Q&A with Lisa Gray

This episode is the final installment of "Q&A with Lisa Gray" and Lisa ends the podcast where it began: Talking with bow-tied vaccine researcher Peter Hotez. Hotez co-directs the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and is dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. He's also known for fighting anti-science disinformation on Twitter, cable news networks and elsewhere. Lisa is leaving the Chronicle to take a job with a media startup in Houston. Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to epidemiologist Catherine Troisi, "It depends on what you mean by “end.” Is the virus going to disappear? Probably not." Lisa and Catherine spoke Wednesday afternoon. Troisi is with the University of Texas School of Public Health. Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben Neuman was one of the world's top experts on coronaviruses long before most of us had ever heard of them. He's now chief virologist at Texas A&M's Global Health Research Complex, and regularly updates us on coronavirus science. Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"With nearly 20 percent of new cases being children, now we're going to huddle them together in schools?" says Bill McKeon. "Some may have masks. Some may not. It's a recipe for disaster." In Texas, the delta-fueled surge has already surpassed all previous COVID peaks and is still growing fast. What does that mean for Houston? For our hospitals and the people who work in them? And for Texas kids as school reopens? This week Lisa talks with Bill McKeon, president and CEO of the Texas Medical Center. Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The delta variant is running loose and wreaking havoc. Houston-area ERs and ICUs are full, and hospitals are erecting tents in their parking lots. And all of that is before the Texas school year begins, with unvaccinated children attending in-person classes where masks may not be required. Today, Lisa talks with frequent guest Peter Hotez about the trajectory of the current surge, how it it's still not too late to reopen schools safely and how a Texas vaccine could save the world. Hotez is one country's most visible scientists during the pandemic. He co-directs the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and is dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. He's also known for fighting anti-science disinformation on Twitter, cable news networks and elsewhere. Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lisa talks with Houston pediatrician Christina Propst about the recent resurgence of COVID in children, plus a worrisome summertime spike in a sometimes serious respiratory virus called R.S.V. that is taking up precious hospital beds. Propst is a pediatrician at Bluefish Pediatrics in the Greater Heights, as well as a member of the American Association of Pediatrics Council on Children and Disasters, and the Texas Pediatric Society Committee on Infectious Diseases and Immunizations. Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the past month, with the delta variant loose and only half of eligible Texans fully vaccinated, COVID hospitalizations in Texas have more than doubled. Texas Medical Center CEO Bill McKeon says that our area's COVID “fourth wave is beginning in force.”What does all that mean? To explain, we turn to one of my favorite regular guests: vaccine researcher Peter Hotez. Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why do viruses have seasons? And why do we care whether fish get coronaviruses? Dr. Ben Neuman, head of Texas A&M's Global Health Research Complex, returns to answer more of our COVID questions. Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Given the vaccines and variants, how different will school be this year? What should parents keep in mind -- both this summer and in the fall? To find out, I'm talking today with nurse-practitioner Jessica Ginn, one of  the interim senior directors for school-based health pediatrics at Legacy Community Health. Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The epidemiologist who went viral Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiology researcher and professor at UT Health School of Public Health in Dallas writes "Your Local Epidemiologist," a newsletter and Facebook blog that since March 2020, has amassed a quarter million followers and subscribers. Today from her office in Dallas, she talks with Lisa about both the upsides and downsides of that sudden, unexpected audience, and also how we should think about the Delta variant.  Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For more than 40 years, in what's now known as the Kinder Houston Area Survey, Rice professor Steven Klineberg has been asking Houstonians about their city. Lisa talks with her former professor about what he found in this year's survey. How did the pandemic change Houston? And as the city emerges into its post-pandemic future, what is on people's minds? What are the challenges we see ahead? Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Houston Chronicle Health Care Reporter Gwendolyn Wu fills in for the vacationing Lisa Gray this week. She talks with podcast regular Dr. Peter Hotez, a professor and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, and co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. As temperatures rise across the country, infectious diseases, experts say it's a tale to COVID nations as we head into the summer. On one hand, we have some states with high vaccination rates and where people are still practicing mask wearing even after they've gotten the shot. On the other hand, we have stagnating vaccination rates in the south, especially among adolescents and anti-vaccine movements, bring in the Delta COVID variant and it might be a lot of trouble across the South in the months ahead.  Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. Connect with Gwendolyn Wu.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Harvard history professor Annette Gordon-Reed's latest book, “On Juneteenth” mixes a recounting of the role that slavery plays in Texas history with Gordon-Reed's own remembrances -- of her East Texas family, and of growing up in Conroe, a town that had a particularly bad reputation for its treatment of Blacks. In mid-'60s, as a first grader, Gordon-Reed became the first African-American student to enter Conroe's white school system. Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With kids under 12 not yet eligible to be vaccinated, what are parents supposed to do this summer? How safe is it to take a family vacation? Given that the state of Texas bars summer camps and classes from requiring masks, how safe are those for unvaccinated kids? To answer those questions and more, Lisa reached out to Dr. Jim Versalovic, Interim Pediatrician-in-Chief of Texas Children's Hospital. Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Long-time Lisa Gray listeners might remember a July 2020 Coronavirus Chronicle interview with Katie Haynes -- one of the United States' first COVID long-haulers. In February 2020, she was 28 years old and training to run a 5K. In early March she was hospitalized with COVID and a blood clot in her lung. When Lisa talked with her in July, just standing up to cook herself dinner left Katie exhausted and out of breath. Wondered how Katie is doing, Lisa gave her a call. The answer is surprising -- and also delightful and hard to explain. Katie had contract Covid a second time and once again Katie Haynes' life is way out ahead of scientific certainties. Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Ben Neuman is one of the world's top coronavirus experts -- he's researched them since 1996 -- and is now chief virologist at Texas A&M's Global Health Research Complex. He's also great at explaining cutting-edge science to regular human beings. Today he brings us up to speed on new research, including an explanation of one of COVID's most mystifying symptoms -- blood clots -- and why new variants may cause even more of them. Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During the pandemic Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has been one of Texas' most consistent voices of caution. Elected in 2018 at age 27, she's basically the CEO of Texas' largest county — one that, with a population around 4.8 million, is the size of an average American state. In June 2020, as infections were surging, Hidalgo announced that Harris County was at COVID threat Level 1 — red on the danger dial, the scariest and worst, with everyone urged to stay home. Now, almost a year later, with vaccines available for anyone who shows up, we're still there. Will we ever get out? How will she know it's time? Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After months of climbing steadily, the number of Texans immunized against COVID-19 has plateaued. Now that half of Texans 18 and over have received at least a first dose, the number of people newly vaccinated is increasing as slowly as it did during the agonizing February freeze and power outage. What's going on? We talk with Gwen Wu of the Houston Chronicle health team. Connect with Lisa Gray and Gwen Wu. Read Gwen's story: Half of Texas adults have now had at least one shot of the COVID vaccine See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why exactly is the B.1.1.7 variant outcompeting the original virus that causes COVID-19? Why does this one seem to affect children far more often than the one we're used to? And if a person is fully vaccinated, how much should we worry about B.1.1.7 and other variants? Today, Lisa talks with Ben Neuman, one of the world's top experts on coronaviruses. He's been studying the things for 24 years. He's the Global Health Research Complex Chief Virologist at Texas A&M University. Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Peter Hotez, Houston's most famous vaccine expert (and Q&A regular) talks with Lisa about vaccination rates, variants and what he's looking forward to after we make it through the summer. SPOILER ALERT: He wants sleep. Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How badly has the COVID-19 pandemic affected kids' mental health? Mental Health America of Greater Houston recently held “listening sessions” with students, parents, teachers and administrators in the 28 Houston-area school districts that work with its Center for School Behavioral Health — and what they heard was alarming. According to Jamie Freeny, the center's director, K-12 students are now more frequently dealing with grief, family stress and isolation. There's more clinginess, more self-harm, more cyber-bullying, more suicidal ideation, disrupted sleep and acting out. Kids are more frequently being diagnosed with anxiety, depression and stress-based diseases such as shingles. Freeny, who has doctorate in public health, did her Ph.D research on childhood trauma. Here, she talks with Lisa about specific ways parents and other adults can help kids who are struggling. Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To find doses, Houstonians are hitting the road. Why is it so much easier to find vaccine elsewhere? Dr. David Lakey, a member of Texas' vaccine allocation panel explains how the doses are divvied up around the state and why you might — or might not — want to take a drive for your shot. He spoke with us Wednesday from his office in Austin. But first, Lisa chats with friend of the pod and former host of the Coronavirus Chronicle podcast, Ferrill Gibbs, who recently road-tripped to Jasper, Texas for the jab. Questions or comment? Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. Connect with Ferrill Gibbs.     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  As adults across the U.S. begin to be vaccinated against COVID, many parents have questions about their kids. When can we expect a vaccine approved for people under 16? What are the risks of COVID to healthy young people, including athletes? Should kids wear double masks? How does COVID affect kids of different ages differently? And now that Texas is open, can we relax a little for Spring Break? Today Lisa talks with Dr. Jim Versalovic, the interim pediatrician-in-chief of Texas Children's Hospital. Questions or comment? Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben Neuman is one of the world's top experts on coronaviruses. He's the Global Health Research Complex Chief Virologist at Texas A&M University. A funny and genial explainer of science, Dr. Ben got serious fast when Lisa started asking about reopening Texas and the end of Gov. Abbott's mask mandate. Question or comment? Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. Check out Ben Neuman's Science Group on Facebook. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Could the winter storm have a Christmas-like effect on Houston's COVID numbers? A&M epidemiologist Rebecca Fischer explains: "What is important to remember is that we've been here before. We still have a lot of infections happening every day — we're not in the clear — and we may very well see another increase in cases as we move forward." Fischer, an assistant professor of public health, works with A&M's COVID Investigation Operations Center. She lives in Houston, but spoke to Lisa from her office in College Station.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When will we get our old lives back? And what will “normal” even look like then? This week, Lisa talks with Julie Swann, an expert in vaccine supply chains and logistics, and also a COVID modeler. At North Carolina State University, she's head of the Department of Industrial Systems and Engineering, and in 2009, she advised the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the H1N1 pandemic. Question or comment, connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, too many Texans were stuck shivering inside our homes, wondering how our state's electric system could fail so massively. Who's to blame? And more important, how do we make sure this doesn't happen again? Kaiba White deals with energy policy for Public Citizen Texas, a nonprofit that advocates for consumer issues. She spoke to us from her home in Austin, where her own pipes were frozen. Question or comment? Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Health policy is always a matter of life and death — and even more so during a pandemic. This week, health economist Vivian Ho grapples with some of our moment's big questions: How is Texas doing with its vaccine rollout? What's baked into our state's unusual choice to prioritize people over 65 or with underlying conditions, rather than teachers and other frontline workers? How fair has it been so far? And what does it mean that even the Centers for Disease Control and Protection's data isn't good enough to answer basic questions about reopening safely? At Rice University, Ho is the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics, and she directs the Baker Institute's Center for Health and Biosciences. She is also a professor at Baylor College of Medicine, and was recently elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the field. Question or comment? Connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the beginning of the U.S. COVID outbreak, Peter Hotez was carefully nonpartisan, appearing on both Fox News and MSNBC. But as his horror grew about the lack of a national response to the pandemic, he sharply criticized the Trump administration. Now, it's the Biden administration's turn. In a Tuesday op-ed in the Washington Post, Hotez explained why new variants of SARS-COV-2 require Biden to radically step up his vaccine game. Here Hotez explains how we could do that — and what he believes the U.S. must do to get vaccine into more arms. Peter Hotez is a professor and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, and co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. Question or comment, connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's going on with vaccine distribution in Texas? If you qualify, what's the best way to get an appointment? Who's next in line? And how long can the rest of us expect to wait? Dr. David Lakey is a member of the Texas COVID-19 Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel — the scientific group that advises the Texas Commissioner on Health about who should get a vaccine when. A former Texas Commissioner on Health himself, he's an expert on disease outbreaks, and vice chancellor for health affairs and chief medical officer of the University of Texas System. Wednesday evening, from his office in Austin, he answered questions from our listeners and Lisa. If you have a question or comment, connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"If I've been vaccinated, could I still infect other people? Should I get the vaccine if you've already had COVID-19. So what about herd immunity? Can we achieve it if vaccines prevent sickness but not infection, so people are still spreading COVID? What's up with those virus variants?" And more ... Ben Neuman has a new title since this interview was recorded. He is now is a professor of biology, and Global Health Research Complex Chief Virologist at Texas A&M University.  If you have a question or comment, connect with Lisa on Facebook or Twitter. Check out Dr Ben Neuman's Science Group on Facebook. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vaccine researcher Peter Hotez answers reader questions about the safety and science of the MRNA vaccines being distributed now. He also expresses his frustration with the current lack of capacity to administer the vaccines in sufficient numbers to beat back the pandemic. So, can Texas vaccinate its way out of the pandemic? Here's Hotez's answer: "We have 30 million people in Texas, roughly. We have to get 75-80% vaccinated in order to interrupt transmission. That means 24 million Texans, right? And if we want to do that over a period of eight months, that's three million Texans a month. That's 100,000 a day we have to vaccinate. And then in some cases, some of the vaccines will be one dose or two doses. So,100,000 Texans means roughly 150,000 immunizations a day. We're not set up right now. We don't have that infrastructure in place. We're not going to do that."   Read stories by Lisa Gray and connect with her on Twitter or Facebook. Questions, comments or suggestions? Want a sticker? Send Lisa an email. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A spike in COVID-19 cases combined with the holidays makes for an extraordinary amount of stress. For ways to deal with it, Lisa called Alejandro Chaoul, an expert on the therapeutic effects of meditation and Tibetan yoga. They spoke with Chaoul sitting cross-legged on the floor of his wife's family's house in Costa Rica, where the family was quarantining. They discuss mindful ways to fight sleeplessness, loneliness and anxiety. But first, as promised, a surprise for Christmas: Chronicle Op/Ed editor Raj Mankad talks with Houston singer-songwriter Glenna Bell about her 2008 Christmas song Be my Valentine (on Christmas) and how its hopeful-yet-melancholy vibe feels just right for Raj at the close of 2020. Read stories by Lisa Gray and connect with her on Twitter or Facebook. Questions, comments or suggestions? Want a sticker? Send Lisa an email.  Listen to Glenna Bell's music on Spotify. Here's a list of Alejandro Chaoul's upcoming classes and meditation sessions. And here's where you can stream a free half-hour "Meditation for Crisis and Uncertainty" video with Ale, courtesy Rice University's Glasscock School of Continuing Studies.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New vaccines are on the horizon — but is it too late to blunt the pandemic's winter surge? Might Houston fare better than the rest of Texas? And why could a traditional-method vaccine be better for kids? Lisa checks in with vaccine researcher Peter Hotez. He's a professor and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, and he co-directs the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, where his lab team is developing COVID-19 vaccines. Read stories by Lisa Gray and connect with her on Twitter or Facebook. Have questions, comments or suggestions? Want a sticker? Send Lisa an email.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Forty-two percent of Americans say they're unlikely to get a COVID-19 vaccine. To end the pandemic, how do we persuade them? Tips from Texas A&M researcher Lu Tang. Read stories by Lisa Gray and connect with her on Twitter or Facebook. Have questions, comments or suggestions? Want a sticker? Send Lisa an email.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Army Corps of Engineers's latest ideas on how to reduce flooding along Buffalo Bayou has riled many Houston residents who were expecting a more modern solution to flooding than the concrete channelizing of Houston's bayous implemented in past decades. Lisa talks with Jim Blackburn, an environmental lawyer and co-director of the storm-studying SSPEED Center at Rice University. Read: Digging Buffalo Bayou deeper? Houstonians up in arms over Army Corps' 'old-fashioned' flood fixes. Connect with Lisa Gray on Twitter and Facebook.  More: SSPEED Center — Severe Storm Prediction, Education, & Evacuation from Disasters Center See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UPDATE: Q&A with Lisa Gray now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all the usual places. If you like the show, please follow and tell a friend. With President-elect Biden pledging a science-based approach to wrangling the pandemic — and with record infections across the country — Lisa dials up world-class coronavirus expert Ben Neuman in his lab at Texas A&M University - Texarkana, and peppers him with questions: the state of coronavirus research? The safety of warp-speed vaccines and how they work? Would he take the shot? How long will these vaccines protect us? And ... what about that Russian vaccine? Connect with Lisa Gray on Facebook and Twitter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to this sneak peek episode of Q&A with Lisa Gray. This interview was recorded late in the afternoon of November 5, 2020. As the United States nervously waits for this presidential election to be decided and we're awash in discussions of the fine points of voting security, Lisa was eager to talk with voting security expert Dan Wallach to discuss the actual threats to American democracy. Wallach is a professor at Rice University's Department of Computer Science where he also manages the university's computer security lab. He is currently on sabbatical with a nonprofit group called VotingWorks, making and promoting better voting systems. Connect with Lisa Gray on Facebook and Twitter.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.