Temple University Health System’s preparations for and treatment of patients amidst the coronavirus pandemic continue to be part of the media’s COVID-19 coverage.
- COVID-19 vaccination is just as safe for people with cancer as it is for cancer-free individuals, according to a prospective, single-institution observational study. Among a cohort of over 1,700 patients, more than two-thirds of whom had a history of cancer, local pain at the injection site was the most frequently reported symptom and did not differ in frequency between patients with and without cancer after the first or second dose, reported Eric M. Horwitz, MD, FABS, FASTRO, Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, and colleagues in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Fox Chase patient Dan Burkus was included in media coverage, which included CBS News, CBS3, HemOnc Today, MedPage Today and AJMC.com.
- Norihisa Shigemura, MD, PhD, Surgical Director of Lung Transplantation and Lung Failure at Temple University Hospital and Professor of Surgery at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, offered insight to the Philadelphia Inquirer about a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on lung transplantation for COVID-19-related respiratory failure in the United States. Dr. Shigemura, who was not involved in the study, shared that Temple has performed 19 such transplants. Patient Jack Silknitter also spoke with the Inquirer about his experience receiving a lung transplant following COVID-19.
- A Philadelphia Inquirer feature article shined a spotlight on the experience of those who are immunocompromised during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the risks they face (even if vaccinated and boosted) and the steps they are taking to keep themselves safe. Patient Rodrigo Alarcon, who received a lung transplant at Temple in June 2020 due to an autoimmune disorder that attacked his lungs and esophagus, and Fox Chase Cancer Center patient Audrey Ervin spoke with the Inquirer for the piece. Eric M. Horwitz, MD, FABS, FASTRO, Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, provided expert perspective for the piece, and Daniel A. Salerno, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Thoracic Medicine and Surgery at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and Director of Critical Care Services in the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit at Temple University Hospital, was also interviewed.
- Anna Liza Rodriguez, MSN, MHA, RN, OCN®, NEA-BC, Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Nursing and Patient Services, and Rebecca Farrell, MSN, RN, Clinical Nurse Manager of Ambulatory Care at Fox Chase Cancer Center, provided expert perspective for an Oncology Nursing News story about safely treating patients in a post–COVID-19 world.
- 6ABC interviewed Delana Wardlaw, MD, who practices at Temple Physicians, Inc. at Nicetown, for a segment about a new COVID-19 masking policy in effect at the Philadelphia School District.