#192 - COVID Part 2: Masks, long COVID, boosters, mandates, treatments, and more

15 snips

Jan 24, 2022

Guest

Monica Gandhi

Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins health policy expert, Zubin Damania, aka ZDoggMD, a physician commentator, and Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease specialist at UCSF, discuss crucial COVID-19 topics. They dive into the milder nature of the Omicron variant and its implications for public health. The trio addresses vaccine efficacy, the complexities of vaccination mandates, and the social dynamics shaping public perception during the pandemic. They also debunk prevalent myths and share insights on navigating long COVID and recent treatment options.

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INSIGHT

Omicron Severity

Omicron data from Kaiser Southern California shows no mechanical ventilation required in 52,000 cases.
This suggests Omicron behaves differently and milder than previous variants.

INSIGHT

Incidental Omicron Hospitalizations

Many hospitalized Omicron patients may be "incidental" findings.
These patients test positive but are primarily hospitalized for other reasons.

INSIGHT

Omicron Mildness Factors

Immunity contributes to milder Omicron outcomes.
Omicron is inherently less virulent than Delta, even in unvaccinated young children.

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Episode Description:

This episode is a follow-up to our recent COVID-19 podcast with Drs. Marty Makary and Zubin Damania (aka ZDoggMD). Here, we address many of the listener questions we received about our original discussion. In addition to Marty and ZDoggMD, we are also joined by Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease specialist and Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. In this episode, we talk about new data on Omicron, long COVID, masks, kids and schools, vaccine mandates, policy questions, and treatments. We also discuss some of the most prevalent misinformation and spend time talking about claims made by Robert Malone. We end with a conversation about our exit strategy.

Please note: we recorded this episode on January 17, 2022, and in an effort to get it out as soon as possible, this won’t have full show notes or a video. Additionally, Monica was only able to join us for the first section of the podcast, so you’ll hear her drop off partway through.

We discuss:

Severity of infection from Omicron—reviewing the data [5:15];
Factors contributing to the relative mildness of Omicron infections [8:30];
Is SARS-CoV-2 evolving to cause less severe disease? [13:00];
Potential of Covaxin—an inactivated virus-based COVID-19 vaccine [17:45];
How B cells and T cells work together to defend against viruses [22:00];
Comparing COVID-19 vaccines, and the rationale for the time between doses [25:30];
Reviewing the purpose and effectiveness of boosters for reducing severity and transmission [32:30];
Debating vaccine mandates, and putting COVID’s mortality risk in perspective [41:00];
Why the topic of COVID has become so polarized [1:03:15]
Reviewing the data on masks for protecting oneself and protecting others [1:06:30];
The inconsistent logic used for mask mandates [1:16:00];
Long COVID and the potential for vaccines to reduce risk [1:21:45];
Risks for children and policies for schools [1:27:30];
Reviewing the outcomes from Sweden, where the government didn't impose lockdowns [1:31:00];
Draconian measures implemented in Canada [1:38:15];
Antiviral treatments for COVID and a common-sense approach [1:42:15];
Importance of ending tribalism and having rational discussions with humility [1:47:30];
Treating infection with monoclonal antibodies and convalescent sera [2:01:45];
Reviewing claims made by the controversial Dr. Robert Malone [2:11:15];
A potential exit strategy from the current situation [2:30:30];
Changes needed at the NIH [2:40:00];
More.

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