Opinion | ‘I Am Just Trying to Stand Up to a Bully’: What We Heard This Week

“I am just trying to stand up to a bully.” — John Spertus, MD, of Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, on his copyright infringement lawsuit against the nation’s leading electronic health record vendor, Epic Systems.

“If it were my relatives, I would be sending them out to do this.” — Peter Marks, MD, PhD, director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, on the authorization of a second COVID-19 booster dose for adults 50 and older.

“Our data make it clear that young people experienced significant disruptions during the pandemic, and are experiencing a mental health crisis.” — Kathleen Ethier, PhD, of the CDC, on new data finding 37% of U.S. high school students experienced poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You’ve got billions of people infected. It takes years to figure out mechanisms. Can we really afford to wait that long?” — Avindra Nath, MD, of the NIH, on possible triggers behind post-COVID cognitive changes.

“We do not want to re-live that event.” — Jack Shere, DVM, PhD, of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, comparing the 2015 bird flu outbreak to the current one that has already swept across 18 states.

“The mRNA vaccines are inducing different flavors of immunity.” — Galit Alter, PhD, of Harvard Medical School, on the benefits of mixing and matching booster shots.

“Instead of me going with a suitcase or two of medical supplies or medicine, I was able to go with 21 suitcases.” — Utah pediatrician Gordon Duval, DO, on bringing roughly 1,400 pounds of medical supplies with him to care for orphaned children in Ukraine.