Today, in another episode in a series of podcasts exploring vaccine basics from the molecular level to global policy and everything in between: The Vaccines For Children Program is a CDC program that provides recommended vaccines without charge to about half of the nation’s children. In this episode: the program’s origins in a terrifying measles outbreak, how the program works, and what the evidence shows about its success.

Claire Hannan is the executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers, a nonprofit organization that helps state public health agencies operate immunization programs.

Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

• The Vaccines For Children Program—CDC Website

• The $8 Billion Children’s Vaccine Fund Kennedy Would Oversee—The New York Times

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Today, in another episode in a series of podcasts exploring vaccine basics from the molecular level to global policy and everything in between: how compensation for most vaccine-related injuries works in the U.S. Serious vaccine injuries are rare, but when they do happen, people can bring their claims to a special court. In today’s episode, Judge Gary Golkiewicz, a “special master” of the United States Court of Federal Claims, talks about how the program works, how often it’s utilized, and what’s needed to help the program improve.

Gary Golkiewicz is a litigator and the former Chief Special Master for the United States Court of Federal Claims.

Dr. Josh Sharfstein is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a faculty member in health policy, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland’s Health Department.

• Vaccines 101: The Basics of Vaccines and Vaccination—Public Health On Call (January, 2025)

• Vaccines 101: Vaccine Safety Science—Public Health On Call (January, 2025)

• The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program—Health Resources & Services Administration

• Vaccine Injury Table (pdf)—Health Resources & Services Administration

• Vaccine Claims/Office of Special Masters—United States Court of Federal Claims

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Today, in the next episode in a series of podcasts exploring vaccine basics: the science of vaccine safety. In this episode, a look at what’s unique about vaccine safety compared to the safety of other medical products, and how experts tell the difference between an adverse effect that is "causal" and one that is "coincidental."

Dan Salmon is the director of the Johns Hopkins Institute For Vaccine Safety.

Dr. Josh Sharfstein is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a faculty member in health policy, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland’s Health Department.

• Vaccines 101: The Basics of Vaccines and Vaccination—Public Health On Call (January, 2025)

• What VAERS Is (And Isn’t)—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

• Let’s Talk Shots—The Institute for Vaccine Safety

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A tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas City is one of the largest in recent history. Risk to the general public remains low, but the outbreak itself could be a signal of a seriously strained public health system. In today’s episode: an overview of tuberculosis including how it spreads and who is most at risk, and what the Kansas City outbreak means for public health. Also: How the U.S.’s departure from the WHO could impact the fight against the world’s leading infectious disease killer.

Dr. David Dowdy is an infectious disease epidemiologist, a tuberculosis researcher, and the executive vice dean for academic affairs at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

• Major tuberculosis outbreak hits Kansas City—Reuters

• The Promise of TB Vaccines—International Vaccine Access Center

• Why Tuberculosis, An Ancient Disease, Remains a Public Health Threat—Public Health On Call (December, 2023)

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On Friday, January 31, a number of important datasets and pages housed on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website became inaccessible. In this episode: Dr. Nirav Shah, a member of the advisory committee to the director of the CDC and co-chair of the advisory committee’s data and surveillance workgroup talks about the critical work of the CDC and the value of its data sets, and the questions being asked about what’s going on. Note: Dr. Josh Sharfstein, producer and regular podcast host, is also a member of the advisory committee and a co-signer of the letter mentioned in this episode. As always, these podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Nirav R. Shah is a senior scholar at Stanford University’s Clinical Excellence Research Center. He serves as a member of the advisory committee for the Director of the CDC and co-chair of the advisory committee’s data and surveillance workgroup.

Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

• CDC’s Advisers Demand Agency Provide Answers On Removal Of ‘Critical’ Health Data—HuffPost

• CDC advisers push agency to explain data removal, say when info will be restored—STAT

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Since the mapping of the human genome in 2003, scientists have sought data from Indigenous and isolated populations. But often that research doesn’t translate into better health care for the groups whose biological specimens informed it. In this episode: all about the Native Biodata Consortium, a research organization that collects, stores, and shares data from indigenous environments and communities.

Joseph Yracheta, Pūrepecha, is a biomedical researcher and the executive director of the Native Biodata Consortium.

Dr. Josh Sharfstein is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a faculty member in health policy, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland’s Health Department.

• Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx)—The National Institutes of Health

• Native Americans Graves Protection and Repatriation Act—National Park Service

• Tribal Data Repository—Data for Indigenous Innovations, Interventions and Implementations

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Thanks to vaccines, most people under a certain age have no memory of the devastation and terror caused by the poliovirus. Although widely eliminated, polio still poses a threat in certain countries around the world. Waning vaccination rates in pockets of the U.S. mean some communities are at risk of a resurgence. In this episode: a look back at polio before vaccines, and how technology has evolved—including a discussion about a previous version of the vaccine that did, in rare instances, actually cause paralytic polio.

Dr. Bill Moss is the executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

• How Lagging Vaccination Could Lead to a Polio Resurgence—The New York Times

• The Polio Outbreak and What Needs to be Done to Eradicate the Virus Globally—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

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President Trump’s executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the WHO could have lasting implications on the health and wellbeing of the world, and on the American people. In today’s episode, the essential roles that the WHO plays both for the U.S. and around the globe, America’s imperfect relationship with the institution, and the potential consequences of a U.S. exit.

Dr. Judd Walson is an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist, and the chair of the department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, the largest center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

• Reflecting on the US Withdrawal from the World Health Organization—Infection Control Today

• What Leaving the WHO Means For the U.S. and the World—Time Magazine

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The first of a series of podcasts about vaccine basics from the molecular level to global policy and everything in between. What actually are vaccines and how do they work? In this episode: back to basics on vaccines and immunology with Dr. Arturo Casadevall and Dr. Josh Sharfstein, including a discussion on why we still don’t have a vaccine for HIV.

Arturo Casadevall is chair of the department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an infectious disease physician with more than 30 years of experience studying vaccines.

Dr. Josh Sharfstein is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a faculty member in health policy, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland’s Health Department.

• How do we know that vaccines work?–HHS

• Understanding the Impact and Importance of Childhood Vaccinations—Yale School of Public Health

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In the first few days of President Trump’s second term he signed a blitz of executive actions. In today’s episode: a look at some of the actions and memos that take aim at key public health policies including the communications pause for health and science agencies, a pause on NIH study sections, immediate posturing on DEI initiatives, exiting the Paris Agreement and WHO, and more. Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Josh Sharfstein served in a number of political roles in his career including as the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health, the Principal Deputy Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as Commissioner of Health for Baltimore City, and as a Congressional health policy advisor.

Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, the largest center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

• Memo: Immediate Pause on Issuing Documents and Public Communications (pdf)—Department of Health & Human Services

• Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing—White House Executive Order

• Putting America First In International Environmental Agreements—White House Executive Order

• Withdrawing the United States From the World Health Organization—White House Executive Order

• Federal health agencies told to halt all external communications—NPR

• Trump administration halts NIH grant-making process—The Hill

• Trump is withdrawing the U.S. from WHO. Here’s what that means—Science News

• Statement From Dr. Richard Besser on DEI and Health—The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

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