TRACK THE VAX

Should doctors who spread disinformation lose their medical licenses?

Phony cures and/or resistance to public health messaging is nothing new, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, we've seen it all -- from patients suing their doctors or hospital systems to allow for use of the deworming medication ivermectin to treat COVID-19, to healthcare providers echoing conspiracy theories that the virus is a hoax.

The Federation of State Medical Boards put out a statement in early August saying that they support disciplinary action, including suspension or revocation of medical licenses, for those who "generate and spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation."

When we inquired if any such actions had been taken and what the numbers looked like, we were told they are currently surveying their member boards to find out just how widespread of an issue this has become.

On this week's episode, Eve Bloomgarden, MD, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, who is a member of No License for Disinformation, a non-partisan grassroots coalition taking on disinformation by healthcare providers, joins us to explain how they plan to push for action against those who spread false information.

Three different vaccines to protect against COVID-19 have been either approved or authorized for emergency use in the U.S. And now the conversation has turned to booster doses for all three.

Booster shots are nothing new. After all, a flu "booster" is what is encouraged each and every year. When it comes to COVID-19, however, the back and forth and disconnect between the different government agencies may have left some confusion about who does and doesn't need a booster.

After all, COVID vaccine studies show that even after a few months, efficacy is still higher than the original goal for the vaccine.

On this week's episode, Ellie Murray, ScD, assistant professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health, joins us to help answer the question, do I really need another shot?

You get sick with COVID-19. Instead of quarantining and hoping you don't get worse, or heading into the hospital, you can simply call your doctor, get a prescription, and take it at home. Seems too good to be true. But is it the future of COVID-19 treatment?

Merck is hoping their new antiviral will do just that. The company officially submitted an application Monday to the FDA for emergency use authorization, for what would be the first pill to treat COVID-19. This pill, molnupiravir, has been called everything from a "game changer" to "blockbuster." The approval could come in a matter of weeks. But is it all it's been talked up to be?

On this week's episode, William Schaffner, MD, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, helps explain what the new pill means in the fight against COVID-19, and what to watch for as it moves toward emergency use.

Mandating the COVID-19 vaccine has been called presidential overreach, un-American, even unprecedented, despite a long history of requiring vaccines to prevent other illnesses. In August, President Joe Biden mandated employees at all companies with more than 100 employees get vaccinated or undergo routine testing. And now, beginning in early November, federal agencies can enforce that same mandate on federal employees.

Mass firings have occurred; but more often than not, employees chose to get the shot over losing their job.

On this week's episode, Lawrence Gostin, JD, professor of global health law at Georgetown University, author of the new book "Global Health Security," and director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for National and Global Health Law, joins us to discuss where we may see legal challenges and if those challenges have a sound footing.

Wearing a masking to protect yourself and others against the spread of the coronavirus has become something of a political, social, and emotional fireball. Should the vaccinated continue to wear them? Is a mask really necessary outdoors? So many questions remain, but the answers are hard to come by as health agencies, local officials, and even health experts seem to continually change their recommendations.

On this week's episode, Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH, associate chief in the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine at the University of California San Francisco, joins us to help break down what the science shows about masks and their ability to protect us.

It has now been 6 months since the first wave of Americans received their first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. Proving just how effective the vaccines are in the U.S., we've seen the virus spread down to levels not seen since the start of the pandemic. But one thing we still don't know: how long immunity will last.

As Pfizer and Moderna move forward for full FDA licensure, executives at both companies have cited the need for a likely booster. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, DVM, PhD, predicted the need for a booster to be "somewhere between 6 and 12 months" after first being vaccinated. Explaining the key role variants will play in the decision, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel predicted it could be as soon as September for those at highest risk of severe infection.

NIAID director Anthony Fauci, MD, told a Senate subcommittee that he would expect the need for a booster, but declined to put a timeline on his prediction. "I don't anticipate that the durability of the vaccine protection is going to be infinite," Fauci said. Researchers within his institute at the NIH recently began looking into, not just if boosters are necessary but also how to possibly mix vaccines and the impacts on protection.

On this week's episode, William Schaffner, MD, professor of Preventive Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, joins us to help break down what the science tells us now, and what to expect.

The U.S. has hit a new COVID-19 milestone -- not a grim one, but one of hope -- experiencing the lowest case and death counts since early on in the pandemic.

Around the world, a different picture is emerging as countries like Brazil, India, and Malaysia are experiencing devastating surges and shortages of critical supplies. India recently reported seeing more COVID deaths in a single day than any other country at any time during the pandemic.

Globally, more than 3.5 million people are estimated to have died from COVID-19 -- however, researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine believe that number is vastly undercounted and the real death toll is likely two to three times higher. Even as 9% of the world's population have gotten vaccinated, half of those manufactured doses have gone to wealthy countries, whose supply is starting to exceed demand.

Krutika Kuppalli, MD, vice chair of the global health committee at the Infectious Diseases Society of America and assistant professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at the Medical University of South Carolina, joins us in this week's episode to explain why the longer cases spread uncontained in any part of the world, the worse it fares for all of us.

Almost half of all Americans have now received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and roughly 40% are fully vaccinated, making mask mandates a thing of the past. Already, more than half a dozen states have vaccinated more than 70% of adults with at least one dose and some counties are hitting vaccine rates as high as 90% for those over 65 years of age.

As we've watched deaths from COVID drop across the country, it seems we are getting closer to the goal of the pandemic response: getting a high enough percentage of people with immunity to return to "normal." While all signs seem to point to us being closer to that goal, will it also signal the end of the pandemic? After all, herd immunity is a global effort and dozens of countries haven't even vaccinated 5% of their population.

Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, the former CDC Director under President Obama, and current president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, joins us on this week's episode to explain if we'll get there or if our goal should be something else completely.

The COVID-19 vaccine rollout has now expanded to include young adolescents among those eligible to receive Pfizer's two-dose shot. This expanded authorization comes as mask mandates across the country are lifting.

Adding younger teens means an additional 17-million sleeves can be rolled up to receive a shot as the U.S. pushes forward with the largest mass vaccination program in history. But, even if vaccinations mean life can go 'back to normal,' many parents are concerned over potential side effects and long-term impacts of the vaccine. Others, however, are rushing to vaccinate ahead of summer camps. Every parent wonders: when will a vaccine be available for even younger kids? Some parents have even considered enrolling their young children in clinical trials for an earlier shot at a dose.

Joining us this week is Paul A. Offit, MD, director of the Vaccine Education Center and professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He's also a member of the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), the impartial group of experts that has been responsible for giving the greenlight for emergency use authorization.

Wear your mask. Or, don't wear your mask if you are vaccinated, as long as you are outside. But, keep masking and social distancing inside even if you are vaccinated. It's confusing to many.

Vaccines have been proven to prevent serious infection, and studies that show a reduction in transmission are building, but they aren't foolproof. A recent study by Public Health England found that a single dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca vaccine reduced household transmission by up to half. Those both require two doses to be considered "fully vaccinated." The study comes as we hear more about breakthrough COVID cases.

In this episode, Colleen Kelley, MD, an associate professor of infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and a principal investigator for the Moderna and Novavax phase III clinical trials at the Ponce de Leon Clinical Research Site, joins us to explain the risk of transmission after vaccination.