COVID19
No, That New Study Doesn’t Show that Masks Are Useless
We asked Prof. Jason Abaluck, who co-authored a landmark randomized trial of mask promotion in Bangladesh, what conclusions we can draw from the recent Cochrane Review—and what the evidence says about the effectiveness of masks.

Long COVID
In the latest episode of the Health & Veritas podcast, Howard Forman and Harlan Krumholz are joined by Liza Fisher to talk about her experience navigating the medical system and advocating for patients while enduring 18 months of debilitating COVID symptoms.
Navigating a New Now: What a New York City Doctor Has Learned During the Pandemic
Dr. Charles Powell ’19, chief of pulmonary critical care for Mount Sinai, says that promising new approaches to research, diagnosis, and treatment have emerged from the devastation.
Controlling the Virus Is the Key to Reducing Inflation
Yale SOM’s William English, a former economist at the Federal Reserve, explains the role of COVID-19 in the spike in prices, considers how policymakers can respond, and confronts the sheer uncertainty of the times.
The Drug Approval Process
In the latest episode of the Health & Veritas podcast, Howard Forman and Harlan Krumholz discuss what we know and don’t know about the newly identified omicron variant. Then they’re joined by Yale’s Dr. Joseph Ross to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the FDA’s process for approving new drugs.
Health Economics
On the latest episode of the Health & Veritas podcast, Howard Forman and Harlan Krumholz are joined by Jason Abaluck, a health economist at Yale SOM. They discuss a massive study co-authored by Abaluck that showed that masks reduce COVID infections in a community setting.
The Saliva Test
On the latest episode of the Health & Veritas podcast, Howard Forman and Harlan Krumholz are joined by Anne Wyllie, the Yale scientist who developed the SalivaDirect test for COVID-19. They discuss the development of the technology and its potential for enabling easier testing in a variety of communities.
Navigating a New Now: Prioritizing a Vulnerable Community
Dr. Suzanne Lagarde ’14, CEO of Fair Haven Community Health Care, explains how she adapted vaccine delivery to meet the needs of the community even as the unrelenting pandemic took a toll on her staff.
Leading Vassar through COVID-19
On the latest episode of the Health & Veritas podcast, Howard Forman and Harlan Krumholz are joined by Elizabeth Bradley, an expert on global public health and the president of Vassar College. They discuss how the residential liberal arts college navigated the pandemic—and how defining a set of core values helped guide its response.
Boosters and Nocebos
In the debut episode of the Health & Veritas podcast, Howard Forman and Harlan Krumholz discuss who would benefit from a COVID-19 vaccine booster, and the implications of a study on the side effects of statins.
Soaring COVID Rates in the South Show Why We Need Vaccine Mandates
The data shows that low vaccination rates in southern states are leading to thousands of needless deaths, write Albert Ko of the Yale School of Public Health and Anjani Jain and Jeffrey Sonnenfeld of Yale SOM.