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Dr. Ashish Jha: Public Health 'cannot Become Partisan' Issue

PROVIDENCE — Five years ago, the majority of America could not properly define public health, said Dr. Ashish Jha, who recently left the Biden administration as the nation's last White House COVID-19 czar. After a global pandemic, he said the science-based field that is designed to protect people's health has, in some circles, "become a dirty word."

On the latest episode of the Rhode Island Report podcast, Jha reflected on his time working in the White House, the persisting challenges in America's public health system, what's next for COVID-19, and the dangers he saw firsthand when misinformation spreads.

"Hundreds of thousands of Americans have died because of bad information in this pandemic," said Jha. "So the cost of that information is enormously high."

Jha, who has returned to his role as the dean of Brown University's School of Public Health, was interviewed on cable news network shows across the globe during the height of the pandemic.

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When he joined the Biden administration to help America begin managing the pandemic — instead of reacting to it in a constant "crisis mode" — he was seen by leaders across the political spectrum as even-handed, despite the deep polarization in Washington that wedged a political divide over public health

"Public health cannot become a partisan thing. That is bad for public health, that is bad for America," said Jha, who admitted that most public health professionals tend to be "left of center" and need to work on communicating across the political spectrum. "We have to do a better job of that. And that's on us."

In a recent opinion piece for the Globe, Jha noted that while it makes sense to be wary about Covid, "we are in a much different, much better place."

"The truth is that we can now prevent nearly every COVID death. People who are up to date on their vaccines and get treated when infected rarely get seriously ill," he wrote. "The fact is, now a few basic steps mean you can ignore COVID safely — and get back to doing things that matter, even with COVID still around."

To get the latest episode each week, follow Rhode Island Report podcast on Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms, or listen in the player above.

Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.Gagosz@globe.Com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.

Newest COVID Booster Available In The Fall

COVID-19 isn't going anywhere, experts say. While many Americans have received numerous doses of the vaccine against it, there's another booster shot on the way. The new booster is already in development and should be available to the public in late September and early October.

This recent iteration of the vaccine is supposed to be more effective in preventing contraction of the virus. And experts like Dr. Ashish Jha — who served as the White House COVID-19 response coordinator — say that taking the shot when you're eligible is important for your health.

"Nobody loves getting shots, but these shots are literally saving lives," he says.

Jha says he understands that some people are wary since the COVID-19 pandemic has only been in the public consciousness for a few years. He notes widespread worry over the impacts of coronavirus vaccines years down the line.

But current vaccine research tells a different story. For similar vaccines that have existed much longer than those for COVID-19, negative effects are only seen within about eight weeks of being inoculated. So concerns of adverse effects years down the line don't have much basis in immunology, Jha says.

COVID-19 isn't the only virus to be cautious of. Each winter, even before the pandemic, there's been a notable spike in heart attacks, strokes and even death, primarily among elderly populations. And respiratory illnesses like COVID-19, the flu or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are often to blame.

"Get the flu shot, get the COVID shot, get them all at once. Your immune system can totally handle it," Jha says.

While elderly and immunocompromised people are at the highest risk for respiratory illnesses and their complications, Jha says that it's important for people even in lower-risk groups to be immunized.

"This is the first season, this winter coming up, where we are going to have highly effective vaccines against the three major respiratory viruses: RSV, flu, and COVID," Jha says. "Go get those vaccines, and it will make a dramatic difference in reducing your risk of getting sick this winter."

Julia Corcoran produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Grace Griffin adapted it for the web.

This segment aired on August 23, 2023.

Biden Administration Extends COVID-19 Emergency

Friday, October 14th 2022 - 10:24 UTC

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Biden had announced the pandemic was over without consulting with scientific experts

President Joseph Biden's administration Thursday announced an extension for 90 more days of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency declaration. The measure has been in practice since January 2020.

Thursday's decision even after Biden's statements that the pandemic was over seeks to achieve readiness to respond to a hypothetical increase in cases during the winter months. The US administration also said Thursday that it would provide 60 days' notice before ending the public health emergency.

White House COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha urged Americans to blunt the potential spike in infections by getting the updated COVID-19 vaccine, which targets dominant variants of the virus. "If you are up to date with your vaccines and if you get treated, if you have a breakthrough infection, your risk of dying from COVID is now close to zero," he told reporters.

"We still have a problem with COVID. We're still doing a lotta work on it. It's — but the pandemic is over," Biden had said amid a shift in Washington toward treating the virus as a manageable threat rather than a crisis, as deaths and hospitalizations have declined steadily.

However, the President's statement contradicted Dr. Jha's words at a White House press briefing less than a fortnight earlier. On Sept. 6. Jha said that "we will remain vigilant, and of course, we continue to look for and prepare for unforeseen twists and turns."

Last month Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said that although the country has made significant progress in its fight against covid-19 compared to last year, the pandemic was not yet over. "Between 300 and 400 people a day are dying from covid. We're not over it," he said. "What the president said is what everyone feels, that we are much better off now" than we were a year ago, Becerra added.

Becerra dismissed the idea of lifting the emergency declaration and insisted on waiting for the scientific community to pronounce itself. "We are going to wait for the scientists to give us a guide and tell us where we stand," he assured.

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