Infectious Diseases

Health’s story about what it means to be “up-to-date” on COVID-19 vaccines, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends quotes Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Jacobs School. "They're not saying that in order to be 'fully vaccinated' you need to get a booster," says Russo, "But they're saying that you really should get a booster when you're eligible."

Prevention magazine included Thomas Russo, chief of infectious disease in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in an article about which antibodies are working well – and not so well – against the Omicron variant. “The Eli Lilly and Regeneron monoclonal antibody treatments are directed against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, and Omicron has 32 mutations and a deletion in the spike protein,” Russo said. “Because of this, those treatments no longer bind with the virus.” The article was picked up by Yahoo! Life and MSN Canada.

AOL.com’s article on what parents need to know as children return to school amid the COVID-19 surge quotes Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Jacobs School. The article first appeared in Yahoo! News.

WBFO interviewed Thomas Russo, chief of infectious disease in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, about the omicron variant. “Right here in Western New York we're suffering an increased wave of infections and hospitalizations due to the Delta variant. The last thing we want to hear about is another variant on the radar screen that may further extend this pandemic, which all of us are quite weary of and ready to put in our rear-view mirror,” he said.

A Verywell Health story on whether COVID-19 vaccines will protect against variants quotes Thomas Russo, chief of infectious disease in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, who said “it makes sense” that people may be able to get a year’s worth of protection with a booster shot, similar to how people get an annual flu shot booster. “It’s not a big to-do if we need to get an annual booster for COVID.” But, Russo said, “we have to track things out to see how long neutralizing antibodies last after this booster shot. It may be more than a year.”

Thomas Russo, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, was quoted in a SELF story about how frequently people should change their pillowcase. While fabrics like pillowcases and sheets can potentially be contaminated, they aren’t generally ideal places for most microorganisms to grow and propagate effectively, Russo said.

The Buffalo News spoke with two faculty members in the Jacobs School — Thomas Russo, professor and chief of infectious disease, and John Sellick, a professor of medicine who specializes in infectious disease — for its story on COVID-related concerns surrounding two large-scale annual events on the calendar for Thanksgiving week: The Turkey Trot and The World’s Largest Disco. Russo said even those who have been vaccinated should not be complacent. “I’m not sure it’s widely appreciated that our vaccines have not held up as much as we initially hoped for and we initially talked about,” he said. The World’s Largest Disco is an indoor event that has a vaccination requirement for guests. But the Turkey Trot is an outdoor footrace with no such requirement. “Like most outdoor activities, it’s probably going to be fine,” said Sellick. “The problem is all the milling around at the beginning and the end.” Coincidentally, the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center is both the post-race site for the Turkey Trot and the venue for the World’s Largest Disco. Despite the facility’s spacious floor and high ceilings, Sellick still suggested caution, with people gathering in tight spaces, “dancing and huffing and puffing,” he said. “It probably would be safer to wear a mask in that setting.”

Prevention, in a story also posted to Yahoo! Life, spoke with Thomas Russo, professor and chief of infectious disease in the Jacobs School, for background on reports that customers who visited a New Jersey Starbucks between early- to mid-November may have been exposed to hepatitis A. Starbucks says a former employee tested positive for the highly contagious virus. Hepatitis A is a short-term liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus. Russo said people who get hepatitis A may feel sick for a few weeks or several months, but usually recover without lasting liver damage. “While most people do get better, there’s a very small subset that may develop more severe [liver] disease and, rarely, [liver] failure.”

Prevention reports that after being practically non-existent last year, the flu is slowly coming back across the country. Things like taking oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and being vaccinated against the flu should also shorten the amount of time you’re sick—and infectious, says Thomas Russo, professor and chief of infectious disease at the Jacobs School. Still, he says, “there’s not a lot of literature on this. I like to consider people infectious up to seven days, just to be safe.” The article was reposted on Yahoo! News, MSN and elsewhere.

Health magazine reports on why you might want to drink water before getting a COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot. The article quotes Thomas Russo, professor and chief of infectious disease at the Jacobs School. "It makes sense that you'd want to be well hydrated if you developed symptoms like a fever," he says, adding that dehydration can also "exacerbate a headache." Still, Russo stresses that "there is no data to support that this will help with the COVID-19 vaccine." Still, Dr. Russo says drinking a good amount of water before your vaccine "can't hurt"—so there's really no reason not to down a glass before your shot, just in case.

Best Life reports on how to travel safely during Thanksgiving and the holidays. The story quotes Thomas Russo, professor and chief of infectious disease in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, from a previous story. "When the food first comes, the reaction is everyone drops the masks and eats the meal or the snack that they give you," Russo said. "What you should do instead is actually be patient. You wait until everyone's done and puts their mask back up, which usually takes somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes, and then that's when you should go ahead and eat your meal." The article was carried by Yahoo Lifestyle.

Yahoo Life reports that a recent COVID-19 outbreak that led to 89 new cases at Saint Michaels College in Vermont was tied to several Halloween parties. The article quotes Thomas Russo, professor and chief of infectious disease in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Science, who said: "Presently, indoor parties pose a significant risk in most communities since the burden of disease remains high with this never-ending Delta wave. Mask use is impossible when food and drink are involved, and ventilation is often poor." 

In a story carried by Yahoo! News, Prevention quotes Thomas Russo, professor and chief of infectious disease in the Department of Medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, regarding myocarditis as a rare side effect of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech​ COVID-19 vaccines. The story states that Moderna has reported a higher risk of this rare side effect than for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, but that myocarditis risks are actually greater for people who become sick with COVID-19. Russo stresses that rare cases of myocarditis that can develop as a result ofthe vaccine “tend to be very mild and transient — it seems to resolve in a few days.” But while the overall risk of developing myocarditis with any mRNA COVID vaccine is low, Russo says he’s been advising people in the highest risk group —16- to 30-year-old males — to get the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine over the Moderna vaccine. “At the end of the day, the risk is still small, but whatever edge you can get in life, go for it,” he says.

Health.com quotes Thomas Russo, professor and chief of infectious disease in the Department of Medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, in a story titled, "CDC and WHO Warn of Measles Outbreak Risk After 22 Million Babies Missed Their Vaccines During Pandemic." "Measles is extraordinarily infectious," Russo says. "We need about 95% of the population to have immunity, and any decrease in immunization could put us at risk of infection."

HuffPost posted a video nearly six minutes in length titled “The Importance of a COVID-19 booster” in which the only experts quoted were Tom Russo, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, and Tim Murphy, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the division, both of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Russo stressed: “The most important individuals to get a jab are those who are unvaccinated,” while noting that the boosters for those who are vaccinated will provide some incremental advantage. Murphy added: “The level of the antibody against the virus goes way up after a booster and the level of antibody very likely correlates with the level of protection.” The video also covered issues for those who are immunocompromised and whether or not people will need yearly shots against COVID-19.