Public Health On Call

Inside NYC’s COVID Response: Contact Tracing, Isolation Support, and the Power of Public Health Infrastructure

In Episode 196 of Public Health On Call from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Dr. Jay Varma, Senior Public Health Advisor to the Mayor of New York City, joins Dr. Josh Sharfstein to discuss New York City’s ambitious contact tracing program, one of the largest in the United States.

Launched on June 1, 2020, amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program quickly scaled to include over 4,000 trained contact tracers, reaching more than 90% of new COVID cases across the five boroughs. More than just phone calls and interviews, the NYC Test & Trace Corps also provided wraparound services—including dog walking, grocery delivery, and hotel accommodations—to help people safely isolate and reduce further transmission.

“We realized very early that you can’t ask someone to isolate if they have no food, no way to take care of their children, or are afraid of losing their job,” said Dr. Varma. “Public health has to be compassionate and comprehensive if it’s going to succeed.”

This discussion offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how NYC built a human-centered contact tracing infrastructure during a rapidly evolving crisis. Dr. Varma explains how the city overcame early logistical and political challenges, how they built trust with marginalized communities, and why testing and tracing remain essential tools—even as the threat of shutdowns loomed during surges.

The episode also emphasizes the importance of public health readiness and infrastructure, not just during emergencies, but in times of recovery and resilience planning. Dr. Varma notes that many lessons from contact tracing for COVID-19 may apply to other future outbreaks—from monkeypox to tuberculosis—and the systems built today can help address tomorrow’s challenges.

🎧 Listen to the full episode: 196 – Contact Tracing for COVID-19 in New York City