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Monkey trial of Oxford vaccine shows encouraging results
When they exposed the animals to coronavirus, the monkeys that weren't vaccinated developed pneumonia, a sign of COVID-19 — but those that weren't vaccinated did not.
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Jon LaPook, M.D. is the award-winning chief medical correspondent for CBS News, where his reporting is featured on all CBS News platforms and programs.
Since joining CBS News in 2006, LaPook has delivered more than 1,200 reports on a wide variety of breaking news and trending stories in the health and medical fields, as well as feature stories on music, lifestyle and profiles of entertainment stars. LaPook's work has appeared on "CBS Sunday Morning," the "CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell," 60 Minutes, "CBS Mornings," "Face The Nation with Margaret Brennan" and CBS News Radio.
LaPook reported extensively on COVID-19 and delivered near-daily updates at the height of the pandemic on the spread of the virus and what was being done to stop it. Over the years, he has covered both international and national health issues, including the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti and ensuing cholera outbreak, the outbreaks of Ebola and Zika and the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and a wide range of health topics such as Alzheimer's, cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, mental health, gun violence, vaccine hesitancy, AIDS, traumatic brain injury and health care inequity.
His interviews include President Obama on health care reform, Aly Raisman about the U.S.A. Gymnastics sexual abuse scandal, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky and NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins about a variety of public health problems. For more than a decade, he documented a couple's journey dealing with Alzheimer's disease. He has done multiple segments profiling health issues involving celebrities such as Ryan Reynolds, Angelina Jolie, Gilda Radner, Bob Saget, Alan Alda and Marcia Cross. He reported on the challenges medical professionals face in dealing with long COVID; he's profiled frontline health care workers; he's interviewed producer Phil Rosenthal and actor Ray Romano about the health benefits of travel, and interviewed Norman Lear, his father-in-law, about the challenges of facing a pandemic at the age of 98.
LaPook is also professor of medicine at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and an internist and gastroenterologist at NYU Langone Health. He is the creator and executive director of the NYU Langone Empathy Project, which seeks to promote a culture of empathy in medicine. In May 2022, he gave the commencement address for the classes of 2020 and 2021 at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and spoke about the importance of empathy in health care.
LaPook's work at CBS News has earned him five Emmy Awards. He earned Emmy honors in 2012 for covering the national shortage of cancer drugs; he was part of the team that won for the 2013 coverage of the Boston Marathon Bombings; he earned two for his work on "CBS Sunday Morning;" and in 2021 as part of the team that earned "CBS Morning's" "Outstanding Live News Program."
In 2020, LaPook was awarded a Drama Desk Award for his work as medical contributor to "Stars in the House," keeping the theater community informed throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2018, The Alliance for Women in Media awarded him a Gracie Award in the News Feature Series category for two groundbreaking 60 Minutes reports on the U.S.A. Gymnastics sexual abuse scandal. That same year he was named a George Foster Peabody Awards finalist for his 60 Minutes work on the scandal. He has won two Edward R. Murrow Awards: in 2007 and 2013. He earned a New York Press Club Award for Journalism for a WCBS-AM News Team Special, "Eye on Ebola." In 2010, he was recognized by the Webby Awards for his documentary series "CBS Doc Dot Com."
In the medical field, LaPook works to weave media and the arts into training, with an eye on enhancing the experience between healthcare professionals and their patients. He has also done extensive work in the field of medical computing, including writing a medical practice management software package that he sold in 1999 to a company that was later acquired by Emdeon Corporation, the parent company of WebMD.
Born in Mineola, N.Y., LaPook graduated with honors from Yale University and received his M.D. from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he was elected to AOA, the national medical honor society. He completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowships in gastroenterology and medical informatics at Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.
When they exposed the animals to coronavirus, the monkeys that weren't vaccinated developed pneumonia, a sign of COVID-19 — but those that weren't vaccinated did not.
While Remdesivir is seen as a step forward in treating COVID-19, we are still far from a cure or vaccine
President Trump has touted the treatment. But doctors said it's too early to be sure.
Experts are testing drugs to see if they can dampen the symptoms caused by COVID-19, including inflammation that ends up damaging the lungs.
Dr. Jon LaPook on the friction between rigorous clinical trials and empiric therapy (trying something to see if it works) in the search for effective therapies against coronavirus
With the friction between treating COVID-19 and protecting the populace from infection vs. reopening businesses, testing for immunity to coronavirus is urgently vital
Dr. Jon LaPook on the part we must all play to reduce our exposure to the virus and minimize its spread to others
While we may feel powerless over this threat, we are not. There are important things we can and must do – and right now.
CBS News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jonathan LaPook talks with medical staff at The Johns Hopkins Hospital about how they're preparing for coronavirus, and leading disease and epidemic experts weigh in on the U.S. response.
Dr. Jon LaPook with the latest on the virus' spread in the U.S., and what precautions you should take to avoid infecting yourself and others.
Dr. Jon LaPook with the latest information about the virus and how to protect yourself and others
Dr. Bill Moreau worked inside the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee for 10 years.
Cardinal Health said a Chinese contractor supplying the gowns was not using factories registered with the FDA.
One hospital in Indianapolis created flu checkpoints to keep young patients safe.
An NIH clinical trial is ushering in a genetic revolution as an innovative type of gene therapy is used to attempt to cure sickle cell anemia. Dr. Jon LaPook reports