- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Focusing primarily on vaccines, it was broadcast Wednesday, June 3 on both Zoom and YouTube. UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal, organizer and moderator, said that "Zoom viewers had an opportunity to evaluate the event: 84.1% found the symposium very helpful; 88.7% were very satisfied or satisfied."
A few of the comments:
- “This is a great way to get facts to the public.”
- "The format was engaging and dynamic.”
- "I was pleased to see that politics was left out of it.”
- "Appreciated the question and answer format and thought that the questions were very well chosen to highlight important points in the discussion.”
Beekeepers were particularly interested in whether bee sting therapy could have a role in the COVID-19 crisis. Could bee sting therapy prevent the disease or could it be used for patient treatment? In addressing the symposium, honey bee geneticist Robert E. Page Jr., related that some beekeepers have used bee therapy to treat arthritis. Page also commented on a paper published in sciencedirect.com indicating that beekeepers living in the epicenter of the COVID-19 virus in China did not contract the virus, and neither did a group of patients receiving apitherapy.
A beekeeping couple in Maryland told Leal today that they read the sciencedirect.com article about a month ago and are taking bee sting therapy. "(We) are stinging ourselves in case it offers protection because the cost seems low and the potential benefit high," the wife said. "We've done it about 3 times so far, approximately once a week, and so far so good."
Virtual Symposium Attendance
Zoom drew 760 users (from 1,081 registered), with 543 unique viewers from 18 countries. "Zoom registrants were from 35 countries, but I assume that most of them watched the recorded presentation (given the time difference)," Leal said. "In less than 24 hours, the Youtube video https://youtu.be/O4L0OHcZ5Mk reached 3,681 views."
The main program, from 5 to 7 p.m., began with a welcoming address by UC Davis Chancellor Gary May. The keynote speakers:
- Dr. Robert Gallo, who co-discovered that HIV causes AIDS, is the Homer and Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine; co-founder and director of the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute of Human Virology; and co-founder of the Global Virus Network.
- Kate Broderick, who is leading an INOVIO research team in San Diego to develop a DNA vaccine for COVID-19,
- Dr. Dean Blumberg, professor and chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, UC Davis Health
- Dr. Allison Brashear, dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine., dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine.
- Dr. Paul Allan Offit, co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, and the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Also interviewed were Dr. Atul Malhotra, professor of Medicine, Pulmonology, Critical Care, UC San Diego Health, and Dr. Stuart H. Cohen, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and director of Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control, UC Davis School of Medicine.
The pre-program included interviews with retired UC Davis Medical Center nurse Carolyn Wyler of Sacramento, a passenger on the ill-fated Grand Princess cruise ship; and with UC Davis Medical Center nurse Paula Wagner, who took a two-week "vacation" to treat COVID-19 patients at a Boston hospital.
Leal, a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, a member of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology faculty and a former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, organized and moderated two other COVID-19 symposiums.
The first symposium is online at https://bit.ly/2VurK3Z and the second at https://bit.ly/3b8TAau.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
You won't want to miss the UC Davis-based COVID-19 Symposium on Wednesday, June 3.
Dr. Robert Gallo, world-renowned virologist at the forefront of the AIDS epidemic and now targeting COVID-19, will headline the panel of speakers.
The free online symposium, to focus primarily on vaccines, will take place from 5 to 7 p.m., Pacific Daylight Time on Zoom and YouTube. (A pre-program, with interviews and questions, begins at 4:30 p.m.) It's the third in a series of COVID-19 symposiums organized and moderated by UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal as a public service.
Panelists will discuss:
- Is the polio vaccine a solution?
- Are the front-runner vaccines safe and effective? If so, when might they be available?
Gallo, who co-discovered that HIV causes AIDS, is the Homer and Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine; co-founder and director of the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute of Human Virology; and co-founder of the Global Virus Network. He will be joined by Dr. Dean Blumberg, professor and chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, UC Davis Health; and Dr. Allison Brashear, dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine, among others.UC Davis Chancellor Gary May will deliver the welcoming address.
Also interviewed will be Dr. Atul Malhotra, professor of Medicine, Pulmonology, Critical Care, UC San Diego Health, and Dr. Stuart H. Cohen, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and director of Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control, UC Davis School of Medicine. (See program at https://bit.ly/2AgVbxY)
Renowned honey bee geneticist Robert E. Page, former professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, will comment on bee therapy, a possible treatment for COVID-19 treatments (suggested by researchers in China but not yet investigated.) (See https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041010120302245)
Retired UC Davis Medical Center nurse Carolyn Wyler of Sacramento, a passenger on the ill-fated Grand Princess cruise ship, will talk about her COVID-19 outbreak experiences from ship to shore. She and her husband were quarantined in their room for six days. They then spent 13 days in quarantine at Travis Air Force Base before being released. (Both tested negative.) A 71-year-old passenger on the same ship, but on a different cruise, was the first in California to succumb from the disease. Overall, two passengers and one crew member on the Grand Princess died, and 103 tested positive. (Read her amazing story on Ipinion Syndicate: "No one wanted us," she wrote.)
To register, post questions, and to link to the list of panelists, access https://bit.ly/2B2YGZm.
Among those asking questions will be Jennifer Cash, newest faculty member of the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences; Fred Gould, National Academy of Sciences member; UC Cooperative Extension advisor Surendra Dara; and University of Brasilia graduate student Raquel Silva.
Leal, a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, a member of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology faculty and a former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, is hosting the symposiums as a public service.
The first symposium is online at https://bit.ly/2VurK3Z. "You are our heroes," one viewer wrote.
The second symposium can be accessed at https://bit.ly/3b8TAau. "It was a great symposium--the personal story of the frontline physician was incredible,” one viewer wrote. Added another viewer: "Well, what an amazing finale and yes, we are taking it seriously, especially those of us older office workers. What a story of your life and death experience. Amazing presentation!" And another: "Congratulations on today's new webinar. It was excellent again. I look forward to the next one."
One more thing about the third COVID-19 symposium on June 3: Leal's interview with Gallo, who is as humble a person as you'd ever want to meet, is a must-see. Learn what sparked his interest in virology, what fueled his dreams, and why he doesn't plan to retire. Ever. Very moving.
