Public Health On Call

Epidemiologists, community health workers, laboratory professionals, data analysts, and a whole spectrum of public health workers rose to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, years of underinvestment in public health departments undermined the response. New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about what the pandemic has taught about urgently needed investments in public health workforce.

Native American communities were especially hard hit during the pandemic with COVID cases 10 times that of the rest of the US. Dr. Allison Barlow talks with Stephanie Desmon about how the Native Americans went from the highest rates of cases, hospitalizations, and fatalities to the highest vaccination rates in the US with 70-95% of the community fully vaccinated. They also talk about how much the rest of the US can learn from these successes, and how the intrinsic values of indigenous communities can mean better health for all people.

According to a new report by the Network for Public Health Law, several states are considering or have passed legislation to limit the ability of public health agencies to respond to infectious disease and other emergencies. At stake are the ability of health departments to impose quarantine to save lives or require masks for any conditions, including infectious tuberculosis. Donna Levin, National Director for the Network, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the history of public health authority, what's happening now in North Dakota, Kansas, and elsewhere; and the dangers of these ill-considered laws.

As a 2004 Olympic silver medalist in swimming and public health expert at the Center for Health Security, Dr. Tara Kirk Sell is uniquely positioned to talk about what to expect at next month's Olympics. Dr. Sell talks with Stephanie Desmon about how the Olympic committees are working to keep athletes safe, what could go wrong, and why we need the Olympics now more than ever.

With millions of Americans still unvaccinated and dangerous variants continuing to spread, the footrace against the virus continues into the summer months. Want to help? The Made to Save Coalition is a national grassroots effort to ensure communities hardest hit by COVID-19 have access to vaccines and accurate, timely information. Chris Wyant, executive director, and Alice Chen, senior advisor, talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about what's behind this effort—and how you can join. Learn more here: madetosave.org/act

The Bloomberg American Health Initiative offers full scholarship for MPH and DrPH degrees to people working on the front lines of key challenges to health in the United States. This special episode of the Initiative's American Health Podcast features an interview with host Shane Bryan and scholarship recipient and "Bloomberg fellow" Julianah Marie, the Waste Reduction Programs Coordinator with the City of Frisco, Texas. They discuss Marie's work with the Frisco school district, the history of America's growing pollution issues, and ways to reduce the amount of waste coming from our households. To learn more about the Bloomberg American Health Initiative and the Bloomberg Fellows Program, visit https://americanhealth.jhu.edu/.

Maryland's new Health Equity Resource Act will provide more than $50 million to support community-led plans that advance health equity. What might these plans include? Where did this idea come from? Dr. Josh Sharfstein interviews Michelle Spencer, a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who previously led the development of a similar program to establish "Health Enterprise Zones" across the state. They discuss the concept of place-based programs, share examples of community investments in health, and talk through what to look for as this new law is implemented.

The Baltimore Convention Field Hospital was established in the spring of 2020 by the state of Maryland, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Maryland to fight COVID. A few weeks ago, Dr. Josh Sharfstein was invited inside the 100,000 square foot field hospital's command center to meet with Director Dr. Jim Ficke and Deputy Director Dr. Chuck Callahan. He also speaks with Dr. Mindy Kantsiper, Dr. Sophia Purekal, Dr. Zishan Siddiqui, John Fickel, and Laura Wortman. They talk about what the last year has been like, how lessons from the military-inspired design and logistics, and how this field hospital now responds to COVID on four fronts: testing, patient care, monoclonal antibody treatment center, and vaccinations.

After being fully vaccinated, only 50% of people who are immunocompromised show an antibody response against COVID-19, compared with 100% of those with a typical immune system. Hopkins transplant surgeon Dr. Dorry Segev talks with Stephanie Desmon about how the immune response is blunted in individuals taking medications for organ transplants or who have overactive immune systems, what antibody tests can and can't tell us, and whether a third dose of vaccines could help the millions of Americans who remain unprotected from COVID despite being fully vaccinated.

While gun violence has increased in most cities, Richmond, California, has seen a marked decrease in the last decade thanks to an organization that works with the people most likely to be the victims of gun violence: the shooters themselves. Guest host Dr. Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Prevention and Policy, talks with DeVone Boggan, founder, and CEO of Advance Peace. They discuss how the organization's fellowship system engages young people involved in lethal firearm offenses, approaches to violence that center wellbeing, and how investment in programs like these translates not only to saving millions of public dollars, but truly disrupting cycles of violence. Learn more here: https://www.advancepeace.org/