Global Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

In early September of 2021, the Texas state legislature passed a law, called The Heart Beat Act, that allows private citizens to sue anyone who helps terminate a pregnancy at after 6 weeks. In this episode, medical students Allie Berges and Thomas Le talk with family planning physician Dr. Jennifer Robinson about what exactly this law means, why it is detrimental to the health and well-being of women, and what actions you can take in the fight against this law. Dr. Jennifer Robinson is an OB/GYN trained physician, and the Johns Hopkins Medical Director of the Hopkins Center for Family Planning. Her job involves provides complex contraception and abortion services to women from Maryland and neighboring states. She is also the Selective Director for Family Planning as part of the medical school’s Women’s Health Clerkship, and is one of the course directors for the Genes to Society Reproductive Sciences block in the School of Medicine.   Content discussed in this podcast does not reflect the views of our institutions. This podcast is also not meant for medical advice.  Original music composed by Ved Tanavde (adapted from composition by Thomas Le, Alina Spiegel, and Antonio Salas) For news updates on the coronavirus, follow @covidup2date on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter for concise updates from medical students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wondering what's the buzz about artificial intelligence (AI) and how it can be applied to medicine? In this episode, medical students Thomas Le and Neha Anand break down the basics of AI, or machine learning, and discuss controversies and gray areas for its application in health care. Content discussed in this podcast does not reflect the views of our institutions. This podcast is also not meant for medical advice.  Original music composed by Ved Tanavde (adapted from composition by Thomas Le, Alina Spiegel, and Antonio Salas) For more news updates on the coronavirus, follow @covidup2date on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter for concise updates from medical students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode features a discussion with Jeffrey Hardesty, a public health researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who studies vaping and patterns of e-cigarette use, and medical students Thomas Le and Allie Berges.  Jeffrey Hardesty is a Research Associate in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society. He received his Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. His work at the Institute focuses on the potential benefits and unintended consequences of domestic and international e-cigarette and tobacco policies. His current projects include the Vaping and Patterns of E-cigarette use Research Study (VAPER Study), a prospective cohort study of e-cigarette users in the U.S. He has authored state of the evidence reports on raising the minimum age of purchase of tobacco products from 18 to 21 and banning or restricting flavored tobacco products. His past work focused on pictorial health warning labels in China and Indonesia. Content discussed in this podcast does not reflect the views of our institutions. This podcast is also not meant for medical advice.  Original music composed by Ved Tanavde (adapted from composition by Thomas Le, Alina Spiegel, and Antonio Salas) For more news updates on the coronavirus, follow @covidup2date on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter for concise updates from medical students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode features a discussion with Dr. Mike Rushanan, Director of Medical Security at Harbor Labs, and Tushar Jois, PhD student in computer security led by MD/PhD student Rohan Panaparambil on the intersection of security and medicine. The episode begins with a brief news update on the Delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19, new CDC mask guidance, and vaccine mandates by Allie Berges and Neha Anand. Afterwards, the guests talk about the balance of security and privacy of medical data and innovation in regards to COVID-19 contact tracing, medical devices, and other healthcare issues, also touching on policy and regulatory issues.  Content discussed in this podcast does not reflect the views of our institutions. This podcast is also not meant for medical advice.  Original music composed by Ved Tanavde (adapted from composition by Thomas Le, Alina Spiegel, and Antonio Salas) For more news updates on the coronavirus, follow @covidup2date on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter for concise updates from medical students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode features a discussion with Dr. Casey Humbyrd on the ethics of telemedicine led by medical student Morgan Snow. Dr. Humbyrd is the chief of foot and ankle orthopedics at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also the founder and coordinator of the program in surgical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania. She obtained her MD from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, completed her residency at Johns Hopkins University and her fellowship at Mercy Medical Center. Before coming to the University of Pennsylvania, she was the chief of foot and ankle orthopedics at Johns Hopkins University where she obtained her masters in bioethics from the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Humbyrd’s academic work focuses on the intersection of ethical issues in orthopedic surgery.  The episode begins with a brief news update by Neha Anand and Allie Berges on the disparities related to the pandemic and the relaxing of mask requirements for vaccinated individuals in the U.S.  Content discussed in this podcast does not reflect the views of our institutions. This podcast is also not meant for medical advice.  Original music composed by Ved Tanavde (adapted from composition by Thomas Le, Alina Spiegel, and Antonio Salas) For more news updates on the coronavirus, follow @covidup2date on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter for concise daily updates from medical students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gained the Quarantine 19? Looking for tips for eating more healthy foods? In this episode, medical students Terrence Tsou, Daniel Weng, and Allie Berges talk about suggestions for developing healthy eating habits, drawing both from scientific literature and their own personal experiences. The episode begins with a brief news update by Neha Anand and Allie Berges on the coronavirus vaccines and birth rates in the U.S.  Mentioned in this episode: Hungry Harvest (https://hungryharvest.net/), Meal Tracking Apps like MyFitnessPal (https://www.myfitnesspal.com/)  Content discussed in this podcast does not reflect the views of our institutions. This podcast is also not meant for medical advice.  Original music composed by Ved Tanavde (adapted from composition by Thomas Le, Alina Spiegel, and Antonio Salas) For more news updates on the coronavirus, follow @covidup2date on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter for concise daily updates from medical students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode delves into several aspects of the vaccine rollout during the COVID-19 pandemic globally and in the U.S. Medical students Vimal Konduri and Neha Anand discuss the currently available vaccines, controversies surrounding the vaccines, concerns about inequitable distribution, and when to expect herd immunity. They also answer questions from the social media page @covidup2date.  Content discussed in this podcast does not reflect the views of our institutions. This podcast is also not meant for medical advice.  Original music composed by Ved Tanavde (adapted from composition by Thomas Le, Alina Spiegel, and Antonio Salas) For more news updates on the coronavirus, follow @covidup2date on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter for concise daily updates from medical students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode features an interview with Dr. Chantel Cross, an infertility treatment specialist at Johns Hopkins. After a brief news update on the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine by Allie Berges and Neha Anand, medical student Morgan Snow and Dr. Cross discuss infertility treatment options, barriers to and disparities in treatment, and how treatment has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Dr. Cross is a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist whose clinical practice is centered on the evaluation and treatment of women facing infertility and those with reproductive endocrinopathies affecting their fertility. She sees patients with a wide range of conditions including polycystic ovarian syndrome, recurrent ovulatory dysfunction, tubal disease, pelvic mass and pelvic adhesions as well as fertility complications related to endometriosis, fibroids and ovarian cysts. Additionally, Dr. Cross sees patients who seek fertility preservation such as embryo, egg and ovarian cryopreservation due to cancer treatment and/or other medical complications. Dr. Cross has particular interests in infectious disease as it relates to infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss. Her current research explores the role of vitamin D deficiency in uterine fibroid development. Content discussed in this podcast does not reflect the views of our institutions. This podcast is also not meant for medical advice.  Original music composed by Ved Tanavde (adapted from composition by Thomas Le, Alina Spiegel, and Antonio Salas) For more news updates on the coronavirus, follow @covidup2date on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter for concise daily updates from medical students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode compares global public health responses to the coronavirus pandemic that began in March 2020. Medical students Siddharth Venkatraman and Leo Shen discuss the successes and pitfalls of the responses by the UK, Taiwan, South Africa and Hungary and what we can learn from the measures they used. This episode draws information from the following references:  https://www-sciencedirect-com.proxy1.library.jhu.edu/science/article/pii/S0140673620323503 https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/15/europe/uk-vaccine-rollout-target-gbr-intl/index.html https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32750-1/fulltext https://time.com/5899432/sweden-coronovirus-disaster/  This episode was produced by Samantha Hao. Content discussed in this podcast does not reflect the views of our institutions. This podcast is also not meant for medical advice.  Original music composed by Thomas Le and performed by The Bruits (Alina Spiegel, Antonio Salas, and Thomas Le) For more news updates on the coronavirus, follow @covidup2date on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter for concise daily updates from medical students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode discusses the issue of in-person schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. After a brief news update from Allie Berges and Neha Anand, Vimal Konduri and Neha Anand discuss several topics related to school policies during the pandemic. What evidence is there on the safety of in-person schooling? How has disruption in education impacted students, teachers, and staff? What is the role of pediatric health professionals for this issue?  This episode discusses CDC’s report on in-person schooling published in JAMA on Jan. 26th and the most recent guidelines on in-person schooling by the American Academy of Pediatrics:  CDC report: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2775875  AAP guidelines: https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/clinical-guidance/covid-19-planning-considerations-return-to-in-person-education-in-schools/  Content discussed in this podcast does not reflect the views of our institutions. This podcast is also not meant for medical advice.  Original music composed by Thomas Le and performed by The Bruits (Alina Spiegel, Antonio Salas, and Thomas Le) For more news updates on the coronavirus, follow @covidup2date on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter for concise daily updates from medical students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices