pandemic response.

Dr. Mark Gendreau, an emergency department physician in Boston, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the marvels of airplane ventilation, the transmission of diseases like flu, measles, and SARS in airplanes, the overall risk for COVID-19, and how travelers can more safely navigate the riskiest "choke points" during air travel.

Dr. Carolyn Sufrin joins the podcast to talk with Dr. Sharfstein about the implication of overturning Roe vs Wade for a special population—people who are incarcerated. Dr. Sufrin is an obstetrician/gynecologist and a researcher on reproductive health at Johns Hopkins.

The first case of paralytic polio in New York in decades has focused attention on a devastating virus with a long and terrible history. Olakunle Alonge, an associate professor of international health at Johns Hopkins, who's worked on polio eradication efforts around the world, speaks to Josh Sharfstein about what's behind the rise in cases and how the world can defeat polio—forever.

How should parents be thinking about their kids returning to school in the context of updated CDC guidelines on COVID, the potential for monkeypox outbreaks, and an uptick in other viruses? Experts Keri Althoff and Liz Stuart return to the podcast to talk with Stephanie Desmon about what's new this school year, making sense of COVID risks and guidelines, vaccine mandates for kids age 12 and up, and thinking about a "more holistic approach to health" that takes prevention of other illnesses into account.

What's the difference between COVID reinfection, rebounding, and a new infection? Are people contagious and can they have recurring symptoms with a COVID rebound? Can antivirals like paxlovid cause COVID rebounds? Can paxlovid prevent long COVID? Amesh Adalja returns to the podcast to talk with Josh Sharfstein and answer your questions sent to [email protected].

President Biden is poised to sign the historic Inflation Reduction Act that will, among other things, enact sweeping changes to the US energy sector and efforts to fight climate change. Tiernan Sittenfeld, the senior vice president of the League of Conservation Voters, talks with guest host Shelley Hearne about the bill and its game-changing potential for the environment and public health. They also discuss why major climate legislation has failed in the past and what needs to be done to ensure that implementation is successful.

Throughout the COVID pandemic, number crunching has been a way to understand and respond to the scope, spread, and spikes of outbreaks. The same goes for monkeypox. Epidemiologist Dr. Caitlin Rivers talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about what numbers should be considered to understand the full picture of the monkeypox outbreak and the effectiveness of the response. They also talk about the current limitations within public health to track down and report necessary data.

A new report confirms the origins of SARS-CoV-2 as a spillover event from a seafood market in Wuhan, China. Biosecurity expert Gigi Gronvall returns to the podcast to talk with Lindsay Smith Rogers about what we now know happened, why it took so long to pinpoint and confirm COVID's origins, and why this information is crucial for research and preventing future pandemics. Read the report here.

Vaccine experts Drs. Anna Durbin and Bill Moss return to the podcast to talk with Lindsay Smith Rogers about the global state of COVID-19. They discuss vaccine coverage around the world, second-generation or bivalent vaccines, a new variant of concern, and what a worrying flu season in the southern hemisphere could mean for us this winter.

New Mexico has the highest rate of alcohol-related deaths in the US, but the problem is routinely sidestepped at best or, at worst, blamed erroneously on the Native American population. Journalist Ted Alcorn talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the barriers facing New Mexico in tackling alcohol as a public health crisis. Learn more here.

The public health system has been fragmented and haphazard for years, and COVID-19 showed just how consequential a weak system can be. Former FDA Commissioner Peggy Hamburg talks with Stephanie Desmon about a Commonwealth Fund report that looks at how to build a national public health system that addresses ongoing and future health crises, advances equity, and earns trust. Learn more here.

In the 500th episode of the Public Health on Call podcast, Dr. Chris Beyrer joins Dr. Josh Sharfstein to talk about how yet another virus has escalated to crisis levels in a short period of time. They discuss parallels and differences with the early days of the HIV epidemic, the danger of ignoring health challenges facing the developing world, and the future of public health challenges facing societies worldwide.

Settlements with opioid giants like Purdue, Johnson & Johnson, and Cardinal Health have resulted in billions of dollars paid out to states and municipalities. Sara Whaley, a coordinator for a project called Principles for the Use of Funds from Opioid Litigation, talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about five guidelines these entities can follow to use the funds in ways that will actually address the nation's ongoing opioid epidemic. Learn more at opioidprinciples.jhsph.edu.

​​The recent Supreme Court ruling limiting the EPA's ability to mandate carbon emissions reductions is a setback but not game over for fighting climate change. Former environmental official Tom Burke talks with Stephanie Desmon about the ruling and about this "perfect storm" moment of extreme weather, a war that's jacked up oil prices, and a lack of political will to face climate change. They also discuss some things to be hopeful about and what can be done right now to adapt and innovate for a better future.

The FDA recently issued a marketing denial order for all Juul products, which was quickly reversed when Juul filed for a temporary stay. Dr. Joanna Cohen talks with Stephanie Desmon about why e-cigarettes are regulated like cigarettes and not pharmaceuticals despite their initial introduction to the market as a smoking cessation tool, where gains have been made in reducing popularity with youths, and why other tools like nicotine replacement therapy have not been able to live up to their promise to help more people quit smoking.

Overdose death rates among Black Americans surpassed those among white Americans in 2020, a sharp reversal from a decade earlier. Hopkins post-doctoral fellows Dr. Keisha Solomon and Dr. Jason Gibbons talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the reasons behind this alarming increase and what can be done to respond.

Mindfulness is sometimes seen as a buzzword, but it's an evidence-based facet key to our physical and emotional well-being. Mindfulness researcher Dr. Christina Bethell talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about the science behind the practice, the connection to resilience, and how mindfulness can help people recover from trauma and adverse childhood experiences. They also discuss some basic practices you can do yourself and Dr. Bethell leads a short breathing exercise. Learn more about her work here.

In a special episode Tradeoffs host Dan Gorenstein talks about the nation's new 9-8-8 crisis line, and how local agencies are struggling to find counselors to staff the Lifeline number. A content warning that this episode mentions suicide and other mental health emergencies. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). Learn more here: https://tradeoffs.org/

Oral health extends far beyond cleanings and cavities, but coverage schemes are often considered an extra "benefit" and not a necessity. Dentists Leah Leinbach and Sujay Mehta talk with Stephanie Desmon about why oral health goes way beyond "drill and fill" to impacting overall health, the history behind oral health's divorce from medicine, and how the importance of including dental care as part of health care is being discussed at a global level.

Nonprofits or NGOs often find themselves limited by the terms of available grants, which may be insufficient or too short-term to meet certain needs. Enter development impact bonds, or investments made by a little-known government agency. Dia Martin, a managing director on the social enterprise finance team of the US International Development Finance Corporation talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about these bonds, and two initial projects: a cataract clinic in Cameroon and micro-enterprises for Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon.

Some of the greatest societal inequities are evident in emergency rooms. ER physician Dr. Thomas Fisher, author of Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER, captures some of these moments during the COVID pandemic, illuminating the intimate relationship between doctors and patients. He talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about his book and about how health care—and ERs in particular—uphold systems of inequity even without intending to, and how providers can try to offer everyone coming through the doors the care they deserve.

In April, Dr. Josh Sharfstein appeared on the Washington Journal segment of C-SPAN to talk about the podcast and answer questions from callers live on TV. Many of the questions stemmed from misinformation that's proliferated online, but all COVID questions deserve answers. In this bonus episode, we share some of those questions and Dr. Sharfstein's responses—live and unscripted.

Dr. Lisa Gwynn, president of the Florida chapter of the American Academic of Pediatrics and a professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, was fired from a state board for advocating for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for kids under 5. She talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how politics and misinformation in Florida are contributing to a situation that's harmful to children's health and strips away medical choices and access from parents.

Lack of green space, abundant concrete, and building materials that trap heat all contribute to why cities are often as much as 10 degrees warmer than surrounding suburbs. Johns Hopkins earth and planetary sciences professor Dr. Ben Zaitchik talks with Stephanie Desmon about urban heat islands which disproportionately affect poorer and minority communities, why heat is known as "the silent killer," and how investments in urban heat mitigation can help make neighborhoods stronger and safer.

In the late 1970s, residents of a working-class neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York learned their community was built on a toxic waste dump that was causing significant health problems. Keith O'Brien, author of Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about what became known as the Love Canal Disaster. The incredible story includes mobilized moms, exploding rocks, a hostage situation, and a young Congressman from Tennessee.

In a special episode, Tradeoffs host Dan Gorenstein talks about medical respite, a program for people who are too healthy to be hospitalized but too sick to be without housing. You can listen to this original episode and more at tradeoffs.org.

There are now five versions of omicron circulating, and each subvariant is as distinct as what we used to label totally different variants. Virologist Dr. Andy Pekosz returns to the podcast to talk about the diverse range of omicron siblings, reinfection with different subvariants, omicron-specific vaccines, and what we can expect to see in the coming weeks and months from this "game-changer" variant.

Why was smallpox eradicated but COVID-19 can't be? What do we know about the risks of long COVID and omicron? Is it ok to use expired rapid tests? Is it more likely to get severe COVID from someone who is unvaccinated? Should people who continue to test positive after taking paxlovid be treated again? Dr. Crystal Watson of the Center for Health Security returns to the podcast to talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about your COVID-19 questions - plus a bonus question on where we are with the response to monkeypox.

When Matt Ford, an actor, writer, and video producer in LA, had flu-like symptoms a few weeks ago, he never would have suspected mpox if a close contact hadn't told him they'd tested positive. Still in isolation, Ford talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about his experience with the disease, where we are in terms of treatment and prevention, and how to lessen stigma towards the LGBTQ community where mpox seems to be spreading the fastest.

COVID-19 sent shock waves through the tourism industry, shutting down the economic engine of many popular destinations. But for some residents and tourism workers, it also brought a welcome break from swelling crowds and a rare chance to slow down and rethink their priorities. In a special episode, Lindsay Smith Rogers and Annalies Winny take a virtual tour to Aruba, Jamaica, Hawaii, and Senegal to learn how popular destinations have weighed economic stability against the risks of COVID outbreaks—and how they're rethinking some longstanding environmental and economic issues around tourism.

In 2020, scientists working on injury analytics expanded to COVID-19 epidemiology to help create and monitor the NBA bubble. Dr. Christina Mack, an epidemiologist with IQVIA Real World Solutions, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how the team continues to monitor the health and safety of players and staff, and some of the findings with real-world implications such as how long people can shed COVID-19 virus, if people with asymptomatic infections are less likely to transmit COVID, and whether boosters really work.