COVID-19

Perspectives on the Pandemic | Dr. David L. Katz | Episode 3

In this “back to work” edition of Perspectives on the Pandemic, John Kirby talks with Dr. David L. Katz, the author of the much-debated March 20th New York Times op-ed, “Is Our Fight Against the Coronavirus Worse Than the Disease?”

Read the op-ed, here:

Watch previous episodes of Perspectives on the Pandemic here:
Episode 1:
Episode 2:
Episode 4:
Episode 5:
Episode 6:

A transcript of this interview can be found

00:58-How to minimize the risk of COVID-19
03:52-Comparing the responses to a global pandemic
08:53-Who is most at risk
13:44-Is our global response warranted?
17:17-Comparing COVID-19 to the flu
20:55-Is the risk really that high?
23:53-What is the fatality rate versus other common risk factors?
25:29-The risk of labeling COVID-19 as a ?pandemic?
26:14-Are the COVID-19 tests reliable?
28:58-Should we be concerned about herd immunity?
30:16-On the chances of getting a vaccine
31:47-The return of ?measles parties??
34:30-Breaking down the pros and cons of herd immunity
37:25-Is lockdown making the problem worse?
40:01-How to really hashtag Flatten the Curve
45:45-Can we really trace the exposure for every person?
48:06-Is authoritarianism growing in the name of public health?
50:37-Who can we trust when this pandemic is over?
54:54-Industries? roles in the pandemic

Dr. Katz discusses his proposal for “total harm minimization”, a plan that seeks to protect people both from Covid-19 and the host of ills that result from social isolation and economic shut-down.

David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, FACLM is a preventive medicine specialist and globally recognized authority on lifestyle medicine. He is the founder and former director of Yale University?s Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center (1998-2019); Past President of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine; President and Founder of the non-profit True Health Initiative; and Founder and CEO of Diet ID, Inc.
Katz is a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine; the American College of Physicians; the American College of Lifestyle Medicine; and Morse College, Yale University. He earned his BA at Dartmouth College; his MD at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine; and his MPH from the Yale University School of Public Health. The recipient of numerous awards for teaching, writing, and contributions to public health, Katz was a 2019 nominee for a James Beard Foundation Award in health journalism, and has received three honorary doctorates.
He holds multiple US patents; has over 200 peer-reviewed publications; has published many hundreds of on-line and newspaper columns; and has authored/co-authored 18 books to date including multiple editions of leading textbooks in nutrition, preventive medicine, and epidemiology. Recognized by colleagues as the “poet laureate of health promotion,” Katz has given keynote addresses in all 50 United States and in countries on 6 continents.

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Libby Handros & John Kirby – Ref. 7824