Infectious Diseases Episodes

Sept. 26, 2022

270: Tracking Polio in New York

Dr. Jim McDonald, Medical Director for the New York State Department of Health, discusses the discovery of polio in wastewater in at least two NY counties; Carolyn McCoy, ASTHO’s Senior Director of Federal Government Affairs, explains legislation...
Sept. 23, 2022

269: Urging COVID-19 Booster Uptake

Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO President-Elect, discusses the new COVID-19 booster designed to protect against the latest variants; Dr. Anne Zink, ASTHO President, explains the need to bring health care and public health closer together in an ASTHO blog...
Aug. 23, 2022

247: CDC Reforms

Dr. Nirav Shah, ASTHO’s President and Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, commends CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky for wanting to improve the CDC’s mission; Rachel Scheckman, an ASTHO Senior Policy Analyst,...
Aug. 22, 2022

246: Back to School Concerns

Dylan George, Director of Operations for the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics with the CDC, discusses trying to evaluate the factors that could drive more COVID-19 infections in the fall as kids return to school; Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO...
Aug. 12, 2022

240: Monkeypox Funding

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, discusses the challenges posed by the monkeypox outbreak and admits the evolving strategy can be tough to communicate; Devon Page, an ASTHO Government Affairs Analyst, breaks down Congressional...
Aug. 11, 2022

239: Infectious Disease Planning

Winfred Rawls, ASTHO’s Director for Preparedness and Evaluation, explains a project that will lead to the development of a clearinghouse with information to help public health agencies get ready for the next crisis; Andrea Flinchum, State HAI...
Aug. 10, 2022

238: New York Responds to Monkeypox

Dr. James McDonald, Medical Director in the Office of Public Health for the New York State Department of Health, says the monkeypox response in New York follows the data and social determinants; a new ASTHO report about mosquitos highlights the work...
Aug. 1, 2022

231: Monkeypox Response

Chris Taylor, Director of Infectious Disease Outbreak Response & Recovery at ASTHO, reflects on the Monkeypox outbreak now in its third month here in the United States; Robert Jennings, Executive Director of the National Public Health Information...
July 19, 2022

222: Better Data, More Equity

Dr. Carlos Oronce, an Advanced Health Services Research Fellow at the Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare System, discusses the challenges of COVID-19 being exacerbated by a lack of good data; Dr. Joseph Kanter, State Health Officer for the Louisiana...
June 30, 2022

210: Responses to Gun Violence

Lindsey Myers, ASTHO’s Vice President for Social and Behavioral Health, discusses a new blog article she authored with Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marcus Plescia about men and gun violence; Dr. Steven Stack, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for...
June 14, 2022

199: Juneteenth Webinar Examines Racism, Health Equity Link

Dr. Kimberlee Wyche-Etheridge, ASTHO’s Senior Vice President of Health Equity and Diversity Initiatives, will host a discussion featuring comments from Miss Opal Lee known as the grandmother of Juneteenth, as part of a Juneteenth webinar on...
June 13, 2022

198: Children’s COVID-19 Vaccine Outlook

Dr. Paul Offit, Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the WHERE, discusses vaccines and what to expect for the rest of this year as panels for both the FDA and the CDC begin discussing the COVID-19 vaccine for children under the age of five;...
June 10, 2022

197: Preparing for Monkeypox

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, discusses the three-step approach to combat Monkeypox in the U.S.; Dr. Jinlene Chan, Maryland’s Deputy Secretary for Public Health Services, outlines her department’s response to Monkeypox; and...
May 10, 2022

175: Tracking Threats to Pregnancy Health

Dr. Karen Remley, Director of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities with the CDC, discusses the SET-NET project to protect the health of pregnant people and their babies; Dr. Philip LoBue, Director of the Division of...
May 3, 2022

170: Hepatitis Alert

Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama’s State Health Officer, discusses how states and territories are on alert for cases of hepatitis and adenovirus in children; Dr. Jose Romero, Arkansas’ Secretary of Health, is worried about increasing cases of...