s President Biden aims to have 70% of adults vaccinated with at least one shot by July 4, NPR’s Allison Aubrey discussed with experts their thoughts on if the country is on track to meet the target and answered questions including the need for vaccine booster shots. Aubrey also spoke with Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC) about why it's just too soon to determine any specific booster strategy.
Two new studies show that the two COVID-19 mRNA vaccines now available in the U.S. appear to be completely safe for pregnant women. In one study, published in JAMA, an NIH-supported team led by Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC), wanted to learn whether vaccines would protect mother and baby. To find out, they enrolled 103 women, aged 18 to 45, who chose to get either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna mRNA vaccines from December 2020 through March 2021. After vaccination, women in all groups produced antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. The researchers also found those antibodies in infant cord blood and breast milk, suggesting that they were passed on to afford some protection to infants early in life.
The CDC’s independent group of scientists, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Processes, will meet and make a recommendation to CDC on booster shots, in the same way it has done with previously authorized coronavirus vaccines. Medical experts interviewed by ABC News concurred that booster shots are likely, but not necessarily inevitable, at least for this fall. Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC) said that it is not yet clear whether we will need a booster shot this fall, winter, and if so, what that booster shot should be, but that the decision needs to be made based on public health solely and not on economic incentives of the vaccine developing companies.
Preeti Mehrotra, MD (Infection Control, BIDMC) spoke about the state’s COVID-19 vaccination rates, which outpace that of other parts of the country, and what it means to individual families. Mehrotra also noted that her sense of comfort is slowly growing but that there is still work to do.
According to a modeling study, the presence of even small quantities of infection-blocking antibodies in vaccinated people’s blood indicates that a vaccine is effective at protecting against COVID-19. Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC) noted that more studies are needed to pin down which cells or molecules determine the level of protection
Researchers conducting a study in Spain have found that vaccinating people with both the Oxford–AstraZeneca and Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines produces a potent immune response against the virus which researchers hoped for and expected from mixing different vaccines, a strategy known as a heterologous prime and boost. Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC) said the responses look promising and show the potential of heterologous prime–boost regimens.
As the virus surges in countries like India, where there aren’t enough vaccines, experts like Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC) are focused on various COVID-19 variants to see if they pose a challenge to current vaccines, including one he helped develop for Johnson & Johnson.
Medical providers are seeing an increase in health problems as a direct result of pandemic-era living. Some of the health conditions doctors are seeing more of now include hair loss. Alexa Kimball, MD, MPH (President & CEO, Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians and Dermatology, BIDMC) said that the fall of 2020, primary care physicians and dermatologists started to notice a substantial increase in the number of people, particularly women, who were reporting that their hair was falling out in clumps. This phenomenon, called telogen effluvium, is typically caused by stress, illness or pregnancy.
Sharon Wright, MD, MPH (Infection Protection, BILH) commented that all three of the coronavirus vaccinations are extremely effective against severe disease, hospitalizations, and death.
A team of investigators led by Ashley L. O’Donoghue, PhD (Healthcare Delivery Science, BIDMC) found that an increase in access to naloxone could reduce some of the increases in fatal opioid overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As misinformation promoted by anti-vaccination organizations and individuals undermines trust in science and generates skepticism about the authorized vaccines, experts answer some of the questions that remain because of misconceptions. Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC) explains how study of coronavirus vaccines has actually been extremely rigorous.
In a study published in JAMA led by Ai-ris Collier,...
Researchers are exploring whether people will need booster shots in the coming months and years to maintain immunity or to protect against newly emerging COVID-19 variants. Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC) said there could be two reasons why booster shots may be needed, the first is the natural waning of vaccine immunity, and the second is that new variants could emerge that might not be fully covered by the current vaccines.
It's unclear if everyone will need boosters, but early results are promising.
Students describe the challenges and treasures of navigating classes and the pandemic.
Medical professionals who have been on the front lines of COVID-19 at BIDMC and other local hospitals, including Barbara S. Lee (Social Work, BIDMC) and Pamela N. Peck (Psychiatry, BIDMC), shared how their emotional well-being has been impacted over the past 14 months while they put their lives on the line to save others. The hospitals have bolstered and implemented programs to support their staff, drawing on the expertise of Harvard’s faculty specializing in mental health, and created new wellness resources.
According to CDC data released on Sunday, about 5 million Americans missed receiving their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC) noted it’s unclear exactly what's leading to so many missed second appointments for COVID-19 vaccines but that it's likely that getting a second shot, even at a later point in time, is still very beneficial.
Christina Yen, MD (Medicine, BIDMC) shared that an N95 can be reused anywhere from 20 to 25 times and still keep SARS-CoV-2 at bay.
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.
