World Health Archives | Talking Taiwan Podcast

Why the Surge in Taiwan’s Coronavirus Cases? An Interview with Courtney Donovan Smith Ep 134

Felicia Lin — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 13:00:08 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

There has been a surge in Taiwan’s coronavirus cases since about mid-May, and Taiwan is now on COVID alert level 3, one level before full lockdown. I’ve invited Courtney Donovan Smith on to Talking Taiwan to talk about what led to the increase in COVID cases, the current situation and what’s happening with Taiwan’s efforts to acquire COVID vaccines. Courtney Donovan Smith is the central Taiwan correspondent for ICRT News, and one of the co-founders of the Taiwan Report, which I highly recommend as a really great news resource for what’s happening in Taiwan.

Since Courtney and I spoke on June 3rd, Taiwan remains at COVID alert level 3, on Friday, Japan sent over one million doses of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Taiwan, and the U.S. has promised to donate 750,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

The current situation and atmosphere in Taiwan since COVID cases started to spike
How the increase in COVID cases were linked to commercial airline pilots who stayed at the Novotel airport hotel
Taiwan is currently at COVID alert level 3
What does COVID alert level 3 entail
What’s happened since Taiwan has been at COVID alert level 3
How the increase in COVID cases in Taiwan are due to the more virulent UK variant of COVID
How one of the factors to determine whether Taiwan will go to level 4 (full lockdown), is the number of cases with unknown origin and what constitutes a case of known or unknown origin
Taiwan is tentatively going to remain at level 3 until June 14
Reasons for the low COVID vaccination rate in Taiwan
Why Taiwan has not been able to procure Pfizer vaccines from German firm BioNTech and what happened to the deal
What China’s Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group (which claims to handle the Greater China market which includes Taiwan) has to do with Taiwan’s efforts to access COVID vaccines
The Chinese made COVID vaccine
China’s interference in Taiwan’s efforts to secure COVID vaccines
China’s reaction to the Japan’s offer to donate vaccines to Taiwan
How China interfered with relief efforts during the 921 Earthquake in Taiwan
The most well-known cases of COVID outbreaks in Taiwan involving the Taipei Wanhua district teahouses and “Grape Mother”

Living with Tourette Syndrome: Peter Yang Zhao Ep 129

Felicia Lin — Mon, 10 May 2021 14:20:16 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

May 15 to June 15^th is Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month. Tourette Syndrome is usually diagnosed in childhood or adolescence. According to the Tourette Association of America 1 out of every 160 children between the ages of 5-17 in the United States has Tourette Syndrome and 1 out of every 100 children has Tourette Syndrome or another Tic Disorder.

In doing research for this interview, I visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Tourette Association of America websites. On these websites, I noticed that resources for children with Tourette Syndrome and their parents to deal with bullying were prominently displayed. It’s an important reminder that there needs to be more awareness, tolerance and understanding of Tourette Syndrome, but not just in childhood but in society in general, amongst people of all ages.

My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Tourette Activist, Peter Yang Zhao who we’ve had on previous episodes with Sergeant Steven Lee to talk about the topic of Asian hate. In this in depth interview, Peter explains what living with Tourette Syndrome is, how he got diagnosed, and speaks frankly about the challenges he’s had to overcome as a Touretter, and how he advocates for more awareness of Tourette Syndrome.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Peter’s connection to Taiwan
Georges Gilles de la Tourette
What is Tourette Syndrome
Coprolalia
The Tourette Syndrome iceberg
People with Tourette Syndrome are often affected by another co-occurring condition like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Depression
The connection between OCD and Tourette Syndrome
How Peter’s mother dealt with his Tourette Syndrome
Peter’s evolution of vocal tics and how he changed his vocal tics over years
How Peter was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome
How tics can change over time
Cognitive behavior training
Peter’s first tic which appeared at 8 years old
The stress Peter experienced while being bullied at school
The reflexology treatment that Peter initially received to treat his Tourette Syndrome
How Peter had to fight other students at school to defend himself and stop the bullying
What happened when Peter started taking an antipsychotic drug (pimozide) to control his tics
Coprographia
How Peter’s mother and doctors reacted to his complaints of increased intrusive thoughts
The physical and mental addiction that Peter developed to the drug
How tics are triggered
How Peter’s only escape from his intrusive thoughts was to sleep
How Peter started having suicidal thoughts
How Peter decided to stop taking the antipsychotic drug
What happened when Peter quit taking the drug
How Peter’s tics are seasonal
Tourette Association of America which is located in Bayside, NY
How Peter didn’t want to have kids because he was afraid of passing along the genes for Tourette Syndrome
Tourette’s Facebook support groups
How Peter was interviewed for the Tourette Syndrome podcast
#7DaysOfTourettes movement
The article Peter wrote about Ted Cruz’s tweet about Tourette Syndrome

Coronavirus Pandemic in New York: An Interview with Dr. Wilson Wang Ep 69

Felicia Lin — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 07:31:11 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

I’m pleased to welcome Dr. Wilson Wang back on to Talking Taiwan after five years for what turned out to be a very in-depth conversation, about the Coronavirus crisis in New York. Dr. Wang spoke with me about the COVID-19 pandemic from both a science-based and human perspective. This interview with Dr. Wang was recorded last week on March 30^th, 2020.

Dr. Wilson Wang is the Founder and CEO of a health software company called Walking Doctors, a pediatric emergency room physician and hospitalist at NYU and NYC Public Hospital system, and adjunct faculty of Global Public Health at NYU.

UPDATE: On April 3, 2020, the CDC published new recommendations to use cloth face coverings, especially in areas of significant community-based transmission https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover.html

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this episode:

How Dr. Wang and his family are dealing with COVID-19
How Dr. Wang’s experience with Ebola led to establishing Walking Doctors
The importance of standardizing diagnosis and treatment of disease
Comparing the Ebola outbreak with COVID-19
Epidemics vs. pandemics
The SARS 2003 epidemic
The strategies that Taiwan used to contain the spread of COVID-19
Development of a test for COVID-19
Is the Coronavirus airborne and how long does it survive in the air?
How long does the Coronavirus survive on surfaces?
Comparing measles with the Coronavirus
Dr. Wang’s recommendations on whether or not to wear a mask
Why it’s important to adhere to social distancing and self-isolation
Possible treatments for COVID-19
The ventilator shortage
Which is our best hope a vaccine or cure?
General advice to people trying to stay healthy and deal with social distancing and self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ebola Outbreak: An Interview with Dr. Wilson Wang Ep 68

Felicia Lin — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 16:25:55 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

What does a robot, Jedi and Wi-Fi have to do with the Ebola crisis? In 2015 I spoke with Wilson Wang a medical doctor by training, who was a Senior Clinical director at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) at the time. We spoke about his work with IRC on the 2014 Ebola outbreak and his career in medicine and public health.

As we deal with the coronavirus here in New York City, I thought this would be a good time to share this episode. Stay tuned for the next episode of Talking Taiwan. I’ll be bringing back Dr. Wang to speak about how his Ebola work led him to establish Waking Doctors and his current work on COVID-19, the coronavirus in New York City.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

The origin, mission and work of International Rescue Committee
Wilson’s career in medicine and public health leading up to his work with the International Rescue Committee (IRC)
How Wilson balances the practice of medicine with health management
How IRC was asked to create an Ebola treatment unit (i.e. a hospital) for Ebola patients
How more people died in the 2014 Ebola epidemic than in all of the Ebola epidemics of the past 35 years
How for nearly 40 years there hadn’t been reliable medical record keeping about the treatment of Ebola patients
What the JEDI app acronym stands for
The robot created by Vecna to be used in Liberia
U.S. reaction to the Ebola outbreak
What’s guided Dr. Wang in his particular career path

World Health Archives | Talking Taiwan Podcast

Why the Surge in Taiwan’s Coronavirus Cases? An Interview with Courtney Donovan Smith Ep 134

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

Living with Tourette Syndrome: Peter Yang Zhao Ep 129

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

Coronavirus Pandemic in New York: An Interview with Dr. Wilson Wang Ep 69

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this episode:

Related Links:

Ebola Outbreak: An Interview with Dr. Wilson Wang Ep 68

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links: