COVID-19: Public Health, Policy, and Culture

Dr. April Moreno

Information about COVID-19 from a public health, policy, and cultural approach in a way that is translatable to the public. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/covid19ppc/support (https://anchor.fm/covid19ppc/support) read less
Society & CultureSociety & Culture

Episodes

Episode 42: A Discussion on the BA.2 Variant
01-03-2022
Episode 42: A Discussion on the BA.2 Variant
In this episode, we discuss the new BA.2 variant, a sublineage of Omicron (aka BA.1). How does BA.2 differ from BA.1/Omicron, and from Delta for that matter?We share news and information from the US, Denmark, Japan, South Africa, as well as the World Health Organization about this new variant and why some people feel hopeful - despite the continued illness and positive cases we are seeing worldwide. We also discuss why COVID continues to be a concern for the immunocompromised and why protections can still be crucial.References:NPR: "More Contagious Version of Omicron Spreads in US, Fueling Worries"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/02/21/1081810074/omicron-ba2-variant-spreadNature: "Had Omicron? You're Unlikely to Catch its Rising Variant"https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00558-wDeseret News: "New Omicron Subvariant Has New COVID Symptoms"https://www.deseret.com/coronavirus/2022/2/24/22948911/new-covid-19-symptoms-omicron-subvariant-ba2BioRXIV.org: Virological Characteristics of SARS COV2 BA.2 Varianthttps://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.14.480335v1.full.pdfReuters: Omicron BA.2 Subvariant More Infectious but No More Severe - Africa CDChttps://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/omicron-ba2-sub-variant-more-infectious-no-more-severe-africa-cdc-2022-02-24/UN: Omicron Sublineage BA.2 Remains a Variant of Concernhttps://news.un.org/en/story/2022/02/1112492We are a proud member of the Public Health Podcast Network. Visit the site to learn about other public health podcasts as well, or join the community: publichealthpodcasters.com
Episode 37: The Landscape of K-12 Pandemic Policy for Children and their Families with Dr. Bess Williamson
04-10-2021
Episode 37: The Landscape of K-12 Pandemic Policy for Children and their Families with Dr. Bess Williamson
As schools reopen for the fall, off and on after 18 months in some cases, there is still much uncertainty about how schools are responding to the pandemic. There are changing quarantine and vaccine guidelines, and the current lack of vaccine access at this time for children. Dr. Bess Williamson shares information on the school landscape for children at school in Chicago and the continuing policy needs, concerns and messaging available to children, parents, and families. Dr. Bess Williamson is an Associate Professor of Art History, Theory, and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is the author of Accessible America: A History of Disability and Design.  Bess is on Twitter at @besswww References: K-12 Schools and Child Care Guidance https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/index.html Supporting Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Maximizing In-Person Learning and Implementing Effective Practices for Students in Quarantine and Isolation https://www.ed.gov/coronavirus/supporting-students-during-covid-19-pandemic Will COVID cases in Chicago schools force your child to quarantine? Here’s a handy flowchart https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2021/9/7/21303445/chicago-public-schools-quarantine-flow-chart-students-covid-19-data --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/covid19ppc/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/covid19ppc/support
Episode 36: The Policy Patchwork of COVID Prevention and its Impacts
08-09-2021
Episode 36: The Policy Patchwork of COVID Prevention and its Impacts
In this episode, we discuss the various guidelines and patchwork of policies in various public-facing sectors such as schools, hotels, and restaurants and their inconsistencies. We discuss: -The difference between guidelines (such as CDC quarantine guidance) -The differing policies for schools and their return to campus for testing and vaccine verification -The unclear herd immunity percentage goal for COVID -Hotel policies and surface cleaning but hardly a mention of air filtration of this airborne pandemic -How bartenders, waitresses, etc. in the service industry have had to become public health policy enforcers for the businesses Difference Between Guideline and Policy: http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-guideline-and-policy/ CDC Guidelines for Quarantine: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/quarantine-isolation.html University Guidelines for Vaccine Verification: University of California system: https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/July-2021-student-FAQ-UC-covid-19-vaccination-policy SDCCD 7 day testing requirement: https://www.sdccd.edu/students/covid19/ Why Herd Immunity for COVID May Not Be Possible: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00728-2 Caesars Resorts COVID Policies: https://www.caesars.com/health-and-safety Hilton Clean Stay: https://www.hilton.com/en/corporate/cleanstay/?cid=OH%2CWW%2CCOVIDhub%2CMULTIPR%2CDropdown%2CAboutUs%2CSingleLink%2Ci80835&adobe_mc=58535966794692775455685936553697175193 I Loved Being a Bartender but COVID Turned My Job into a Nightmare I Couldn't Bear: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/service-industry-bartending-covid-19_n_6131149fe4b05f53eda50759 Learn more about the Public Health Podcast Network, a community of professionals and academics in the public health space leveraging podcasting for health communication.  https://publichealthpodcasters.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/covid19ppc/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/covid19ppc/support
Episode 35: The Limitations of Public Health
31-07-2021
Episode 35: The Limitations of Public Health
Public health agencies are doing their work to the best of their abilities but is this enough? In this episode we discuss the abilities and the limitations of public health agencies. We discuss the new CDC guidance, breakthrough cases and children hospitalized and unprotected from COVID. We also discuss the culture of reactive vs. proactive public health work, and the potential for researchers and grassroots organizations to take action where government cannot. News References: Newest CDC guidance: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html Breakthrough Cases and the Delta Variant: https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210726/breakthrough-cases-rising-with-delta-heres-what-that-means South Florida Children's Hospitals Report Uptick in COVID Cases: https://www.local10.com/news/local/2021/07/30/south-florida-childrens-hospitals-report-uptick-in-covid-19-cases-among-children/ Proactive Leadership vs. Reactive Leadership: https://sites.psu.edu/academy/2018/03/04/proactive-leadership-v-s-reactive-leadership/#:~:text=A%20lot%20of%20people%20prefer,a%20vision%20of%20the%20future.&text=Reactive%20leadership%20means%20that%20leaders,happening%20before%20making%20any%20decision Learn more about the Public Health Podcast Network and get connected to your public health career development with podcasting as your tool for outreach: www.publichealthpodcasters.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/covid19ppc/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/covid19ppc/support
Episode 33: The Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID in Santiago, Chile with Dr. Pamela P Martinez
23-06-2021
Episode 33: The Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID in Santiago, Chile with Dr. Pamela P Martinez
Although in some countries things have reopened and people feel ready to live in a post-COVID society, unfortuntately this is not yet the case. In Latin America we are seeing COVID hotspots from a global perspective and the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic is clearly emerging. Professor Pamela P. Martinez, Assistant Professor of Microbiology of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign shares her recent findings on socioeconomic disparities and lives impacted by COVID-19 in Santiago, Chile. Abstract from Dr. Martinez's recent publication: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected cities particularly hard. Here, we provide an in-depth characterization of disease incidence and mortality and their dependence on demographic and socioeconomic strata in Santiago, a highly segregated city and the capital of Chile. Our analyses show a strong association between socioeconomic status and both COVID-19 outcomes and public health capacity. People living in municipalities with low socioeconomic status did not reduce their mobility during lockdowns as much as those in more affluent municipalities. Testing volumes may have been insufficient early in the pandemic in those places, and both test positivity rates and testing delays were much higher. We find a strong association between socioeconomic status and mortality, measured by either COVID-19-attributed deaths or excess deaths. Finally, we show that infection fatality rates in young people are higher in low-income municipalities. Together, these results highlight the critical consequences of socioeconomic inequalities on health outcomes.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33906968/ More about Dr. Martinez: https://mcb.illinois.edu/faculty/profile/pamelapm/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Learn more about podcasting for public health! Join the Public Health Podcast Network:  publichealthpodcasters.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/covid19ppc/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/covid19ppc/support
Episode 32: Public Health Practice and Population Health
03-06-2021
Episode 32: Public Health Practice and Population Health
Despite many months into the pandemic, do you still feel unclear about what public health is and what public health is designed to do? Do you know what epidemiology is, and how this field of study saves lives during epidemics and pandemics? There is still a wealth of confusion as it relates to what public health is and how it differs from emergency medicine or clinical care in general. In this episode, Dr. April Moreno shares more information about public health and how it differs from the field of medicine, in addition, how it frequently differs from population health as well. In this episode you will learn more about public health and the reasons for why both public health and emergency medicine are crucial in controlling the global COVID-19 pandemic. More About John Snow, GIS, Epidemiology and Cholera: https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/mar/15/john-snow-cholera-map CDC: 10 Essential Public Health Services (Revised 2020): https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/publichealthservices/essentialhealthservices.html CDC: Who Are Epidemiologists? https://www.cdc.gov/careerpaths/k12teacherroadmap/epidemiologists.html#:~:text=Often%20called%20%E2%80%9CDisease%20Detectives%E2%80%9D%2C,to%20be%20%E2%80%9CDisease%20Detectives%E2%80%9D. CDC: What is Population Health: https://www.cdc.gov/pophealthtraining/whatis.html AHA: What Is Population Health Management: https://www.aha.org/center/population-health-management The Public Health Podcast Network: Are you a public health podcaster or professional seeking career development and mentorship in public health communications? Join the Public Health Podcast Network, a community of professionals in community, global, and environmental health podcasting.  https://www.publichealthpodcasters.com Available for Workshops and Lectures: We are available to speak at your university or group about the power of podcasting for health equity. Contact april at aprilmorenophd.com for more information.  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/covid19ppc/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/covid19ppc/support --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/covid19ppc/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/covid19ppc/support