Vax Matters

Your baby won’t tell you she has COVID, but she just might have it after all. Tune in as we talk with Region 8 Medical Director Dr. Tonya Hunter on how COVID can affect young children, and what we can do to watch for the virus in our little ones.

More That Matters is back… and obesity is more than meets the eye. From raising your disease risk to increasing the burden of medical bills, this chronic condition brings numerous hidden costs. Pennington Biomedical Research Center’s Melissa Martin, who heads its Greaux Healthy program, joins us on this episode to talk about obesity, its widespread consequences and what we can do to reverse the trends.

What is long or post-COVID condition? Clinical neurologist Dr. Michele Longo appears on the show to discuss the long-term impacts of COVID-19 both socially and individually. Dr. Longo currently works at the Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences at Tulane School of Medicine and runs the Tulane Neurology Post-COVID Care Clinic.

Pneumonia: The disease you still hear about, but maybe don’t think too much about. A big reason is the vaccine scientists developed to help prevent it in the 1980s. Join us and Dr. Katherine Baumgarten of St. Bernard Parish Hospital and Ochsner Health as we talk through the subject.

We venture into mental health and why it’s so critical to understand, particularly as we manage mental health crises that affect individuals all over the world. Licensed mental health counselor Alfonso Holmes joins us on this episode to broaden our knowledge and understanding of the crisis.

Opioids have become a worldwide crisis again, and managing it means understanding the nature of opioids and their effects. On this More That Matters segment, Louisiana State Opioid Response Project Director Melinda Robertson lends her experience and expertise to the conversation.

Planning an overseas trip? Many of the places we want to visit have diseases of their own, which require the right vaccines to protect us. Hear from Dr. MarkAlain Dery of Access Health Louisiana as he outlines the vaccines we may need in different areas of the world.

Have emergency medicine questions? Find the answer in this episode as Dr. Eric Brooks of the Louisiana Department of Health explores topics from the emergency room to urgent care.

Sickle Cell Disease affects many of us, so we’re fully diving into the topic today. While you may have heard of this disease, it is serious and widespread–disproportionately affecting Black or African American populations. Our thanks to Erin Fulbright of The Sickle Cell Association of South Louisiana for being our guest on this episode.

How prepared are YOU to deal with a natural disaster? Find out on this special episode with guest Dr. Rosanne Prats, executive director of emergency response at the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. We not only discuss emergency preparedness but also generator safety before, during and after a storm. 

Do you know your child’s immunization schedule? It could save their life from a serious disease. In this episode, Dr. John Vanchiere of LSU Health in Shreveport highlights the Louisiana Shots for Tots Coalition and their work in helping parents stay up-to-date in giving their children the vaccines they need.

Get the inside scoop on the world’s most notorious disease accomplice: Mosquitoes. In this episode, we go far beyond the bites to talk about mosquitoes’ role as disease carriers throughout history, which has caused epidemics all over. Research entomologist Jennifer Breaux joins us as our guest expert.

Let’s talk about more that matters–like HIV. In this first special episode, we bring in guest Jimmy Gale of the Louisiana Department of Health to help us understand the devastating presence of HIV in the world. 

On this episode, we welcome Dr. MarkAlain Déry of Access Health Louisiana Primary Care to talk about vaccines and their relation to people with compromised immune systems. Dr. Déry specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis-C, and STIs. 

Polio… the disease that affected millions in the 20th century and still has a presence today. This episode brings in Dr. Robert Garry of Tulane University School of Medicine to walk us through the history of polio and where it stands today. 

Ever heard of chickenpox?... So have we. But the notorious illness is more than meets the eye—and still exists today. Dr. James Wayne of Ochsner Health breaks down the disease and its vaccine in this episode of Vax Matters. 

One of the main reasons vaccines are developed is to avoid a disease’s most serious consequences. So how do vaccines match up against diseases as they get more severe? Dr. Susan Hassig of Tulane University brings her expertise to bear on the subject as she joins our show. 

There’s more to health equity than meets the eye. In this episode, the Louisiana Primary Care Association’s Director of Health Policy & Government Affairs Raegan Carter joins us to explain what health equity is, the barriers we currently face to achieving it and why it’s so crucial in society today. 

Viruses have the potential to mutate and change, but why? What causes mutation in viruses? Dr. Jeremy Kamil provides us with the answers in this episode, bringing his wealth of knowledge in virus and disease spread as the Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at LSU Health in Shreveport. 

What’s the relation between human papillomavirus (known as HPV) and cervical cancer? Is there one? LDH Regional Medical Director Dr. Tina Stefanski fills us in on this special Vax Update segment of Vax Matters.