Media Coverage

Numerous outlets in the Sinclair Broadcast Group reported that public health experts have expressed alarm that many states have decided to eliminate mask mandates and other restrictions designed to keep cases of COVID-19 under control. The story quotes Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD, senior associate dean for health policy. “My reaction is, ‘What on earth are they thinking? We’ve seen this before with this virus – cases, hospitalizations, and deaths rose precipitously when state mandates were lifted or significantly relaxed.’” 

Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, is quoted in stories that report a new symptom known as “COVID tongue” has been detected in which patients experience bumps, inflammation and swelling on the tongue. “Many physicians focus on the heart, lungs and abdomen, In the age of COVID-19, they pass on examining the mouth even more because it can increase their risk of getting infected. This has probably been missed in a lot of individuals,” he said.

Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, is quoted in articles about Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine. Russo called the vaccine’s much-less-fragile state which can stay stable in a normal refrigerator for up to three months “a big advantage.” 

The Buffalo News published an op-ed by David A. Milling, MD, senior associate dean for student and academic affairs and associate professor of medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, about UB’s post-baccalaureate program for underrepresented students. This program has prepared more than 500 underrepresented students for medical school. The pipeline program, run by the Associated Medical Schools of New York and funded by the New York State Department of Health, is now at risk of being cut due to COVID-19 budget shortfalls. This is precisely the wrong time to cut programs like this when, Milling writes, the pandemic’s disproportionate effect on minority communities demonstrates why diversity among physicians is so critical. “It’s up to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the State Legislature to make a difference in the health of New Yorkers by investing in diversity in medicine,” Milling writes.

WBFO reported on the UB connection for global guidelines for treating seriously ill COVID-19 patients, recognizing Manoj J. Mammen, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, who said these guidelines were updated using the knowledge acquired over the past several months. “Going forward, we would have to look at using the best available evidence and data and marshal all our resources to reduce any further deaths, and to prevent any more spread of the pandemic,” Mammen said. “I think there’s definitely political will for it. We just have to be more vigilant in the next several months.”

WGRZ reported on when life will return to normal following COVID-19 and quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. “We are really doing great here in Erie County and in Western New York,” Russo said. “All of our numbers are looking great and most importantly total hospitalizations is as low as they’ve been since mid-November. I'm hoping our numbers are going to be very low in terms of cases and the proportion of people vaccinated and having some level of protection sometime in June. If we continue at our present pace, having a much more normal June, July and August is quite realistic.”

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of medical professionals say that they like to wear surgical-style face coverings outside of work. Timothy F. Murphy, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, says he doubles up on surgical face coverings. “When I go out, I have taken to wearing two surgical masks — one knotted for a snug fit, to take advantage of both the extra layers and the snug fit to maximize protection of myself and others,” he says.

Scientists are keeping a close eye on SARS-CoV-2’s variants in order to understand how genetic changes to the virus might impact its infectiousness (and thus, its spread), the severity of illness, treatment and the effectiveness of the vaccines available, says Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. A variant of SARS-CoV-2 known as B.1.1.7 has been spreading throughout the United Kingdom since December 2020, and now cases are cropping up all around the world. In South Africa, another variant of SARS-CoV-2 known as B.1.351 emerged. It has a some similarities with the U.K. variant.

Should we feel optimistic about the coming months of the COVID-19 pandemic because positive tests and hospitalizations are declining and more people are getting the vaccine every day? Or should we be pessimistic because dangerous, easily transmissible variants of the virus are spreading around the globe and into New York? “I think I am a glass-half-full person,” says Manoj J. Mammen, MD, associate professor of medicine. Still, he adds: “We haven’t won the war yet. We’ll still have to struggle in the coming months.” Peter Winkelstein, MD, clinical professor of pediatrics and executive director of UB’s Institute for Healthcare Informatics, leads a team that models COVID-19 hospitalizations in Erie County. If vaccinations can reach 5,000 or more doses delivered per day, the number of hospital patients could fall to almost zero within two months, assuming variants do not take hold. “We don't have to wait for everybody to be immunized before we see an effect from the vaccine,” Winkelstein says.

There are a lot of COVID-19 vaccines to keep track of lately. So far, the ones from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech have been authorized for use in the U.S., but there are plenty of others coming down the pipeline that show promise. One of them is the Novavax vaccine, a protein-based vaccine engineered from the genetic sequence of SARS-CoV-2. This approach is completely different compared to how the mRNA vaccines work, which give your cells the code to make the spike protein themselves, explains Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. Then, your body develops antibodies in response to these cells. “The efficacy is not as high as the mRNA vaccines, but it still affords a reasonable level of protection,” he says. “If we convert a lethal disease into a nuisance and keep people out of the hospital, I think that’s OK.”

There are two policy stories dominating coverage of the pandemic: reopening schools and vaccine distribution. The frustration around school openings may be distracting from the scale of optimism on the vaccine front, which could render some of these tough conversations moot faster than we realize. Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, says the “extraordinary” vaccines are by far the biggest COVID-19 story. Even as new variants are a cause for concern, vaccines appear to protect against the most severe types of illness for now. Russo says there is “too much focus on possible limitations and not enough on their significant merits that will get us out of this mess.” He notes: “We need to keep pushing and inspiring as many people as possible to get vaccinated as soon as possible as their turn arises.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that two weeks after you receive both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, you no longer need to quarantine after travel or exposure. But New York State has not updated its quarantine policies to reflect the CDC’s recommendations. The state has left the decision to individual counties. “The benefit of course is that we can get these individuals back to work and back to what they’re doing and being productive in our community and in our society,” says Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. Right now, fully vaccinated individuals are exempt from quarantine for 90 days. “That’s because our trial data to date shows that protecting is afforded for at least 90 days. I expect that 90 day mark will be a moving target as we move forward. It’s absolutely critical for people not to interpret this as our vaccine is only good for 90 days,” Russo says.

As the U.S. surpasses a COVID-19 death toll of 500,000, many Americans are concerned that states nationwide have not been prepared to meet the demand for vaccines. As states have struggled with low supply, many Americans have been unable to set up appointments for their second dose. Officials have also worried that many people have forgotten or been unable to attend their follow-up appointments, too. “We’re very concerned,” says Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD, senior associate dean for health policy. “As long as the vaccine remains scarce, and the longer we go, the more we think this is going to accelerate.” However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine for emergency use authorization. In the U.S., the vaccine has a 72 percent efficacy rate against symptomatic COVID-19 and an 86 percent efficacy rate against severe illness.

Two cases of the U.K. variant of COVID-19 have been found in Erie County. In a previous interview with WKBW, Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, said the data shows it does not cause more severe symptoms at this point. “Presently, the data does support that it does not cause a more severe disease, which is obviously good news,” said Russo. Erie County’s health commissioner, Gale R. Burstein, MD, who is a clinical professor of pediatrics, notes: “Because it’s a more aggressive strain we can expect to see more of these cases.” Burstein says the vaccine will help prevent transmission of this virus.

The Western New York region and Erie County continue to see steady declines in the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 and the number of people being hospitalized with the virus, but the identification of a more infectious U.K. variant of the coronavirus in Erie County presents a new worry. “Because it is a more transmittable strain, it is a more aggressive strain, until we see more people in the community that are immunized, we’re going to expect to see more of these cases,” says Erie County’s health commissioner Gale R. Burstein, MD, who is a clinical professor of pediatrics. The good news is that individuals who are immunized with either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines are protected against this virus strain. In addition, those who have contracted COVID-19 and recovered also gain natural immunity against the U.K. variant, says Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. “If we’re going to have a U.K. variant, this is the best variant to have,” Russo notes.