Mayo Clinic International is taking health care to the world in new ways. Expanding abroad through virtual, hybrid and on-the-ground patient care.

"I think we have a moral obligation to take the Mayo model of care to the world, particularly as it pertains to serious and complex diseases," says Dr. Anton Decker, president of Mayo Clinic International.

In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Decker explains how Mayo is delivering health care to patients around the globe and discusses the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are many benefits to sports participation for children and adolescents. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, activities such as youth sports have been put hold or modified to decrease the spread of COVID-19. Also, the scientific community is learning about when it is safe to return to sports participation following COVID-19 infection.

On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, "Ask the Mayo Mom" host and Mayo Clinic pediatrician, Dr. Angela Mattke is joined by Dr. David Soma, a pediatric sports medicine physician at Mayo Clinic Children's Center, to discuss sports participation during the COVID-19 pandemic and what you need to know about return to play after COVID-19 infection. Also joining Drs. Mattke and Soma is Dr. Talha Niaz, a pediatric cardiologist at Mayo Clinic.

When it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, says there's some good news. "Case numbers are falling, masking and distancing do work, and we can control this if we do it right."

However, the not so good news is that variants are showing up in over 30 countries and are reportedly more transmissible. There also seems to be a reduction in vaccine efficacy against the new variants.

"This is a desperate race between vaccine and virus, between time and opportunity, and we dare not lose that opportunity," emphasizes Dr. Poland.

In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Poland discusses how COVID-19 variants mutate. He also discusses recent COVID-19 research conducted by the NFL, plus he touches on the future of individualized vaccines. "I can see the development of a coronavirus vaccine against multiple types of coronavirus, including the one that causes the common cold, and very likely combine that with the influenza vaccine."
Research disclosures for Dr. Gregory Poland.

It's been a year since the first case of COVID-19 was diagnosed in the U.S. Since then the U.S. has seen more than 25 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 400,00 deaths. This has taken a significant emotional toll on the nation.

COVID-19 is a disease that affects the entire health care system, and emergency medical teams are often on the front lines receiving infected patients. The challenges have been numerous as symptoms varied, screening protocols changed, and lifesaving treatments have been developed.

In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: Dr. Annie Sadosty, a Mayo Clinic emergency medicine physician, reflects on this past year and the ever-changing battle against COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for families, as children and adults have had to face stressors and adapt to change. Distance learning and the need for physical distancing from friends have been particularly challenging for children and adolescents. Trying to help them cope it their feelings and frustrations about the pandemic has stressed parents and caregivers.

This edition of the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast features an #AskMayoMom episode hosted by Dr. Angela Mattke, a pediatrician at Mayo Clinic Children's Center. Joining Dr. Mattke to discuss building resilience and emotional well-being in children are Dr. Paige Partain, a Mayo Clinic pediatrician, and Hannah Mulholland, a Mayo Clinic pediatric social worker.

Fear and worry are normal responses when people perceive and experience threats. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought daily stressors over the past year, leaving many people with a sustained feeling of anxiety.

While social distancing has been necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the separation from others can exacerbate anxiety by leaving people feeling isolated and lonely. Learning to recognize and cope with stress in healthy ways can improve resilience.

On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, we discuss healthy strategies for coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Halena Gazelka is joined by Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, and his daughter, Caroline Poland, a licensed mental health counselor.
Research disclosures for Dr. Gregory Poland.

Approximately 1.5 % of adults will be diagnosed with leukemia at some point during their lives, according to the National Cancer Institute data.

Leukemia is cancer of the body's blood-forming tissues, including the bone marrow and the lymphatic system, and it usually involves the white blood cells. Your white blood cells are potent infection fighters. They normally grow and divide in an orderly way, as your body needs them.

But in people with leukemia, the bone marrow produces an excessive amount of abnormal white blood cells, which don't function properly. Some forms of leukemia are more common in children. Other forms of leukemia occur mostly in adults.

In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr.  James Foran, chair of the Acute Leukemia and Myeloid Neoplasms Disease Group at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, discusses the different types of leukemia, signs and symptoms, treatment strategies, future research, and Mayo Clinic efforts to address health care disparities for some patients battling leukemia.

Transforming health care and health care delivery are priorities for the Mayo Clinic Platform, according to Dr. John Halamka, president of the Mayo Clinic Platform.

"If we are going to deliver advice, let's make sure it's customized to the person, their geography, the time of year, all those other variables," says Dr. Halamka. He adds that the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how well that can work.

"COVID-19 has taught us, culturally, that it's actually OK to do things at a distance," says Dr. Halamka. "We've been able to do remote infusions of things like remdesivir. We've been able to enhance the patient's experience of getting COVID-19 treatment without them having to leave their homes."

In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Halamka explains artificial intelligence, talks about new devices generating new kinds of data, and how to make sure those data are used ethically. He also offers predictions about what health care will look like in the future.

For more information, visit the Mayo Clinic News Network.

The distribution kinks for COVID-19 vaccines are getting ironed out, says Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group.

"It's a logistics nightmare, but now you're seeing a plan to administer 1 million doses a day and I think that's very achievable," says Dr. Poland. "And the production of the vaccine is just going to accelerate."

Dr. Poland also repeats the reminders about preventing transmission of COVID-19:

"The current estimates are that in the next four weeks, we'll probably have about another 100,000 deaths," adds Dr. Poland. "It's stunning when you think about 1 out of every 860 Americans has now died of this."

In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Poland talks more about the rollout, transmission and herd immunity, as well as fertility issues related to COVID-19, survivor brain fog and more.

Research disclosures for Dr. Gregory Poland.

Naloxone is a potentially lifesaving medication that can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid medicine. It can be easily administered to those who overdose. Many who are battling the opioid epidemic would like to see naloxone made more readily available.

Dr. Halena Gazelka, host of the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, is also chair of Mayo Clinic's Opioid Stewardship Program Subcommittee. She is a strong advocate for breaking the stigma of opioid use disorder.

In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Gazelka talks with Dr. Bonnie Milas, an anesthesiologist and critical care physician from the University of Pennsylvania. They discuss naloxone, the opioid epidemic and the tragic loss of Dr. Milas' two sons to opioid overdoses.