Coronavirus (COVID-19) Q&A

Genetic variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are emerging but so far do not seem to have caused breakthrough infections in people with previous infection or in those who have been vaccinated. John P. Moore, PhD, of Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York, joins JAMA's Q&A series for an update on the latest variants and what you need to know. Recorded March 4, 2021. Related Article: App...

Interview with Christopher J.L. Murray, MD, DPhil, author of The Potential Future of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Will SARS-CoV-2 Become a Recurrent Seasonal Infection? Related Article(s): The Potential Future of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Nancy E. Messonnier, MD is director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and leads the CDC's efforts on COVID-19 vaccination. She joins JAMA's Q&A series to discuss the agency's response to emerging coronavirus variants, the FDA advisory hearings on the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and other agency activi...

Interview with James C. Robinson, PhD, author of Funding of Pharmaceutical Innovation During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are the first of many being tested for widespread use. Buddy Creech, MD, MPH, director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, reviews these and other vaccines likely to become available, including products that use inactivated, protein subunit, and viral vector immunization strategies. Related Article(s): SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines

The CDC coordinated a massive effort to immunize nearly all nursing home and long-term care facility residents in the US against COVID-19 infection in the month after vaccine approval. Ruth Link-Gelles, PhD, MPH, CDC staff epidemiologist and Lieutenant Commander of the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, describes how. Related Article(s): First-Dose COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Ski...

Researchers Investigate What COVID-19 Does to the Heart; "Important Conversations" Are Needed to Explain the Nocebo Effect; Therapists Donate Their Time to Counsel Distressed Health Care Workers Related Article: Researchers Investigate What COVID-19 Does to the Heart "Important Conversations" Are Needed to Explain the Nocebo Effect Therapists Donate Their Time to Counsel Distressed Health Care Wor...

CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, returns to JAMA's Q&A series to discuss the agency's response to emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, implications for the planned vaccine mobilization strategy, the upcoming Johnson & Johnson vaccine FDA advisory hearings, strategies for reopening K-12 schools, and other agency activities and priorities related to COVID-19 control. Recorded February 17, 2021....

Paul A. Offit, MD, of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia returns to JAMA's Q&A series to provide an update on the emergence of COVID-19 variants and their implications for vaccine development, including the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, scheduled for a US Food and Drug Administration VRBPAC hearing on February 26, 2021. Recorded February 11, 2021. Related Article: SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines and the Gro...

As US vaccine distribution expands to include younger healthier populations, questions about vaccine safety in women of childbearing age have become more urgent. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center's Catherine Y. Spong, MD, and Emory University School of Medicine's Denise J. Jamieson, MD, MPH, both eminent obstetrician/gynecologists, join JAMA's Q&A series to discuss the safety of the...

Natural experiments comparing coronavirus spread on ships and in hair salons with vs without face masks point to the importance of wearing masks for curbing SARS-CoV-2 spread. John T. Brooks, MD, chief medical officer of the CDC's COVID-19 response team, reviews recently published epidemiologic data that reinforce the role of mask use for pandemic control. Related Article: Effectiveness of Mask We...

Interview with Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, author of Mandating COVID-19 Vaccines

2021 has brought news of emerging SARS-CoV-2 genetic variants that increase transmissibility. Will they diminish vaccine efficacy and lead us to lose pandemic control? University of Michigan's Adam Lauring, MD, PhD, a molecular virologist who uses evolutionary theory to study viral transmission and pathogenesis, joins JAMA's Q&A series to explain the variants and what they mean for public health....

NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, MD, returns to JAMA's Q&A series to discuss Shifts in the US pandemic response under the Biden administration Emerging genetic variants and implications for vaccine efficacy Prospects for new vaccine approvals and more. Related Article: Preventing the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 With Masks and Other "Low-tech" Interventions

Interview with Kristin M. Holland, PhD, MPH, author of Trends in US Emergency Department Visits for Mental Health, Overdose, and Violence Outcomes Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Peter Piot, MD, PhD, director of The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is a legend in global health, having been involved in identification of HIV and Ebola virus in Africa. He was founding executive director of UNAIDS and Under Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1995 to 2008. He joins JAMA's Q&A series to discuss the global public health response to COVID-19 past, present,...

Interview with Donald C. Goff, MD, author of Association of Psychiatric Disorders With Mortality Among Patients With COVID-19

Ethnic and racial minorities have been particularly hard hit with COVID-19 in some communities. Mitchell Katz, MD, president and chief executive officer of New York City Health + Hospitals, and former Los Angeles County health agency director, discusses this problem and what has been learned from COVID-19 that can help resolve the general problem of health care disparities. Related Article: Racial...

Incoming Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, returns to JAMA's Q&A series to discuss her vision and priorities for the agency and changes in its pandemic response strategies, when she takes the reins on January 20. Recorded January 19, 2021. Related Article(s): All-Cause Excess Mortality and COVID-19–Related Mortality Among US Adults Aged 25-44...

To get more vaccine to more people more efficiently, UCSF School of Medicine's Robert M. Wachter, MD, recently urged giving a single dose now and deferring the second dose until more vaccine is available. Paul A. Offit, MD, of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, disagrees. The two discuss the pros and the cons of the plan and alternative responses to road bumps in the US vaccine rollout, on J...

Editor in Chief Fred Rivara and Deputy Editor Steve Fihn discuss research published in JAMA Network Open in January 2021 Related Article: Association of Intensive Care Unit Patient Load and Demand With Mortality Rates in US Department of Veterans Affairs Hospitals During the COVID-19 Pandemic SARS-CoV-2 Transmission From People Without COVID-19 Symptoms Intensive Care Unit Strain and Mortality Ris...

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted scientists to use adaptive research designs to evaluate potential treatments simultaneously and efficiently, increasing the likelihood that patients will receive treatments most likely to be effective for them. Lennie Derde, MD, of University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands and JAMA Associate Editor Christopher W. Seymour, MD, of University of Pittsburg...

Mitchell Katz, MD, president and chief executive officer of New York City Health + Hospitals, and former Los Angeles County health agency director, discusses causes, similarities, and differences between the spike of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the 2 cities. Related Article: Modernize Medical Licensing, and Credentialing, Too—Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic

Arnold S. Monto, MD, chaired the US Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) meetings in December that led to Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. He joins JAMA's Q&A series from the University of Michigan School of Public Health to discuss experience to date with the 2 products and what's next in...

Interview with Samyukta Mullangi, MD, MBA, author of The COVID-19 Pandemic—An Opportune Time to Update Medical Licensing ; also with Mitchell H. Katz, MD, chief executive officer of New York City Health and Hospitals and author of Modernize Medical Licensing, and Credentialing, Too—Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic