Episode Details
Back to Episodes#439 - 🔵 [PAS 2026] - Hep C and Long COVID: Two Infections We're Not Taking Seriously Enough
Description
Dr. Ravi Jhaveri, infectious disease physician at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, joins Daphna for a conversation spanning two underappreciated threats in pediatrics. On hepatitis C, he shares that up to 90% of perinatally exposed infants never get tested despite clear guidance — and makes the case for point-of-care, heel-stick based testing that meets families where they are rather than relying on follow-up that often never happens. On long COVID, he reframes the vaccine conversation away from acute illness and toward something families actually care about: protecting their child's ability to show up for the things that matter most to them — sports, dance, school — since even mild or repeat COVID infections can double the risk of debilitating long COVID symptoms.
As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.
Enjoy!