New KFF Health News Podcast Explores How the Eradication of Smallpox in India Informs Public Health Ambitions and Challenges in 2023
KFF Health News today introduced a brand-new limited-series podcast, “Epidemic: Eradicating Smallpox,” with host Dr. Céline Gounder, senior fellow and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News. The eight-episode podcast takes listeners on a journey to South Asia, the website of the last days of variola significant smallpox. There, public health employees from India, Bangladesh, and all over the world did what numerous idea was difficult: get rid of smallpox.
“Eradicating smallpox was one of humanity’s greatest triumphs, and it’s one that public health has yet to repeat,” said Dr. Gounder, a doctor and epidemiologist. “By telling the stories from the field with the communities and public health workers involved, we can better understand how science, medicine, and the human spirit can dramatically change the course of history.”
In the very first episode of the series, listeners will hear how smallpox was viewed as both fatal and magnificent in India through the story of a young boy who conquers his worry and gets immunized after seeing a buddy die of the illness.
In each episode, Dr. Gounder, a public health professional and the KFF Health News medical factor for CBS News, shares another aspect of the historical effort to end smallpox from the field in India and Bangladesh, and likewise interviews visitors who review the methods and actions of public health employees to help recognize appropriate lessons for today’s public health emergency situations.
New episodes will be available every 2 weeks on Tuesdays. Listen to the audio trailer here and see the video trailer on KFF Health News’ YouTube page.
