Health Matters

Health Matters’ mission is to promote health equity by elevating the conversation around healthy habits, preventative health, and relevant public health issues. By approaching these topics with an equitable lens, we can all do our part to empower individuals to make more informed decisions about their health and care.

On this episode, Dr. Jose Medina-Inojosa and Alisa Johnsrud talked with Dr. Ilan Shapiro, the Medical Director of Medical Education, Wellness, and a touch of innovation / Medical Correspondent at AltaMed Health Services.

The trio talked about the COVID vaccine rollout, as well as dealing with the pandemic in their communities. “We need to start vaccinating our communities against fear,” Shapiro said, on getting people in the community vaccinated. One of the things they noted was the misinformation campaign, especially on social media. Shapiro stressed the importance of continuing good healthcare post-covid, such as providing patients with Medicare and Medicaid, as these typically help underserved communities and people of color.

Shapiro always had the dream to be part of public health policy in Mexico. He started his career working for the Mexican Secretary of Health as the liaison between Mexico and the World Health Organization (WHO), followed by his Pediatric Residency at Mount Sinai Children’s Hospital in Chicago. He tries to train his residents that when a patient comes to see you, you need to visualize that you are the waiter and the patient is there to eat a meal. You need to make sure when they leave, they are happy. It’s essential to get patients treatment they believe in themselves.

On this episode, hosts Dr. Jose Medina-Inojosa and Alisa Johnsrud talked with Jonathan Baktari, MD, about the Johnson and Johnson vaccine pause due to potentially fatal blood clots after one American died and one is in critical condition. Baktari is a pulmonary and critical care expert, vaccine expert, CEO of two medical companies --e7Health.com and US Drug Test Centers.

The trio talked about the Johnson and Johnson vaccine and the importance of the other vaccines. Baktari said the vaccine would be part of the solution to get to herd immunity, so even though it's currently delayed, it will be an essential piece of the puzzle. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccine use mRNA to introduce the virus, while the J&J vaccine uses the adenovirus.

"It's interesting. The mRNA vaccine has been around for ten years," Baktari said. He elaborated that nobody had the guts to use mRNA because folks would have been hesitant to inject genetic material. The pandemic, however, forced us to use the technology.

Vaccines have always been a sensitive subject, as some don't want to use vaccines. For Baktari, he doesn't understand the hesitancy. He noted that people are still so willing to use antibiotics and other drugs, but they don't like it when it comes to vaccines. One of the reasons he thinks is because the government advises it.

On this episode, hosts Dr. Jose Medina-Inojosa and Alisa Johnsrud talked with Jonathan Baktari, MD, about the Johnson and Johnson vaccine pause due to potentially fatal blood clots after one American died and one is in critical condition. Baktari is a pulmonary and critical care expert, vaccine expert, CEO of two medical companies --e7Health.com and US Drug Test Centers.

The trio talked about the Johnson and Johnson vaccine and the importance of the other vaccines. Baktari said the vaccine would be part of the solution to get to herd immunity, so even though it's currently delayed, it will be an essential piece of the puzzle. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccine use mRNA to introduce the virus, while the J&J vaccine uses the adenovirus.

"It's interesting. The mRNA vaccine has been around for ten years," Baktari said. He elaborated that nobody had the guts to use mRNA because folks would have been hesitant to inject genetic material. The pandemic, however, forced us to use the technology.

Vaccines have always been a sensitive subject, as some don't want to use vaccines. For Baktari, he doesn't understand the hesitancy. He noted that people are still so willing to use antibiotics and other drugs, but they don't like it when it comes to vaccines. One of the reasons he thinks is because the government advises it.

MarketScale introduces its new podcast, Health Matters, which aims to promote health equity with conversations with experts and thought leaders. Introducing the concept and talking about the most central healthcare issue right now, COVID-19, are hosts Dr. Jose Medina and Alisa Johnsrud.

Dr. Medina is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He specializes in cardiovascular preventive care. Johnsrud is a healthcare coordinator for HACER (Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment Through Research) in Minnesota.

Johnsrud noted, “We’ll be looking at relevant public health issues through an equitable lens to empower individuals to make informed decisions about their health.”

Dr. Medina added, “We want to bring listeners content that’s accurate and tell you why health matters.”

They plan to cover all spectrums of health, but for the first few episodes, COVID-19 will be the focus. Dr. Medina remarked he’s optimistic right now about the pandemic.

Johnsrud shared her experiences working with patients. “Needs that were already there have been exasperated by the pandemic. Those already struggling, struggled even more. However, people are more conscious now about how their decisions affect others.”

They next discussed the vaccine, clarifying myths that it was hurried or an experiment. “It was not rushed, and every step of the approval process was followed. It was expedited but proven as safe and effective,” Dr. Medina explained.

He also shared that the vaccine wasn’t starting from scratch. It follows previous RNA vaccine models and those of previous coronaviruses.

The rollout of the vaccine has been fraught with challenges. Johnsrud said, “There have been technical and access challenges. Older populations need help to get appointments, and language was a barrier.”

Johnsrud and Medina also offer advice on the options for getting the vaccine and other critical information for the public.

Health Matters’ mission is to promote health equity by elevating the conversation around healthy habits, preventative health, and relevant public health issues. By approaching these topics with an equitable lens, we can all do our part to empower individuals to make more informed decisions about their health and care.

On this episode, Dr. Jose Medina-Inojosa and Alisa Johnsrud talked with Dr. Ilan Shapiro, the Medical Director of Medical Education, Wellness, and a touch of innovation / Medical Correspondent at AltaMed Health Services.

The trio talked about the COVID vaccine rollout, as well as dealing with the pandemic in their communities. “We need to start vaccinating our communities against fear,” Shapiro said, on getting people in the community vaccinated. One of the things they noted was the misinformation campaign, especially on social media. Shapiro stressed the importance of continuing good healthcare post-covid, such as providing patients with Medicare and Medicaid, as these typically help underserved communities and people of color.

Shapiro always had the dream to be part of public health policy in Mexico. He started his career working for the Mexican Secretary of Health as the liaison between Mexico and the World Health Organization (WHO), followed by his Pediatric Residency at Mount Sinai Children’s Hospital in Chicago. He tries to train his residents that when a patient comes to see you, you need to visualize that you are the waiter and the patient is there to eat a meal. You need to make sure when they leave, they are happy. It’s essential to get patients treatment they believe in themselves.

MarketScale introduces its new podcast, Health Matters, which aims to promote health equity with conversations with experts and thought leaders. Introducing the concept and talking about the most central healthcare issue right now, COVID-19, are hosts Dr. Jose Medina-Inojosa and Alisa Johnsrud.

Dr. Medina-Inojosa is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He specializes in cardiovascular preventive care. Johnsrud is a healthcare coordinator for HACER (Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment Through Research) in Minnesota.

Johnsrud noted, “We’ll be looking at relevant public health issues through an equitable lens to empower individuals to make informed decisions about their health.”

Dr. Medina-Inojosa added, “We want to bring listeners content that’s accurate and tell you why health matters.”

They plan to cover all spectrums of health, but for the first few episodes, COVID-19 will be the focus. Dr. Medina-Inojosa remarked he’s optimistic right now about the pandemic.

Johnsrud shared her experiences working with patients. “Needs that were already there have been exasperated by the pandemic. Those already struggling, struggled even more. However, people are more conscious now about how their decisions affect others.”

They next discussed the vaccine, clarifying myths that it was hurried or an experiment. “It was not rushed, and every step of the approval process was followed. It was expedited but proven as safe and effective,” Dr. Medina-Inojosa explained.

He also shared that the vaccine wasn’t starting from scratch. It follows previous RNA vaccine models and those of previous coronaviruses.

The rollout of the vaccine has been fraught with challenges. Johnsrud said, “There have been technical and access challenges. Older populations need help to get appointments, and language was a barrier.”

Johnsrud and Medina-Inojosa also offer advice on the options for getting the vaccine and other critical information for the public.