A Virus-Hunter’s Advice on Dealing with China’s Resistance on Covid

A Politico piece authored by Michael Callahan, Director of Clinical Translation at VIC

Hardball is the wrong technique to get China to open up about the early spread of the pandemic. A successful but little-known global disease program offers a much smarter approach.

“The origins of the pandemic have huge importance to science, to medicine and to global security, but nearly two years after the first known infection, the search is stalled. The high-profile release last month of the U.S. intelligence community’s report to President Joe Biden only confirmed how little progress has been made: After a 90-day investigation, it offered two long-familiar theories. Either the virus originated from natural human exposure to an infected animal, or it escaped from a biocontainment laboratory. There was no consensus on which was more likely.

There’s a good reason we don’t know more: The government of China has consistently obscured the events around the early coronavirus outbreak and resisted providing key information to American investigators and even to the World Health Organization.

This doesn’t automatically mean China was…”

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Summer Students at VIC

VIC continues to be committed to the training of young scientists and this photo shows the many students and young researchers successfully working in the VIC lab, or remotely, under the supervision of senior scientists

As Delta variant spreads, Americans wonder about vaccine booster

Mark Poznansky raises the issue with his co-authors, of whether to give a third booster shot of a covid vaccine against the threat of the Delta variant and discusses the risks and benefits of balancing scientific understanding on safety with humane decisions on global equity.

“The unvaccinated may ask whether they should now get vaccinated to protect themselves and their families. Meanwhile, some who have been vaccinated wonder whether a booster shot is in order, sooner rather than later, especially given the rise in the delta variant. The answer is not yet clear. Data from Israel, the U.S. and elsewhere suggest that the current COVID-19 vaccines offer less protection against the delta variant than earlier versions of the virus. Early reports from Pfizer support the effectiveness of a booster shot against the delta variant while a review of safety data is pending. In the meantime, we must avoid jeopardizing the effectiveness of the first vaccine doses against original variants as well as the delta variant. The timing and efforts become a balancing act. What has been glaringly clear throughout the pandemic is the need to trust and follow the science in real-time. That means, in part, don’t jump the gun and make assumptions. Yet, it also means making the most informed public health decisions possible at any given moment.”

co -written by Mark C. Poznansky, MD, PhD, Marc Seigel, MD and Jacqueline A. Hart, MD.  

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Freedom from restrictions means COVID is free to run rampant

Dr. Hart talks about why vaccine refusal perpetuates the emergence of new COVID variants (like delta) and prevents our progress toward ending the current pandemic.

“Millions of researchers, clinicians, public health officials, volunteer EMTs and vaccinators have devoted innumerable hours to developing and deploying a solution to the COVID-19 pandemic at an astoundingly rapid pace — not only in vaccine discovery and production, but also in complicated systems and processes established and nimbly adapted as necessary to deliver on a vaccination timetable. This work is rooted in evidence-based information. That means clinical and public health decisions rely on the best data we have at any given time to deliver the best care for individuals, communities and the population at large. That principle fosters the most edified management possible.”

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The VIC team working with Pinpoint Science, Inc scientists to assess a new rapid point of care COVID test.

The team at VIC enjoyed hosting Michelle Shimberg and Jack Cox from our collaborators Pinpoint Science in California in June and July. This was the first stage in the validation of Pinpoint’s highly sensitive, 15 minute diagnostic test for active COVID infection. We look forward to welcoming them back for the next phase of the collaborative study in a few weeks. Dr. Poznansky states “ we are very excited to collaborate with the team at Pinpoint Science given the potential of their technology to transform our approaches to rapid COVID testing”.

Mark Poznansky in Roxbury on Juneteenth as one of the MGB doctors helping to promote COVID vaccine confidence.

In an effort to promote COVID vaccine confidence and dispel harmful myths and misinformation, Mass General Brigham (MGB) doctors and other healthcare providers are bringing answers and information directly to residents in our hotspot communities. By meeting people where they are at, we aim to address longstanding, well-earned mistrust of the medical community and encourage them to receive the vaccine as soon as they are eligible.

Next Generation COVID vaccines

Dr. Michael V. Callahan and Dr. Mark C. Poznansky interviewed by Dr. Dara Udo.

Dara Udo, M.D., MPH, is the chief media correspondent for the Vaccine Immunotherapy Center (VIC) at Massachusetts General Hospital and an urgent and immediate care physician at Westchester Medical Group, White Plains (N.Y.) Hospital and Greenwich (Conn.) Hospital.

Michael V. Callahan, MD, MSPH, DTM&H, former Covid-19 special advisor to the assistant secretary for public health preparedness at the Department of Health and Human Services, and was incident commander for nine international highly dangerous pathogen outbreaks. He is the director of Clinical Translation at the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Mark C. Poznansky, MD, PhD infectious diseases physician and director of the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

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The vaccines we have are good. But they could be so much better

Written by Michael V. Callahan, former Covid-19 special advisor to the assistant secretary for public health preparedness at the Department of Health and Human Services, and was incident commander for nine international highly dangerous pathogen outbreaks. He is the director of Clinical Translation at the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital.

And by Mark C. Poznansky infectious diseases physician and director of the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

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Overcoming vaccine hesitancy among communities of color

Dr. Dara Udo, Dr. Mark Poznansky and Dr. Jacki Hart raise the issue of vaccine hesitancy amongst people of color and vulnerable populations and discuss what lessons can be learned from the vaccine roll out during the pandemic to improve the system.

“Vaccine hesitancy, reflected in these examples, takes a myriad of angles and directions. The fears I have heard have been disproportionately voiced by my patients of color. Given past and present treatment by the scientific community, I deeply appreciate their worries and concerns. Looking back on history and addressing existing barriers, the question becomes: What lessons can we learn and what tools can we apply to improve a drastically broken system?”

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Moving Mountains to Conquer ALS

Qixuan Eric Chen, is a student at Winchester High School and an intern at the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center (VIC). He has written an illuminating piece entitled ‘Moving Mountains to Conquer ALS, on his personal connection to a mentor with ALS and highlights the ongoing research into this devastating disease at VIC.

Moving Mountains to Conquer ALS

Written By: Qixuan Eric Chen

Ruxandra Sîrbulescu, PhD and Mark Poznansky MD, PhD, along with their regenerative medicine team (Kento Kawai, PhD, Gina Jin, BSc, David Verrill BSc, Michael H. Chapin, BSc, Joshua M. Hess, BSc, Laura Valine, BSc) at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center (VIC) along with Katie Nicholson MD, Ghazaleh Sadri-Vakili PhD and James Berry MD, at the Healey Center and Department of Neurology at MGH are developing a new B cell-based regenerative therapies for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). But to understand why I am writing about this, I have to go back four years and up 5,269 treacherous feet above sea level to the top of Mount Katahdin, the highest peak in Maine and the north end of the Appalachian Trail.

In the summer of 2017, I had the honor of hiking with Rick Marks on the last leg of his “Epic Hike.” I am a Scout in Troop 507 Winchester, and Rick was one of our adult leaders. I have always looked up to the leaders in our troop, and Rick was certainly no exception. Not only was he a knowledgeable and skilled mentor for us Scouts, but he was also an exemplary role model who effortlessly lived the Scout Law and Scout Oath — a trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent leader who helped other people at every opportunity and kept himself physically strong, mentally strong, and morally straight.

If anyone had the courage to embark on such an “Epic Hike,” it would be Rick. So, on June 17, 2017, he did just that — 603 grueling miles of the Appalachian Trail from Massachusetts to Maine — accompanied periodically by his friends and family. The

northernmost summit, Mount Katahdin, was our final destination. This may already sound like a formidable challenge, but another obstacle stood in Rick’s way.

In October of 2016, Rick was diagnosed with ALS, a disease that impaired his speech, balance, and muscle function. Though its causes are yet to be fully resolved, ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, meaning that it gradually affects the nervous system, and its symptoms worsen over time. As the disease progresses, motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord responsible for voluntary muscle movement degenerate and ultimately die, causing the person affected to lose the ability to initiate or control essential actions such as talking, standing, and walking. But Rick did not let that stop him. Shortly after his diagnosis, Rick planned his hike with the goal of raising awareness and funds for ALS research, and in a matter of months, began his trek on the hundreds of miles of strenuous terrain.

On his website (rickshikeforals.org), Rick wrote: “I don’t want one more family to have to go through what we are experiencing, and what so many others have before us. I want to do something to make a difference and to contribute to ending this horrific disease while I still can.” His fundamental goal: “to find a treatment or cure by 2020.” Although this milestone has not yet been realized, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has currently approved two drugs for ALS treatment. Riluzole is a neuroprotective drug that slows the progression of the disease by inhibiting the release of glutamate, a neurotransmitter, in the central nervous system. Edaravone, though its specific mechanisms are unknown, works to reduce oxidative stress and cell death. Both exhibit beneficial properties concerning patients’ lifespans and cell deterioration and provide symptom control. However, organizations are still aiming to creatively produce additional and different treatments to augment ALS therapy.

The teams at VIC and The Healey Center, are striving to develop a new approach. They seek to modulate and use components of the immune system to treat neurodegenerative diseases and unlock the inherent healing abilities of specific immune cells. Dr. Sîrbulescu studies the implications of immunotherapy using B lymphocytes (B cells) — known for their ability to secrete antibodies — to protect cells damaged by neurodegeneration. The team, together with an expert group of clinicians at MGH, also assesses comprehensive pictures of immune health in patients with slow and rapid progression ALS.

The research process for ALS treatments is infamously complex for its stages of clinical development. The team at VIC including Ann Sluder PhD, work closely with the FDA in the clinical testing of B cell immunotherapies. At VIC, these technologies have succeeded in the stages of initial research and development, preclinical efficacy, preclinical safety, and are extending their progress in and past initial studies in human patients. The team’s work continues to produce promising results for the treatment of ALS and epitomizes Rick’s efforts to bring positive change to something more significant than the individual.

On April 11, 2018, 18 months after his diagnosis, Rick lost his battle with ALS, but his legacy and his hike live on. He will always be remembered as an inimitable father, leader, and mentor. Reminiscing, I am even more bewildered at Rick’s sheer steadfastness and bravery in taking on such an arduous endeavor. Mount Katahdin may have been the end of his hike, but Rick’s commitment has inspired new beginnings for thousands of people across the nation. Furthermore, Rick more than tripled his original fundraising goal of $50,000, raising over $160,000 for ALS research. This story clearly draws attention to this devastating disease, the need for new safe and effective therapies

and the value of intense team work by a diverse group of scientists and physicians in developing innovative approaches to treating this disease.

Modern medicine has not yet fulfilled Rick’s goal of a cure, but that does not mean that his efforts and those of scientists are futile. It is the people who have dedicated their lives to research — people like Dr. Sîrbulescu and her team, those at VIC and the Healey Center at MGH, along with countless others — who continue to perpetuate Rick’s unwavering mindset and will undoubtedly make invaluable progress for the betterment of lives across the globe.