Category: Infectious Diseases
UNC Launches In Person Despite Pandemic
David Weber, MD, MPH The Washington Post featured UNC’s in person opening and interviewed UNC Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz who “defended the fall launch as safe and consistent with its public mission.” In the article Guskiewicz says was developed with guidance of experts in infectious disease and epidemiology. He added that as a father to a Chapel Hill student, he had a person … Read more
Researchers Create Mask Filtration Effectiveness Hierarchy
Emily Sickbert-Bennett, PhD, MS, and her dad William Bennett, PhD Research conducted at an EPA facility on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus shows that expired and sterilized used N95 masks are still very good at protecting wearers. With so many options, infection prevention experts at the UNC Medical Center set out to gather evidence on the fitted filtration efficiency of dozens of dif … Read more
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Sickbert-Bennett Tells WRAL What Students Need to Know Before Going Back-to-School
Emily Sickbert-Bennett, PhD, MS Emily Sickbert-Bennett, PhD, MS, associate professor in infectious diseases and director of infection prevention at UNC Hospitals, told WRAL that college students should start with masks that are comfortable enough to wear a lot. “Make sure your child knows how to clean their own bathroom and knows how to clean kitchen areas,” Sickbert-Bennett said … Read more
Cohen Featured on FiveThirtyEight Podcast
Myron Cohen, MD FiveThirtyEight podcast host Anna Rothschild spoke to Myron Cohen, MD, director of the UNC Institute of Global Health and Infectious Diseases, the Yeargan-Bate Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, and Epidemiology, and Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Health and Medical Affairs at UNC-Chapel Hill, about lab-grown antibodies called … Read more
Sickbert-Bennett Weighs In On the Question Of COVID Spread By Books
Emily Sickbert-Bennett, PhD, MS The magazine Romper recently asked experts whether or not the COVID-19 virus can live on books. Emily Sickbert-Bennett, PhD, MS, associate professor of medicine in infectious diseases and director of infection prevention at UNC Hospitals, told Romper “the fact that coronavirus can survive on surfaces for several hours is not enough alone to lead to … Read more
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Weber Tells Washington Post COVID-19 Will Wax and Wane
David Weber, MD, MPH David Weber, MD, MPH, professor of medicine in infectious diseases, said the term “second wave” has been used to describe trends during past outbreaks, including the 1918 influenza and 2003 SARS outbreak in Toronto, in a recent Washington Post interview. In those instances, unlike most countries’ coronavirus outbreaks, “they essentially got down to zero” new … Read more
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Sickbert-Bennett Discusses Neck Gaiters Versus Face Masks With USA Today
Emily Sickbert-Bennett, PhD, MS A USA Today article recognizes that a recent Duke University study found polyester/spandex gaiters less effective at preventing the spread of respiratory droplets than face masks, and experts agree more tests are needed, and that wearing something is always better than nothing. Emily Sickbert-Bennett, PhD, associate professor of infectious diseases … Read more
Department of Medicine Grants & Funding: July 1 – July 31, 2020
Division of Geriatric Medicine Joshua Niznik, PharmD, PhD, was awarded pilot funding from the US Deprescribing Research Network (USDeN) for his proposal entitled “Deprescribing Bisphosphonates in Nursing Home Residents with Dementia.” Division of Hematology Stephan Moll, MD, received an award from the Anticoagulation Forum for “2020 Clinical Fellowship Award in General Vascular M … Read more
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Sickbert-Bennett Talks to the Washington Post About Mask Safety
Emily Sickbert-Bennett, MD Emily Sickbert-Bennett, PhD, MS, associate professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases and director of UNC Medical Center Infection Prevention, was interviewed for a Washington Post article about “when, where and how” to wear a mask during the pandemic. Although the CDC does not recommend people wear face shields as a substitute for a c … Read more
Cohen Explains a Game Changing Treatment For COVID-19 Not Being Talked About
Myron Cohen, MD Elemental Magazine reports most of the public’s interest has been focused on the progress of the various vaccine candidates, which could provide the ultimate form of protection against the novel coronavirus. However, much less attention has been paid to monoclonal antibodies, which are drugs that contain specialized proteins that are intended to stop SARS-CoV-2 fr … Read more
Wohl Talks With WRAL About the Latest COVID-19 Updates
David Wohl, MD David Wohl, MD, gave WRAL an update on COVID-19, discussing current hospitalizations and testing capacity, which still lags behind. “What if I told you that your smoke detector goes off three hours after it detects smoke?” Wohl said. “It doesn’t do what it needs to do. Anything we get is lagging behind a week. That’s just not realistic for anyone to act on.” Wohl … Read more
Gay Discusses Planning For COVID-19 Clinical Trials
Cynthia Gay, MD, MPH Both UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke are recruiting thousands of people to help them test potential coronavirus vaccines. Cindy Gay, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases, talked with CBS-17 about efforts to recruit 500-1000 volunteers who will participate in COVID-19 clinical trials. Read the article here.