Media Coverage

The pandemic suddenly and radically disrupted travel in the spring of 2020. But when lockdowns eased, some people cautiously resumed traveling. Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, reminds people of the risks of rental cars: “Remember that most of the transmission of the coronavirus is respiratory — it's not through inanimate objects … When you're in a rental car, the greatest risk is if you happen to be in the car with someone else and they could be infected.” In a private home-sharing rental, contact with other people is minimal compared with hotel environments. Infectious disease experts say the private residential environment poses low risk for virus transmission. “Anything you can do to decrease your encounters with other individuals will be safer,” says Russo.

In an editorial, Bruce R. Troen, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, commended a research team for their “well-executed effort” to determine whether high-dose vitamin D supplementation prevents falls in older adults. However, he questioned the study’s methodology. “The investigators’ commitment to ‘first do no harm’ by providing the control group with 200 IU (per day) of vitamin D is commendable, but does this strategy prevent the modeling of real-world scenarios — such as frank vitamin D deficiency — in which community-dwelling older adults might realize benefits?” Troen asked. “The answer is important because older adults with greater insufficiency or frank deficiency, particularly those with 25-(OH)D levels of 25 nmol/L or less, may be those most likely to benefit from vitamin D supplementation,” he said.

Two major COVID-19 vaccines — the ones made by Pfizer and Moderna — have applied for an emergency use authorization (EAU) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Experts say people should feel comfortable knowing that the vaccines have been studied heavily. Timothy F. Murphy, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and senior associate dean for clinical and translational research, explains: “In order for the FDA to issue an EUA for a COVID-19 vaccine, the product must withstand multiple levels of rigorous review by independent scientists, health care professionals, biostatisticians and ethicists.” He says: “We all have reason to be confident that a vaccine that has received an EUA by the FDA will be safe and effective. I will certainly get in line for such a vaccine as soon as I am eligible.”

With Western New York’s coronavirus numbers the highest in the state, people question whether it is safe to eat food from restaurants, where the meal might have been prepared by someone infected with COVID-19. John A. Sellick Jr., DO, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, notes: “There is no convincing evidence that this virus is transmitted by food or by the gastrointestinal route.” Additionally, Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, says the safest ways to handle holiday gatherings at home — if you insist on having people over, which he does not recommend — is to chew food while wearing a face covering. “While you’re chewing and drinking, putting your mask up to minimize the time of mask down, is probably prudent,” Russo says.

President-elect Joe Biden announced key members of his health team today — individuals he called “trusted, accomplished” and “ready from day one” to bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control. For Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, Biden nominated Xavier Becerra. According to Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD, senior associate dean for health policy and former president of the American Medical Association, Becerra is “at the forefront of the 20-state coalition supporting the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.” Nielsen says his nomination was unexpected. “He spent many years in Congress ... so he knows that landscape, but the HHS nomination wasn’t what was expected by political prognosticators.”

The entire region of Western New York has experienced a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul calls the region the “epicenter” of the state’s current fight against the virus — a designation once bestowed on New York City. Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, suggests that the shift in epicenters has to do with the disparity in the rate of infection compared to the first time around. He suggests that a much higher percentage of downstate was infected in the spring compared to Western New York, leaving them with some degree of immunity and decreasing the pool of people susceptible to illness.

WIVB featured Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, in a piece about the COVID-19 vaccines and for how long immunity from the vaccines will last. “The new coronavirus is different,” he said, “its ability to change is going to be far, far less than the influenza virus and therefore, it gives us some hope that when you get vaccinated with this, because it won’t be changing, it will last a lot longer.”

The Buffalo News quoted John A. Sellick Jr., DO, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, about the surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations. “The thing to remember is that deaths always lag hospitalizations by a couple of weeks.”

The Buffalo News published a profile of Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, dubbing him “Buffalo’s Dr. Fauci” and discussing how Russo has become a go-to expert on COVID-19 not just for local media but also for national and international media, including the BBC, Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. The story notes that Russo has done more than 360 interviews with media on the topic since the start of the pandemic because of what he views as his duty. Russo said: “It’s always been my feeling — the magnitude of importance here is so great — that this is a mission you really need to see through to the end.”

WKBW reported that Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, was surprised that Gov. Andrew Cuomo hasn’t shut indoor dining in the state. “There’s actually significant body of data that demonstrates that there’s an increase in risk of acquiring new coronavirus infections with indoor dining,” he said. He called the data to support closing gyms and fitness studios “moderate,” but less clear than indoor dining. “You know you’re going to generate an increased number of respiratory secretions, and if mask usage isn’t perfect and it’s a poorly ventilated space, I'm quite concerned about that scenario as well.” He noted that he wasn’t aware of any studies demonstrating increased risk in nail or hair salons.

In a WGRZ story on the county’s COVID-19 death toll so far in November, Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, said that unfortunately, he expects to see an increase in it in the near future because of the lag between increased cases reported and deaths and also because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

A WKBW story covered the increase in hospitalizations in Erie County due to COVID-19 and whether or not the community can work to bring those numbers down. “Of course it’s possible. It’s just resolve, will and really thinking of community ahead of one self,” said Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases.

Buffalo Business First reported on the unending stress experienced by health care workers as well as the financial stresses from the pandemic quoted Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD, senior associate dean for health policy and clinical professor of medicine, who said that some practices have lost between 40 and 60 percent of their income because of the pandemic.

In a Spectrum News story on a new interactive tool that calculates the risk of COVID-19 infection in local communities, Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, said that it showed that in Erie County the likelihood of someone being infected in a gathering of 10 individuals was between 23 and 40 percent. But he cautioned that with underreporting, asymptomatic cases and a lag in reporting, that figure is likely low. “We’ve been averaging about 500 new diagnosed cases in our community each day over the last several days, well the reality is probably it’s somewhere in between 5- and- 10-fold greater than the number of diagnosed cases which obviously puts us in the thousands.”

You don’t need to visit a doctor to get tested for COVID-19; you can buy a diagnostic test to do largely in the privacy of your own home. There are two major kinds of coronavirus diagnostic tests: molecular and antigen. Molecular tests identify viral genetic material in a sample from a person’s nose or throat, while antigen tests look for proteins associated with the virus. Molecular tests are generally more sensitive than antigen tests. Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, says he can see how a home collection test might be a good option if “you’re in some sort of scenario where you’re unable to get out of the house or testing is very challenging to get in your part of the world.”