Trish Regan’s best story was about flu vaccines

Linette Lopez of The Business Insider interviewed Bloomberg Television anchor Trish Regan about her career and what she considers important.

Here is an excerpt:

What was your proudest day at work?:

Occasionally, as a journalist, you realize you have an incredible ability to affect the world in a positive way – by helping people who otherwise don’t have a voice. It’s the most rewarding part of doing this job. Two years ago, when swine flu headlines were dominating the news and I was pregnant with my twin daughters, I was told it was critical to my babies’ lives that I get the vaccine. Although pregnant women and children were considered the most vulnerable, not one hospital or doctor in New York had the vaccine. Interestingly, I learned that the NYSE, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley all had the vaccine ready and available for their employees. (Let’s face it – you don’t see a lot of pregnant women and children roaming the hallways at Goldman, why on earth, I wondered, were the banks receiving the vaccines first?) I made some phone calls and was told this was “normal procedure.” I knew this was a story I needed to report and led the Today Show the next morning with the news. The response was tremendous. Within hours, Morgan Stanley called me to say they were donating all 1000 of their vaccines to a local children’s hospital. By that weekend, clinics were being opened across the city to provide the vaccine to thousands of pregnant women and children – and by early the following week, every hospital in the city – and across the country – had the vaccines.

What was your biggest screw up at work?:

Last week, I traveled to the Dominican Republic and spent 10 hours traveling off-shore with Richard Branson in his boat, the Necker Belle, for a special we are shooting. Just as we were getting ready to go swimming with whales in the middle of the ocean, I realized I’d forgotten my swimsuit! Fortunately, Richard had a spare wetsuit in just my size on-board.