Public Health On Call

POTS is a chronic syndrome marked by high blood pressure and dizziness that can be debilitating. It's often diagnosed after patients recover from viruses like strep or mono, and now doctors are seeing patients develop POTS-like symptoms after infection with COVID-19. Dr. Christina Kokorelis and patient Vanessa McMains talk with Stephanie Desmon about POTS and the long-term prognosis for patients suffering from symptoms long after recovering from COVID. KEYWORDS: chronic disease; long-term symptoms; post-viral syndrome

Last fall, the state of North Dakota had the highest COVID-19 rate per capita in the world and Sanford Medical Center in Fargo was nearly overwhelmed with COVID patients from as far away as Montana. Dr. Doug Griffin, Sanford Health vice president and medical officer, talks with Stephanie Desmon about how the hospital got through that crisis and what things are like today, his fears of another surge, and the hope that a robust vaccination plan will keep COVID-19 cases in check. KEYWORDS: pandemic response; policy; health infrastructure

Baltimore County's mass vaccination sites—called "PODs," which stands for Point of Dispensing—can serve up to 500 patients an hour. The logistics of moving so many people safely through a space are complicated, but Terry Sapp, the public health emergency coordinator for Baltimore County, is drawing on his years of experience setting up venues for the heavy metal rock band Twisted Sister. Sapp talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about crowd control and the human psychology behind successful PODs and, yes, the jokes he hears—"As far as COVID vaccines, we're going to take it...and we want you to take it too." KEYWORDS: vaccine distribution; pandemic response

While COVID-19 showed all the ways the health care and public health systems in the US are broken, the pandemic has also led to innovative problem solving and fixes for the future. Health economist Dr. Melinda Buntin talks with Stephanie Desmon about what went wrong, what went right, what changes she hopes will stay, and what comes next for health care and public health. KEYWORDS: telemedicine; health infrastructure

Physicians play a crucial role in educating patients, who have lots of questions about COVID-19 vaccines. Drs. Jay Bhatt and Hussein Lalani are part of a digital campaign called This Is Our Shot that aims to drive out misinformation and elevate personal stories from physicians about getting COVID-19 vaccines. They talk with Stephanie Desmon about their work and how it's "drawing on the very best of humanity" to end the pandemic. You can learn more at www.thisisourshot.info. KEYWORDS: health communication; vaccine hesitancy; health equity

This week, the CDC released new guidance for vaccinated people who can resume some lower-risk activities. Dr. Tara Kirk Sell from the Center for Health Security talks with Stephanie Desmon about the impacts of "relaxing the rules," how this might help vaccine uptake, what we might expect next in terms of "Phase 2" guidance, and how we can all help those who are still awaiting their shot(s). KEYWORDS: vaccine hesitancy; policy; pandemic response

Does taking immunosuppressant drugs put you at higher risk of more serious disease from COVID-19? Dr. Caleb Alexander and PhD candidate Kayte Andersen talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about their new research looking into this question. They also discuss future research to tackle the next set of critical questions for the millions of people who need these medications to stay healthy. KEYWORDS: immune response

How do you have meaningful conversations around really big, complex problems like climate change or COVID-19? How can we address "climate anxiety?" Dr. Adam Levy—aka ClimateAdam on YouTube—a science journalist and communicator with a degree in atmospheric physics, talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about his work trying to creatively "close the gap between research and action." KEYWORDS: environmental health; policy; misinformation

We know that having diabetes is a risk factor for more serious COVID-19 disease, but is being seriously ill from COVID-19 a risk factor for diabetes? Hopkins endocrinologist Dr. Mihail Zilbermint talks with Stephanie Desmon about what we know—and don't know—about the relationship between COVID-19 and diabetes. KEYWORDS: chronic disease; health equity

Dr. David Relman, a professor of medicine and microbiology at Stanford, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about his view that more investigation is needed into the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Dr. Relman also explains why stronger controls on research that involves pathogens with pandemic potential are urgently needed. KEYWORDS: zoonotic virus; policy