May 1, 2024

Bird flu in the milk supply; an allergy doctor’s allergy shots; the cost of weight-loss and diabetes drugs; and other news stories with VUMC sources

Traces of the bird flu virus have been found in many sample of pasteurized milk and news reporters contacted William Schaffner, MD, professor of Preventative Medicine, for information and perspective on the news. Among the news organizations he spoke with were The Hill, Women’s Health and NBC News’ “Today.”

The New York Times reporter Brian Rosethal interviewed Seth Karp, MD, professor and chair, Section of Surgical Sciences, for a story about a Pennsylvania hospital suspending its liver transplant program.

The New York Times quoted Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, professor of Health Policy, in a story about a Senate committee’s investigation into the costs of Ozempic and Wegovy, popular weight-loss and diabetes medications.

Time magazine reporter Jamie Ducharme interviewed James Crowe, MD, director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, for a story about whether Neosporin can protect you from getting COVID-19.

Sam Chang, MD, MBA, chief surgical officer at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, was quoted in a Healio story about the FDA’s approval of the drug Anktiva for certain patients with bladder cancer.

HealthDay reporter Ernie Mundell covered the JAMA Network Open study from Madeleine Ball, a class of 2024 student in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and 2023-2024 Research Committee Lead for VUMC’s Homeless Health Service, that found housing insecurity is an issue for 1 in 20 patients who go to emergency departments at major medical centers in the Southeast.

The Bump reporter Korin Miller interviewed Susan Lewis, CNM, associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, for a story about how much water to drink while pregnant.

Infectious Disease Advisor interviewed Ferdinand Cacho, MD,pediatric pulmonology fellow in the Center for Asthma Research for a story about a VUMC novel risk prediction tool that was found to be effective for identifying infants at increased risk for severe outcomes due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-related lower respiratory tract infection.

A Yahoo! Life story collecting information about how physicians treat their own seasonal allergies includes quotes from Basil Kahwash, MD, assistant professor of Medicine, about his use of allergy shots.