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The COVID-19 pandemic has presented new challenges to people experiencing homelessness because they can't easily practice mitigation measures such as frequent handwashing and social distancing. Jennifer Tan, MD, a Massachusetts General Hospital dermatologist who has been caring for Boston's homeless population for several years, helped assemble special care kits, which included hand sanitizer and masks as well as over-the-counter treatments for skin problems, for distribution in Boston and Portland, Maine.

Communication science expert Brian Southwell, PhD, recently launched a training workshop at the Duke University School of Medicine to address a major clinical problem: What should physicians do when patients are misinformed about their health? It’s one of only a few such programs in the nation. Southwell, a scholar with the medical school’s Social Science Research Institute and a senior director at the independent, nonprofit research institute RTI International, chatted with JAMA Medical News Associate Managing Editor Jennifer Abbasi about the viral spread of false health information and malicious disinformation campaigns, why we’re vulnerable to falling for them, and how time-pressed physicians can deal with all the noise. Related Article(s): COVID-19 Conspiracies and Beyond: How Physicians Can Deal With Patients’ Misinformation

JAMA Network Articles of the Year 2020; Looking to Long-term Survivors for Improved Pancreatic Cancer Treatment; Musical Spine Surgeons Lift Spirits With Songs of Hope Related Article(s): JAMA Network Articles of the Year 2020 Looking to Long-term Survivors for Improved Pancreatic Cancer Treatment Musical Spine Surgeons Lift Spirits With Songs of Hope

Ala Stanford, MD, founder of Philadelphia's Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, talks with JAMA Medical News staff writer Mary Chris Jaklevic about her work to establish COVID-19 testing sites for the city's Black residents. Related Article: Surgeon Fills COVID-19 Testing Gap in Philadelphia’s Black Neighborhoods

JAMA sat down with Elvis Francois and William Robinson to talk about their unexpected fame as a musical duo. Videos of the 2 performing uplifting songs, with Francois on vocals and Robinson on the piano, have gone viral, leading the 2 spine surgery fellows to record an EP at a Nashville studio this past spring. They're donating all the proceeds from the successful EP to COVID-19-related charities. Related Article: Musical Spine Surgeons Lift Spirits With Songs of Hope

Could Frequent Testing Help Squelch COVID-19?; Nursing Homes’ Next Test—Vaccinating Workers Against COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2 Testing Hesitancy Could Hamper Mitigation Efforts Related Articles: The Challenges of Expanding Rapid Tests to Curb COVID-19 Nursing Homes’ Next Test—Vaccinating Workers Against COVID-19 First It Was Masks; Now Some Refuse Testing for SARS-CoV-2

JAMA Medical News comes to you live from the American Heart Association’s first-ever virtual Scientific Sessions conference. Host Jennifer Abbasi chats with conference chair and AHA president-elect Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM, about this year’s hottest clinical trials and themes: fish oil vs corn oil placebo for primary or secondary prevention; Polycap polypill with or without aspirin for primary prevention; statins, side effects, and the nocebo effect; ferric carboxymaltose iron infusion in acute heart failure; omecamtiv mecarbil, a novel cardiac myosin activator, in HFrEF; sotagliflozin, an SGLT2/1 inhibitor, in diabetes with recent worsening heart failure or in diabetes and chronic kidney disease; MINOCA’s underlying cause in women; rilonacept, an IL-1α and IL-1β Trap, in recurrent pericarditis; COVID-19’s cardiovascular effects, risk factors, and racial/ethnic disparities. Related article: Omega-3 Fatty Acids vs Corn Oil and Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients at High Risk

Large Meta-analysis Digs Into Obesity’s COVID-19 Risks; As Their Numbers Grow, COVID-19 “Long Haulers” Stump Experts; Telephone Visits Surge During the Pandemic, but Will They Last? Related articles: Large Meta-analysis Digs Into Obesity’s COVID-19 Risks As Their Numbers Grow, COVID-19 “Long Haulers” Stump Experts Telephone Visits Surge During the Pandemic, but Will They Last?

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill nutrition scholar Barry Popkin, PhD, and JAMA Medical News Associate Managing Editor Jennifer Abbasi discuss new findings on obesity and COVID-19. Popkin is the lead author of a systematic review and meta-analysis on the topic that was published recently in Obesity Reviews. He is a distinguished professor in the department of nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Related Article(s): Large Meta-analysis Digs Into Obesity’s COVID-19 Risks

What Happens When COVID-19 Collides With Flu Season?; Flu Vaccination Urged During COVID-19 Pandemic; COVID-19 and mRNA Vaccines—First Large Test for a New Approach Related Article(s): What Happens When COVID-19 Collides With Flu Season? Flu Vaccination Urged During COVID-19 Pandemic COVID-19 and mRNA Vaccines—First Large Test for a New Approach

Science communications expert Dominique Brossard, PhD, and JAMA Medical News Associate Managing Editor Jennifer Abbasi discuss research-based strategies to encourage mask wearing, social distancing, and hand washing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Brossard is a professor and chair of the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and part of a new COVID-19-focused National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine group. Related Article(s): The Science of Persuasion Offers Lessons for COVID-19 Prevention

Researchers Strive to Recruit Hard-Hit Minorities Into COVID-19 Vaccine Trials; Taking a Closer Look at COVID-19, Health Inequities, and Racism; From Auto Mechanic to Emergency Medicine Resident: Inspiring Young Blacks to Become Physicians Related articles: Researchers Strive to Recruit Hard-Hit Minorities Into COVID-19 Vaccine Trials Taking a Closer Look at COVID-19, Health Inequities, and Racism From Auto Mechanic to Emergency Medicine Resident: Inspiring Young Blacks to Become Physicians

Carl Allamby, MD, discusses his circuitous route from long-time auto repair shop owner to emergency medicine resident with JAMA Medical News Senior Writer Rita Rubin. Growing up in Cleveland, Allamby never saw physicians who looked like him, but an introductory biology course required for his undergraduate business degree sparked a long dormant dream of becoming a physician. Related Article(s): From Auto Mechanic to Emergency Medicine Resident: Inspiring Young Blacks to Become Physicians

School Superintendents Confront COVID-19—“There Are No Good Options for Next Year”; Social Isolation—the Other COVID-19 Threat in Nursing Homes; COVID-19’s Lasting Impact on Medical Practices Related articles: COVID-19’s Crushing Effects on Medical Practices, Some of Which Might Not Survive School Superintendents Confront COVID-19—“There Are No Good Options for Next Year” Social Isolation—the Other COVID-19 Threat in Nursing Homes

Chicago public health legend and retired physician Linda Rae Murray, MD, discusses systemic racism and the pandemic’s disproportionate effect among African Americans and other people of color with JAMA Medical News Associate Managing Editor Jennifer Abbasi. Dr Murray is an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health and a past president of the American Public Health Association. Related: Taking a Closer Look at COVID-19, Health Inequities, and Racism  

Latin America and Its Global Partners Toil to Procure Medical Supplies as COVID-19 Pushes the Region to Its Limit; “Abandoned” Nursing Homes Continue to Face Critical Supply and Staff Shortages as COVID-19 Toll Has Mounted; Challenge Trials—Could Deliberate Coronavirus Exposure Hasten Vaccine Development? Article links: Latin America and Its Global Partners Toil to Procure Medical Supplies as COVID-19 Pushes the Region to Its Limit “Abandoned” Nursing Homes Continue to Face Critical Supply and Staff Shortages as COVID-19 Toll Has Mounted Challenge Trials—Could Deliberate Coronavirus Exposure Hasten Vaccine Development?

JAMA's Angel Desai, MD, speaks with Gary Marcus, PhD, coauthor of Rebooting AI: Building Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust. Marcus argues that endowing machines with intelligence will require innovation that embraces the complexity of the real world. Plus: How can AI be used during COVID-19? Related: Artificial Intelligence: Promise, Pitfalls, and Perspective

Convalescent Plasma for COVID-19; Prioritizing Physician Mental Health as COVID-19 Marches On; Global Effort to Collect Data on Ventilated Patients With COVID-19

The University of New Mexico's Eileen Barrett, MD, MPH, speaks with JAMA's Jennifer Abbasi about the pandemic's mental and emotional toll on health care workers—and how they and their employers can safeguard their well-being. Read the Article: Prioritizing Physician Mental Health as COVID-19 Marches On

Finding Ways to Reduce Coronavirus Exposure During Dialysis; The Promise and Peril of Antibody Testing for COVID-19; The Challenge of Preventing COVID-19 Spread in Correctional Facilities