In this episode, we are joined by a very special guest: Julien, a wonderfully insightful 13-year-old seventh-grader from Berkeley, California. We talk about his experience of over two months of shelter-in-place: how disruptive has this been to friendships, school, sports? What has he done to get greater control over his life? Are we going to get out from under this pandemic? And what’s a young person’s advice for the adults around him?

In this episode, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland joins us to talk about what Congress can do to respond to Covid-19 right now, including ensuring access and affordability for new treatments and a vaccine, and building stimulus packages for every level of government. Senator Van Hollen shares his thoughts on how expanding national service could help to ramp up testing and contact tracing and alleviate unemployment. The Senator also unpacks why American global leadership is crucial and how China is taking advantage of this moment to gain strategic advantage.

In this crossover episode with CSIS's The Truth of the Matter podcast, Tulane University professor and historian John Barry, author of the New York Times bestseller The Great Influenza, joins the podcast from his home in New Orleans’ French Quarter to discuss the lessons gleaned from the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic that speak to today’s coronavirus pandemic sweeping America and the world.

In this episode, we are joined by Director of the Africa CDC Dr. John Nkengasong and U.S. Ambassador to the African Union Jessica Lapenn. Africa CDC is advancing a continental plan to address the dire, burgeoning threat Covid-19 poses to Africa, where testing has been woeful, where the continent stands at the back of the line in access to test kits, protective gear, oxygen, and financing; and where lockdowns can trigger an economic shock, food crises and instability. WHO remains a vital, indispensable partner. South Africa President and AU Chairman Cyril Ramaphosa has led the charge. PEPFAR, the Global Fund, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance have created health infrastructure now adapting to the Covid-19 threat. Jack Ma, Alibaba Foundation, the Gates Foundation and others have moved with remarkable speed to support Africa CDC. 

In this episode, we bring in Alisha Kramer, a star who cut her teeth right after college working with the CSIS Global Health Policy Center. Now a freshly-minted resident doctor, practicing obstetrics and gynecology in Atlanta hospitals, she assists young pregnant women in navigating the new realities of Covid-19. She shares with us reflections on the risks and fears of health providers, the racial and class divisions she sees every day, the dangers of prematurely lifting the shelter-in-place policies, and the acts of generosity from the community that bring her to tears.

In this episode, the conversation takes off from a recent piece published by Steve and Anna Carroll, Global Health Policy Center’s Associate Fellow, that examines President Trump’s decision to suspend U.S. assistance to the World Health Organization. What drives that decision? And with what consequences, at this historic moment in the pandemic? Is there any possibility of a diplomatic solution that might preserve U.S. support of the WHO?

In this episode, the hosts are joined by Scott Dowell, coronavirus response leader at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. They discuss how successful the global response has been in saving so many lives, as well as get Dr. Dowell's thoughts on which response strategy is best when considering herd immunity, lockdowns, intense digital contact tracing, isolation and quarantine. While we wait for a vaccine, how do we exit this phase? Scott tells us how most transmission actually occurs in the household, and that we should focus on protecting the family of patients, and the most vulnerable, to get control of this pandemic. 

Dr. Scott Dowell is Deputy Director for Surveillance and Epidemiology and coronavirus response leader at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

This week marks World Immunization Week, an annual celebration of vaccines that raise awareness and increase rates of immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases around the world. To mark World Immunization Week, Take as Directed launches a conversation recorded earlier in the year to place immunization within the debate around Universal Health Coverage (UHC). In a world faced by not only a pandemic threat but also continuing infectious disease challenges, immunization and universal health coverage is more important than ever. 

In this episode, Senior Fellow Katherine Bliss talks to two immunization experts: Angela Shen, retired Captain from the U.S. Public Health Service with over 22 years of service at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and Lora Shimp, Technical Director for Immunizations at John Snow Inc. They discuss what the difference is between universal health care and coverage, and how including immunizations under a larger package of preventative services means more people benefit for a cheaper cost. In an era of competing priorities, why should we be focusing on immunization? What does the Immunization Agenda provide for, and will it be accepted by the global community? And can this Agenda help us reach complete immunization coverage worldwide?

In this episode, Steve and Andrew are joined by Congressman Ami Bera (D-CA07) to talk about his work on the CSIS Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security and his impressions of Covid-19, as both a doctor and an elected representative.  They discuss how difficult it’s been to get Congress to spend resources on preparedness, and the work Rep. Bera is doing to build a crisis workforce. His main concerns: when the vaccine is found, how can we ensure the vaccines are distributed equitably to all countries, and who should get it first? Where would the supplies and workforce come from?

Congressman Ami Bera has represented California’s 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013. Before joining Congress, Rep. Bera had a twenty-year medical career as a physician, hospital administrator, professor, and as Sacramento County’s Chief Medical Officer. He is also a Member of the CSIS Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security. Find his recent letter proposing a Covid-19 crisis corps here.

Former Senator Kelly Ayotte, co-chair of the CSIS Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security, joins Steve and Andrew in explaining how the Commission’s November 2019 core recommendations remain compelling and essential in the midst of the pandemic, if we are to, once and for all, break the cycle of crisis and complacency. She offers her thoughts on the shocks we did not anticipate, such as our weak supply chains, which will now need to be strengthened for the future. Senator Ayotte also discusses China’s highly problematic role in the pandemic, and how the U.S. can reconfigure its dependence, along with a similar rethinking needed to strengthen and reform the World Health Organization.