What allows the variants of SARS-CoV-2 detected in the UK, South Africa, and Brazil to spread so quickly? How can current COVID-19 vaccines better protect against them? A new study led by researchers at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital helps answer these urgent questions. The researchers focused on a genetic change shared by all three … Continued
In the largest study of its kind to date, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard have found the new mRNA COVID-19 vaccines to be highly effective in producing antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in pregnant and lactating women. The study also demonstrated … Continued
Last week, Harvard University President Lawrence S. Bacow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology President L. Rafael Reif, and Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne wrote an op-ed to outline the importance of “drastic action” to protect the health of our nation, including the efforts of America‘s leading research universities.
A new study led by Harvard Medical School scientists offers a look into this interplay, shedding light on the ways in which compromised immunity may render SARS-CoV-2 fitter and capable of evading the immune system. The research, published March 16 in Cell, shows that a mutated SARS-CoV-2 from a chronically infected immunocompromised patient is capable … Continued
A new approach to pooled COVID-19 testing can be a highly effective tool for curbing the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, even if infections are widespread in a community, according to researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Simple pooled testing schemes could be implemented with minimal changes … Continued
Now that COVID-19 vaccines are rolling out, pregnant people –– and anyone considering a future pregnancy –– have many questions around risks and benefits. At first, many of those receiving vaccines in US were healthcare workers, but the circles for vaccine eligibility have widened.
Almost immediately after the first mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines were authorized for emergency use and administered to individuals outside of clinical trials, reports of anaphylaxis—a life-threatening whole-body allergic reaction—raised widespread concerns among experts and the public. Now, real world data on vaccinations among employees at Mass General Brigham provide reassurances of the rarity of such serious reactions, … Continued
We’ve all experienced the feeling of sluggish, fuzzy thinking and a lack of sharpness, possibly caused by an illness or a medication. But what if that feeling didn’t go away and your thinking didn’t return to normal? That’s the situation for some people who have recovered from COVID-19, and there can be long-term effects on … Continued
As the world inches along on its journey through this ever-evolving pandemic, understanding the “how” of COVID-19 could be the most important question of all. The question has motivated the research of Galit Alter and David Knipe over the last year. The two co-lead the pathogenesis research group of the Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness (MassCPR), … Continued
To highlight the evolving understanding of new and emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, the Harvard Medical School-led Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness (MassCPR) convened on Feb. 24 a panel of virologists, vaccinologists, immunologists, infectious disease physicians and other experts to discuss what the new variants mean for efforts to contain the pandemic, to optimize vaccines, and to … Continued