The federal government moved fairly quickly to grant waivers to schools when the COVID-19 pandemic began, allowing them to continue to serve food to students in need even as in-person classes were curtailed. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the government’s response in helping daycare providers in the same boat. Millions of younger children and their families across the country depend on daycares for nutritious meals, and the pandemic wreaked havoc on this system. In this episode, we speak to University of Michigan School of Public Health Assistant Professor Kate Bauer, a researcher who specializes in children’s nutrition, about what she and her colleagues found as they dug into this issue to try and make sense of it, and to provide some solutions.

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We all have some sense that the pandemic has had a particularly large toll on the elderly. But, in fact, the story of the pandemic among vulnerable older adults is a story of resilience. Many older adults have come through difficult times before, and in many cases, they are showing the rest of us how to make the best of these most difficult and unusual of circumstances. Still, older adults do have ongoing risks from the pandemic, including difficulties in accessing health care and medication, not to mention the negative effects of social isolation. In this episode, Mary Janevic, associate research scientist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, helps us understand and appreciate the many ways the pandemic is affecting older adults.

It’s been six months since the state of Michigan first enacted the stay-at-home order on March 23. We spoke to Sharon Kardia, professor of Epidemiology and associate dean for Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health to help us look back at what has happened across the state over the last six months and learn more about two projects from the University of Michigan that helped the state in its response to the pandemic.

With over 500 members representing nearly 70 countries, the grassroots organization “Students Against COVID-19” is addressing the coronavirus pandemic with global collaborations that cross borders, disciplines, and perspectives. Organization founder Marina Haque, an alumna of the University of Michigan School of Public Health and School of Medicine, joins us to talk about the explosive growth of Students Against COVID-19 and the innovative, interdisciplinary ways its members are addressing COVID-19 around the world.

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With September just a few days away, schools around the country face the daunting task of reopening in the midst of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. We take a look at the risks and benefits of in-person and online learning for students of different ages, as well as how a potential vaccine might affect the upcoming school year. We also get a small taste of the work that went on behind the scenes this summer in thousands of American school districts, where administrators, teachers, and community members raced against the clock to come up with plans to keep students safe and academically engaged this year.

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Local health departments all over the world are a frontline defense against the novel coronavirus during the current pandemic. Unlike hospitals, they don’t treat patients. Instead, they track the virus, help sick people find treatment, safe places to quarantine, and even food when needed, and do all they can to keep COVID-19 from spreading.

The Washtenaw County Health Department (Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan are in Washtenaw county) is no exception. We wanted to take a look at the Department’s day-to-day battle against the virus, and find out more about what the pandemic has looked like in the county since the very beginning.

Questions around coronavirus testing and immunity are top-of-mind as the pandemic continues to spread and potential vaccines undergo trials. Emily Martin, associate professor of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, breaks down the basics of coronavirus testing and what the current data show are the potential next steps for the United States as we head toward fall and flu season.

In Latin America, the battle against COVID-19 is raging. At the time this podcast was recorded, the region has reported over 3.2 million cases of the disease and over 140,000 deaths, making it one of the biggest hotspots in the world.

To find out more about the coronavirus pandemic in Latin America, we spoke to Joe Eisenberg, a professor and the chair of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and an expert on infectious disease research in the region. He provides insight on current figures and how various national responses have shaped the status of the pandemic in Latin American countries.

In the United States alone, there’s an average of 4 million births each year. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, that amounts to a lot of women who are understandably concerned about their health and the health of their child.

In this episode we talked with Phoebe Kulik, a program manager at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and a first-time expectant mother, about what it’s been like to be pregnant during the coronavirus pandemic. To learn more about what we currently know about pregnancy and COVID-19, we also sat down with two experts in maternal health in the department of Epidemiology: Research Scientist, Miatta Buxton, and Associate Professor, Alexis Handal. They offered insights on the unique challenges the pandemic has had on expectant mothers, and what we can learn to provide better care.

Though it’s landmass is only one-third the size of the United States, India is home to nearly 17% of the world’s population — approximately 1.34 billion people. But as it grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, it’s population size is just one of the unique challenges facing the country. Michigan Public Health Professor Bhramar Mukherjee explains the factors behind India’s still-rising infection numbers, and how she’s helping the Indian government use data to slow the virus’ spread.

Learn more about Prof. Mukherjee’s COVID-19 modeling project: http://myumi.ch/Axm7W