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.
Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC) said the pause shows a “commitment to safety” as federal agencies investigate the cases of potentially rare blood clotting in six Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said that a single administration of its monoclonal antibody cocktail reduced the risk that volunteers exposed to COVID-19 would develop the disease by 81 percent. Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC),who partnered with Johnson & Johnson for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, is an investigator in Regeneron’s study and noted the antibodies approaches are complementary.
As growing evidence suggests that brain and nervous-system problems are prevalent among “long-haulers,” the estimated 10 to 30 percent of COVID-19 survivors who remain ill months after their infection, BIDMC’s Critical Illness and COVID-19 Survivorship Program is the most comprehensive post-COVID clinic in New England. Jason Maley, MD (Pulmonary, BIDMC) directs the program and said the group is seeing 10 to 15 new patients a week and is fully booked for months. Tamara Fong, MD (Neurology, BIDMC) said long-haulers’ symptoms often resemble a post-concussion syndrome. But unlike with a concussion, it’s not clear whether the brain suffered a direct injury.
In a study conducted during the early days of the pandemic, scientists reported in The Annals of Neurology that nearly 10 percent of COVID-19 patients who experienced cognitive symptoms and were hospitalized during the early days of the pandemic experienced nonconvulsive seizure. The study was co-authored by Mouhsin Shafi, MD (Neurology, BIDMC) who noted only the sickest patients were monitored with EEG at the beginning of the pandemic and it’s not clear how common EEG abnormalities may have been in other patients.
Providing vaccines in the in-patient setting is a concern many hospitals face due to limited supplies and logistics. Sharon Wright, MD, MPH (Infection Protection, BILH) spoke to the approach BILH is taking to address this challenge for patients who received their first vaccine dose in the outpatient setting, and become eligible for their second dose during an inpatient stay at one of our hospitals.
Special clinics in Boston help “COVID long-haulers” – patients who struggle with lasting COVID-19 symptoms for weeks and months. Jason Maley, MD (Pulmonary, BIDMC), who leads theCritical Illness and COVID-19 Survivorship Program at BIDMC,noted patients improve over time and at their own pace, and there is potential for symptom improvement after vaccination – but most data is still anecdotal at this time.
Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC), who helped develop the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, spoke to the vaccine planning process and how, in some ways, the discovery of the virus with pandemic potential was a moment Barouch and team had been preparing for decades.
After a shortened 2020 season filled with grief and isolation amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the first pitches of Opening Day 2021 at Fenway Park on Friday afternoon were thrown out by new Boston Mayor Kim Janey, Cpl. Shamar Martin of the Army National Guard, and Edward Ullman, MD (Emergency Medicine, BIDMC). Ullman has overseen the first aid room at Fenway Park for 18 years, but he treated more than 1,000 COVID-19 patients as an attending physician in the BIDMC Emergency Department. He also oversaw the mass COVID-19 vaccination site at the Boston ballpark, which administered more than 56,000 doses of the vaccine.
A new study shows some hospitalized COVID-19 patients have non-convulsive seizures that may increase their risk of death. Mouhsin Shafi, MD (Neurology, BIDMC) co-authored the study and noted the findings suggest that COVID patients should be monitored closely for non-convulsive seizures.
In this opinion article, Jerome Groopman, MD (Experimental Medicine, BIDMC) discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and how global instability has caused a worrying rise in epidemics.
In a letter to the editor responding to “Prepare Yourself for Grief” (At Home, March 14), Dorothy Holinger, PhD (Psychology, BIDMC) proposed a national day of mourning to acknowledge the nation’s collective grief for more than half a million deaths of grandparents, mothers, fathers, children, siblings and life partners and to celebrate those who were with them as they died.
Sharon Wright, MD, MPH (Infection Protection, BILH) spoke to the CDC director’s latest warning about a potential fourth wave of the virus and noted that although we are close to being able to get more vaccine to get people vaccinated, we are also seeing the number of people acquiring COVID-19 increasing. Wrights cautions it’s still important to physically distance, wear a mask and stay mostly with members of our own households.
During the early days of pandemic lockdown, clinics and hospitals were forced into a massive telemedicine shift. Now, as doctors resume in-person visits, virtual care is poised to play a permanent role. Daniel Sands, MD, MPH (Primary Care, BIDMC) noted healthcare professionals have learned much about the many different things doctors can do to connect with patients in ways never seen before.
