vets first

In this episode of the Vets First Podcast, Levi and Brandon interview Dr. Alejandro Pezzulo, a pulmonologist, and Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Iowa. This episode was recording back in August of 2021 during the height of the Delta wave. We think this is an interesting look into COVID-19 with a critical care provider. 

Dr. Pezzulo was born in Caracas, Venezuela where he grew and eventually went to medical school.  He became interested in biomedical research, particularly pulmonology, and established connections at the University of Iowa. Dr. Pezzulo wanted to include research with being a clinician and began work with the VA during his internal medicine residency. He enjoyed talking and working with Veterans while providing clinical care and continues to do so to this day. He notes that some of his favorite patients are Veterans.
 
 In our discussion, Dr. Pezzulo shares with Levi and Brandon his insight into SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.  He breaks down how COVID-19 affects the body, why the body’s response to this virus is so severe, and how current treatments work to combat this disease. Particularly, Dr. Pezzulo illustrates the difference between how the body responds to a new virus never experienced before and how the immune response plays a role. He also comments on why COVID-19 is more harmful to some patients than others and what factors play a role. Additionally, Dr. Pezzulo comments on how the COVID-19 vaccines are made, getting the COVID-19 vaccine even if a person has already contracted the virus, the potentials of long COVID, and a brief history on vaccination efforts with other diseases like polio and measles. Finally, he discusses what it has been like for a critical care pulmonologist during the pandemic. 

For the latest science and research on COVID-19, we highly encourage our listeners to consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at: 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-and-research.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fmore%2Fscience-and-research.html

In this short wrap up episode, Levi and Brandon look back on the season and discuss what surprised them about starting a podcast, some of the difficulties experienced as novice podcasters, and some of the striking takeaways from the interviews. Partway through our recording we were able to acquire higher quality microphones, put our clicking pens away, and Brandon even found his voice a bit more.

This podcast journey began with us introducing ourselves, where we come from, what we do, and how we got to this point in time.  Early on, we weren’t certain how many people would be interested in talking to us.  That uncertainty didn’t last very long.  All our guests this season were great, and we feel privileged to be able to provide a platform for sharing their stories.  

Though we are only scratching the surface, we feel like we gained a deeper understanding into the experiences of Veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury, post traumatic headache, migraine, and kidney disease.  Even better, being able to give Veterans a platform to share these experiences as well as researchers and healthcare providers to convey their work to aid our Veterans has been a wonderful undertaking.  

Next season, we will discuss topics such as drug addiction, glaucoma, chronic pain, and suicide. You can look forward to these episodes and more around June 2020. 

We thank you all for listening and look forward to producing many more episodes.