In this episode we have a conversation with Dr. Jasmine Marcelin who is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Associate Medical Director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program and Co-Director of the Digital Innovation and Social Media Strategy at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Mainstream media has increasingly been reporting on the role of younger people in helping to stop the spread of this virus and we hope to contribute to this conversation.
We referenced a few trusted and reliable sources for information on COVID-19, they include:
CDC, WHO, IDSA, University of Nebraska
In this episode we have a conversation with Dr. Jasmine Marcelin who is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Associate Medical Director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program and Co-Director of the Digital Innovation and Social Media Strategy at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Mainstream media has increasingly been reporting on the role of younger people in helping to stop the spread of this virus and we hope to contribute to this conversation.
We referenced a few trusted and reliable sources for information on COVID-19, they include:
CDC, WHO, IDSA, University of Nebraska
spk_0: 0:05
Welcome to the millennial health podcast. I'm Dr J. Cherie Alan, a board certified family position who's passionate about the health of my fellow millennials. I know we're books and busy, but your first wealth is your health. So I'm taking some of my most important health messages and bringing them here to you on this podcast. My goal is to share some valuable information and draw awareness to some important health topics. But I encourage you to please consult your physician for personalized medical advice. Today we're living with the reality of Colvin 19. That's the novel Corona virus that has now been deemed a pandemic, which is a worldwide spread of a new disease. Whether scrolling through our feeds on social media or turning on the television, it's all we're talking about. But unfortunately, that sometimes leads to misinformation and uncertainty, especially when things seem to be changing by the minute. So I invited a very special guests toe help us millennials set the record straight on the new Corona virus. Doctor Jasmine Marcellin is an infectious disease specialist who I met Dearing are training at the Mayo Clinic, and in my journey to medicine episode, you may recall. I talked about some of the rough patches I had on this journey to medicine. And I call a vote of things to Dr Marcellin and her husband who are so encouraging and helpful in some of my rougher times. So it's truly an honor to be here with you today, Dr. Jasmine. Marcel. And welcome to the millennial health podcast.
spk_1: 2:02
Thank you so much for inviting me. I am really thrilled to be here with you today, and ah, definitely remember all the good times as well of our time in Rochester together. So, um, thanks again. Yeah, I appreciate
spk_0: 2:19
it. Absolutely. So could you please tell us a little about your background and your current clinical role in infectious diseases?
spk_1: 2:28
Yes. So, background wise, I, um, Mayo Clinic trained it did my internal medicine residency and my infectious diseases Fellowship. Both add Mayo Clinic. And when I finished my infectious disease fellowship, I came to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. That's here in Omaha, Nebraska. And that's where I've been since about 2017. As a faculty member and assistant professor off infectious disease here on faculty. My current clinical rule roles are multiple. I, um the associate medical director for anti microbial stewardship at U. N M. C. And anti microbial stewardship is basically the the art of Ah, helping too preserve antibiotics today for when we might need them tomorrow, and so that maybe anything from stopping using unnecessary antibiotics or making sure that the antibiotics that we use are appropriate for the bacteria that are growing or helping people to be more cost conscious with the antibiotics and things like that. So that's a one part of my job. The other part is clinical infectious disease service on the hospital service, where I see patients in the hospital who have infections, that the primary team needs some assistance with either sorting out what the infection is or why do they have the infection? Or how could we treat and cure the
spk_0: 4:13
infection? Oh, wow, that's interesting. Wow, that's amazing. You also have another really interesting role to you. Tell him about being the co director of digital innovation and social media strategy.
spk_1: 4:29
Yes. So So this This rule is specific to our division off infectious diseases and my colleague Dr Kelly Cock it and I, who also incidentally, trained that Mayo Clinic. Um had a idea, too. Really. Try toe showcase our division and bring it from a local recognition to a more national recognition. So University Nebraska Medical Center is the number one hospital in the state of Nebraska, and we actually have quite a myriad of experts within our division that people may not necessarily be aware off. And so we created a social media strategy. Using are infectious diseases Blawg and our Twitter account on our handle is U N M C underscore I. D. And we began to use this'll strategically to demonstrate the level of expertise that we have in infectious diseases here at U N M. C. And so, by doing that, we have been able to strategically catapult our division into national discussions, and the work that we're doing hasn't changed in the infectious disease. Work hasn't changed, But the fact that more people are hearing about what we're doing here ah, that's the thing that has changed. So we're really proud of that. And so because of these efforts ah, we were both given the rules off co director of digital innovation and social media strategy, and that is a never ending rule in something that is really fun and helps me to be able to say that I do social media as part of my job.
spk_0: 6:33
That is amazing. So I actually just recorded an episode with primary care of using perspectives about this, and we referenced your work in our podcast. So, actually, okay, you are definitely making waves in the department. That is great. Here you are definitely academic famous. So so are is a warm, really excited to talk to you today on the Millennial Hill podcast, because social media has been one of the primary ways that we've all been sharing information about Cove in 19. And as I mentioned earlier in our intro, with this influx of information, it's sometimes really hard to filter what's legitimate and what's fake news. I can't begin to tell you about the things I've seen. Like it is not true. But how can millennials What strategy can you share with millennials as to how they can realize? Hey, this is really this is absolutely not
spk_1: 7:38
so. That's a really good question, and I actually was having that discussion with my eldest son, um who it's not a millennial cause he seven, but but It's a question that we all need to be able to answer. So it's a matter of where are you getting your news from? What is your source? And you want to be able to rely on trusted sources that have information that is based on fact and science. Some of those types of sources include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC and the World Health Organization. W H O. And they have changed the way that they produce information for the public in the last several years to make things a lot more accessible to many different types of individuals, including using lots of infographics doing things in in multiple languages, using APS etcetera so that they can really get a sense off Who are the organ, who are the people that we need to reach. And so a lot of thes organizations will use platforms like Twitter or Instagram ah, YouTube in addition to their websites so that they Congar that information and disseminated across multiple platforms. So those are two very reliable sources. Another very reliable source will be, um, the Infectious Disease Society of America idea. Say so idea, say has ah lot of resource is that are geared towards people in the health care industry, but as well as people who are not health care professionals to sort to break down, uh, what they need to know about Corona virus. And I also would like to let people know that the University of Nebraska Medical Center UMMC Nebraska Medicine website also has a lot of thes resource is as well, then that's broken down again into what you need to know. If you're a health care professional. Well, what you need to know if you're not in medicine, but you're in a community and you need this information as well. So I think the key to really sifting through what is appropriate, um, and riel sources versus what is not is who is behind it. So I would I would prefer to get my information from these trusted sources than from the just any media post or, um, opinion article that has been created. And that's the other thing. That, but we need to consider is, is what I'm reading facts or opinions because there are a lot of opinions out there. Yes, and how do you know that something is a fact versus an opinion, then you you look for what is thesis I in't if IQ background that things are being based on and if there is a original source. So, for example, if you if if something that you're reading is saying that X number of people have been infected with Cove in 19 and X number of people have died, is there a link to the source of that information that you can verify if you want? And if there is not a link to that source, then I would not take that piece of information as gospel. I want to know that I can go do that fact checking for myself. If you encounter ah website that you cannot fact check, then it's probably not a high quality resource for yourself.
spk_0: 11:42
That is so true, you know, and I have ah, teeny tiny bit of experience in medical news as medical news intern for a little while, and health stories are not the easiest to sell. So with this there, so many opportunities out because, as I said, everyone's looking at it, everyone scrolling. It's all you're getting into. So you really have to read, you know, these headlines and taken with a grain of salt. And like you said, go to the source. Where did they get this information from? You know, because unfortunately, I think some more capitalizing on the fact that this is the people on a click on things that say Corona Virus, you know, And I'm in a group chat. And one thing someone did that, maybe I'll suggest Ah, someone passed off some information and someone responded right after and said, Could you send us the source? And I was like, This is a group shot with younger people's was like, Okay, we're getting serious here, but I really like that. I think that really is a way to kind of stomp out some of this misinformation.
spk_1: 12:48
Absolutely trust. But verify is, ah, reasonable approach. And even when I see things from what I would call as my trusted sources, I still want to know that they are citing the information so I can say when from our u. N. M. C. Nebraska medicine website, anything that we put out, we include the sources that we use to create that resource for the health care community or for the local community because it's really important for people to be able to trust where this information is coming from. There are a lot of myths out there that, uh, we I need to be able to respond to because some of them are based on if if you just think about it, it seems like, huh? That might makes that actually might make sense if you think about it. And it really requires, uh, looking at the resource is and the science to say, Well, actually, I can see why that seems like
spk_0: 13:56
it might make sense in your head,
spk_1: 13:58
but here's the reason why it doesn't. And it's the misinformation that I see a lot of plays on. The fact that at in general, our basic understanding of how viruses work and how they get into the body and what happens after they get into the body is not is not the greatest in general because it seems like that that level of detail is reserved for people who go on to study virology. And so it means that if from the scientific community, we want to be able to communicate to people what this means, we have to be able to recognize certain things that might make sense on a specific level. But understanding? How can we explain why that's not the case? It's not enough, in my opinion, to just say, Oh, that's not true. That was often that doesn't work. And so here's an example. If you if you drink warm water, um, or or lemon water alcohol that will kill the virus because it will wash it to the back of your throat and into your stomach, and then it will be dead if you think about it. We were saying to people, When you you when you spread the virus, you, you cough and you spread the virus so people understand General Anatomy off the throat. Recognize that when you cough and something comes up, it's the same place that you would drink any liquid. And so it's sort of okay with the understanding of how that basic understanding enough anatomy. I can see where a myth like that would be originated. However, if we explain that once the virus gets into the mucus membranes it, it did burrows into the cells, and that is how it finds its way into the body and not actually through swallowing or any of that mechanism you would then be able to explain. See? Well, doesn't matter what temperature of the water or what liquid it is that you drink. Once the virus is in its in, you're not gonna be ableto wash it away. So I think approaching it like that rather than just saying no, that's not true may be more helpful.
spk_0: 16:26
I actually saw that one. That one is really circulating. So and I just replied and said Fake news. But thank you for teaching me that, because then I think I'll go that extra step and actually explain why that fake news. So All right, so guys, please do that. So not only just saying no, but no, because right, because so cool, share a few of the key facts regarding this dizzy that you think, Ah, young people need to know so millennials. What are some of the facts out there because, you know, it's been in the media for a while. But I think over the past few days, the publicity regarding its possibility to have more serious consequences in younger people, especially the awareness of, you know, people who are transmitting the virus without knowledge that they're even infected. I think as those messages air spreading, you know, and as containment sor quarantines or some cities on lock down are becoming more prevalence, becoming more than norm. You know, in these days that we've been through, I think we're paying attention a little bit more. So I think we missed some of the earlier facts that were put out there. So what would you as an infectious disease specialist like for millennials to know about Covert 19 even if it goes back a little ways?
spk_1: 17:54
Okay, um, first things first. It is a Corona virus, and one of the things that people are confused about is the fact that we know that Corona viruses, as a family of viruses, are relatively common. They circulate around the same time of year that other respiratory viruses circulate and cause very mild symptoms like your common cold. There is a lot of places that are comparing the novel Coronavirus Cove in 19 with influenza, and there's good comparisons and there's bad comparisons. And what I mean by this is a good comparison to influenzas. When trying to understand what are the signs and symptoms off Cove it 19. There's a lot of overlap in signs and symptoms of influenza versus Corona virus, such as fever cough. Sometimes there's, ah, runny nose there, sometimes a sore throat. Sometimes you can have body aches, and a lot of those symptoms really overlap with other respiratory viruses, like influenza or, like other things that weaken pick up during regular cold and flu season. So, um, the place where the comparison to influenza can get to be problematic is trying to understand. How bad is it, really? And earlier in the discussions about the cove it 19 we used to see a lot of information circulating lading that we need to be war worried about influenza than Cove in 19 and wth e the early estimates off. What How Severe Cove in 19 is will put the mortality rate estimated anywhere about 1% or so give or take. Dr. Anthony Fauci recently estimated it even up to as high as 2.5%. But he he felt that 1% would likely be more reasonable, based on the fact that we don't have enough testing, um, to know what the true prevalence is in the community. right, And so even if you said it's 1%. So that is a number that sounds really low, and you might think what? We don't need to worry about that, right? But if you take, for example, influenza, overall mortality for influenza is 10 times less that, so it's about 100.1%. And so, if you think about the worst flu season that we've ever had, this'll ce the way that it's spreading is 10 times worse. That is something that really needs to be communicated because we don't want millennials to go around thinking, Oh, well, it's It's just the flu. It'll be fine. The other thing is, how is it spread? We know that it's spread by respiratory droplets, and, um, what that means is, if you cough or sneeze into the air, the virus particles can be suspended in the air in between about six feet between two individuals. So if you cough really close to someone, they could breathe that in, and that's how they could get it. But what we also know is that there is a large majority of people that are walking around and don't have any symptoms at all, and the early reports were showing us that elderly people and those who have medical problems that put them at high risk are more likely to get very sick from this to develop pneumonia and potentially die. And because of those reports, a lot of young people started to think, Oh, this is an old people's disease. So I'm gonna be okay. And what we need to recognize is that a You may still be at risk to get the disease to get the infection. Even though you may not show signs of the infection, you might not look or feel sick, but you can still transmit it to other people. And at that point, what I think the biggest message that I would like to get out is how many of us young people have old people in our lives. That is, you know, thinking about that thinking about every individual that you might encounter. Even though you yourself may not get sick, you may be putting others at risk. There's there's so many ways that this is impacting us. If you think about from a global economy standpoint and business is shutting down and you know individuals have to having to be at home and so forth who usually watches your kids when you can. Exactly. Grandmother and grandpa grand parents are watching your kids, and if you are not protecting yourself, then you're not protecting your grand parents. And that's I think most people have a really soft spot for their grand parents. So I think that helps a lot to think about it in that standpoint.
spk_0: 23:40
So then how does social distancing help with all his piggybacking on what you just said? You don't that's more so in our homes. Closer contact. But you know, with us being out of work or, you know, avoiding nonessential businesses or those nonessential businesses having to close their doors, how does that help?
spk_1: 24:01
So that's a good question. And the way that this virus has to propagate through communities and wreak havoc is that people have to become infected, right? And so, in order for people to be infected, they have thio be together. Ah, if if it was a, um you know, the movies type of of contagion, where something just like shows up and it's all the air, it's in all their doesn't matter where you go that would be different, right? But this is something where you have to you. You literally have to be with people in order for people to become infected. And so what social distancing means is that we remove ourselves from situations where we can either acquire or transmit this virus to other people. And if we are, if we're good at doing that, it will burn itself out because they're no more people. For it to infect when it becomes problematic, is when some people are doing it and some people are not. It might seem like, well, nothing's happening AM and nothing. It might seem that way because it really needs the entire community to come together for this to actually work. So there's this. There's a MIM that's been going around on the Internet. I don't know if you've seen this with the matchstick. I love that one's No, the matters are all burning, and then the one matchstick steps away. And can that fire continue? No, it can't because it needs that next person. And that is the that is the rial. Impact of social distancing is by you staying home. You are helping to prevent the continued spread in the community. There are certain pockets of infection in in some places in Europe. Ah, and in some other states, in in the U. S. Where the outbreaks in those areas were linked to one or two people who had been at one large place. So the most the one that I think of the most right now is in Boston. There was a big conference that was happening, and three of the individuals who were at that conference were diagnosed with Covert 19 and ah, within. I think it was 24 to 48 hours. There were upwards off 150 people from that conference that were diagnosed with it. And, um, it it made it made me really think about the social distancing because this was the same location that one of our infectious disease conferences Croix was scheduled to be in. And when they occurred, that report of the initial few people they canceled the conference. They canceled the in person version of that conference, and all I can think of is, can you imagine if all those infectious disease doctors had drawn to that location in Boston and come back with Cove it night, where they were taking care of patients with HIV and other immuno suppressed patients who are at high risk. And the very action of stopping that conference in Boston, in my opinion, was so helpful to curbing what could have been pretty disastrous. And so that's why all these medical conferences and other professional conferences air being canceled. That's why the concerts are being canceled. And you know, people are mad because Lion King is cancelled now and then they can't go to Broadway. But
spk_0: 28:03
it's meat that if you cause you goto, can you imagine
spk_1: 28:06
going to the movies during this? It's already bad when people just have regular colds and they go to the movies and you're like, Oh, don't call for me But during an during a pandemic going to the movie theater, everybody that is in there could be exposed. So
spk_0: 28:25
were you. Siri. We really
spk_1: 28:26
have to be serious about it. And I don't think this is gonna turn into World War Z or the walking dead or anything like that, Right? Let's clear. This is bad, but we can get through it. We can get to the other end. How we get to the other end just depends on what we do right now. And so we can take ah, page from Italy and and China and looking. Look at what happened in those countries. And then we can also look at Singapore in North Korea that were able to keep things under better control and see, how could we do this differently?
spk_0: 29:04
That was really good. I really hope this drives the point home. You know, like what I really want us to see us do is address the younger people directly. And I appreciate you so much for the way you just broke that down. I think what really sticks with me is you said most people have a soft spot in their heart for their grand parents. I think that's a big one. In addition, toe that as we wind down any closing thoughts what? What do you wish you could stand on a mountain top as an infectious disease specialist and say to the world regarding covert 19. So I think the
spk_1: 29:45
biggest message that I would like to say is that one this is serious. This is, um, something that is really testing our health care infrastructure really testing our health care professionals. Um, and many of our doctors and nurses and frontline health care professionals are becoming sick from this. Some have even died. And, uh, I would use this platform to really appeal to my my, my fellow young people out there and say, I know you might seem I know you might think that you are well and that you are invincible, and this is something that we'll get through. But think about the people who may not have the ability or the immune systems like yourselves to get through this. Ah, and also think about those health care professionals who are going to work so that they can take care of those ill people. So please, please, please stay home. Because we have to goto work. We don't get to pick to stay home because we got to take care of you guys and we want to keep taking care of everybody. But if well, fewer people go out, then that means fewer people are overwhelming the health care system. And that is ultimately what we need to get this under control.
spk_0: 31:30
Thank you so much, Dr Jasmine Marcellin. Thank you for coming on this podcast and breaking down cove in 19. And what millennials need to know about this? Do you have a twitter handle of your own or just the one you shared earlier that you would like for people to follow or see the information you're putting out?
spk_1: 31:57
Yes, you can follow me on Twitter at Dr J. R. Marcellin. And, um, I frequently post about all things infectious disease, diversity and inclusion medical education. So follow me on there and
spk_0: 32:12
chat with me if you like. Thank you. So thank you all so much for joining us today on the millennial health podcast. Remember, though, my goal is to share some valuable information and draw awareness to some important health issues. I encourage you to please consult your position for personalized medical advice. I hope this information was beneficial to you. And it's so please subscribe to the podcast and share with your family and friends. If you have questions, you know you can reach me on instagram at your fate, Doctor friend. I dabble on Twitter and Facebook for really I'm on instagram. All right. Thank you. All high. Look