Apr 29, 2022

How did omicron numbers affect hospitalization rates? Why are positivity rates so high in some areas, and should we even pay attention to those? How accurate are rapid tests, and how forgiving are they of user error? Are our immune systems more “naive” after two years of physical distancing and masks?

Dr. Amesh...

Apr 27, 2022

Wastewater surveillance has become an indispensable leading indicator of community COVID levels, providing real time data a week or so ahead of health department testing reports. Johns Hopkins environmental health scientist Dr. Natalie Exum talks with Stephanie Desmon about wastewater surveillance for COVID and tracking...

Apr 26, 2022

The federal “test-to-treat” program was designed to reduce hospitalizations and deaths by getting antivirals to people who test positive for COVID-19 as quickly as possible. Hannah Recht, a reporter at Kaiser Health News who has written about the topic, talks to Stephanie Desmon about how confusing websites, lack of...

Apr 25, 2022

Malaria, a serious disease caused by the plasmodium pathogen which is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, affects some 228 million people worldwide each year and kills more than 600,000—90% of whom live in Africa. On World Malaria Day, Dr. George Dimopolous of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute talks with...

Apr 22, 2022

In-patient treatment for severe COVID has come a long way since 2020 thanks, in part, to the rare opportunity of real-time data collection from so many people sick with the same disease at the same time. Dr. Brian Garibaldi, director of the Johns Hopkins Biocontainment Unit, returns to the podcast to talk with Stephanie...