Massachusetts doctor on potential changes to mask mandates
Preeti Mehrotra, MD (Infection Control, BIDMC) spoke about the potential changes to CDC guidelines regarding mask requirements outdoors.
Preeti Mehrotra, MD (Infection Control, BIDMC) spoke about the potential changes to CDC guidelines regarding mask requirements outdoors.
People who delayed medical and dental care as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic are returning to doctors’ offices, sometimes with exacerbated symptoms and conditions due to the delay in treatment, according to doctors. A study from BIDMC found that new cancer diagnoses had gone down during the pandemic because patients weren’t coming in for treatment, which implies that patients might come in later with later-stage cancers.
The digital mental health space was growing rapidly even before the COVID-19 pandemic but stress and anxiety brought on by the health crisis have accelerated demand for virtual behavioral health services. John Torous, MD (Psychiatry, BIDMC) explained the benefits of increased digital mental health care access.
A group of Boston Red Sox players received the first vaccination against COVID-19 on Monday from BIDMC staff at Fenway Park.
As Massachusetts hospitals settle into a new normal, they’ve shifted from managing a raging crisis to incorporating COVID-19 into their daily work. Kevin Tabb, MD (CEO, BILH) commented that the profile of the typical COVID-19 patient has changed, noting that seniors no longer make up the majority of people hospitalized with the disease. Patients now tend to be younger, in their 30s, 40s, and 50s.
Massachusetts epidemiology and infectious disease experts suggested newer variants may be more transmissible and could be better able to resist COVID-19 immunity from the vaccines or a natural infection. Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC) noted many of these variants show enhanced transmission and, in some studies, enhanced disease, during his remarks at a at a state legislative hearing on Tuesday.
The CDC and the FDA called for an immediate pause in use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after regulators said six women recently developed unusual clots. Nearly 7.5 million people in the United States have received the vaccine, which uses technology that Johnson & Johnson licensed from BIDMC.
Federal health officials on Tuesday called for a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, saying they are reviewing reports of six U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in people after receiving the vaccine. The rare blood clots were first detected in people in Europe who had received the AstraZeneca vaccine. Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC), who has been developing the technology used in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for years, noted in an email last week that there were a number of biological differences between the viral vectors, called adenoviruses, that are being used in the two vaccines.
BIDMC launched a new program, the Critical Illness and COVID-19 Survivorship Program, to provide clinical care for COVID long haulers and investigate why they continue to feel symptoms long after the days or weeks that represent a typical course of the disease. Harvard Gazette spoke with Jason Maley, MD (Pulmonary, BIDMC), who leads the program, about the program, what’s known about the condition, and what awaits discovery.
