MTT #79: Why do viruses love the holidays?

As it was this time last year, ‘tis the season for sneezing once again. While carolers are coughing and shoppers are sniffling, podcast cohosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr are tracking the seasonal surge in Covid-19, influenza and RSV.

Half a year has passed since the federal government declared an end to the public health emergency for Covid-19. But public health experts are worried that the lack of masking and social distancing this year could send tens of thousands of Americans to the hospital before winter’s end.

On today’s episode of Medicine: The Truth, listeners will uncover critical insights about this season’s most important health trends.

Here’s a snapshot of topics covered on today’s show:

  • Tracking the ‘triple-demic’ this holiday
  • The major downtick in vaccine boosters for Covid-19
  • A major uptick in another vaccine-preventable disease
  • A scary new statistic concerning a mental health crisis
  • The risk of viral spread in nursing homes
  • New poll suggests most Americans know someone with long-Covid
  • A (very small) rebound in life expectancy after the pandemic
  • America’s ongoing struggles to rein in healthcare costs
  • The latest news with weight-loss drugs
  • A new technology to empower patients like never before
  • A big breakthrough in the battle against sickle-cell disease
  • The biggest health story affecting kids and parents today
  • Training more primary care doctors

Click here for more info: https://www.fixinghealthcarepodcast.com/

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Dr. Robert Pearl is the author of a book about medicine’s invisible yet highly influential physician culture. Check out “Uncaring: How Physician Culture Is Killing Doctors & Patients.” All profits from the book go to Doctors Without Borders.

Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.