From the doctor's office to the small screen: Who are these medical experts we see on TV every day?
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it seemed like every week brought a new rule, restriction or piece of legislation meant to help curb the spread of the virus. For many, this led to confusion about what was allowed, what wasn’t—and why.
To help make sense of what was happening—media organizations brought in doctors and experts in the field of epidemiology and infectious diseases to explain everything in terms everyone could understand.
These medical experts became celebrity-like, serving as trusted sources of information for people having a hard time navigating the political rhetoric and the constantly changing information.
In episode 3 of Life Unmasked, host Ashley Legassic speaks with three such “TV doctors” about what the last year and a half has been like.
Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious diseases physician at Trillium Health Partners, talks about his first time experiencing a pandemic in 2009 with H1N1 and what it was like to be a consistent voice on CTV News when it came to COVID-19.
Life Unmasked also speaks with family physician Dr. Jennifer Kwan, who has racked up more than 70,000 Twitter followers since she started posting crucial COVID-19 data on the platform.
Finally, the team speaks with Dr. Susy Hota, the medical director for infection prevention and control at the University Health Network, who says that being a trusted source of information throughout a pandemic is an immense responsibility.
Life Unmasked airs first on the iHeart app every Thursday morning before becoming available on other streaming platforms. If you have questions for the podcast team, or an idea for an episode, please email lifeunmasked@bellmedia.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.