Have a question about COVID-19 or the resurgence in cases amidst the country’s reopening? Our doctors share answers you can trust in the hour-long special “Coronavirus House Calls: Combating the Comeback.”

CBS 42’s Art Franklin

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — As the death toll from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to rise in the U.S., we’re looking past statistics. With a resurgence in U.S. coronavirus cases amidst the country’s reopening, confusion surrounds our ever-evolving situation. We’re here to talk about your concerns, differentiate between fact and fiction, and move from fear to hope as we navigate this “new normal” together.

[WATCH: Dr. Fauci answers your questions on ‘Coronavirus House Calls’]

That’s why we’ve assembled a panel of the nation’s top doctors to answer your biggest questions about the fight against COVID-19 in the Nexstar digital original series, “Coronavirus House Calls,” hosted by Emmy award-winning CBS 42 Anchor Art Franklin.

If you have a fever or cough, you might have COVID-19. Most people have mild illness and are able to recover at home. Keep track of your symptoms. If you have an emergency warning sign (including trouble breathing), get medical attention right away.

MEET THE DOCTORS

Bernard Chang, MD, PhD (Manhattan, NY)
Emergency medicine physician, psychologist & professor, Columbia University

Dr. Bernard P. Chang is the Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Columbia University. A practicing emergency physician and research psychologist, he is a national leader and expert on neurological and psychiatric emergencies, with interests in the psychological and physiological effects of stress in both patients and clinicians. Dr. Chang has received grant funding at the institutional, state, and federal level, and was one of the youngest faculty in the history of Emergency Medicine to be awarded an independent federal grant (R01). Dr. Chang received his PhD from Harvard in psychology, his MD from Stanford and completed his Emergency Medicine residency training at the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Prior to medical school he served as a sailboat captain doing boat deliveries internationally.

Follow Dr. Chang on Twitter: @bernardchangMD

Esther Choo, MD, MPH (Portland, OR)
Professor of Emergency Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University

Esther Choo, MD MPH, is an emergency medicine physician, health services researcher, and founder of Equity Quotient. She started the hashtag #GetMePPE to draw national attention to the shortage of critical equipment for health care workers, and has been outspoken about COVID-related medication shortages, health inequities, and gaps in public health strategies. She is Chief Medical Advisor for Jupe Health, which is building mobile housing and healthcare units to expand care capacity in crisis times. Her podcast, Doctor’s Log, presents observations about the pandemic from the healthcare perspective.

Dr. Choo’s media appearances include MSNBC ( Rachel Maddow, Ari Melber) and CNN (Wolf Blitzer, Don Lemon). She has in participated in the following interviews and podcasts: TED Talk, Aspen Health #ACTIVATE, and Hysteria. Dr. Choo has also written for The Lancet and NBC Think. She has been quoted in the following publications: The Atlantic, Vox, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Forbes.

Follow Dr. Choo on Twitter.

Cedric Dark, MD, MPH, FACEP (Houston, TX)
Emergency medicine physician & board member, Doctors for America

Cedric Dark (Baylor College of Medicine)

Dr. Cedric Dark serves on the COVID-19 frontlines in Houston and is observing firsthand the precarious balance of the pandemic’s public health impacts with the very real economic and societal considerations. He is dedicated to bridging the gap between health policy and medicine. Dr. Dark currently writes and speaks about the disparities in health outcomes for minorities, particularly the Black community. He writes for the layperson at policyprescriptions.com on advancing evidence based health policy, including women’s health, access to care for vulnerable populations, gun violence, health equity, and universal coverage. Dr. Dark is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

Dr. Dark has recently been featured in the following media: MSNBC, Yahoo!, Newsy, H-Town Progressive

Follow Dr. Dark on Twitter.

Michael Saag, MD (Birmingham, AL)
Director of the Center for AIDS Research, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Dr. Saag received a B.S. in chemistry with honors in 1977 from Tulane University, earned his medical degree with honors from the University of Louisville, and completed his residency and infectious disease and molecular virology fellowship training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. During the last six months of his fellowship, Dr. Saag conceived the concept of a comprehensive HIV outpatient (1917) clinic dedicated to the provision of interdisciplinary patient care in conjunction with the conduct of high quality clinical trials, translational science, and clinical outcomes research.  Within the clinic structure, he established a clinical trials unit, a data management center, and a Clinical Specimen Repository designed to support the activities of the newly established Center for AIDS Research at UAB. In essence, the clinic became a “hub” for the clinical, basic science, and behavioral science investigators by creating a dynamic interface between the patients and the investigators.

Dr. Saag has participated in many studies of antiretroviral therapy as well as novel treatments for opportunistic infections. He has published over 450 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including the first description of the use of viral load in clinical practice (Science, 1993), the first description of the rapid dynamics of viral replication (Nature, 1995), the first guidelines for use of viral load in practice (Nature Medicine, 1996), and the first proof of concept of fusion inhibition as a therapeutic option (Nature Medicine, 1998). He directed the ‘first-in-patient’ studies of seven of the 30 antiretroviral drugs currently on the market. 

Dr. Saag co-edited a textbook entitled “AIDS Therapy” (now in its 3rd edition) and currently serves as an Editor of the “Sanford Guide for Antimicrobial Agents” and the “Sanford HIV Guide.” Dr. Saag serves on the International AIDS Society-USA Board of Directors, is a past president of the HIV Medical Association, is Chair of the IAS-USA Antiretroviral Therapy Guidelines panel, was a founding Co-Chair of the AASLD/IDSA Hepatitis C Guidelines Panel, and is a past-member of the HHS Guidelines Panel on Antiretroviral Therapy and the WHO Antiretroviral Therapy Guidelines panel.

In 2014, he was the Castle-Connolly National Physician of the Year and was inducted into the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame. An accomplished teacher, Dr. Saag has been awarded Argus awards annually by the UAB medical students as Best Lecturer in the Patient, Doctor, and Society module. Dr. Saag recently published a memoir entitled “Positive: One Doctor’s Personal Encounters with Death, Life, and the US Healthcare System,” now in its second printing.

Follow Dr. Saag on Twitter.

WATCH CORONAVIRUS HOUSE CALLS