Infectious Diseases

Host: Matt Birnholz, MD

Healthcare workers face a new threat beyond the difficult prospects of overrun hospitals, PPE shortages, and incidental spread of the virus to their loved ones. As the pandemic escalates, shifting perceptions and moods from the public have put some clinicians in the crosshairs.

Published March 27, 2020

Host: Matt Birnholz, MD

Strategies of self-isolation from caregivers treating patients with COVID-19 are taking an emotional toll, cutting them off from their support networks at a time when workplace stress is at an all-time high. But the alternative, to many, is unthinkable.

Published March 27, 2020

Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.

As the number of novel coronavirus cases continue to rise on a national and global scale, how is the FDA responding? Pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein provides an overview of the FDA’s action plan with the overall goal of collaborating with interagency and international partners, product developers, and global regulators to speed up the development and availability of medical products needed to diagnose, treat, mitigate, and prevent such outbreaks.

Published March 27, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Monica Schoch-Spana, PhD

For many, COVID-19 has revealed an anxiety-ridden world of unknowns. Protecting our mental health is just as important as protecting our physical health in this pandemic. But how can we find comfort if we’re inundated with scary messages and physically cut off from people we love? Dr. Monica Schoch-Spana of the Center for Health Security talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about caring for ourselves and for vulnerable populations like frontline healthcare providers, friends, and neighbors in quarantine, and those with underlying health conditions like anxiety or depression.

Published March 23, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Jennifer Nuzzo, MD

Why is the response to COVID-19 so much more severe than the response to other outbreaks like H1N1 or SARS? Will a vaccine be more effective than the usual flu vaccine? Has the shortage of available testing been resolved? Are we seeing more cases because of increases in transmission or testing? Why does COVID-19 cause shortness of breath? Can drinking cold water increase your risk of infection?

Jennifer Nuzzo of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security addresses some myths and questions.

Published March 20, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Stephanie Desmon

Recent volatility in the financial markets have shaken investors and left everyone asking: Are we currently in a financial crisis? Author and expert on financial crises Kathleen Day of the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School talks to Stephanie Desmon of the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs about how the novel coronavirus is affecting local and global economies and what consumers should do right now.

Published March 19, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Leonard S. Rubenstein, JD

What are the human rights considerations in the response to COVID-19? How can societies move to control the spread of the virus in ways that do not create panic or unnecessarily restrict communities? What are critical considerations as governments try to strike the right balance between restrictions and depriving people of the ability to live their lives? Dr. Josh Sharfstein talks to Len Rubenstein, Conflict and Health program director of the Center for Public Health and Human Rights.

Published March 18, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Caitlin Rivers, PhD, MPH

What is #FlattenTheCurve? Caitlin Rivers, senior scholar at the Center for Health Security talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about this response strategy, what it means for you, and how staying home can help ensure that everyone who needs healthcare in an outbreak will be able to get it.

Published March 17, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Arturo Casadevall, MD, PhD

Is there potential for using antibodies generated by people who have recovered from COVID-19 to prevent infection and treat those who are sick? Dr. Josh Sharfstein talks to Arturo Casadevall, chair of Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, about a landmark 1934 case where antibodies helped stopped a measles outbreak.

Published March 17, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Jeffrey Kahn, MD

Guest: Nancy E. Kass, ScD

Is it right to publicly disclose information about people who get sick with COVID-19? What are society’s obligations to people who are quarantined? Is it time to start thinking about how to allocate critical healthcare resources in case this epidemic stretches the healthcare system beyond its capacity to care for everyone? Dr. Josh Sharfstein speaks with renowned ethicists Jeffery Kahn and Nancy Kass, the director and deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.

Published March 16, 2020