Sinclair, U. Of Md. To Offer Virus Updates

Sinclair Broadcast Group has created a new public service initiative, in partnership with the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), to provide consumers with important and timely news and information about the coronavirus.

The 4-8-minute television segments will be aired live on Baltimore’s Fox affiliate WBFF and will be shared as potential news and digital content for use by 73 Sinclair television station newsrooms across the U.S. The segments will provide information from the medical and scientific team at UMSOM, which is one of the top biomedical research centers in the world and at the forefront of ongoing COVID-19 research. The informational segments will also answer live questions from viewers.

“We are honored to partner with a leading organization fighting on the front lines against this global pandemic to help share critical and potentially life-saving information for our viewers,” said Chris Ripley, Sinclair’s president-CEO. “I am proud of the tireless dedication of our entire Sinclair team during this crisis to deliver urgent news and information from important sources as we all work together to protect our communities around the country.”

E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president for medical affairs at UM, Baltimore, the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine, said: “We are fortunate to have faculty experts at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who are among the top scientists in the nation on infectious disease and vaccine development, and who are directly involved in conducting research and developing treatments for COVID-19. We are excited to partner with Sinclair to provide critical information to viewers across the country who seek accurate medical information about COVID-19.”

A team of experts on coronavirus, vaccine and therapy development, and disease response will be participating in these regular segments and will include:

• Kathleen Neuzil, MD, MPH, FIDSA, The Myron M. Levine, MD, DTPH, professor in vaccinology and Director of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Neuzil is an expert on vaccines, respiratory illness and therapies;

• Wilbur Chen, MD, associate professor of medicine, adult infectious disease specialist, and scientist in the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health at the UMSOM. He has led numerous clinical trials for vaccines and is a respiratory illness specialist. He is also a top adviser to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on COVID-19 response;

• Matthew Frieman, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology at UMSOM, who has been researching coronaviruses for over a decade. In his laboratory, Dr. Frieman has been conducting important research using the novel coronavirus to test potential new therapies to treat COVID-19.