Media Coverage

Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, is quoted in a story that reports that most nursing homes in Western New York report employee vaccination rates below 75 percent. Russo says specific outreach efforts should be the first step to boost vaccination rates among health care workers, especially inside nursing homes. “Going into nursing homes, explaining to them why this is so important, both for staff and residents, and if the desired results are not achieved, then I think that’s when the discussion about mandatory vaccines needs to begin,” Russo says.

Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, explains that knowing which positive COVID-19 tests are from the Delta variant is useful for public health surveillance and tracking. “It’s important from a public health point of view, but from a personal point of view … there’s no significant reason that you need to know which variant you have,” he says.

Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, helps to explain where the name “COVID-19” came from. “‘CO’ is for coronavirus, ‘VI’ is for virus, and ‘D’ is for disease,” he said. “The ‘-19’ is the year when it was first discovered.”

Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD, senior associate dean for health policy, was interviewed for a story on the FDA’s full approval for the Pfizer vaccine. “Hopefully this will give people an assurance that the data has been looked at as rigorously as possible, as rigorously as any other vaccine in fact,” she said.

Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, was asked to comment about fights over mask mandates in schools. Russo said that these continued battles are a sign that the honor system recommended by the CDC in April when the agency announced that fully vaccinated people no longer needed to wear masks “failed miserably.” “Everyone stopped wearing masks and most people who were wearing masks were the ones who were fully vaccinated,” Russo says. “Mask mandates get the unvaccinated to wear masks, and they help protect everyone.”

Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, spoke to Health.com about the Pfizer vaccine. Full approval should put to bed concerns that the vaccine isn't safe, Russo said. One more thing that can happen with FDA approval: Pfizer can now advertise the vaccine. “I’m not sure if there is a need for that, but it’s now able to happen,” he said.

Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, was quoted in stories on why taking ivermectin to treat COVID-19 is a bad idea. “There is no data to support that it works,” he says. “It’s best not to take it.”

John A. Sellick Jr., DO, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, was interviewed for a story on the FDA’s full approval of the Pfizer vaccine. “We are hopeful that the people who were concerned — even though it was the wrong term, they said it was an 'experimental vaccine' — they will see that we have a very high safety and efficacy record and this will prompt some of them to get vaccinated.”

John A. Sellick Jr., DO, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, noted that any links tying constipation to COVID-19 are not very strong. “Given how prevalent constipation is in the general population of the U.S. (afflicting an estimated at 42 million people), it’s difficult to say if COVID-19 actually causes the condition or if it’s a coincidence when it does happen in COVID-19 patients.”

Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, was quoted in a report that looks at who is eligible for a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine. “There's an increasing amount of data that exists that (immunocompromised individuals’) response to the vaccination is sub-optimal. There’s also an increasing amount of data that shows that vaccinated people who land in the hospital and get more severely ill these are the individuals that’s occurring with. Lastly, there’s an increasing body that shows if they receive a third shot, it enhances their antibody response.”

John A. Sellick Jr., DO, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, was quoted in stories about melioidosis, the rare bacterial infection that the CDC recently issued a warning about. Despite the uncertainty of how these patients in the U.S. got melioidosis, infectious disease experts say you shouldn’t be too worried about this. “Most of us infectious disease doctors have never seen a case,” Sellick said.

The Washington Post interviewed Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, for a story about concerns many people who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine are expressing following a South Africa trial that looked at the effectiveness of the J&J vaccine. “Data suggest Johnson & Johnson is a very solid vaccine that protects against the delta variant. It may not match up as well against the mRNA vaccine, but we need a lot more data on both of these vaccines.”

Spectrum news quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, in a story reporting that Erie County hospitals are seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases, which Russo attributes largely to the delta variant. “The delta variant is by far the most infectious,” he said. “In fact, its infectivity rivals that of chickenpox, and it’s due to acquiring mutations that allow it to both attach better and shed more virus for a more prolonged period of time.”

A Buffalo News story reporting that Hospice and Palliative Care Buffalo will require all its employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19 quotes Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD, senior associate dean for health policy, who said Hospice is “doing the right thing in making sure its employees protect the patients they serve.” Vaccination also protects the employees from serious illness and death due to COVID-19, she said. “This is a no-brainer, frankly,” said Nielsen, who is a member of Hospice Buffalo’s board of trustees and executive committee. “Health care workers need to get vaccinated.”

A Buffalo News story reporting that there will likely be several more weeks of rising COVID-19 cases includes interviews with Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, and Manoj J. Mammen, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. On a recent day, 70 people were hospitalized with COVID in Western New York. A year earlier to the day, that number was only 29. “At that time, the county was in lockdown in terms of commercial and scholastic and other activities. People, behavior-wise, were just not interacting with each other at all,” Mammen said. “Now we have almost normal business and scholastic and personal interactions. I think that’s the difference.” Added Russo: “For the most part, if you’re fully vaccinated, your concern should be less, but not zero. It doesn’t mean your behavior should be reckless.”