ACSH in the Media: June 2020

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The world desperately awaits a COVID-19 vaccine, one that will stop the spread of this potentially deadly infection and hopefully allow us all to return to our pre-coronavirus lives. But there's no telling when a vaccine will be found -- if it will at all. With that, ACSH's Dr. Josh Bloom, who has decades of experience in drug discovery, believes that the best way forward for now involves use of antiviral drugs, a position he details as co-author of recent piece in the Baltimore Sun. His Op-Ed leads off our June media roundup, a compendium of news sources where ACSH has appeared over the last month.

Vaccines Might Not Be the Only Way to Treat COVID-19 –– Dr. Josh Bloom co-authored a recent, persuasive Op-Ed in the Baltimore Sun on possible treatments for the deadly and debilitating coronavirus. ACSH's Director of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science teamed up with Katherine Seley-Radtke, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Maryland. Together they argue that while the world is waiting anxiously for a cure-call vaccine to arrive, to save us from this infectious scourge, the public would be wise to not pin its collective hopes on it coming through. Alternatively they write, since "[v]accine science is notoriously unpredictable,"antiviral drugs are most likely the best approach because they can "sufficiently inhibit the replication of the virus and transform COVID-19 from a killer to a non-newsworthy, easily treatable, mild infection."

Preoperative Assessments Can Be Weak Point, Increase Liability Risks –– On the subject of preoperative assessment of surgical patients, Dr. Chuck Dinerstein was quoted liberally in Relias Media. "You do not want to operate on a patient whose blood sugars are out of reasonable control," according to ACSH's Director of Medicine, a former vascular surgeon. "You also want to identify real but unidentified risks — the greatest being cardiovascular disease, especially coronary disease — because the stress of surgery may result in a perioperative myocardial infarction, which carries a greater mortality risk.”

The Hand Sanitizers You Should Avoid –– As he has been many times in the past few months, Dr. Berezow was quoted on the website Insider on the effectiveness of using the cleansing gel, even if the alcohol-based sanitizer has passed its expiration date.

In a new book American Agony, author Helen Borel highlights the research and writings of Dr. Bloom in the areas of opioids and pain management. She cites his "vast writings" and his work as an "Opioid Expert," while mentioning ACSH along with a recommendation for readers to visit acsh.org.

On June 19, Dr. Berezow did an interview with Chicago radio station AM560 The Answer on what a second wave of COVID-19 cases could look like.

Kirby Wilbur Radio Show –– On June 16 Dr. Berezow appeared on the Seattle-based talk show Kirby Nation, when he addressed questions about President Trump's difficulty raising a glass of water to his lips at a commencement ceremony at West Point, N.Y. Dr. Berezow also appeared on the program on June 30.

Science and Technology are Not a Threat to this World. Scientific illiteracy is. –– Dr. Berezow was featured in the latest episode (see photo) of the video series Mythburn, titled "Is Tech Dangerous?"

Science’s Diverging Messages: Why Did the “Guided by the Science” Mantra Lead Countries Down Different Strategic Paths? –– Criticism by Dr. Berezow of an article on the website European Scientist was, and remains, prominently displayed. He takes issue with two points made by the author.

China and Russia Are Spreading Coronavirus Disinformation –– In a comprehensive article, co-written by Henry Miller and Kathleen Hefferon, that appeared in early June on the website Human Events, the authors cited ACSH as a key source in the fight against health misinformation: "Most often, we believe, from sources such as the CDC and NIH, scientific journals like Science, Nature, Cell, and JAMA, and the online sites STAT, American Council on Science and Health, and Genetic Literacy Project."