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Robert Root-Bernstein (Ph.D., Princeton University) is a professor of physiology at Michigan State University. His AB and PhD are from Princeton University. He did his post-doctoral research with Jonas Salk, MD, at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. In 1981, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, commonly known as a "genius grant." His research focuses on autoimmune diseases, drug development, the origins of cellular control systems, and science-arts interactions. He has also researched and consulted on creativity for more than fifteen years. Among other books, he has authored Sparks of Genius: The Thirteen Thinking Tools of the World's Most Creative People; Honey, Mud, Maggots and Other Medical Marvels; Discovering: Inventing and Solving Problems at the Frontiers of Scientific Knowledge, and Rethinking AIDS: The Tragic Cost of Premature Consensus.

Until a coronavirus vaccine is ready, pneumonia vaccines may reduce deaths from COVID-19

Prof. Robert Root-Bernstein is an immunologist and physiologist interested in the effects of combined infections on immunity vaccines. Two vaccines – pneumococcal vaccine and the Hib vaccine – protect against bacterial pneumonias. These bacteria complicate both influenza and COVID-19, often leading to death. Root-Bernstein’s examination of disease trends and vaccination rates leads him to believe that broader use of the pneumococcal and Hib vaccines could guard against the worst effects of a COVID-19 illness.

Subjects: Health, Healthcare, Medical Research